 Today we have some MeLCat search
strategies that you may not be aware of courtesy of the MeLCat help desk.
First up, locating an item in a
particular format. Did you know that you can include the format you desire in
your keyword search (E.g., search for "catching fire dvd",
"catching fire large print", or "catching fire large type"
instead of just "catching fire".)? It makes searching for format a
whole lot easier.
Another search tip for known titles
is that numbers may need to be spelled out. Not always, but it does happen. If
you can't locate a title when using a numeral, spell it out and see if that
helps.
We know that some library staff are
leery of using keyword searching but sometimes it will get you results that you
otherwise can't. If you are unsuccessful using the phrase searches (title,
author, series title, the various types of subject searches), try entering your
terms as a keyword search in Classic MeLCat or use Encore (the MeLCat search on
the MeL homepage).
A good trick to have up your sleeve
is the ability to search quickly and easily for materials at a particular
library. Each participating
MeLCat library has a unique agency code. If you would like to find the
holdings of a specific MeLCat library, include that library's agency code in a
keyword search. Note that all of a library's holdings may not be
reflected in MeLCat.
And last but not least, a couple of
good reminders:
·
MeLCat searching is not case-sensitive. (E.g., a
search for "South Africa" is the same as a search for "south
africa".)
·
You can omit most punctuation. (E.g., a
search for "earths children" is the same as a search for
"earth's children".)
Happy searching!
Brought to you by Sean Cwiek of the MeL
Team.
Want more information on MeL? Stay tuned for the next
MeL Minute available on many Michigan library listservs, email us at contact@mel.org, visit http://mel.org, or sign up for the MeL Minute and other
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