When searching the WLS Catalog there are three pieces of information you need to provide to make your search successful:

• The search terms box-this is the text box where you enter your search
• The type of search you would like to perform-the most common is "words or phrases" this is also referred to as "keyword".
• The library field-which is library you would like to search, the default is all libraries.

Let's take a more detailed look at Search Terms. For all examples here assume that we are searching all libraries and performing a "words and phrases" search.

The empty text box on the screen is where you enter your search terms. Search terms can be anything such as an author's name, title of a book, or even the format.

If you were to enter: The Pelican Brief, you will find records for John Grisham's, The Pelican Brief on DVD, VHS, audiobook, paperback, large print, and audiobook formats.

You can also use additional search terms to find exactly what you are looking for.

For example, if you were to enter: The Pelican Brief DVD, you will find the record for the DVD movie of The Pelican Brief.

There are also four special search terms called "operators" that can tell the catalog more about your search. Using these words can either expand or narrow your search depending on how you use them. Sometimes these words are even part of what we are looking for and create a challenge when searching. These special operators are:

• AND is an inclusive term. When used between terms it tells the catalog that you want to search for items that have a term AND another term.
• OR is an exclusive term. When used between terms it tells the catalog that you want to search for items that have a term OR another term, but not items with both terms.
• NOT is also an exclusive term. When used before a term it tells the catalog to find items without the term that follows it.
• WITH is an inclusive term and very similar to AND. When used between terms it tells the catalog that you want to search for items that have a term WITH another term in the same field. In the catalog author, title and subject are in different fields. The catalog automaticalls inserts a WITH between the search terms unless another operators is put in by the user.

Here are some examples of what can help and what to avoid.

If you were looking for the book: God is not Great and you were to enter: God is not Great, you are telling the catalog that you are looking for items that have the words "God" and "is" and does not have the word "Great". This means that you will not find the book God is not Great by entering the complete title.

To find that item successfully you should drop the operator term and only enter: God is Great.

Alternatively, if you want to search for something that has an exclusive term in it but do not want to drop it from your search you can enter the search with quotation marks.

For example if you enter: "God is not Great" you will find that item. Using the quotation marks tells the catalog that the all the terms in them are part of the search and are not to be treated as operators.

AND is a very powerful operator. Placing an AND between your search terms allows your search to be very inclusive. When searching terms that may appear in different fields, using an AND may help you find what you are looking for.

For example: John Grisham wrote a book called Skipping Christmas which was later made into a movie called Christmas with the Kranks. If you were to search the catalog for: Grisham Kranks your search would yeild no results. This is because there is no field where Grisham appears with the term Kranks in any records.

However if you were to search: Grisham AND Kranks your search will yeild the record for Christmas With The Kranks. This is because in that records there is a field for the title Christmas With The Kranks and there is another field that states that it is based on a book by John Grisham.

For more help on searching please contact your local public library and ask to speak to a reference librarian.