How to Search the Online Catalog

Getting Started: Searching

Begin exploring the iLink from the Search/Home page, where you can do different types of searches.

• To begin searching, type a term in the search box under Quick Search.
• To narrow your search, select one of the following options before clicking the Search button. Some systems may require that you click an option button, such as Author or Title, to begin your search.
  
• Words or phrase
• Author
• Title
• Subject
• Series
• Periodical title
• If available, select a library branch or catalog to search in the Library or Catalog box, or select ALL to include all branches or catalogs in the search.
• If available, select the Search Only Electronic Books check box to search only electronic texts.
• If available, you can redo a search you've already done by selecting it from the Previous Searches box.

Your search results may be a single catalog record or a list of catalog records.

Other Search Features

Typically, the first search page that you access in the e-library has simple Quick Search options. However, you can return to Quick Search from other search pages by clicking Quick Search, if available, or by clicking Search/Home.
Click Power Search or Advanced Search to further refine your initial search.
Click Browse or Browse Search to browse on authors, titles, subjects, series, or journal titles. Some libraries may refer to this as a Heading search.
Click Call Number Search to search for a specific call number. If you are familiar with your library's catalog record item types, you can choose a specific item type to search under from the Item Type box. You can limit your call number search by the area of the library that the item is located from the Location box.

Power Search

Power Search or Advanced Search combines search elements to refine a search or limit a search based on criteria configured by your library. You can also produce a browse list of specified items, or perform a call number search. Searches can include a single word or several words with operators and special punctuation. Use Searching Tips if you need help.

Combining Search Elements

You combine search elements in Power Search using Boolean operators. You can combine word or phrase, author, title, subject, series, and periodical title searches.

• Type a Word or Phrase for a typical search.
• Type an Author to search for the name. You can search for an author by the first name, last name, or initials. However, searching by an author's last name produces a more complete list of search results.
• Type a Title to search for an item by title. The search ignores articles as well as other stopwords.
• Type a Subject to search the subject index.
• Type a Series to search for a series title.
• Type a Periodical Title to search the periodical keyword index.

Click Search start your search or Reset to start over.

Limiting the Search

Use Power Search to limit your search based on criteria configured by your library.

• If available, select a Library to limit your search to a specific branch, or select ALL to search in all branches.
• If your library has holdings in a variety of languages, select a Language.
• If your library has holdings in a variety of formats (such as printed music, maps, and equipment), select a Format.
• Select an Item Type to search under if you are familiar with your library's item types.
• Select a shelving Location in your library.
• You can have your search match on a particular part of a catalog record (such as keywords only) by selecting a portion to Match On.
• In the Pubyear box, type the year the item was published.
• You can sort your power search results by selecting criteria in the Sort By box.
  
  
  

Other Library Catalogs

• Duke,
• NCSU,
• UNC-Chapel,
• Catalogs of the Libraries in the UNC System,
• The Library of Congress,
• Other Libraries Nationwide, and
• Libraries Around the World