|
|
7 Derived Search Key Searching
Chapter overview
This chapter describes derived search key searching within the OCLC cataloging service. Derived search key searching is available in the OCLC® interfaces as shown below:
| Interface |
Yes |
No |
| OCLC ConnexionTM browser |
|
 |
| OCLC ConnexionTM client |
|
 |
| OCLC Cataloging Micro Enhancer® (CatME) |
 |
|
| OCLC Passport software (Passport) |
 |
|
7.1 Overview
Derived search key searching uses partial terms/names or initials in combination with a unique character pattern for each index label. You create the search by typing groups of characters called segments, with each segment separated by a comma. Each segment has a maximum number of characters.
Derived search key searching is available in CatME™ and Passport.
Derived search key searching may be used for names, topical subjects or uniform titles.
Access points, indexes and index labels
The system indexes certain types of information (personal names, uniform titles, subjects) in authority records. Each type of indexed information is called an access point.
-
Each access point has an index label. The index label indicates which index you want the system to search.
-
The system then matches your search text and index label against the index and retrieves matching record(s).
-
For a record to be retrieved by a derived search key search, it must match all the segments entered in the search.
See
section 7.3, "Index Labels," for more information and for examples of index labels.
Search results
The results of a derived search key search may be:

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7.2 Constructing Derived Search Key Searches
To construct a derived search key search, you must perform these steps:
- Enter the appropriate search segments.
- Specify the index to be searched.
- Identify the search as a derived search key search.
- Signal the system to perform the search.
The order in which you perform these steps varies depending upon which OCLC® interface you are using.
CatME
| |
Action |
| 1 |
Log on to OCLC Cataloging (if not logged on). |
| 2 |
On the Search menu click OCLC Online, or click on the toolbar or press < F2 >.
Result: The Search OCLC Online dialog box opens. |
| 3 |
Specify the database:
|
| 4 |
In the Query box, enter an Authority File derived key search and click Find or press < Enter >.
Result: CatME sends the search to the OCLC system. |
Example: Enter dn kiss,hen, click Authority File (AF:), click Find.
Passport
To perform a derived key search in Passport, enter a Find (fin) command at the Home position with the Authority File selected.
| |
Action |
| 1 |
At the Home position, with the Authority File selected, enter the Find (fin) command: fin [index label] [search segments]
Example: fin dn kiss,hen, |
| 2 |
Press < F11 > to start the search. |
Alternate method
CatME and Passport you can replace the index label and fin command with a left bracket ( [ ) followed by the search segments (no space). The following searches produce identical results:
|
CatME
|
Passport
- fin dn kiss,hen,
- [kiss,hen,
|
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7.3 Index Labels
The following table shows the index labels that are used with derived search key searches.
| Access Point |
Index Label |
Characters per segment |
| Name (personal, corporate, conference, or geographic) |
dn |
4,3,1 |
|
Topical subject (includes children's) |
ds |
5,3 |
| Uniform title |
dt |
3,2,2,1 |
The following table shows phrase search examples for all index labels in each interface.
| Examples: |
Access Point
|
CatME Index Label example |
Passport Index Label example |
| Personal names: Dorothy L. Sayers |
dn dn saye,dor,l |
dn fin dn saye,dor,l |
| Corporations: World Wildlife Fund |
dn dn worl,wil,f |
dn fin dn worl,wil,f |
| Conferences: Oxford Farming Conference |
dn dn oxfo,far,c |
dn fin dn oxfo,far,c |
| Places: London, England |
dn dn lond,eng, |
dn fin dn lond,eng |
| Titles: Women's Studies Monograph Series |
dt dt wom,st,mo,s |
dt fin dt wom,st,mo,s |
| Subjects (topical): Italian fiction |
ds ds itali,fic |
ds fin ds itali,fic |
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7.4 Rules for Derived Search Key Searches
The general rules apply to all types of derived search key searches. Specific rules for subjects, personal, corporate and conference names, and titles follow the general rules.
General rules
Enter the first segment of any access point. The succeeding segments are optional, but you must include the commas. Within each segment, you can enter the maximum number of characters or fewer. If a word has fewer characters than the maximum, enter the full word.
Characters included
- Standard Roman letters a–z (either lower- or uppercase)
- Numerals 0–9
- Special symbols: &, *, %, $, @, £, ♭
Characters excluded
If the character occurs within a word or between two words and is not surrounded by spaces, delete the character and close up the space.
