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Keyword Search Hints
You can type a single word, such as a place name or a word
from the title
Entering more than one keyword is automatically interpreted as
a Boolean ‘and’ search. Thus entering 'westminster aquarium zoological’
will by default search for records which contain all these words.
Precise phrases can be searched for by the use of double
quotes (") at the beginning and end. Thus, entering "westminster aquarium"
will search for the exact phrase in the catalogue.
To perform a Boolean 'or' in your search query use '|' or 'OR'
e.g. 'aquarium | aquatic' or 'aquarium OR aquatic'.
In order to exclude a word from your search results prefix the
word with '-' e.g. 'aquarium -zoological' will search for records
containing the word 'aquarium' but which do not contain the word 'zoological'.
Please note that the excluded word cannot be at the start of a search as it
might produce too many results. The word 'not' is treated as an ordinary
keyword.
Parts of words (3 characters minimum) can be entered in
conjunction with the asterisk key (*). Thus ‘aqu*’ will return all
records containing aquatic, aquaria, aquarium etc. Truncation can only be used
at the end of words.
The search distinguishes between the accented version of a
word and the unaccented version. To obtain all the records containing a desired
word it may be necessary to enter both versions of the word as keywords.
The quick search, on the main page, allows retrieval of
records for entered keywords from any part of the catalogue record. The
selected group of records will appear in ‘search results’. From this display,
either the Evan number or thumbnail illustration may be chosen to see the
record, or illustration, in detail.
The simple search allows retrieval of records through keyword
and date range. The selected group of records will appear in ‘search results’.
From this display, either the Evan number or thumbnail illustration may be
chosen to see the record, or illustration, in detail.
Some names have a preferred form, and it is this variant which
occurs on the catalogue record. The full list of names and their variants can
be found in the 'browse' index for names, accessed from the left-hand side of
the page.
The advanced search allows retrieval of records through
indexes for headings, names, genre and subject terms in addition to keyword
searches. For information on what is contained in these areas of the record,
see About the records. Please note that it is not possible to search by size of
item. The selected group of records will appear in ‘search results’. From this
display, either the Evan number or thumbnail illustration may be chosen to see
the record, or illustration, in detail.
Some names have a preferred form, and it is this variant which
occurs on the catalogue record. The full list of names and their variants can
be found in the 'browse' index for names, accessed from the left-hand side of
the page.