Library Catalog > Search Help > Search Tips
Search Tips
Use these simple tips to get better search results.
Multiple words
Searching multiple words retrieves all records containing those words, though not necessarily in the order entered.
Example: garden Pacific Northwest
Phrase searches
Words enclosed in quotation marks will appear together exactly as typed.
Example: "world health organization"
Wildcards
*
Use the asterisk to find words with similar letters. The asterisk matches up to five characters.
Example: inter* will match internal, interrogate, interruption, and so on.
?
Use the question mark to replace a single character anywhere within a word.
Example: wom?n
"And," "or" and "and not"
Use these words to further refine your search.
Examples:
Stocks and bonds
Stocks or bonds
Stocks and not bonds
Proximity
"Near"
Use "near" to look for words near each other.
Example:
international near conference
"Within"
Use "within" to find words within a specific number of words from each other.
Example:
literature within 3 Spanish
(this finds records where the word literature is within three words of Spanish)