Search WorldCat interactively

Jump to: Summary of searching WorldCat changes in version 1.30 | Use the Command Line Search area | Command Line Search guidelines | Use the Keyword/Numeric Search area | Keyword/Numeric Search guidelines | Tips for using the Search WorldCat dialog | Search expanded indexes for words, phrases, and whole phrases | Additional indexes now available | Condensed Keyword/Numeric Search index list:10 most frequently used | Enter keyword searches | Enter numeric searches | Enter derived searches | Use wildcards, truncation, and plural stemming | Use non-Latin script search terms

See also, Browse WorldCat.

Quick Reference: Jump to the following tables in this topic:

Word, phrase, and whole phrase search indexes
Keyword/Numeric search indexes: short list
Selected numeric indexes
Derived search indexes
Keyword search stopwords
Derived corporate/conference name stopwords

Summary of searching WorldCat changes in version 1.30

This Help topic gives details on the following major changes in searching WorldCat:

Search dialog is streamlined. To search WorldCat for a bibliographic record, open the Search WorldCat dialog: Cataloging > Search > WorldCat (or press <F2>). The dialog displays two areas to enter a search:

• Command Line Search. For experienced searchers who know how to enter search terms, index labels, qualifiers, and Boolean operators. Enter any type of search using full search syntax.
  
  Use the Command Line Search to enter the following searches:

• Keyword

• Numeric

• Derived

• Browse (must precede browse term with Scan (sca) command)
  
  Alternative: To browse (scan indexes) using a guided browse interface, open the Browse WorldCat dialog using Cataloging > Browse > WorldCat (or press <Ctrl><F2>). See Browse WorldCat.

• Keyword/Numeric Search. For searchers who prefer to be guided through entering a search. Enter search terms and use text boxes and lists to select/enter indexes, Boolean operators, and qualifiers.
  
  Use the Keyword/Numeric Search to enter the following searches:

• Keyword

• Numeric

• Derived

Search for words, phrases, and whole phrases. You can now search or browse most indexes using:

• Single words (or words enclosed in quotation marks) anywhere in a field

• Phrases (multiple words in a single subfield)

• Whole phrases (multiple words across subfields)

Always use index labels and punctuation in Command Line searches. In most cases, using index labels and punctuation with search terms is required in the Command Line.

Two exceptions: Index labels and punctuation are not required for a derived search or an ISBN when either is the first or only search in the Command Line.

Between the index label and the search term, use:

• A colon (:) to indicate a word search.

• An equal sign (=) to indicate a phrase/whole phrase search.

• Index label ending in w (distinguishes whole phrase searching from phrase searching)

See the long list of indexes in the Keyword/Numeric Search area of the Search WorldCat dialog. It shows all available indexes with their labels and punctuation.

Number searches now require that you enter all numbers and letters. Enter an entire government document number (gn:), publisher number (mn:) (formerly music publisher number), and ISBN (include the x at the end, if present)..

Many additional search and browse indexes are available. For a comprehensive list of indexes, labels, and fields/subfields indexed, see Technical Bulletin 251: Connexion WorldCat Searching.

Use the Command Line Search area

Use the Command Line Search in the Search WorldCat dialog to enter complete search syntax for any type of WorldCat search:

Tip: To use only the Command Line search, collapse the Search WorldCat dialog: Click Expand/Collapse. Click again to expand the dialog. The client retains the setting until you change it.

Command Line Search guidelines

Type the search in a single string with correct search syntax: search terms, index labels if required, order, and spacing.

• Omit the Find command (fin) from a keyword, numeric, or derived search.

• Include the Scan command to browse (scan indexes):

1. Type the Scan command (sca), the index label with appropriate punctuation (colon (:) for a word index or equal sign (=) for a phrase or whole phrase index), and then the browse term.
   
   Examples:
   To browse for Dewey decimal number 615, type sca dd:615
   To browse for personal name whole phrase Henry James, type sca pnw=james, henry 1843-1916

This is a change in version 1.30: You must use an equal sign to browse for a phrase. If you enter a phrase following a colon, the system only searches for the first word of the phrase.
Example: sca ti:gone with the wind only browses for the word gone. You must type sca ti=gone with the wind.

2. Click Search.
   
   See also, Browse WorldCat.

• Enter search terms. Keyword/numeric and browse indexes are now searchable by word, phrase, or whole phrase.

• Precede keyword/numeric and browse search terms with index labels and punctuation. Use a colon (:) for words or an equal sign (=) for phrases and whole phrases.
  
  Examples:
  Word search: pn:bellow saul (finds any instance of the words bellow and saul in fields covered by the Personal Name index)
  Phrase search: pn=bellow saul (finds any instance of the exact sequence of the words bellow saul in any subfield in fields covered by the Personal Name index)

• Index labels are optional for a Command Line derived search if it is the first or only search; otherwise the index label is required.
  
