TIPS FOR SEARCHING THE ONLINE CATALOGUE

[1] Starting out

[2] General search tips

[3] Searching the on-line book catalogue

[3.1] General search for books, videos, audiotapes and CD-ROMs

[3.2] Advanced search

[3.2.1] Searching for a title
[3.2.2] Searching for an author
[3.2.3] Searching for a subject
[3.2.4] Searching for an ISBN
[3.2.5] Searching for a series
[3.2.6] Searching the Notes
[3.2.7] Combining fields in an Advanced Search

[4] Searching the on-line periodicals catalogue

[4.1] General search for periodical articles

[4.2] Advanced search
[4.2.1] Searching for a subject
[4.2.2] Searching using the title of an article
[4.2.3] Searching for an author
[4.2.4] Searching the Notes
[4.2.5] Searching for a periodical
[4.2.6] Combining fields in Advanced Search

[5] Glossary of terms

[6] Learn more about effective searching

[1] STARTING OUT

The public can search the Toronto Botanical Garden Library On-line Book Catalogue in the comfort and safety of their own homes. The WebPAC (Web Public Access Catalogue), which can be searched using a home computer with Internet access, contains the catalogue records of books and periodical articles found in the TBG Library. While it is updated regularly, the newest books and articles may not appear immediately in the on-line catalogue. For the complete catalogue, patrons must use the OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue) in the Library.

The On-line Catalogue can be found on the Internet by typing this URL into the address box at the top of the screen.

www.torontobotanicalgarden.ca/library.htm

You should be looking at a screen that looks like this:

You may either click on "Search Our Catalogues" in the naviagation menu at the left side of the screen, or on "Click here to SEARCH for library materials" right in the centre of the screen.  Both options will bring you to a new screen that offers you the option of choosing books or periodicals. To find the most information, you will need to search both databases.

Once you have chosen to search either books or periodical articles (click on the picture), the page that appears offers two levels of searching. The simplest is the single-line General Search for Keywords. If you put your query (i.e. the words you are looking for) in this box, the software will search for the word(s) in the title, author, subject, series title, or notes. The Advanced Search allows you to specify in which field the information you have might be found.

In Advanced Search, it is possible to search for:

• Title
• Author
• Subject
• Series
• Notes
• ISBN (International Standard Book Number)

After you type in your query, click on the SEARCH button, or press ENTER on your keyboard. A new screen will appear, showing you a list of books that contain the word you are looking for. To see the full record, click on the underlined title of the book you are interested in.

The list is displayed in groups of ten titles. To see the next group of ten titles, click on the NEXT button at the bottom of the list.

If you used a keyword search, the word might not actually appear in the title. It could appear anywhere in the catalogue record.

To view more detailed information about an item, click on its title in the results list.  then, when you want to return to the list of results, go to the top of the screen page and use your mouse to click on "Results". Or, if you want to start a new search altogether, click on "Search". 

[2] GENERAL TIPS FOR SEARCHING THE ON-LINE BOOKS OR PERIODICALS CATALOGUE

Use appropriate search statements:

	You can a use single word: roses
	You can use a phrase. If two or more words are separated by a blank space, only records with all the words in exact order will be found. Companion planting will bring up all records that contain this phrase, but you will not get any results if the words happen to appear in another order in the record, or if there is a variation in either word. For example, this search will not show you a record that contains companion plants.
	You can combine words using Boolean operators. There should be no spaces between the words and the operators: roses&garlic [NOTE FOR EXPERIENCED SEARCHERS: Only simple Boolean searches are possible; search commands cannot be combined or nested.]
	& (ampersand) for AND Using & narrows the search. roses&garlic brings up every record that contains both roses and garlic. Both words must appear in the record.   / (forward slash) for OR OR (/) means, "I want documents that contain either word; I don't care which word." OR (/) broadens a search and makes it less focused. roses/garlic brings up every record that contains either roses or garlic. The records must contain at least one of the words and may contain both.   ! (exclamation mark) for NOT roses!garlic will find all records that contain the word roses but do not contain the word garlic. garlic!roses will find all records that contain the word garlic but do not contain the word roses
	The computer software searches for the exact form of words, but a word does not need to be complete to be used as a search term. You can use truncation (word stems) to search for word variations. Drop any word endings that will limit the scope of your search.
	Use the singular form of the word you are looking for: rose will bring up records containing rose and roses. It will also bring up records containing rosemary, Rosetta, and rose-garden   Use word stemming for questionable spelling, or when a word has alternative spellings (American vs. Canadian). For example, using the word stem colo in a search will retrieve both color and colour. It will also retrieve Colombian, ecology, watercolor and Colorado. Use as many letters as possible to avoid getting too many irrelevant results.

