Advanced Search in Booklist Online

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The Advanced Search screen presents many options for searching Booklist Online that you can use alone or in combination with others. This guide will introduce you to each of the ADVANCED SEARCH OPTIONS and then outline some ADVANCED SEARCH TECHNIQUES to conduct effective searches.

Advanced Search screen in Booklist Online

You can get to the Advanced Search screen by clicking the Go to Advanced Search link directly above PRINT ISSUES in the left blue panel of any Booklist Online screen.

ADVANCED SEARCH OPTIONS

Option 1: Field Search

Option 2: Booklist Taxonomy

Option 3: Booklist Print Issue / Booklist Online Publication Date

Option 4: Audience/Format

Option 5: Dewey Range

Option 6: Grade Range

Option 7: Publication Date

Option 8: Fiction/Nonfiction

Option 9: Limit Search To: [special designations]

Option 10: Awards

Option 1: Field Search

Field Search is available in the set of five boxes at the top of the Advanced Search page, directly under Advanced Search Reviews. The left Search On boxes indicate the fields in which you can search. Enter search criteria in the center Search For boxes. At the far right, you can use the drop-downs to toggle the default and boxes to or to broaden the search. The screen shot above shows some of the fields in which you can search, as well as two or and two and connectors.

Click on a Search On box to change the field in which you search from Keyword in Title to one of the other selections:

Author/Editor

Illustrator

Audiobook Reader

Keyword in Subject

Keyword in Review

Publisher Name

Reviewer Name

ISBN

Then enter appropriate criteria in the corresponding Search For box.

Advanced Search Field Search Options

Click the brown SEARCH NOW box at the top of the screen to initiate the search.

The example above shows a search for the keyword spain in the Title of reviews.

You may enter criteria for up to five fields in one search, using the same or different fields. Connect the boxes with AND to retrieve fewer results. Use OR to receive more results.

Advanced Search - AND / OR

Example : Searching on spain as a Keyword in ReviewORspanish as a Keyword in Review, ORspain as a Keyword in TitleORspanish as a Keyword in Title (above) retrieves over 2100 results.

Example : Changing the ORs to ANDs and searching on spain in the reviewANDspanish in the reviewANDspain in the titleANDspanish in the title returned only 4 results.

Important Points About Searching Keywords:

  • Searching is case insensitive. Using upper case or lower case letters will not affect results.
  • Booklist Online automatically “stems” keywords on the right; it will retrieve words that extend for more characters on the right than you enter. Therefore entering cide will retrieve cide and cider. Entering graph will retrieve graph, graphs, graphic and graphics.
  • Exact phrase searching is available in the Keyword in Title and Keyword in Review fields. Put quotation marks around the exact phrase, in the exact order, that you want to search. Example: “web” retrieves Web but not Webster; “now is the time” retrieves items with that exact phrase.
  • A Keyword in Subject search will retrieve items where the keyword matches words in a Library of Congress Subject Heading (LCSH) assigned to the record. LCSH terms can be viewed in the Search for Similar Titles box under the review in a Citation + Full Text view.

More Field Searching Tips:

  • You can search by any keyword of the publisher’s name in the Publisher Name field. Example: Littlefield will retrieve Rowman & Littlefield .
  • See the Searching for Author guide for tips on searching names in the Author/Editor, Illustrator, Audiobook Reader, and Reviewer Name fields.
  • See the Searching by ISBN guide for tips on searching in the ISBN field.

Option 2: Booklist Taxonomy

You may use the Booklist Taxonomy box to limit a search to one or more subject divisions. Use the scroll bar on the right to scroll up or down to view the entire list of subjects. The Booklist taxonomy is hierarchical.

There are four top-level subject divisions:

ADULT BOOKS

BOOKS FOR YOUTH

MEDIA

REFERENCE

Within each of these top-level divisions there are multiple-level subdivisions.

For example, ADULT BOOKS has two major second-level divisions: ADULT NONFICTION and ADULT FICTION.

ADULT NONFICTION has many third-level divisions: Adult Arts, Adult Business, Adult Child Care, etc.

Adult Arts has fourth-level divisions: Adult Architecture, Adult Dance, Adult Movies & Television, Adult Music, Adult Photography, and Adult Theater.

The divisions are shown graphically with a series of indentations and punctuation marks:

Advanced Search - Booklist Taxonomy

You may select multiple divisions and subdivisions of the taxonomy for searching by clicking on the terms while holding down the CTRL key on your computer. The terms you select will be highlighted.

