Search the FAQ

• Start on the library homepage and select the Catalog tab on the left in the middle of the page. Choose Advanced Search.
• The pull down triangle to the left of the search line allows you to combine terms with "And", "Or", and "Not." To narrow your search, you can use any of the options listed below.
• "AND" - Combines your terms together to perform a search. For example: "Diamonds" AND "Africa" will search for items that contain both of these terms within an item's record.
• "NEAR" - Used to retrieve records that contain the specified words or phrases within ten words of each other in the same indexed field. For example, "international" NEAR "conference" will retrieve items that have the word "international" appearing within ten words of the word "conference."
• "WITHIN" - Used to retrieve records that contain the specified words or phrases within a proximity you choose. "WITHIN" is similar to "NEAR," but allows you to specify the maximum number of words that may appear between the specified words. For example, "fractal" WITHIN 3 "geometry" would find items that have the word "fractal" appearing within three words of "geometry."

You can also choose to search for your terms as phrases by using quotation marks. For example, "ship channel" will search these terms exactly as typed.