Define your search terms carefully

	A very broad search term will retrieve too many records to be useful. For example, if the word herbs is used in a keyword search, you will get a list of 316 books, videos, and CD-ROMS.
	In a search for a book, a very specific search term (other than an author's name) is less likely to be successful.
	In a search for a periodical article, narrow search terms tend to give better results.

Remember to clear all boxes before conducting a new search

Inadvertently leaving a previous search term in one of the boxes may lead to an unsuccessful search. Click once on the RESET button to clear all the fields.

[3] SEARCHING THE ON-LINE BOOK CATALOGUE

The first option offered to you is a General Search. This search automatically looks for the words you want in several fields: Title, Author, Subject, Series and Notes. Type your query into the space provided on the screen and click on the Search button, or press <Enter>.

TRY THIS

	Begin your search by being as specific as possible. If this search is unsuccessful, try a more general term or a synonym for the original word. For example, if a search for cooking fails, try culinary.
	Widen your search by combining search terms with / (OR): cooking/culinary will retrieve records containing either one of these terms.
	Broad search terms will bring more results. A search for herbs will bring more results than a search for thyme.
	Refine your search by combining search terms with & (AND). Books on cooking with herbs could be found by using herbs&recipes, herbs&cooking, or herbs&culinary.

THIS WON'T WORK

Do not use punctuation! The software used for searching on the WebPAC database refuses to recognize apostrophes, quotation marks, parentheses, or brackets

[3.2.1] Searching for a title

You can find a book if you know the title or a part of the title.

TRY THIS

In the Title box, type one of these terms (capitalization not necessary) without any punctuation:

	The entire title: Roses love garlic
	The first few words of the title: Roses love
	A keyword from the title: roses
	The words you remember from the title, connected by an ampersand and with no spaces between the parts: garlic&roses

THIS WON'T WORK

	The complete title with the words in the wrong order, or with a spelling mistake.
	Using punctuation. The software used for searching on the WebPAC database refuses to recognize apostrophes, quotation marks or brackets.
	Using the subtitle in a Title search. If the subtitle is all you know, use it in a general keyword search.

[3.2.2] Searching for an author

If you know the name of the author you can type the name, surname first, in the Author search field. The names of illustrators, photographers and other persons responsible for the content of a book may also be found by searching in this field.

TRY THIS

	In the Author box, type the author's name (no capitals needed). If the first attempt fails try simplifying the search term. The full name, surname first, followed by a comma: Jekyll, Gertrude Surname, comma, and initials: jekyll, g Surname only: jekyll Use word stemming to allow for errors in spelling: jek
	Search for more than one author by combining names with &, no spaces: phillips&rix
	Secondary names may be found in the Notes field

THIS WON'T WORK

	Typing the name with the surname last: Gertrude Jekyll
	Leaving out the comma between the surname and the first name or initial

[3.2.3] Searching for a subject

The subject field refers to formal subject headings given to books by the Library. If you are having trouble what subject heading we are using for a topic, try starting with a keyword search. When you find an item that looks promising, view its detailed record and jot down the subject heading used. You may then go back and try a subject search using that heading. Botanical names are usually not used as subject headings in the book catalogue.

TRY THIS

	Find the catalogue record of a book that you know is on the subject you are looking for. Look in the record for the subject heading and then use that subject heading in your search to find more books on the same topic.
	Use just one word or part of a word (stemming) if you are not sure what a formal subject heading might be. For example, using the word water will retrieve books on the subject of Water gardens; if you had used the term water gardening, you would have had no results.
	Combine the words of the subject with & (no spaces). The word order of some subject headings is not obvious. Using gardens&american will retrieve records with the subject heading Gardens, American.

