Searching LC Catalog via the WWW/Z39.50 Gateway (Advanced Search)

In general, the greater the specificity of the term(s) used in the
query, the more efficient and effective the search will be. 

Known-Item Searching

LCCN Search

The most specific search possible is to use the Library of Congress
control number.  A search on the control number results in only one
record.  If the control number assigned to an item is known, use that
as the search term in preference to any other information.

The LCCN search term will be normalized by the LC system before 
mapping to the internal search.  Hyphens, spaces, leading and
closing blanks are optional.

ISBN and ISSN Search

If the Library of Congress control number is not known, other very
efficient searches are ISBN (International Standard Book Number)
or ISSN (International Standard Serial Number).  A search using 
either the ISBN or ISSN usually results in either a single record
or only a small number of records.

Hyphens are optional in ISBN or ISSN search terms.

Derived Key Searching

If one does not have a Library of Congress control number, ISBN, or ISSN
available to use in searching, the most efficient means of searching for
known author or title information (within the LC system) is through the
use of derived key (i.e., compression key) searches.  Words that are 
input into the search term area of the Derived Key Search Form are used
to derive a compression key search in the LC system.  For more information
about Derived Key Searching see Searching LC Catalog Using Derived Keys.

Component Word Search

When none of the above numbers are available, a component word search
can be used.  Component word searches currently supported by the LC
MUMS Z39.50 server include the following:

        Any (Keyword)           (word, word list, or phrase)
	Title                   (word, word list, or phrase)
        Series Title            (word, word list, or phrase)
        Uniform Title           (word, word list, or phrase)
	Personal Name           (word, word list, or phrase)
	Corporate Name	        (word, word list, or phrase)
        Conference Name         (word, word list, or phrase)
	Subject	                (word, word list, or phrase)
        Subject (Personal Name) (word, word list, or phrase)
        Geographic Name         (word, word list, or phrase)
        Note                    (word, word list, or phrase)
        Author                  (word, word list, or phrase) 

	A _word_ consists of a group of non-blank characters.

	A _word list_ consists of two or more words separated
		by blanks.  No order of the words is implied.
		In LC MUMS, both words of the word list search
		term _must_ appear in the same field in the
		record.

	A _phrase_ consists of two or more groups of characters
		separated by blanks.  The value to be searched
		is exactly as it appears in the search term
		with respect to order and adjacency.

	Note:  Truncation is not supported by the LC MUMS server.
		Also, no wildcard (or truncation) character is
                supported. 

Search Term Processing Guidelines

The search term specified in the query can be present anywhere in a
searchable field and need not appear at the beginning of the field.
This is true of both keyword or phrase search terms.

If multiple words appear in the same search term, all words must 
appear in the same field in the record.

If a query contains words in multiple search terms (i.e., separated
by a Boolean operator), the words can appear in different fields in
the same record.

A keyword search term for a personal name can be either the first,
middle, or last name (or a combination). 

For personal name phrase search terms, the order in which the names
appear in the search term is significant.  In other words, the
surname must appear first (with or without a comma). 

MUMS Sort Order

Records in LC MUMS result sets generated by component word searches are
in chronological order by the LC control number.  Therefore, the
most recently published items will appear at the end of the result
set.

Records in result sets generated by derived key searches are returned
in alphabetical order according to the Library of Congress Filing
Rules.

Current Gateway Limitations

Diacritics and special characters returned to the gateway 
(in USMARC records) by the LC Z39.50 server are currently not being
converted to character representations that can be displayed correctly
in HTML.

Helpful Hints

   1. Do not include a single quotation mark in a search term.

        Example: title = prizzi's honor    (instead use: prizzis honor)


   2. When using the HTML search form, use English equivalents for special
      letters (e.g., digraph ae, digraph oe, Polish L, alpha, beta,
      gamma, etc.) and omit diacritics

        Example: title = saertryk		(instead of digraph ae)
                 personal name = walesa		(instead of Polish L)
                 title = g rays			(i.e., gamma rays)


   3. Do not include stop words in the search term --
      "stop words" include articles, prepositions, and conjunctions
      in the principal languages 

        Example:     title = gone with the wind  

        Instead use: title = gone wind         OR
                     title = gone before (2) wind    (see #5 below)


   4. Using words in search terms that occur frequently in the LC index
      will result in search diagnostics.  However, if the resulting 
      search term is as distinctive as possible, and you don't mind
      the extra wait, send the search again immediately after receiving
      the diagnostic. 

        Example: Personal name (phrase) = smith john    (send twice)

        Example: Corporate name (phrase) = united airlines  (send twice)


   5. It is possible to pass proximity operators in the search term.

        LC Proximity operators include: 
                 before (or "bef")
                 near
                 adjacent (or "adj")

               (Note: For proximity operators to be processed correctly,
                do not specify "phrase" Structure attribute -- select
                either "word" or "word list".)

        Example:  title = special before weapons
                   AND (operator)
                  title = teams adj tactics

        Example:  title = internet adjacent companion
 
       Proximity modifiers can be used in combination with numbers
       to place a maximum distance between one word, word list,
       or phrase and another.  The number is input after the 
       modifier enclosed in parentheses.

            Example:  title = group before (1) insurance

            Example:  title = group before (0) insurance

            Example:  title = internet near (5) companion

                (For the following search, you will need to use the
                 "Title and Personal Name Only" search form -- so
                 more than 32 character can be entered.)

            Example:  title = 'web empowerment' near (5) internet

       Note: the maximum distance which can be specified between
             words, word lists or phrases is 255 words.  ADJACENT
             without a number is interpreted by the system as if the
             modifier 0 had been given.  BEFORE without a number
             is interpreted as if the modifier 255 had been given. 


   6. Words and abbreviations which serve a special function in
      searches are called reserved words.  Reserved words have a
      special meaning for the online system.  They can be used as
      search terms in searches only when enclosed in quotation
      marks (single or double).


        LC MUMS Reserved words include:
		personal	p	before		and
		corporate	c	bef...**	or
		title		t	near		not
		subject		s	adjacent
		series		se	adj...**
 		note		n

               ** any word beginning with these letters is treated as
                  a reserved word and must be enclosed in quotation
                  marks.

           Example:  title  (phrase) = tax 'adjustment'

           Example:  title  (phrase) = 'near' east

Return to the LC Simple Search Form