  Examples
  dea,in,ve,
  la french and td:dea,in,ve,

• Enter an OCLC Control Number search with the index label (no:) or precede the number with an asterisk (*) or number sign (#).

• Use index labels for all other numeric indexes.
  
  Exception: The index label and punctuation are optional for an ISBN search if it is the first or only search.

• Follow index labels with appropriate punctuation:

• Use a colon (:) for a word (keyword or numeric) index, derived search index, or browse index

Note: In a word search, you must enclose multiple words in quotation marks to find only the exact sequence of the words.

• Use an equal sign (=) for phrase and whole phrase indexes

• Index labels ending in the letter w indicate whole phrase indexes

• Do not use spaces before or after punctuation
  
  See details of word, phrase, and whole phrase searching.

• Optional use of proximity operators. In a word search, type proximity operators with (w) or near (n) with numbers (1 to 25) to find multiple terms in one index that have a specified number of intervening words, or enclose words in quotation marks to search for an exact sequence of words.
  Examples:
  ti:natural w1 foods or ti:"natural foods"

• Optional–combine searches. Type Boolean operators and, or, not to combine multiple search terms for different indexes.

• Optional–qualify searches. Type qualifiers to focus a search. Begin each qualifier with a slash or with an index label followed by a colon (:).
  
  Use slashes or index labels and colons with the following four types of qualifiers: type of material, years, microform, or source (/dlc).
  
  Use index labels only (no slash) to qualify a search by Internet/non-Internet or by language.
  Example
  la:english and ti:thesaurus/bks/1960-5/dlc

• Include only one slash qualifier of any type. Slash qualifiers must be the last element of the search statement.

The following is an example of incorrect use of qualifiers in a search:

ti:thesaurus/bks/vis/1960-5/dlc and la:english

This search will fail because it has two format qualifiers and slash qualifiers are not at the end of the full search.

• Optional–use wildcards, truncation, or plural stemming. In keyword searches, type symbols for wildcards (# or ?), truncation (*), and plural stemming (+) in place of characters or endings to retrieve different forms of a word.

Notes:

• Wildcard, truncation, and plural stemming symbols must be preceded by at least three characters.

• These symbols are not supported for non-Latin script search terms.

• More indexes are now available for searching and browsing WorldCat (see Technical Bulletin 251: Connexion WorldCat Searching for a complete list with fields/subfields indexed). See also a list of former WorldCat indexes that changed.

Use the Keyword/Numeric Search area

Use the Keyword/Numeric Search area in the Search WorldCat dialog to enter a guided search. Enter search terms in text boxes and select Boolean operators and qualifiers from lists. The client sends the correct search syntax automatically.

Keyword/Numeric Search guidelines

• Type a search term (word, phrase, whole phrase, number, or derived) in any of three Search for boxes. (Note that you can now search indexes for words, phrases, or whole phrases.)

• Optional–combine searches in a single index. Enter multiple words in the Search for box to search for words in the same index. Type proximity operators with (w) or near (n) to combine the search terms and add numbers (1 to 25) to specify the number of intervening words. Enclose words in quotation marks to find the exact sequence of words.
  Examples:
  natural w1 foods or "natural foods"

• Select an index from the lists to the right of the Search for boxes.

Note: You can also type an index label (with a colon or equal sign) preceding the search in the Search for box to override any selection in the index list.

• For an OCLC Control Number search, select the index from the list, or precede the number with the index label (no:), an asterisk (*), or the number sign (#).

• Optional–combine searches in different indexes. To combine searches in multiple Search for boxes, use the lists to the left of the Search for boxes to specify Boolean operators (and, or, not).

• Optional–use wildcards, truncation, and plural stemming. For keyword searches, type symbols for wildcards (# or ?), truncation (*), and plural stemming (+) in place of characters or endings to expand a search term.

Notes:

• Wildcard, truncation, and plural stemming symbols must be preceded by at least three characters.

• These symbols are not supported for non-Latin-script search terms.

Tips for using the Search WorldCat dialog

• Collapse the dialog.
  To use the Command Line for most searches, collapse the Search WorldCat dialog: Click Expand/Collapse. To restore the full view, click Expand/Collapse again.

• Active search area displayed in bold.
  The client sends only one search at a time (the last search you entered). In the full view of the Search WorldCat dialog, the client highlights the active search area in boldface type.

• Retain searches. To keep the last search(es), click the Retain Search check box. The client supplies the last search whenever the dialog is closed and reopened.

• Clear search boxes.
  Click Clear Search to clear all search entry boxes. The client deletes search terms and qualifiers from text boxes but retains the last ten searches in the Search for lists and, in the Keyword/Numeric search area, retains the last index selections.