THIS WON'T WORK

Restricting your search to the subject field. A search in this field will not necessarily retrieve all books that include a subject. For example, a general search using the keyword herbs retrieves 316 records; a search for the subject Herbs brings up 286 titles.

[3.2.4] Searching for an ISBN

The on-line catalogue allows you the option of searching for a book by using the International Standard Book Number. This feature is useful if you are looking for a particular edition of a book. Many older books do not have an ISBN.

TRY THIS

	Enter the number without any punctuation or spaces between the characters.
	Allow for errors in the catalogue record; using part of the number (stemming) might bring results.

THIS WON'T WORK

Many publishers print the ten-digit ISBN with dashes between groups of numbers. If you type the number as it appears, without removing dashes and/or spaces, the search will not work.

[3.2.5] Searching for a series

You may wish to find out if the Library has more books in a series.

TRY THIS

In the Series field type a word from the series title. The search is more likely to succeed if you use only one or two key words combined with the ampersand (no extra spaces): For the series Rodale's Successful Organic Gardening use rodale&organic

[3.2.6] Searching the Notes

Any additional information about a book may be included in the Notes field of the catalogue, including:

• The names of anyone else involved in the book
• Previous titles, or variations of a title
• Contents (usually for multi-volume works)
• Abstracts (only for books with significant herb-related content). The abstracts are original to the TBG.

TRY THIS

	Type your search term(s) in the Notes field. Try to keep the search as simple as possible. Use word stemming, especially avoiding plurals, so that you don't narrow the search unnecessarily.
	Try synonyms for your search term, if possible. If a search for herbs&latin name is unsuccessful (0 results), try herbs&botanical name (11 results). For even better results, use truncation: herbs&botanic&name (19 results).
	If you do find a useful book, examine the language used in the notes or abstract to see if you can pick up any pertinent words or phrases for further searching.

THIS WON'T WORK

	Using too many search terms: herbs&cooking&edible&recipes. Keep it simple.
	Using search terms in the Notes field which should go elsewhere, for example combining the author and the subject: tolley&herbs
	NOTE: this search would work as a General keyword search

[3.2.7] Combining fields in Advanced Search

You may enter search terms in more than one field of the Advance Search form. The default search mechanism of the On-line Catalogue is the Boolean AND. This means that the software will automatically retrieve records containing ALL the terms that you enter. You can change the operator to OR (thereby widening your search) by clicking on the menu arrow at the bottom of the search boxes and selecting OR.

The illustration shows how to look for a record that has the subject herbs AND
contains any or all of the words cooking OR recipe OR culinary.

[4] SEARCHING THE ON-LINE PERIODICALS CATALOGUE

[4.1] GENERAL SEARCH FOR PERIODICAL ARTICLES

The first option offered to you on the search screen is a General Search. This search automatically looks for the words you want in several fields: Subject, Article Title, Author, Notes, or Periodical Title. Type your query into the space provided on the screen and click on the Search button, or press <Enter>.

TRY THIS

	Begin your search by being as specific as possible. If this search is unsuccessful, try a more general term or a synonym for the original word. For example, if a search for remedy fails, try medicinal.
	Widen your search by combining search terms with / (OR): medic/remed will retrieve records containing either one of these terms. NOTE USE OF WORD STEMS FOR MEDICINAL AND REMEDY.
	Broad search terms will bring more results. A search for herbs will bring more results than a search for thyme.
	Refine your search by combining search terms with & (AND). Articles on medicinal herbs could be found by using herbs&reme, herbs&medic, or herbs&heal.

THIS WON'T WORK

Do not use punctuation! The software used to search the WebPAC database refuses to recognize apostrophes, quotation marks, parentheses, or brackets.

[4.2] ADVANCED SEARCH FOR PERIODICAL ARTICLES

The advanced search allows you to look for keywords in Subject, Article Title, Author, Notes, and Periodical Title.

[4.2.1] Searching for a subject

The subject field refers to formal subject headings given to an article by the Library. In the Periodicals catalogue, botanical names are used as subject headings.

