By default, Discovery searches WorldCat.org, a growing catalog of millions of records from libraries across the globe. You can expand or narrow these search results by adding or removing specific databases in Advanced Search. You can add or remove specific databases from your searches by clicking on the "Search Everything" drop down menu and checking off the boxes next to your selections.
When searching by author, search by "last name, first name" or "first name, last name."
Examples:
By default, Discovery automatically ANDS your terms and searches for records that contain all of the terms in your search. Boolean operators should always be entered in ALL CAPS.
Operator | Search Example | Finds... |
+ | women + work + 20th century |
Records that contain the words women, work, and 20th century.
|
AND | women AND work AND 20th century |
Same as the +; finds records that contain the words women, work, and 20th century.
|
OR | nutrition OR "food science" |
Records that include the word nutrition OR the phrase "food science." The OR operator is used to expand your search results.
|
NOT | paris NOT fashion |
Records that have the term "paris" but not "fashion". Used to exclude a term from your search results.
|
- | paris - fashion | Same as NOT. Finds records that have the term "paris" but not "fashion". |
Discovery does not automatically search for plurals or alternate endings. To make a search more comprehensive, truncate words using an *asterisk* . This technique allows you to find any word beginning with a designated root word.
Example:
By nesting, you can group like words together in a way that makes sense to Discovery.
Examples:
Codes for Complex Searches in Discovery
If you're up for it, you can take advantage of these codes when searching in Discovery. These can be used directly in the Discovery search box on our homepage.
Below are some of the more common codes with search examples. You can view a complete list here.
Name/Author-- au:twain mark
Title-- ti:adventures of huckleberry finn
Keyword --kw:water buffalo
Library of Congress Subject Heading -- hl:washington state
Subject -- su:washington state [this search yields more results than "hl: washington state"]
Year -- yr:1957
Language -- ln:french
Format/Document Type -- dt:[Use the following codes for types of formats]:
bks -- books
ser -- journal, magazine titles
com -- computer files/interactive multimedia
map -- maps
rec -- sound recordings, music cd's
sco -- musical scores
vis -- visual materials, movies, etc
ISBN -- bn: [use the ten or thirteen digit ISBN here]
ISSN -- issn: [enter the eight digit ISSN here]
Publisher -- pb: Farrar Straus Giroux
Publisher Location -- pl: London
Geographic Coverage -- gc: senegal