- Bracketed information
- Diacritics
- Punctuation
- Hyphen -
- Number sign #
- Mathematical symbols + - =
- Slash /
- Registered trademark ®
- Miagkii znak ʹ
- Tverdyi znak ʹʹ
- Alif

- Ayn

- Middle dot ·
| Examples: |
| To search for... |
CatME |
Passport |
| O'Keefe, Georgia |
dn okee,geo, or [okee,geo, |
fin dn okee,geo, or [okee,geo, |
| Ben-Asher, Aaron ben Moses |
dn bena,aar,b or [bena,aar,b |
fin dn bena,aar,b or [bena,aar,b |
| Anglistik & [i.e. und] Englischunterrich |
dt ang,&,en, or [ang,&,en, |
fin dt ang,&,en, or [ang,&,en, |
| Saint-Saens, Camille |
dn sain,cam, or [sain,cam, |
fin dn sain, cam, or [sain,cam, |
| Carolrhoda mini-mystery |
dt car,mi,, or [car,mi,, |
fin dt car,mi, or [car,mi,, |
Characters substituted
Use the substitute instead of the character.
| Character |
Substitute |
| Superscript 0123456789( ) |
corresponding standard character |
| Subscript 0123456789( ) |
corresponding standard character |
| Superscript or subscript + - |
space |
| a |
alpha |
| b |
beta |
| g |
gamma |
| Æ æ |
ae |
| Œ œ |
oe |
| Đđ (Crossed d, eth) |
d |
| ı (Turkish i) |
i |
| łŁ (Polish l) |
l |
| Ø ø (Scandinavian o) |
o |
 (Hooked o) |
o |
| þÞ(Icelandic thorn) |
th |
 (Hooked u) |
u |
Initials and abbreviations as separate words
Treat initials and/or abbreviations separated by a space as separate words.
| Examples: |
| To search for... |
CatME |
Passport |
| Milne, A. A. |
dn miln,a,a, or [miln,a,a |
fin dn miln,a,a or [miln,a,a |
| Tolkien, J. R. R. |
dn tolk,j,r or [tolk,j,r |
fin dn tolk,j,r or [tolk,j,r |
Initials and abbreviations as single words
Treat initials or abbreviations without intervening spaces as single words.
| Examples: |
| To search for... |
CatME |
Passport |
| B.C. law and practice papers |
dt bc,la,an,p or [bc,la,an,p |
fin dt bc,la,an,p or [bc,la,an,p |
| Bible. N.T. Revelation |
dt bib,nt,re, or [bib,nt,re, |
fin dt bib,nt,re or [bib,nt,re |
| E.A. Swift and Company (Seattle, Wash.) |
dn ea,swi,a or [ea,swi,a |
fin dn ea,swi,a or [ea,swi,a |
Initial articles
Enter the initial article for the following types of headings:
- Surnames
- Established headings for corporate and conference names
- Geographic names
- Cross-references for established headings
- Actual words (not articles, e.g., A plus practices)
Initial articles are unlikely in established headings for topical subjects, corporate and conference names, and uniform titles.
A multilingual list of initial articles to omit is available on the OCLC Web site at:
< http://www.oclc.org/support/documentation/worldcat/searching/userguide/appendixa/appendixa.htm > >.
Since system indexing of initial articles depends on how the heading is input, search with and without the initial article to confirm the existence of the heading.
Personal names
Access subject-authority records that contain personal names (x00) using the derived search key for name headings (4,3,1).
| Examples: |
| Name |
CatME |
Passport |
| Brown, Rita Mae |
dn brow,rit,m or [brow,rit,m |
fin dn brow,rit,m or [brow,rit,m |
| Sayers, Dorothy L. |
dn saye,dor,l or [saye,dor,l |
fin dn saye,dor,l or [saye,dor,l |
Two-word names. Enter a circumflex (^) in the third segment. If you are uncertain whether the name has only two words, leave the third segment blank.
| Example: |
| Name |
CatME |
Passport |
| Norman, Geraldine |
dn norm,ger,^ or [norm,ger,^ |
fin dn norm,ger,^ or[norm,ger,^ |
One-word names. Enter the first four letters of the word and two commas.
| Example: |
| Name |
CatME |
Passport |
| Colette |
dn cole,, or [cole,, |
fin dn cole,, or [cole,, |
Second word fewer than three letters. Enter the word and a circumflex (^).