TRY THIS

	Find the catalogue record of an article that you know is on the subject you are looking for. Look in the record for the subject heading and then use that subject heading in your search to find more articles on the same topic.
	Use just one word or part of a word (stemming) if you are not sure what a formal subject heading might be. For example, using the word water will retrieve articles on the subject of Water gardens; if you had used the term water gardening, you would have had no results.
	Combine the words of the subject with & (no spaces). The word order of some subject headings is not obvious. Using butterflies&attract will retrieve records with the heading Butterflies, Attracting of.

THIS WON'T WORK

Restricting your search to the subject field will not necessarily retrieve all articles that include a subject. For example, a general search using the keyword herbs retrieves 163 records; a search for the subject Herbs brings up 96 titles.

[4.2.2] Searching using the title of an article

You can find an article if you know the title or a part of the title.

TRY THIS

In the Title box, type one of these terms (capitalization not necessary) without any punctuation:

	The entire title: healing herbs from your garden
	The first few words of the title: healing herbs
	A keyword from the title: healing
	Words you remember from the title, connected by an ampersand and with no spaces between the parts: garden&healing

THIS WON'T WORK

	Using the complete title with the words in the wrong order, or with a spelling mistake.
	Using punctuation. The software used to search the WebPAC database refuses to recognize apostrophes, quotation marks or brackets.
	Using the subtitle in a Title search. If the subtitle is all you know, use it in a general keyword search.

[4.2.3] Searching for an author

If you know the name of the author you can type the name, surname first, in the Author search field. The names of co-authors, illustrators, photographers and other persons responsible for the content of an article may also be found by searching in this field.

TRY THIS

In the Title box, type one of these terms (capitalization not necessary) without any punctuation:

	In the Author box, type the author's name (no capitals needed). If the first attempt fails try simplifying the search term. The full name, surname first, followed by a comma: harris, marjorie Surname, comma, and initials: harris, m Surname only: harris Use word stemming to allow for errors in spelling: harr
	Search for more than one author by combining names with & (no spaces): beattie&gray. However, this situation is not commonly found with periodical articles
	Secondary names may be found by searching the Notes field

THIS WON'T WORK

	Typing the name with the surname last: Marjorie Harris
	Leaving out the comma between the surname and the first name or initial

[4.2.4] Searching the Notes

Any additional information about an article may be included in the Notes field of the catalogue. However, few records in the Periodicals catalogue have detailed notes.

TRY THIS

	Type your search term(s) in the Notes field. Try to keep the search as simple as possible. Use word stemming, especially avoiding plurals, so that you don't narrow the search unnecessarily.
	Try synonyms for your search term, if possible. If a search for herb&design is not successful (0 results), try to think of another way of expressing the same idea: herb&plan (36 results).
	Try to simplify your search terms. If a search for herb&garden plan is unsuccessful (0 results), simplify your terms: herb&plan (36 results).
	If you feel you have too many results, refine your search by adding terms using an ampersand (&): herb&garden&plan (4 results). Remember that truncating words and using word stems will allow the computer to find more results.
	If you do find a useful article, examine the language used in the notes to see if you can pick up any pertinent words or phrases for further searching.

[4.2.5] Searching for a periodical

In this field you may search by using:

• The entire title: The Herb Quarterly
• A word from the title: Herb
• Words from the title in any order joined by an ampersand (no spaces): quarterly&herb

TRY THIS

	Limit your search by including the year of publication as a search term: herb quarterly&1998. Catalogue records for periodicals begin with 1995.
	Limit your search by including the date of publication as a search term: herb&september or herb&winter

[4.2.6] Combining fields in Advanced Search

You may enter search terms in more than one field of the Advance Search form. The default search mechanism of the On-line Catalogue is the Boolean AND. The software will automatically retrieve records containing all the terms. You can also change the operator to OR by clicking on the menu arrow at the bottom of the search boxes and selecting OR.

This illustration shows that in the on-line periodical catalogue, an advanced search may
be made for a subject using a botanical name as the search term.

[5] GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Boolean operator: A command (symbolized by &, or !) used to combine search terms in order to produce a desired effect.

