Tips for Finding Materials in the Library Catalog

There are several ways to find materials in the library catalog. 

Limit by Format

1. From the tabs across the top select "Full Catalog"
2. From the choices at the top select "Advanced"
3. Under "Limit search to" on the right, select from the "Format" drop-down menu
   • Audio Music (for CDs, LPs, cassettes)
   • Audio (for audio books and other recordings)
   • Printed Music (for scores or sheet music)
   • Film/Video (for DVD, VHS, LaserDiscs)
   • Journal/Serial (for journal or serial titles)

   Note: The "Format – Microform" option does not currently work. If you truly want to limit your search to microforms, do a keyword search and include the term "microforms"

Search by Keyword

1. From the tabs across the top select "Full Catalog"
2. Select "All Fields" from the drop down menu
3. Enter keywords (Examples: Jew* And Holocaust; wom!n and suffrage) in order to search the full records of items in the catalog.  

Search by Title, Author or Subject

1. From the tabs aross the top, select "Full Catalog"
2. In order to search by title, author, or subject, simply select the appropriate item for the drop down menu (e.g. "Title Begins With," "Author," "Subject Begins With")
3. Enter search terms (Examples: Capote; Hemingway, Ernest; Feature Films-France).

Search for an Actor/Director in a Film

1. From the tabs across the top select "Full Catalog"
2. From the choices at the top select "Advanced"
3. Select "Author Keywords" from the drop down menu (treat actors and directors as if they were authors)
4. Select "Film/Video" from the "Format" drop-down menu
5. Enter Actor/Director keywords (Examples: John Cassavetes AND falk; Marilyn Monroe AND MGM; PBS AND Ken Burns)

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 help, select Help in the blue banner at the top of the catalog window.
• Also see How To Find ... on the Perkins Library web site.