Because the taxonomy is hierarchical, searching on a higher-level term will automatically retrieve the lower-level terms within that category. Highlighting ......Adult Arts will automatically search for items classified as Adult Arts, but also:

............Adult Architecture

............Adult Dance

............Adult Movies & Television

............Adult Music

............Adult Photography

............Adult Theater

Likewise, searching on the taxonomy term ......Adult Crime Fiction will automatically retrieve items classified as Adult Mystery, Adult Spy/Espionage, and Adult Thriller/Suspense, as well as the more general Adult Crime Fiction.

Clicking the Clear Taxonomy link below the Booklist Taxonomy box erases all previous taxonomy selections and returns to the default All category.

Option 3: Booklist Print Issue / Booklist Online Publication Date

You may search for reviews that appeared in specific issues of Booklist (print edition) or Booklist Online. Use the drop-down boxes to select a semi-monthly issue designation and the year date. You may designate a sequential range of issues from one begin date to the same or a later end date.

Advanced Search - Booklist Print Issue/Booklist Online Publication Date: December 1, 2011 issue

Example: The above search will retrieve material from the Dec 1, 2011 issue only.

Advanced Search - Booklist Print Issue/Booklist Online Publication Date: December 1, 2010 through February 1, 2011

Example: The above search will retrieve reviews from all issues published between December 1, 2010 and February 1, 2011.

The default selection for Issue and Publication Date is All.

Option 4: Audience/Format

Advanced Search - Audience/Format

You may limit your search to reviews for items published in various formats and for various audiences or purposes. Use the scroll bar in the Audience/Format box to view options:

All (the default choice)

Adult Books

Books for Youth

Video & DVD

Audio for Adults

Audio for Youth

Reference

Internet Resources

You may select multiple values for audience/format by holding down the CTRL key as you click on them.

Clicking the Clear Audience/Format link below the Audience/Format box erases all previous audience/format selections and returns to the default value All.

Option 5: Dewey Range

You may use the Dewey Range box to search for reviews by subject. This subject taxonomy corresponds to the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system that is used to place books in order on the shelves of many public and school libraries. Specify a beginning and end range for your search.

Note: The DDC is hierarchical by number, and digits to the right of the decimal point automatically fill as zeros. Therefore, 001.94209716 files before 001.944, because 001.944 is really 001.94400000. If you want to search all the subdivisions of a whole number (the numbers to the right of the decimal point), it is a good idea to extend your search to several 9s to the right of the decimal point as the upper range of your search.

Advanced Search - Dewey Range

Example: A search for materials classified from 001.9 to 001.99999 found items classified with the following Dewey numbers, all of which indicate variations on the subject of “paranormal or supernatural”:

001.9

001.94

001.942

001.94209716

001.944

001.95

OCLC, the current publisher of the Dewey Decimal Classification, has several resources for learning about the DDC at http://www.oclc.org/dewey/resources/public.htm.

Option 6: Grade Range

All titles in the Books For Youth category are assigned a grade level based on format, reading level, style, subject interest, and appeal. You can search for items that match a single or a range of grade levels.

Advanced Search - Grade Range

Select one value for the left (beginning level) box and the same or a higher value for the right (end level) box.

Example: Select Preschool for the beginning level and 3rd Grade for the end level.

The default value for Grade Range is All.

Option 7: Publication Date

Advanced Search - Publication Date

The month and year of publication is indicated for all book titles. You may search by a single or range of book publication dates. Use the drop-down Publication Date boxes to indicate a value for month and for year for the beginning and the end dates.

Advanced Search - Publication Date: January 2011 through December 2011

Example : The above search will find books published in 2011.

The default value for publication date is All.

Note: Since non-book media reviews generally have no date of publication indicated, limiting a search by Publication Date will automatically exclude media reviews from your results.

Option 8: Fiction/Nonfiction

Advanced Search - Fiction/Nonfiction

You can easily limit your search to either Fiction (in all genre) or Nonfiction by clicking on Fiction or Nonfiction in this box. The default is to include both types of works. This search limiter works well in combination with one or more other Advanced Search options.

Example: In the field search options, select Keyword in Title and enter the keyword Spain.Then in Booklist Taxonomy, select ADULT BOOKS. Then in the Fiction/Nonfiction box, click on Fiction. Your results will show a small number of fiction books for adults that have the word Spain in the title.

Option 9: Limit Search To:

Several special designations are made to indicate the format of a work or its exceptional, award-winning nature. These designations may be used in this field to limit a search. The choices are:

Starred Reviews - A starred review indicates a work judged by a Booklist reviewer to be outstanding in its genre.

