Brief guide to searching

There are two main ways to search the catalogue, simple and advanced searching.

Simple search

The simple search is accessed via the Google-style search box in the top right-hand corner of the catalogue homepage. By default, the simple search will search across the Title, Scope and Content, and Physical Description fields. Where more than one term is entered, the default is an AND search. See the 'What are acceptable searches?' page for samples of simple searches.

Advanced search

The advanced search enables you to perform any-text-field searches, and also to search specifically on certain fields.

Refine advanced search criteria

By default, a search will look for the word or words you have entered. However you can choose to change the default search criteria by clicking the 'Refine Search Criteria' option. There are three ways to refine the search option:

• With all the words
• With at least one of the words
• Without the words

See the 'What are acceptable searches?' page for samples of advanced searches.