| Example: |
| Name |
CatME |
Passport |
| Jackson, W. P. |
dn jack,w^,p or [jack,w^,p |
fin dn jack,w^,p or [jack,w^,p |
If you are uncertain how many letters the second word has, enter only the first one or two letters.
| Example: |
| Name |
CatME |
Passport |
| Yeats, W. B. |
dn yeat,w,b or [yeat,w,b |
fin dn yeat,w,b or [yeat,w,b |
Mc and Mac prefixes. If a surname has the prefix Mc or Mac followed by an uppercase letter, treat the prefix as the single letter m. If the prefix is followed by a lowercase letter, include the entire prefix. If in doubt, search both ways.
| Examples: |
| Name |
CatME |
Passport |
| McCullers, Carson |
dn mcul,car, or [mcul,car, |
fin dn mcul,car, or [mcul,car, |
| MacIntosh, Joan |
dn mint,joa, or [mint,joa, |
fin dn mint,joa, or [mint,joa, |
| Macdonald, John Marshall |
dn macd,joh,m or [macd,joh,m |
fin dn macd,joh,m or [macd,joh,m |
| McDonald, John Graham |
dn mdon,joh,g or [mdon,joh,g |
fin dn mdon,joh,g or [mdon,joh,g |
| Macdonnell, James Edmond |
dn macd,jam,e or [macd,jam,e |
fin dn macd,jam,e or [macd,jam,e |
Multiple surnames. Treat a multiple surname as a single word. Ignore punctuation or spaces within the surname.
| Examples: |
| Name |
CatME |
Passport |
| Leon Portilla, Miguel |
dn leon,mig, or [leon,mig, |
fin dn leon,mig, or [leon,mig, |
| Chaput-Rolland, Solange |
dn chap,sol, or [chap,sol, |
fin dn chap,sol, or [chap,sol, |
| Van Buren, Martin |
dn vanb,mar, or [vanb,mar, |
fin dn vanb,mar, or [vanb,mar, |
| Du Maurier, Daphne |
dn duma,dap, or [duma,dap, |
fin dn duma,dap, or [duma,dap, |
| LeGuin, Ursula |
dn legu,urs, or [legu,urs, |
fin dn legu,urs, or [legu,urs, |
Forename only. If the personal name is a forename only, treat the entire name as a single word. Ignore punctuation or spaces that may occur between words. This rule also applies to subject authority records for family names.
| Examples: |
| Name |
CatME |
Passport |
| Jacobus de Varagine |
dn jaco,, or [jaco,, |
fin dn jaco,, or [jaco,, |
| Ram Gopal |
dn ramg,, or [ramg,, |
fin dn ramg,, or [ramg,, |
| El Greco |
dn elgr,, or [elgr,, |
fin dn elgr,, or [elgr,, |
| Lee family |
dn leef,, or [leef,, |
fin dn leef,, or [leef,, |
Corporate and conference names
Access subject-authority records that contain corporate/conference/geographic names (x10, x11, x51) using the derived search key for a name headings (4,3,1).
Corporate and conference Mc and Mac. The Mc and Mac rule for personal names does not apply to corporate or conference names or topical subjects.
| Example: |
| Name |
CatME |
Passport |
| McGill Chamber Singers. |
dn mcgi,cha,s or [mcgi,cha,s |
fin dn mcgi,cha,s or [mcgi,cha,s |
Stopwords. Many corporate and conference names begin with common words, called stopwords. When a stopword is at the beginning of a corporate or conference name, exclude it.
| Corporate and Conference Name Stopwords |
| Names of all states in the U.S. and the following: |
| a |
East |
Seminar |
| A. |
for |
Senate |
| American |
France |
Society |
| an |
Great Britain |
South |
| Association |
Gt. Brit. |
State |
| Australia |
Gt.Brit. |
Subcommittee |
| Bureau |
House |
Symposium |
| Canada |
India |
the |
| Colloquium |
Institute |
U.N. |
| Commission |
Institution |
U. N. |
| Committee |
International |
United Nations |
| Conference |
Joint |
United States |
| Congress |
National |
University |
| Council |
North |
U. S. |
| Department |
of |
U.S. |
| Dept. |
on |
West |
Do not apply the list to personal or geographic names or topical subject search keys.