Online-Only Reviews - These reviews are exclusive to Booklist Online and have never appeared in a Booklist print issue.

Adult Book Recommended for Young Adults

First Novels

Picture Books

Easy Readers

E-books

Use the checkbox to limit a search to one or more of these. An AND relationship is assumed between the various designations.

Advanced Search - Limit Search to:

Example: The search above will find all e-books that have been reviewed online but not in the print Booklist.

This Limit option can be used effectively in combination with other Advanced Search options.

Example: In Audience/Format select Adult Books; in Fiction/Nonfiction select Fiction; in Booklist Print Issue/Booklist Online Publication Date, select Jan. 1 & 15, 2011 and Dec. 15, 2011; and then click in the checkbox for Starred Reviews to find almost 300 adult fiction titles reviewed in 2011 by Booklist that received “starred review” status. Hint: You may want to revise this search by keyword or some other factor to reduce the number of results.

Option 10: Awards

You may limit a search to reviews for books and media that have received prestigious national awards. More information about the awards is available from links at http://www.booklistonline.com/awards.

Advanced Search - Awards

Use the CTRL key to highlight more than one award from the scroll box. An OR relationship is assumed among the names in this box.

You may limit by these awards:

Booklist Top of the List

Booklist Editors’ Choice

Newbery Medal

Newbery Honor

Caldecott Medal

Caldecott Honor

Printz Award

Printz Honor

Odyssey Award

Odyssey Honor

Morris Award

Morris Honor

Sibert Medal

Sibert Honor

Dartmouth Medal

Dartmouth Honor

Coretta Scott King Award

Coretta Scott King Honor

Pura Belpre Award

Pura Belpre Honor

Stonewall Award

Stonewall Honor

Notable Books

The Reading List

Notable Children’s Books

Amelia Bloomer

Carnegie Medal

Notable Media

Best Books for Young Adults

Best Fiction for Young Adults

Alex Awards

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction Finalists

Rainbow Lists

Over the Rainbow List

Great Graphic Novels for Teens

Quick Picks

National Book Award

National Book Critics Circle Award

Pulitzer Prize

Booker Prize

Clicking the Clear Awards link below the Awards box erases all previous award selections and returns to the default value of no award.

ADVANCED SEARCH TECHNIQUES

Several important features are available with Advanced Search to help in all searches.

Sort Order

The Sort Order box at the very bottom of the Search Options categories governs how you review search results. The default order for displaying search results is by Date, with newest publication dates first. This may not always be useful (as, for example, when you have limited a search to a particular issue of Booklist or to a specific publication date). You may change the sort order to Title or Author.

Advanced Search - Sort Order

If you want to change the order in which search results appear, it is best to do it before you click on the brown SEARCH NOW button. Use the drop-down Sort Order button on the Advanced Search page to change from Date order.

Clearing and Revising Searches, and Starting Again

Advanced Search - Search Now/Clear Search

A brown CLEAR SEARCH button appears at the top and bottom of the Advanced Search screen next to the SEARCH NOW button. Clicking on CLEAR SEARCH will instantaneously erase all criteria you have entered in any of the search options boxes and return you to the defaults.

You may erase search criteria from specific boxes by clicking the Clear xxxxx link below that criteria box. This option works for the Booklist Taxonomy, Audience/Format, and Awards scroll boxes.

Revise Search

Advanced Search - Revise Search

The Revise Search link appears at the top left on all pages of your search results. When you review search results and get a better idea of how to “tweak” the search by making only a small change or two to the strategy to get what you want, click the Revise Search link. You will be taken back to the prior Advanced Search screen with all your criteria for the current search intact. You need only make the changes to the field(s) you want to change in the search.

New Search

A New Search link appears on all pages of your search results. If you are done with a search and want to do another one that is completely different, click on the New Search link. You will be taken back to the Advanced Search screen and begin from a “blank slate,” with only the default values intact.

Save Search

A Save Search link appears on search results pages in Citation and Citation+Partial Text views. If you have created a complicated search, or one that you want to repeat again in the future, click the Save Search link to save the search strategy you have just used to create the results viewed on that page—you do not save the results themselves. You will be taken to a page where you have the opportunity to name the search strategy and give it a brief description. When you access your list of saved searches later and choose a search to run again, the search form will be automatically filled in with the same strategy.

Access previously saved searches by going to Advanced Search and clicking the black SAVED SEARCHES tab at the top right of the Advanced Search Reviews page.

You must be logged in as an individual user to use the Save Search feature.

See also Working with Search Results in Booklist Online for help in viewing and managing the results of your searches.

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