Search expanded indexes for words, phrases, or whole phrases

Searching and browsing using word, phrase, and whole phrase indexes is now available for most keyword/numeric and browse indexes.

Examples:
Title (ti:)
Title Phrase (ti=)
Title Whole Phrase (tiw=)

The following table shows how Connexion searches an index for words, phrases, and whole phrases and gives examples and guidelines:

Additional WorldCat indexes now available

The number of WorldCat indexes has increased. New and existing indexes were first available in the Connexion browser in November 2004. They are now also available in version 1.30 of the Connexion client (as of March 2005).

For a list of changes in former indexes and labels, see Revised searching WorldCat index labels.

For a complete list of all available WorldCat indexes and labels with fields and subfields indexed, see Technical Bulletin 251: Connexion WorldCat Searching.

Condensed Keyword/Numeric Search index list: 10 most frequently used

The following table shows the 10 most frequently used indexes (with labels and punctuation). These comprise the short index list in the Keyword/Numeric Search area of the Search WorldCat dialog. The table gives examples of search terms:

See Technical Bulletin 251: Connexion WorldCat Searching for a comprehensive list of WorldCat search indexes, labels, and fields/subfields indexed.

Tip on OCLC control number index: The OCLC number index is not included in the short list of indexes, since many people routinely precede an OCLC number search with an asterisk (*) or the number sign (#) (you can do this in either the Command Line or Keyword/Numeric Search boxes).

To add it to a short list for a keyword Search for box:

Select the OCLC Number index in the long list, use it for a search, and when you return to the short list, the client adds it. It remains your default index from session to session.

You can then reserve that Search for box for OCLC number searches and use the other two keyword boxes to search other indexes (you can use the Search for boxes in any order).

Enter keyword searches

Command Line Search

Follow guidelines to enter a Command Line Search using full search syntax.

Keyword/Numeric Search

Follow guidelines to enter a guided Keyword/Numeric Search using text boxes and lists.

Keyword indexes have been expanded to include word, phrase, and whole phrase indexes.

Access method index (am:)

• Each punctuation mark is treated as a word division. Thus, www.oclc.org is treated as three separate words: www, oclc, and org.

• Omit http: and https:.

• Include stopwords when searching the Access Method index (am:).
  
  Example:
  To search for URL www.poets.org, type am:poets in the Command Line.

Internet qualifier (mt:)

• Use the Internet qualifier to limit results to Internet resources only or to non-Internet resources only.

• The system indexes only records containing field 856 with second indicator value <blank>, 0, or 1 as Internet. All other records are considered Non-Internet.

• For a Command Line Search, type mt:url to limit to Internet resources. To limit to non-Internet resources, enter not mt:url.

Stopwords

• Omit these words from keyword searches:
   

  a an and are as at be but by

  for from had has have he her his if

  in into is it its not of on or

  she so than their there this to was were

  when which with would you

For a comprehensive list of WorldCat search indexes, labels and field/subfields indexed, see Technical Bulletin 251: Connexion WorldCat Searching.

See also a list of changes in former WorldCat indexes.

Enter numeric searches

Command Line Search area

Follow guidelines to enter a Command Line Search using full search syntax.

Keyword/Numeric Search area

Follow guidelines to enter a guided Keyword/Numeric Search using text boxes and lists.

Guidelines for numeric searches

• In the Command Line Search area, always precede the search term with an index label and punctuation (use a colon (:) for numbers or an equal sign (=) for number phrases).

Exception: The index label and punctuation are optional for an ISBN search if it is the first or only search in the Command Line.

• Type all numbers and letters in all number searches, including ISBNs, government document numbers, and publisher numbers (formerly music publisher number).

Tip for entering ISBN. You must include the x if present in an ISBN. If you routinely enter ISBNs using the number keypad, you can continue to do so by typing the asterisk (*) on the keypad in place of the x to truncate the ISBN.

• Omit spaces in numbers.

• Class number searches

• Include periods when searching for a Dewey Decimal, Library of Congress, National Agricultural Library, Library Archives Canada, National Library of Medicine, or Universal Decimal class number.

• Delete all other punctuation.

• Delete spaces.
  
  Example:
  To search for National Agricultural Library class number (ag:) A280.29, type ag:a280.29  in the Command Line.

The following table lists six numeric indexes with index labels, examples, and guidelines:

For a comprehensive list of WorldCat search indexes, index labels, and fields/subfields indexed, see Technical Bulletin 251: Connexion WorldCat Searching.

See also a list of changes in former WorldCat indexes.

Enter derived searches

Command Line Search

Follow guidelines to enter a derived Command Line Search area using full search syntax.

