Search Tips: How to Find Films in the Online Catalog

• Title Search
• Keyword Search
• Subject Search
• Director/Actor Search
• General Search Tips

To search for films in the library catalog, first open the library catalog.

Then, choose the type of search you would like to perform from the box at right.  General tips are also available, and very helpful.

Title Search

1. Click on Advanced Search from the banner at the top of the screen
   
2. Select Title Keywords from the drop down menu
   
3. Under Format in the blue box on the right of the screen select Film/Video from the drop down menu
   
4. Enter Title keywords (Examples: Brokeback Mountain, Capote)
   
5. Click Go

Keyword Search

1. Click on Advanced Search from the banner at the top of the screen
   
2. Select All Fields from the drop down menu
   
3. Under Format in the blue box on the right of the screen select Film/Video from the drop down menu
4. Enter keywords (Examples: Jew* And Holocaust; wom!n and suffrage)
   
5. Using the wildcard "?" or "*" within a word or at the end of a word will yield all forms of the word (Example: Jew* will yield results that include “Jew,” “Jews” and “Jewish”)
   
6. Use "!" to find variant spellings in cases where a single character may vary (Example: wom!n will yield results that include both “woman” and “women”)
   
7. Click Go

Subject Search

1. Click on Advanced Search from the banner at the top of the screen
   
2. Select Subject Keywords from the drop down menu
   
3. Under Format in the blue box on the right of the screen select Film/Video from the drop down menu
   
4. Enter Subject keywords (Example: “Feature films – France”; “Documentary Films – Brazil”
   
5. Click Go

Director/Actor Search

1. Click on Advanced Search from the banner at the top of the screen
   
2. Select Author Keywords from the drop down menu (treat actors and directors as if they were authors)
   
3. Under Format in the blue box on the right of the screen select Film/Video from the drop down menu
   
4. Enter Author keywords (Examples: John Cassavetes AND falk; Marilyn Monroe AND MGM; PBS AND Ken Burns)
   
5. Click Go

General Search Tips

• Limit your search by selecting a location (Lilly Library, etc.); language, and year (year is the date the video format was released, not the date the original feature film was released).
  
• Using the wildcard "?" or "*" within a word or at the end of a word will yield all forms of the word (Example: Jew* will yield results that include “Jew,” “Jews” and “Jewish”). 
  
• Use "!" to find variant spellings in cases where a single character may vary (Example: wom!n will yield results that include both “woman” and “women.”)
  
• For additional information, click on HELP from banner at top of catalog