Title/Author/Subject Help

Search

Examples

Title

Exclude a, an, or the from beginning of title, including foreign language equivalents (l', le, la, el, der, etc.)

 

    Correct format:                                         Incorrect format:

    old man and the sea                                   the old man and the sea

    français dans le monde                              le français dans le monde

  

Journal Title

Exclude a, an, or the from the beginning of the journal title, including foreign language equivalents (l', le, la, el, der, etc.)

    Correct format:                                          Incorrect format:

     journal of infectious diseases                     the journal of infectious diseases

    spiegel                                                         der spiegel

 

Author

For person as author, enter last name, followed by full or portion of first name if known

Omit punctuation

 

    Correct format:                                         Incorrect format:

    hemingway ernest                                      ernest hemingway

    hemingway e                                              e hemingway

    scott walter sir                                           scott sir walter

    oconnor flannery                                       flannery o'connor

    fisher wirth ann                                         ann fisher-wirth

                                                                      wirth ann fisher

 

For a corporation or organization as author, enter full or portion of name as it officially appears; for multiple word name, only last word of the search may be incomplete:                                    

 

    Correct format:                                         Incorrect format:

    northern michigan university                     nmu

    michigan state board of ed                        mi state board of education

 

Subject

You must use a recognized Library of Congress Subject Heading. If unsure of an appropriate heading, consult the Library of Congress Subject Heading Guides in the library or ask for help at the Reference Desk.

    Correct format:                                           

    indians of north america

 

To search on subdivided subject heading, enter the main heading and subheading with no punctuation between. For example, the Library of Congress Subject Heading Indians of North America--Social Life and Customs is entered as follows:

 

   Correct format:                                           

   indians of north america social life and customs

 

Call Number  

Enter the call number on one line with spaces; punctuation is required.

 

    Correct format:                                         Incorrect format:

     pr 2848 .a2 b6                                           pr2848a2b6

    398.27 s66                                                 39827s66

    Y 4.ED 8/1:103-106                                  Y4ED81103106