If you know the title to a book, use the "Title" search option. This search option will pull all records with that title listed in the NSU Libraries collections. For example, if there are several editions of the title in the collection under the same title, these records will be retrieved using the title search.
Example Title: The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition.
There are multiple library records for the Chicago Manual title for the 15th, 16th, and 17th edition. Review the records to determine which one you need. If you only have a few words in the title, the system will search for any titles with those words.
Using the "Subject" search option in the Library Discovery system, consider the following:
The "Author" search locates all items written or co-authored by that author in the library's collections. From theLibrary Home page select the "Books & Media" tab at the top of the main library page and select "Author" from the drop down menu.
Tip: Enter the author's name and click search.
Example names:
Tip: If the author's name is similar to another author's name, provide the middle name initial.
Tip: Some author's names and middle initials are the same. If the middle name is given use it, if not generally a quick review of the book titles will determine which author is correct.
Tip: When searching for Latin names using the Library Catalog at NSU Libraries, they can differ in the way they are searched. However, when searching through the database WorldCat (OCLC), it will search for words and will return results.
Many systems, like databases, library catalogs online, and Google, default to the "Keyword" search, which uses "natural language" or words. This term or set of terms can appear anywhere or any field in a record, such as title, author, subject, note, etc. The meaning of the words are not considered. For example, the terms "heavy metal" could pull results related to music or related to soil content. Here are some basic tips on how to use the Keyword search.
Tip: Combine or group terms by enclosing them within quotation marks.
Tip: Use the Keyword search to combine an author and keywords in a title of his or her work. For example, for information about the poem, "Mending Wall", by Robert Frost, or the fiction novel, House of the Spirits, by Isabel Allende, combine the author's last name and a keyword of the title of the work. Note: The names are not case sensitive. Additionally, the search may pull other non-related titles if the terms entered appear in the item record.
Grouping: Keyword search results are usually grouped by relevance to bring the most likely titles to the top of the list. Each group represents a similar level of relevance and results are sorted within the group by date or title. To get an ungrouped result set, use boolean operators to form a complex query.
The "Subject" search uses a "controlled vocabulary" and focuses on subject terms or subject headings to define or to describe the information within the system. This type of search is targeted using specific terms or phrases that are highly relevant to the topic. It will locate all records on this subject and does not consider other fields, like the title or note fields as part of the search. This ensures the results are related and focused on the subject searched or the desired topic, which saves the user time.
Examples:
For additional information and to locate the Library of Congress subject authority headings and more, see the Library of Congress Authorities link below.
Tip: When searching for information on topics in the database, EBSCOhost eBook Collection, use keywords or phrases. Be sure to enclose phrases inside quotation marks if you wish to keep the two terms together. The letters are not case sensitive.
