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Search

In the search bar above (see illustration below) you can compose a search operation by entering one or more search terms.

Menu 1 Menu 2 Menu 3

search bar

Above the search field there are three drop-down menus with which you can modify your search operation. Once you have entered your search operation, click on the search button. The search results are then displayed on the screen.

See also:

1.  Simple search

The search bar is the point from which you coordinate your search activities. You can use the search bar to:

  • Enter search terms;
  • Perform search operations;
  • Change standard search options to suit your needs.

To search bibliographical data, you must enter a search operation in the horizontal search field, next to the search button. A search operation consists of a search term or a combination of search terms. A search term is a sequence of characters without spaces (you cannot use the characters &, |, ~, (), / unless they are preceded by a backslash, \. For example: ups \& downs).

For example: The search engine regards 'bookplates' as one search term, while 'book plates' is regarded as two search terms. Exception: the author's complete name is regarded as one search term. For example: bakker, bas de.

If you want to search for a specific phrase, you must use quotation marks, for example: "fourth symphony".

The search engine is not case sensitive. Your can use either upper or lower case letters or you can mix capital and small letters. This has no influence on the results of your search operation.

Once you have entered a search operation, click on the search button. To interrupt a search operation, use your web browser's standard button.

1.1  Drop-down menus

Above the search field you will see a number of drop-down menus in the search bar with which you can modify a search operation. The options in the menus allow you to further refine your search in the database.

Menu 1

In the first menu you can select one of three search methods:

  • Search (and);
    The standard selection is the search method AND. A search operation of two or more search terms shows the titles that contain all the search terms entered. For example: einstein AND gravity searches for all titles that contain both einstein and gravity.
  • Search (or);
    In the menu you can also select the OR search method. A search operation with two or more search terms shows all titles that contain at least one of the search terms. For example: einstein OR gravity searches for all titles that contain either einstein or gravity or both.
  • Browse;
    With the selection Browse you can scan the index for the search terms you have entered.

After a search it is possible to enlarge, restrict, etc. the results. For more information see: Perform a search operation on the search result.

For additional information about modifying search operations, see Extensive search.

Menu 2

In the second menu you can select a search key with which you can further modify a search operation:

> All words (XALL)
Select "All words (XALL)" if you want to search different parts simultaneously, such as title, keyword and summary.
> Keywords and subjects (XTHM)
Select "Keywords and subjects (XTHM)" if you are searching with subject headings and keywords of the title in any order.
> Subjects (XSLW)
Select "Subjects (XSLW)" if you are searching with a GOO keyword.
> Basic classification (XBKL)
Select "Basic classification (XBKL)" if you are searching with a basic classification.
> Table of contents (XTXT)
Select "Table of contents (XTXT)" if you want to search for index of contents.
> Person, Author (XPRS)
Select "Person, Author (XPRS)" if you want to search for a specific person.
> Keywords of titles (XTIT)
Select "Keywords of titles (XTIT)" if you want to search the titles of books, magazines, conference proceedings or magazine articles or other material.
> Beginning of a title (XTPR)
Select "Beginning of a title (XTPR)", if you want to search for title as string (word by word in exact order).
> Beginning of a periodical/ serial title (XZTI)
Select "Beginning of a periodical/ serial title (XZTI)" if you want to search for beginning of the title of journals or series as a string, that is, word for word in exact sequence.
> Keywords of a periodical/ serial title (XSER)
Select "Keywords of a periodical/ serial title (XSER)" if you want to search magazine titles.
> Publication place, publisher, printer (XVER)
Select "Publication place, publisher, printer (XVER)" if you want to search for place and publisher names.
> Conference (XKON)
Select "Conference (XKON)" if you want to search for titles which have been published on the occasion of a conference (in any order).
> Corporate body, institution (XKOR)
Select "Corporate body, institution (XKOR)" if you want to search for publications published by a specific organization (in any order).
> Publication year (XJAH)
Select "Publication year (XJAH)" if you want to search for titles which has been published in a specific year.
> Any number (XNUM)
Select "Any number (XNUM)" if you know the ISBN or ISSN number for a specific publication.
> Shelfmark (XSGB)
Select "Shelfmark (XSGB)" if you want to serach for the shelf mark.
> Provenance (XPRN)
Select Provenance (XPRN) if you know the origin of old prints.

For additional information regarding search keys, see Special search keys.

Menu 3

With the third menu you can sort the results of your search operation. You can sort by:

  • year of publication.
  • relevance.

By default titles are sorted by year of publication (JVU). The most recent publications are then displayed first.

You can also sort publications by relevance. This means they are displayed in sequence of importance. Titles that are most to the point are displayed first. What determines that one title is more relevant than another title? The search engine analyses the contents of the title using a combination of the following factors:

  • Frequency: the number of times a search term appears in a title.
  • Compactness: the relative length of the titles found.
  • Reverse work frequency: terms that seldom appear in the entire database weigh more heavily.