In the Command Line Search:

• Enter a derived search without an index label if it is the first or only search in the Command Line; otherwise the index label is required.

• Include Boolean operators to combine derived searches and include qualifiers.

Keyword/Numeric Search

Follow guidelines to enter a derived Keyword/Numeric Search using text boxes and lists.

In the Keyword/Numeric Search:

• Use the correct format for each type of derived search (number of segments, characters per segment, number of commas). The system does not format derived names or titles automatically.

• Enter one derived search per Search for box and use lists to specify indexes, operators, and qualifiers.

Note: You can also type an index label (with a colon) preceding the search in the Search for box to override any selection in the index list.

How to enter derived searches

A derived search uses a specific number of initial characters from words in a name and/or title. The "derived" segments of the words are separated by commas. The number and pattern of letters and commas tells the system which WorldCat index to search.

The four derived search formats include the following required number of initial letters and commas:

• Title (td:) 3,2,2,1

• Personal name (pd:) 4,3,1

• Corporate/conference name (cd:)  =4,3,1

• Name/title (nd:) 4,4

Note: Even if a derived search has fewer than the number of words in a derived search sequence, you must type all required commas.
Example:
To search for the title Roots, type td:roo,,,

Guidelines for derived searches:

• Omit initial articles (a, an, the, and non-English equivalents).

• Include articles found within titles. Include letters, numerals, and these characters: & $ * % @ £ ♭  

• Exclude punctuation, diacritics, and these characters: - # / + =

• Use a circumflex (^) to narrow a search. For a name consisting of only two parts, type a circumflex in the third segment.
  Example:
  To search for Harvey, Henry, type harv,hen,^

• The circumflex is invalid in a derived title search.

• If a personal name begins with Mc or Mac followed by an uppercase letter, type m and omit c or ac.
  Example:
  To search for MacDonald, Marion B., type mdon,mar,b

• When constructing a Corporate/Conference Derived (cd:) search, omit the following stopwords from the first segment only. Also omit the stopwords when they appear at the beginning of a corporate/conference name in a Name/Title Derived (nd:). Include the stopwords when they are not the first element of a corporate/conference name.
   

  & a A Alabama Alaska American an and Arizona Association at Australia Board Bureau California Canada College Colloquium Colorado Commission Committee Commonwealth

  Conference Congress Connecticut Council Delaware Department Dept. Division East Federal Florida for France Georgia Great Britain Hawaii House Idaho Illinois in India Indiana

  Institute Institution International Iowa Joint Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Meeting Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana National Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico

  New York North North Carolina North Dakota of Office Ohio Oklahoma on Oregon Organization Parliament Pennsylvania Rhode Island School Seminar Senate Society South South Carolina South Dakota State

  Subcommittee Symposium Tennessee Texas the U.N. United Nations United States University US U.S. Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West West Virginia Wisconsin Workshop Wyoming

The following table lists the four derived search indexes and gives examples and guidelines:

Use wildcards, truncation, and plural stemming

When searching keyword or numeric indexes, use the following symbols to broaden a search:

• Use the # symbol or ? as wildcards (masking symbols) to match variant spellings:

• Replace one unknown character with the # symbol.
  
  Examples:
  adverti#e retrieves advertise and advertize
  wom#n retrieves both woman and women

• Replace multiple unknown characters with the ? or ?n symbol (n = number of characters; use single digits 1 through 9).
  
  Examples:
  computer? retrieves computer, computerization, or computerized
  col?r or colo?r retrieves records that contain color or colour
  int?net retrieves internet or intranet

• Use the * symbol to truncate a word or number to retrieve variant endings.
  
  Example:
  invest* retrieves investor, investing, investment fraud, etc.

• Use the + symbol at the end of a singular word to match plural forms ending in s or es.
  
  Example:
  business+ retrieves business or businesses

Notes:

• Wildcard, truncation, and plural stemming symbols must be preceded by at least three characters.

• These symbols cannot be used with non-Latin script search terms.

Use non-Latin script search terms

See more about using non-Latin scripts for cataloging. The following are search guidelines for using non-Latin script terms.

• The Search WorldCat dialog (Cataloging > Search > WorldCat or <F2>) supports entering searches in non-Latin scripts.

• Copy and paste non-Latin scripts into the Search WorldCat dialog from any Unicode-based file that is external to the client.

• Use the same WorldCat indexes (entering labels in Latin script) to search for both Latin and non-Latin script data. There are no separate indexes or index labels for retrieving non-Latin script records.

• Add the same qualifiers (using Latin script) to both Latin and  non-Latin script searches.

• Do not use truncation, wildcards, or plural stemming with non-Latin script searches.

• Derived searching is unavailable for non-Latin script data.

• See more details on display and sort order of search results that include records with non-Latin scripts.

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