Advanced Search Help

Advanced Query

In the 'Advanced Query' box, you can pinpoint your search using the specific search fields for keywords, titles, authors and subjects. These fields can also be combined. For example, if you know only part of a title and the author's first name, enter these into the relevant fields and select 'Search'. See below for some examples of how to combine fields.

If you know the book number of the DAISY audio or etext book you want, you can enter it in the 'Book number' field and select 'Search'. This must be entered as a five digit number, with no letters in front of it.

Subject Interest

Subject Interest Codes (SICs) are the Blind Foundation Library's own subject categories. A full list of our SICs is available on the Book genres page. To search by subject interest, first select a broad subject from the 'Category' drop-down menu. This will then quickly generate the relevant 'Interest' drop-down menu. Selecting a SIC from this drop-down menu will allow you to bring up a list of all books containing this SIC. For example, selecting 'Travel and History' from the 'Category' menu will then allow you to select 'New Zealand History' from the 'Interest' menu and then 'Search'.

Filters

You can use the following drop-down menus to filter (limit) your search:

• Collection - Specify whether you want to search the holdings of the main (Parnell) Library, the BLINK Library (for children and young adults), the Music collection or the Staff Reference collection.
• Language - Specify which language you would like your books in.
• Reading Level - Specify the reading age level of the books.
• Format - Specify which format you would prefer. For example, selecting 'DAISY audio' will bring you results with only DAISY digital audio books.

You can combine more than one search field and select from more than one drop-down menu to refine your search. For example, by entering the word 'sense' into the 'Title' field and the word 'austen' into the 'Author' field, and by selecting 'DAISY audio' in the 'Format' drop-down menu, the item retrieved is the DAISY audio book version of Sense and sensibility by Jane Austen.

Alternatively, you may wish to know what books the Library holds by your favourite author in a particular genre. By entering the words 'dick francis' into the 'Author' field, and by selecting 'Fiction and Literature' in the 'Category' drop-down menu and then 'Mystery and Detective Stories' in the 'Interest' drop-down menu, the catalogue will find you all the books by Dick Francis that are categorised as mysteries. It will not be a list of all the Dick Francis books we hold, as your search has limited them to the genre of mystery.

Other Advanced Search Notes

If you prefer to use the advanced search features whenever you access the Library catalogue, you can use the Set User Preferences page to set them as your default search options. See the Search Tips page for pointers on how to search using Boolean operators, wildcards and phrases.

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