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Boolean Searches
With a Boolean search, you can do complex, precise searches by typing CCL (Common Command Language) search commands. The search command can include the following parts:
- The text for which you are searching
- The access points (fields) you want to search; for example, author or title (see "Search Access Point (Field) Codes")
- Operators (connectors) that link one part of the search with another
Example:
To find the works of author Asimov published in or after 1970, you type the following command:
AU=asimov AND PD >= 1970
AU specifies the access point Author. The search text for this access point is asimov. AND is the Boolean operator connecting the two conditions of this search (the author and the date). PD specifies the access point Publication Date. The search text for this access point is 1970. The symbol >= stands for the relative operator greater than or equal to.Boolean Operators
Tip:
Advanced searching also offers Boolean operators which you can use without typing the CCL command statement. See "Advanced Searches".The Boolean operators And, Or, and Not combine search terms:
Example:
AU=isaac asimov AND TI=planets
Finds only the items written by Isaac Asimov that have the word planets in the title.
Example:
AU=isaac asimov OR TI=planets
Finds all items written by Isaac Asimov and all items with the word planets in the title by any author, including Asimov.
If you have a number of terms to combine with OR, type the command this way:
AU={list}asimov, dick, ballard, lem, capek{/list}
You can insert as many terms as you need between {list} and {/list}
Example:
AU=isaac asimov NOT TI=planets
Finds only those items written by Isaac Asimov that do not have the word planets in the title.If you use multiple operators in the same search command, use parentheses to group the operations to be performed.
To search for text that includes an operator or special character as part of the search text, put the text in double quotation marks. For example, to find the title Bud, Not Buddy, type this command:
TI = "bud not buddy"Relative Operators
Relative operators are symbols that compare search terms:
Example:
PD >= 1987
This example finds items published in or after 1987. PD specifies the publication date access point. See "Search Access Point (Field) Codes" for access point codes.Example:
KW=solar system AND PD < 1932
This example finds items published before 1932 that have the words "solar system" in any record field. KW specifies the keyword access point. See "Search Access Point (Field) Codes" for access point codes.Search Access Point (Field) Codes
Use these access point codes to specify what fields to search:
LA (Language) Codes
These are some common codes to use with the language access point (LA) in a Boolean (CCL) search. Use the code, not the language name. For example, to specify English, type LA=ENG.
Note:
You can see a complete list of language codes at the Library of Congress Web site:
www.loc.gov/marc/languagesTA (Target Audience) Codes
Use these codes with the target audience (TA) access point in a Boolean (CCL) search. Use the code, not the target audience name. For example, to specify a preschool audience, type TA=a.
Note:
Not all bibliographic records include target audience information.TOM (Format/Type of Material) Codes
Use these codes with the Type of Material access point (TOM) in a Boolean (CCL) search. Use the format/type of material code, not the name. For example, to specify DVDs, type TOM=DVD.
Do a search by typing a command
Follow these steps to search by typing a Common Command Language (CCL) command.
Note:
For more information about Common Command Language, see "Boolean Operators", "Relative Operators", and "Search Access Point (Field) Codes".
- Select Search from the menu bar, and select Boolean from the Search submenu.
- If you want to have the search results sorted by a category other than the one displayed, click the Sort by arrow symbol and select a sorting option.
Relevance sorts titles in the search results so that those that seem most likely to meet your needs appear first in the list. Most Popular sorts titles in the search results so that the titles most frequently checked out or requested over the past 120 days appear first in the list.
When you select a sorting option that combines two categories, the results are sorted by the first category, then by the second.
Note:
If your library handles course reserves, you can limit your search to materials reserved for courses. Click the Course reserve items only check box. For more information, see "Find an item on reserve".
- If you want to set databases to search, click Select Databases, and select databases to search (see "Search multiple databases").
Tip:
You can set search options for the Boolean search instead of typing the command variables. For more information about search options, see "Focusing Searches".
- Type the CCL command in the Boolean search for box, keeping the following tips in mind:
- Letter case is ignored.
- You can type a part of a word and use a wildcard character. The wildcard character asterisk (*) represents the rest of the word. For example, if you type King*, the results include words such as King, Kingsley, and Kingford. The question mark (?) represents exactly one character. For example, wom?n finds woman and women.
- Use parentheses to group search terms.
Example:
The following command finds works of the author Asimov which have titles with the word foundation, except audio books published after 1990:
(AU=asimov AND TI=foundation) NOT (TOM=abk and PD>1990)
Terms inside the parentheses are processed first, then the entire command.
Example:
To find the title Bud, Not Buddy, type the following command:
TI = "bud not buddy"Note:
Some searches may find thousands of titles. You can focus searches to yield fewer but more useful titles. See "Focusing Searches".
- To work with the results, do any of the following actions:
- Navigate the results list and view more information about the titles. See "Viewing Title Information".
- Narrow your search results or do related searches. See "Narrowing or Widening Results".
- Add a title to a title list. See "Working with Search Results".
- Place a request for a title, or purchase a title. See "Obtaining Materials".
Related Information
- Additional search methods - See the following topics:
- Course reserves - If your library holds items reserved for courses at a school or college, you may be able to search for course reserve information and materials. See "Finding Course Reserves".
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