Searching the Shared History Collection

The Shared History Collection and other digital collections are works in progress. The Libraries continue to add digital images, descriptions, and indexing. Information is not available for every field in every record. If your search fails to retrieve the expected results, try alternative or broader terms.

Simple Search

Use the Simple Search across all fields for broadest retrieval.

•  Search terms are not case sensitive.
•   If you include more than one word, the default search mode will retrieve only items that contain all of your search keywords. For example:
  • old main will retrieve all records with “old” and “main” in the record, not necessarily in that order
  • To use “or” or “not,” or phrase searching, choose the Advanced Search option and set your Preferences to use Boolean Searching.
•  Use an asterisk * as a wild card at the end of a word or string of letters to retrieve all possible endings. For example:
  •  razorback* will retrieve razorback as well as razorbacks

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Advanced Search

With Advanced Searching, you can search on specific fields and use Boolean operators (and, or, not) to connect terms or phrases.

Field Searching

You can specify fields to be searched by using the pull-down lists on the Advanced Search screen. Available fields vary within each collection. Field search criteria are connected with “and.”

Note that the “Keyword” field does not automatically search all fields. To search across all fields, choose that option.

Not all fields have data; if your search fails to retrieve results, try another search string or another field.

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Browsing Index Terms

Use the Browse Terms dictionary on the right of the Advanced Search page to yield more successful searches of single collections. The Browse Terms dictionary is an alphabetical list of words (based on collection metadata) that can be used as search terms. Depending on the search field you select, such as Title, Subject, or Description, different browse terms are available. (Note: The Browse Terms dictionary is not available when searching two or more collections at the same time.)
To search a single collection using the Browse Terms feature:

1. Select a browse term field that matches the search field you wish to use. For example, to perform a Title search, select Title from the Browse Terms dictionary.
2. The Browse Terms dictionary will display a list of all terms within that field in the current collection.
3. Scroll through the browse list to find the term you want to search on and click on the word to make it appear in the corresponding search field. (Note: To add additional words to your search field without replacing the initial entry you must type into the search field directly.) Click Search.
4. Select Clear to remove all search keywords and start over.

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Searching Tips

• Search terms are not case sensitive.
• If you include more than one word, the default search mode will retrieve only items that contain all of your search keywords. For example:
  • old main will retrieve all records with “old” and “main” in the record, not necessarily in that order.
• To use “or” or “not” to connect terms, click on Preferences and choose the option for “Search for an exact phrase and/or use specific Boolean search operators (and, or, not).” This will set your search preferences for the session.
• Use quotation marks around your search terms when you want your search results to contain the exact phrase you entered.
• Use an asterisk * as a wild card at the en of a word or string of letters to letters to retrieve all possible endings. For example:
  • razorback* will retrieve razorback or razorbacks

Displaying Results

• Click on an image thumbnail to see the full-sized image.
• Click on an image caption to see the full record and metadata for that image.

More Help

Additional help, including assistance with the "My Favorites" option, can be found on the CONTENTdm Web site .