About the catalogue
What is in the catalogue?
The archive catalogue contains descriptions of records of unpublished material related to the history of Kew, its staff and botany more generally. A small number of the more important collections have been listed to file or volume level and some to page level, but most have a collection level record, summarising what is contained in each collection.
The archive catalogue is currently not comprehensive and many of Kew’s official papers are not included in the catalogue. If you cannot find what you are looking for, please contact the archives staff.
We are working to add summary records for all our personal collections i.e. those collections that relate to a particular individual, but are not necessarily “personal” in nature – they may relate to the individual’s work or research.
Published books, journals, pamphlets and artwork are not included in this catalogue, as these do not form part of the archive collections. Search the
library catalogue for published items and pamphlets, or contact the
illustrations team if you would like to find out more about the art collections.
How do I give feedback on the catalogue?
To help us improve our services, we welcome feedback about how the catalogue is working or about the records held within it. If you have a comment to make or a question to ask, please contact the
archives staff.
Brief guide to searching
There are two main ways to search the database, quick and advanced searching.
Quick search
The quick search is accessed via the “Google-style” search box in the centre of the catalogue
home page. By default, the quick search will search across the Title and Description fields. Where more than one term is entered, the default is an AND search.
By default, the quick search will search across the Title and 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
Searching on picklist fields
If the field on which you are searching is a “picklist” field (a field in which the content is restricted to a limited list) it will appear with a drop down list from which you can select your search term.
Searching Terms or Subjects
The Term and/or Subject fields may be options on the advanced search page.
Subject and Term may link to separate “authority file” databases from which you can select a subject or a term to search on.
To search in the subject and term fields, you can either:
Type a word into the Term search field and click Search.
Type a word into the Term search field and click the [Terms] button to the right of the field.
If the term you have entered exists in the authority file the term will be displayed along with any broader, narrower, related terms. It is then possible to browse across other terms. When you click Select, the term currently selected will copy across to the Advanced Search screen. If the term you have entered does not exist in the authority file you will have the option to either go back to the Advanced Search screen or browse all the top level terms.
See the “What are acceptable searches?” page for samples of advanced searches.
Any text
Words typed into this field will be searched for in all the catalogue record fields.
Collection title
This is the title of the collection e.g. Sir Joseph Hooker Papers. If you are searching for a specific collection, type the name into here. However, please note that papers relating to that individual might be held in other collections.
Item title
This is the title of a particular item, usually a volume or file within a collection at “file level” e.g. “Letters to J D Hooker ACL-BAL” or “Antarctic Manuscript”
Description
This is a description of what is in the volume or file in “file level” records. At “collection level”, it is a summary description of the papers within a particular collection.
Format
The format of the item e.g. manuscript papers, videos. This field has a drop-down pick list for you to select from.
Level
Archive collections are catalogued at varying levels. Level is the term for where the catalogue record sits within the catalogue structure. At Kew we use collection, series and file levels. See the
glossary for descriptions of what these are. If you are searching for the summary record (i.e. the collection level record) of a collection, select “collection” from the drop-down menu. If you want to see only file/volume level records, select “file” from the menu.
Subject
Subject headings are included in some of the catalogue records, enabling you to search for records relating to a particular subject. However, please note that not all records have these added to them. Plant names are also included in this field, although again not all records have these. You can also perform a free text search for plant names in the “any text” field.
Place name
Place name headings are included in some of the catalogue records, enabling you to search for records relating to a particular geographical location. Generally, only country and/or continent have been included. However, please note that not all records have associated place name headings.
Date
This is the date, or date range, of the item or collection. You can enter a specific date or a date range when searching e.g. 1837, 1910-1950, or 18th century.
Reference number
This will take the format of BOR/1/1 and is what is used to identify and retrieve a particular item within a collection. You will need this to order the item in the reading room or to order copies from us. To search using this, you will need to enter the exact reference number in this field e.g. JDH/1/1.
Quick Search
The quick search searches for words in the title and description fields of the catalogue database. It is accessed via the “Google-style” search box in centre of the catalogue
home page.
Type the word you wish to search for into the box and click the Search button.
You may wish to combine search terms in your simple searches using the Boolean “and, or, not” searching options:
+ represents Boolean And, meaning the search result must include this word
- represents Boolean Not, meaning the search result must exclude this word
| represents Boolean Or, meaning the search result may include this word
Place one of these symbols before a word or phrase to apply it. If no symbols are used, Boolean “And” is assumed.
For example:
Plant –collecting
searches all configured fields for the word 'Plant' and excludes any records with the word 'collecting' from the search results.
Typing a field name followed by a colon then a search term, means only that particular field will be searched. If no field names are specified, all configured fields are searched.
For example:
Title:Hooker
Searches for the word ‘Hooker’ in the Title field only, whereas:
William Hooker
Searches all configured fields for the word 'Hooker'.
It is important to enter search words/phrases carefully to ensure you find the intended results.
For example:
Title:William Hooker
Searches for records which have the word ‘William’ in the Title field and the word 'Hooker' in ANY configured field.
Use (double) quotes around a search term to return exact matching phrases.
For example:
"William Hooker"
Searches all configured fields only for the exact phrase 'William Hooker' i.e. the two words together with a space between, in the specified order.
For example:
William Hooker
Searches all configured fields for the words 'William' and 'Hooker' anywhere i.e. not necessarily next to each other or in the specified order.
Advanced Search
Unlike quick searches,
advanced searches do not require you to enter command syntax such as the Boolean symbols or to specify field names.
Follow the on-screen annotations next to and inside the search entry boxes. These provide guidance on performing searches for records containing all the words entered, records containing at least one of the words entered or records without the words entered.
By default, the Boolean “And” is assumed, for example if you enter Joseph in the Title field and Hooker in the Description field, only records containing both 'Joseph' and 'Hooker' (in the respective fields) will be found, records containing just one of these words will not be shown in the search results.