Stopwords after the first significant word. Exclude stopwords from the search key up to the first significant word (i.e., a word that is not a stopword). Thereafter, ignore the list and use all succeeding words.
| Examples: |
| Name |
CatME |
Passport |
| Texas A & M University |
dn &,m,u or [&,m,u |
fin dn &,m,u or [&,m,u |
| Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women |
dn inte,ath,f or [inte,ath,f |
fin dn inte,ath,f or [inte,ath,f |
| Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction in China |
dn rura,rec,i, or [rura,rec,i |
fin dn rura,rec,i, or [rura,rec,i |
| University of Illinois at Chicago Circle |
dn at,chi,c or [at,chi,c |
fin dn at,chi,c or [at,chi,c |
Stopwords joined by punctuation. If a stopword is joined to other words or letters by punctuation without intervening spaces, do not treat it as a stopword.
| Examples: |
| Name |
CatME |
Passport |
| A.M. Best Company |
dn am,bes,c or [am,bes,c |
fin dn am,bes,c or [am,bes,c |
| Illinois State's Attorneys Association |
dn stat,att,a or [stat,att,a |
fin dn stat,att,a or [stat,att,a |
Stopwords joined by hyphens. If a stopword is joined with another word by one or two hyphens with no intervening spaces, do not consider the hyphenated word to be a stopword.
| Example: |
| Name |
CatME |
Passport |
| University of Wisconsin--La Crosse |
dn wisc,cro, or [wisc,cro, |
fin dn wisc,cro, or [wisc,cro, |
All words in a name are stopwords. If all words in the name are stopwords, ignore the stopword list.
| Example: |
| Name |
CatME |
Passport |
| Ohio State University |
dn ohio,sta,u or [ohio,sta,u |
fin dn ohio,sta,u or [ohio,sta,u |
United States, United Nations, Great Britain are stopwords. The names United States, United Nations and Great Britain and their variant forms are stopwords and are, in many cases, excluded from search keys for corporate and conference names. Include them in the following cases:
- U.S., U.N., or Gt.Brit. or its variant form follows a significant word.
- The corporate or conference name consists entirely of stopwords.
- They appear in a topical subject heading as a geographic subdivision in an indexed subfield.
- They appear in subject authority records with subject subdivisions.
Use the following forms of the names in search keys:
|
| Name |
Indexed and sorted as |
| U.S., U. S., or United States |
us |
| U.N., U. N., or United Nations |
un |
| Gt.Brit., Gt. Brit., or Great Britain |
gtbr |
| Examples: |
| Name |
CatME |
Passport |
| United States—History—Sources |
dn us,his,s or [us,his,s |
fin dn us,his,s or [us,his,s |
| United States. Congress. Senate |
dn us,con,s or [us,con,s |
fin dn us,con,s or [us,con,s |
| U.S. Dept. of State |
dn us,dep,o or [us,dep,o |
fin dn us,dep,o or [us,dep,o |
| Institute of Physics (Great Britain) |
dn phys,gtb, or [phys,gtb, |
fin dn phys,gtb, or [phys,gtb, |
| United Nations |
dn un,, or [un,, |
fin dn un,, or [un,, |
If one of these terms is joined with another word by means of punctuation with no intervening spaces, do not treat the term as a stopword. Do not abbreviate it to un, us, or gtbr.
| Examples: |
| Name |
CatME |
Passport |
| United Nations/FAO Committee on Food Aid Policies and Programmes |
dn unit,nat,c or [unit,nat,c |
fin dn unit,nat,c or [unit,nat,c |
| United States-Japan Automotive Conference |
dn unit,sta,a or [unit,sta,a |
fin dn unit,sta,a or [unit,sta,a |
If one of these terms follows a stopword and is joined to it by punctuation with no intervening spaces, the stopword is concatenated with us, un, or gtbr. Do not consider either word to be a stopword. Include Nations, States, or Britain in the search key.
| Example: |
| Name |
CatME |
Passport |
| Canada-United States Law Institute |
dn cana,law,i or [cana,law,i |
fin dn cana,law,i or [cana,law,i |
Uniform titles
Access authority records that contain uniform titles (x30) using the derived search key for uniform title headings (3,2,2,1).
| Examples: |
| Title |
CatME |
Passport |
| Bible. O.T. Pentateuch. Hebrew |
dt bib,ot,pe,h or [bib,ot,pe,h |
fin dt bib,ot,pe,h or [bib,ot,pe,h |
| Women's studies monograph series |
dt wom,st,mo,s or [wom,st,mo,s |
fin dt wom,st,mo,s or [wom,st,mo,s |
| Language and dialect atlas of Kenya |
dt lan,an,di,a or [lan,an,di,a |
fin dt lan,an,di,a or [lan,an,di,a |
Fewer than four words. Enter as many words as the title has and enter the remaining commas. A search key with fewer than four words matches only uniform titles with that number of words.
