Searching WorldCat Reference Card

Connexion: Searching WorldCat Quick Reference

Judy Barnes
Last revised: February 2008

OCLC Connexion Interfaces

Use the Connexion client or browser interface

• To open Connexion client Windows-based software, go to Start > Programs > OCLC Connexion, or double-click the client icon on the desktop.
• To use the Connexion browser, open your Web browser and go to: <http://connexion.oclc.org>.

Enter command line or guided search/browse

Note on scripts: Only the Connexion client supports using these non-Latin scripts in WorldCat searches (not supported in browsing): Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Cyrillic, Devanagari, Greek, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, Tamil, and Thai.

Search–Client or browser

Open the Search WorldCat client window or browser screen:

	Action
1	Client: Click Cataloging > Search > WorldCat, or click , or press <F2>. Browser: Click Cataloging tab > Search > WorldCat, or press <Ctrl><Shift><W>.
2	Enter a full syntax search or browse in a single string in theCommand Line Search box. Include index labels, punctuation, (Boolean operators, and qualifiers. Type any of these search types: Numeric Keyword Derived Browse (scan an index) Or Enter a guided search in boxes and lists: In any Keyword/Numeric Search for box, enter a numeric, keyword, or derived search term (no browse), and select an index from the adjacent list. Optional: Combine up to 2 other search term(s). Enter a term and select a Boolean operator and a different index from the adjacent list. Select or enter qualifiers in lists or boxes.

Tip: Expand or collapse the Search Worldcat window or screen: In theclient:, click Expand/Collapse. In the browser, click the plus or

minus button: or .

Quick search entry: Client only

Use the WorldCat Quick Search box on the toolbar to enter a command line search or browse:

Browse–Client or browser

Open the Browse WorldCat client window or browser screen to enter a guided browse:

	Action
1	Client: Click Cataloging > Browse > WorldCat, or click , or press <Ctrl><F2>. Browser: Click Cataloging tab > Browse WorldCat, or press <Ctrl><Shift><B>.
2	Enter a browse term in the Browse for box. Select an index from the adjacent list.

See guidelines for entering command line versus guided searches in the next section, "Guidelines."

Batch process searches–Client only

Open the Enter Bibliographic Search Keys window to enter a list of searches in command line (full-syntax) format for batch processing:

Guidelines

Command line (full syntax) search or browse

• Include the Scan command (sca) for a browse term.
• Include index labels followed by correct punctuation to search for words, phrases (subfield data) or whole phrases (field data).
  • Use a colon (:) for word indexes (example: ti:nexus).
  • Use an equal sign (=) for phrase or whole phrase indexes (example: ti=connected islands new and selected*).
  • Index labels ending in the letter w indicate whole phrase indexes (example: pnw=woolf, leonard 1880-1969).
  • Exceptions. Index labels are optional for:
    • Derived search if it is the first or only search term
    • ISBN search if it is the first or only search term
    • OCLC number search, if preceded by an asterisk (*) or number sign (#)
• Options:
  • Type Boolean operators and, or, or not to combine multiple terms in different indexes.
  • Type proximity operators with (w) or near (n) with numbers (1 to 25) to find multiple terms in one index that have a specified number of intervening words.
  • Add qualifiers preceded by slashes or index labels:
    • Use slashes or index labels for format, year, microform, or source qualifiers
    • Use index labels only (cannt precede with a slash) for Internet/non-Internet or language qualifiers
    • Include only one qualifier of any one type.
  • Type symbols for wildcards (# or ?) and truncation (*) in place of characters to retrieve different forms of a word. (Available for Latin script searches only.)
    Note: Precede symbols by at least three characters.
• Client only—no separate indexes for non-Latin script search terms: Use the same indexes, operators, and qualifiers as for Latin script searches. Enter them in Latin script.

