LibAnswers

Keyword: This will search for the term in all areas of the record. Keep your topic to its key concepts for this search.

Author: Use if you know the author’s name. You can enter just the last name of the author, or if you know their full name enter is as last name, first name (Example: Dickens, Charles).

Title: Enter either the full title or just a few keywords from the title.

Subject: This is helpful if you are looking for numerous books on a topic. Check your subject guide for suggestions of subject headings that may be useful in your research.

The CALL NUMBER search allows you to search for a book by its call number. Your subject guide may provide suggestions on call numbers relating to your topic.

The advanced search will give you many options to choose from when searching for a book including keyword, author, title, and subject. Use these options together for a more concentrated search. 

TIP: When using power search, try BOOLEAN searching. Boolean describes the connecting word you use between your search terms such as AND, OR, & NOT.
Using these connectors allows you the ability to link search terms, so you can find articles that address multiple subjects. 

Adding OR between search terms will search for all records with one term OR the other (this is a broader search tool)

Using AND between words will search for all records with BOTH or ALL search terms applied.

If you use NOT between the terms, it will search for the FIRST word in your search string and NOT the other.

Example: Searching for “global warming” AND “Louisiana” will pull up resources that address both global warming and Louisiana.