| Examples: |
| Title |
CatME |
Passport |
| Bio-bibliography |
dt bio,,, or [bio,,, |
fin dt bio,,, or [bio,,, |
| Vedas. Yajurveda |
dt ved,ya,, or [ved,ya,, |
fin dt ved,ya,, or [ved,ya,, |
Circumflex. If you know that the second or third word has a single letter, enter that letter followed by a circumflex (^). The circumflex is optional but makes the search more specific.
| Example: |
| Title |
CatME |
Passport |
| Artes y oficios |
dt art,y^,of, or [art,y^,of, |
fin dt art,y^,of, or [art,y^,of, |
Topical subjects
Access subject authority records that contain topical subject headings (x50) using the derived search key for topical subjects (5,3).
| Examples: |
| Subject |
CatME |
Passport |
| Music, Greek and Roman |
ds music,gre or [music,gre |
fin ds music,gre or [music,gre |
| Women economists |
ds women,eco or [women,eco |
fin ds women,eco or [women,eco |
Circumflex. Use a circumflex (^) to make the search specific. In the following example, the first search retrieves more than 600 entries, while the second search with the circumflex (^) retrieves approximately 115 entries.
| Examples: |
| Subject |
CatME |
Passport |
| Art ... |
ds art, or [art, |
fin ds art, or [art, |
| art |
ds art,^ or [art,^ |
fin ds art,^ or [art,^ |
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7.5 Error Messages/Revising Searches
CatME
When you enter search segments and click Find, the system automatically expects two things:
-
The first three characters are a valid two-character index label plus one space.
- The remaining characters and commas match one of the patterns assigned to each index label.
If the search does not meet these requirements, the system generates an error message.
To revise the search.
| |
Action |
| 1 |
Change the text in the Query box. |
| 2 |
Click Find or press < Alt >< F >.
Result: The Search OCLC Online window closes and the search results are displayed. |
If you click the Scan button instead of the Find button, CatME displays an error message. Once you receive an error message you must:
| |
Action |
| 1 |
Click OK in the error message window.
Or
Press < Enter > then press < Backspace >. |
| 2 |
Repeat the search with the correct text. |
Passport
In Passport, the system displays the Revise screen automatically when your search has an entry error. The Revise screen indicates the type of error and presents your search text for correction.

To revise the search. The system places the cursor on the first character of your search.
- Use the left/right arrow keys to move the cursor as necessary.
- Insert, delete, or replace characters, then press < F10 >.
The system displays the results of the revised search.
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7.6 Search Results (Summary Description)
The results of the derived search key search depend on how many records the search retrieves.
Note: The results given below are valid in CatME only when the Default display results option is selected. If you select one of the three other options, the results display in that format.
| Record(s) |
CatME |
Passport |
| 1 |
brief list showing 1 record |
full record |
| 2-25 |
brief list |
brief list |
| 26-100 |
truncated list |
truncated list |
| 101-600 |
quickview list |
quickview list |
More information
Navigating within these lists and accessing individual records is discussed in
chapter 8, Viewing Search Results.
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7.7 Reviewing Search History
CatME and Passport provide a way to repeat previous searches without re-keying.
CatME
CatME does not keep search results but keeps track of up to the last ten searches (numeric or otherwise) and lets you select and repeat a specific search. CatME keeps this list until you log off.
| |
Action |
| 1 |
Do one or more searches (Find commands). |
| 2 |
Click History.
Result: The list of previous searches appears. |
| 3 |
Result: The search appears in the Query box. |
| 4 |
Revise the search if you wish. For example, add terms to retrieve fewer records. Or remove terms if a search retrieved no records. |
| 5 |
Click Find.
Result: CatME sends the search to the OCLC system.
Note: Default database. Not used. The search includes the database indicator. |
Passport
Passport does not keep search results as such, but rather keeps track of your last ten searches (numeric or otherwise) and lets you select and repeat a specific search. You use the Review (rev) and Display (dis) commands to view this list and repeat a search:
| |
Action |
| 1 |
At the Home position enter rev and press < F11 >. |
| 2 |
At the Home position enter dis s[line number] OR s[line number] and press < F11 >.
Example: To repeat the search for LCCN 79-117152, enter: dis s3 or s3.
Result: The Search Query screen disappears and the search results are displayed. |
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|