Guided search or browse

• In the Search WorldCat window or screen, type a keyword, numeric, or derived search term in any Search for box.
• Optional. Type multiple search terms in a single box to combine a search in a single index. Between terms, type:
  • Operators and, or, or not
  • Operators with (w) or near (n). Optional: Add numbers (1 to 25) to specify the number of intervening words
• Select an index from the adjacent list.
• Options:
  • Type search terms in additional Search for boxes and select and, or, or not from lists to combine a search in a different index.
  • Type symbols for wildcards (# or ?) and truncation (*) in place of characters or endings in a search term to retrieve different forms of a word.
    Note: Precede symbols by at least three characters.
  • Select or enter qualifiers in lists or boxes.

• Tip: Switch between long and short selection lists:
  Client: Click plus () or minus () to expand or shorten index, material type, or language lists.
  
  Browser: Click More Indexes or Fewer Indexes or click More Material Types or Fewer Material Types to expand or shorten index or material type lists.

Note: All examples and guidelines in this Quick Reference are for searches in command line format (full syntax) only.

Words, phrases, and whole phrases

Search Types

Numeric searches

Numeric search guidelines

• Command line: Always precede search term with an index label and punctuation (a colon (:) for numbers or an equal sign (=) for number phrases).
  Exception: ISBN does not require label if it is first or only search.
• Type all numbers and letters, including ISBNs, government document numbers, and publisher numbers (formerly music publisher) .
  Tip for entering ISBNs ending in x: If you use the number keypad, truncate the number using the asterisk (*) key.
• Omit spaces.
• In class number searches:
  • Include periods. Example:dd:616.46
  • Omit all other punctuation in class numbers.
  • Omit spaces.
• See notes in the following table on the treatment of hyphens in ISBN, ISSN, and LCCN searches.

Numeric search examples

Keyword searches

Keyword search guidelines

• For searches of the Access Method index (am: or am=)
  • Omit http: and https:.
  • Treat punctuation marks as word divisions.
  • Include stopwords for this index.
    Example: am:his
• Internet qualifier (mt:) Limits results to:
  • Internet-only resources: Records with field 856 and second indicator values <blank>, 0, or 1. In the Command Line, type mt:url
    Or
  • Non-Internet resources: All other records. Type not mt:url

Stopwords

The system ignores these common words in a keyword search:

Enclose any stopword in quotation marks to include it in a search.

Example: To search for the title And Then There Were None, type ti:"and" then "there" "were" none.

Keyword search examples

Derived searches

Derived search key limits

Derived search guidelines

• Omit index label if first or only search in the command line.
• Omit initial articles (a, an, the, and non-English equivalents).
• Include articles within titles.
• Include letters and numbers.
• Exclude all other characters, including diacritics and punctuation.
• Use a circumflex (^) to narrow a search. (Do not use the circumflex in a derived title search.) Example: pd:harv,hen,^ or harv,hen,^
• For names beginning with Mc or Mac followed by an uppercase letter, type m and omit c or ac. If followed by lowercase letter, include c or ac.
  Examples: For MacDonald, Marion B., type pn:mdon,mar,b.
  For Macdonald, Andrew T., type pd:macd,and,t.
• For compound or hyphenated surnames, treat all parts of a name up to the first comma as the first derived search element. Example: For Li-Marcus, Moying, type pd:lima,moy,.
• For forenames only, treat each part as separate segments. Treat each part of a hyphenated forename as separate. Examples: For White Bull, type pd:whit,bul,. To find Li-Min Tau, type pd:li,min,t..
• Do not use non-Latin scripts in derived searches.

Stopwords

Omit these words from the first segment of a derived corporate/conference name search for cd: and nd: indexes. Otherwise, include them.

