What do those little icons below the search bar in the catalog mean?

The round icons are links to three special search features that open on the search page, and which aren't available in the main search box.

Browse search

Click on this icon if you know how something begins, such as a title, author last name, series, etc.

  1. Type in your term(s).
  2. Click the appropriate green button: author, title, subject, series, or magazine title.

For example, try Percy Jackson and click the "Title" button to find all titles beginning with that phrase.

Call number browse

Click on this icon to search by item call number in a single library.

  1. Type in the start of a known call number e.g. 398.6.
  2. Choose a library.

You'll see a list of holdings, in order of call number. Try J DVD for kids' DVDs, SPA for Spanish language titles, or E for children's picture books.

Power search

Click on this icon to open a search that allows Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT).

  1. Type in your terms (author, title, subject etc). You can change the dropdown to have more than one of a type, for instance two authors.
  2. Choose AND, OR, or NOT.
  3. Search.

Compare a search for cat vs. one for cat OR kitten OR feline, or try a search for books by Patterson NOT James.

Important information for browse, call number, and power searches!

  • Don't use the back button in your browser, or it will break the embedded search. Instead, use the Go backPrevious, and Next buttons in the blue bar at the top or bottom of the embedded search frame.
  • Author names must be entered last name first with a comma, for example Austen, Jane or Whitehead, Colson.
  • When searching for a phrase, enclose it within single quotes, rather than double, for example 'bees'.

Still have questions? Please contact us!