Catalogue record, see record

Click: To tap on a mouse button, pressing it down and then immediately releasing it. Note that clicking a mouse button is different from pressing (or dragging) a mouse button, which implies that you hold the button down without releasing it. The phrase to click on means to select (a screen object) by moving the mouse pointer to the object's position and clicking a mouse button. All of the onscreen objects in the on-line catalogue require only a single click. (www.webopedia.com) See Doubleclick

Database: A collection of information organized in such a way that a computer program can quickly select desired pieces of data. You can think of a database as an electronic filing system. (www.webopedia.com)

Display screen: The display part of a monitor. Most display screens work under the same principle as a television, using a cathode ray tube (CRT). Consequently, the term CRT is often used in place of display screen. (www.webopedia.com)

Doubleclick: Some computer programs can be selected and then opened by clicking the left mouse button rapidly twice while the cursor (arrow) is resting on an icon.

Field: Part of a record containing specific category of information, such as an author's name or a title.

ISBN: International Standard Book Number.

Keyword: A significant word or phrase in the Title, Author, Subject, Note, or Series of a record in an online catalog or bibliographic database which can be used as a search term in a free-text search to retrieve all the records containing it. (ODLIS)

Menu: A list indicating the options available to the user. Using the mouse to click on an item in the menu will bring you to the onscreen page.

Navigation bar: A series of options, usually in the form of clickable icons, or text links arranged in a row along the left side of the screen, indicating the main categories under which the information contained in the subpages of a Web site is organized.

On-Line: Users are considered on-line when they are connected to a computer service through a modem. That is, they are actually on the line. (www.webopedia.com)

Query: Search criteria intended to retrieve records.

Record: A unit of information in a database, associated with some kind of item. In the On-line Catalogue each record is associated with a book, video, CD-ROM, or article from a periodical.

Search field, see Field

Search term: Selected word or words that should lead to finding the record of a book or article in the catalogue. The term may be very specific (an author's name or a title of a book); it may come from a fixed list of words (the Library's list of formal Subject headings); or it may come from the user's own vocabulary (natural language).

Software: Computer instructions or data. Anything that can be stored electronically is software. The storage devices and display devices are hardware. (www.webopedia.com)

Subject heading: The most specific word or phrase, selected from a list of preferred terms, which describes the subject, or one of the subjects, of a work. Every book, video, CD-ROM, and periodical article in the Library is assigned one or more subject headings. (ODLIS)

Truncation: Dropping the end of a word in a keyword search to retrieve variants containing the root. Truncation is particularly useful in retrieving both the singular and the plural forms of a word in the same search. As a general rule, it is unwise to truncate to fewer than four characters (example: art retrieves "artisan," "artist," "artistic," "artistry," and "artwork," but also "artichoke," "artillery," etc.) (ODLIS) See Word stem.

URL: Abbreviation of Uniform Resource Locator, the global address of documents and other resources on the World Wide Web. (www.webopedia.com)

Window: An enclosed, rectangular area on a computer screen on which information is displayed.

Word stem: Letters at the beginning of word, or in the middle of a word, which can be used to find the word during a search. For example, the word stem horti used as a search term will retrieve records containing horticulture, horticultural, horticulturalist or horticulturist.

Reference sources:

ODLIS: Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science http://lu.com/odlis/index.cfm webopedia.com http://www.webopedia.com

[6] LEARN MORE ABOUT EFFECTIVE SEARCHING

Using the mouse

www.hplibrary.org/programs/web_mouseclas/mouse_class.htm

This tutorial from the Highland Park Public Library in Illinois is aimed at new users. It uses basic terminology; incorporates games designed to build mousing skills; followed by more advanced exercises.

Internet searching

www.rba.co.uk/search/compare.pdf
This site works as an easy reference sheet for the differences between search engines. It also gives a summary of the different things each will do. (Your computer must have Adobe Acrobat Reader software, freely obtainable via many Web sites.)

www.orst.edu/Dept/eli/feb1996.html
This site gives you strategies for searching the net and exercises for practicing your skills.

Boolean operators

http://www.brightplanet.com/deepcontent/tutorials/Search/part4.asp