Derived search examples

Browse (scan an index)

Browse guidelines

• Include up to 60 letters, numbers, spaces, or these characters: ( ) # &
• Omit initial articles (a, an, the, and non-English equivalents) from browse terms.
• Include hyphens or substitute a space.
• Begin a phrase or whole phrase with the first word in a field or subfield (exclude initial articles). The system matches the exact term, beginning with the first word in sequence across indexed fields/subfields.
• Type any word to browse a word index (need not be the first word); the system matches any instance of the word in indexed fields/subfields.
• Browsing provides automatic truncation. Type only as many characters or words as needed. Example: For the title Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, type sca tiw=let us now praise
• Use the title whole phrase index (tiw=) to browse for a title proper, or cataloger-constructed title access point. The index excludes 245 ‡b.
• Use the title phrase index (ti=) to browse for title/subtitle combinations. The index includes 245 ‡b.
• Do not combine terms or use qualifiers, truncation, or character masking for browsing.
• If you copy text across subfields in a record and paste as a browse term, remove delimiters, subfield codes, and punctuation.
• If you are unsure of an exact browse term, use a keyword search instead.

Browse examples

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Qualify, Combine, Expand Searches

Use qualifiers, Boolean and proximity operators, and wildcard and truncation symbols to qualify, combine, and/or expand searches.

Qualifers

Add qualifiers to searches to limit results.

Qualifier guidelines

• Use slashes or index labels for format, years, microform, or source qualifiers. Use index labels only for Internet/non-Internet and language qualifiers.
• Use only one qualifier of each type per search.
• Slash qualifiers must appear at the end of a search. Qualifiers with index labels can appear anywhere in a search.
• Type qualifiers in any order.

Operators

Use Boolean and proximity operators to combine search terms.

Operator guidelines

• Do not use and, or, not, with, or near for browsing.
• Do not use with or near for derived searching.
• To use and, or, not, with, or near as a keyword in a search, enclose the word in quotation marks to prevent the system from treating it as an operator.
  
  Example: To search for the title Neighbors Near and Far, type ti:neighbors "near" "and" far.
• Type the maximum number of characters in the segments of combined derived searches (see table on p. 4).
• Qualifiers apply to all parts of combined searches.

Truncation and wildcard symbols

Use truncation and wildcard symbols to expand or focus searches.

Truncation and wildcard guidelines

• Limitation: Precede symbols by at least three characters.
• Non-Latin script searches: Truncating searches is supported for Bengali, CJK, Devanagari, Tamil, and Thai script search terms only, not for other non-Latin script searches. For other scripts, use browsing for automatic truncation.

Examples

Searches in both keyword/numeric and derived search format:

Qualified, combined, and/or expanded keyword/numeric searches:

Qualified and combined derived searches:

Qualify by specific material types

Type the qualifier mt: or mt= followed by the 3-letter code or name.
Example: To find The Sound of Music in CD audio only, type:
sou,of,mu, and mt:cda or sou,of,mu, and mt=cd audio

Note: For Serial and Integrating resource material types, you can also add to the end of a search as a slash qualifer (/ser or /int).

The following table of available material type codes and names lists material types alphabetically by name within groups:

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More Information

• For comprehensive information on WorldCat indexes, including descriptions, guidelines, and examples, see:
  Searching WorldCat Indexes
  
• For using Connexion client to search WorldCat:
  • Connexion Client System Guide: Search WorldCat
    (or see client online Help)
  • Connexion client Searching WorldCat tutorial
    
• For using Connexion browser to search WorldCat:
  • Connexion Browser System Guide: Find Bibliographic Records
    (or see browser online Help)
  • Connexion browser Searching WorldCat tutorial

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Support

Contact OCLC:

Hours: 7:00 am—9:00 pm U.S. Eastern time, Monday-Friday.

Telephone number in USA: 1-800-848-5800

International telephone number: 1-614-793-8682

Fax number: 1-614-764-2694

E-mail: support@oclc.org
Or
From within the Connexion client or browser:

Client: On the Help menu, click Contact Support.

Browser: In the OCLC Connexion title bar, click Contact.

Support form on the Web.

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