Searching the Catalogue

There are multiple methods of finding what you are looking for in Borders Collections Online.

In ‘Find a record’ on the home page, you have the option to perform a single/multiple words search or select one of the popular search buttons.

Please note that this will return all relevant records. For a more precise result, use the ‘Advanced search’ option to specify the field(s) you wish to search, for example by searching by ‘Repository’.

‘Refine Search Criteria’ where possible or include ‘*’ to broaden results within the specific field(s), particularly when searching for a reference number.

Please be sure to check for pre-populated fields in any new search to avoid confusion.

If a search returns multiple results, the ‘Overview’ will include ‘Reference number’, ‘Title’ and ‘Date’. You can sort these fields alphabetically or by date order by clicking on the column heading. Note that ‘Title’ starts with the type of record - minutes, letter, etc. – so sorting by alphabetical order will normally bring together groups of very specific pieces of information.

To find out more information about a specific record, click ‘Reference number’ to see the full catalogue entry, and click again for any available hierarchy. It may be necessary to scroll down the tree to locate the relevant record(s).

To view a list of records in a collection that does not produce a hierarchy, try searching for the pre-fix reference (usually just the set of letters preceding the number) including ‘*’.

Additional tools that you may wish to use, where available, include:

‘Name Search’: use this tool to see a basic biography of an individual or organisation and a list of all records linked to that biography.

‘Place Search’: click on the Code for your chosen place to see all records linked to that place.

‘Term’: use this tool in Advanced Search as a way of filtering tagged records linked to the chosen subject.

The catalogue is an ongoing project. If you have any difficulty finding what you are looking for or wish to discuss accessing the collections, please contact collections@liveborders1.org.uk.