Set Up a Search

A search query is a structured request for database information. The simplest query uses default settings, and you simply type a word or phrase to describe the records. This word or phrase might be, for example, a full or partial title, the last name of an author, a patron’s name, or a purchase order number.

A standard search query on the Find Tool requires the following four criteria:

• Record (Object)
• Access point (Search by)
• Type of search (Type)
• Search string (For)

You can also narrow your search by selecting an option in the Limit by box, and then a value in the Value box. To sort the results before they are returned, select an option in the Sort by box. The options in the Limit by and Sort by boxes depend on the type of record you selected in the Object box.

Record (Object)

The record types that you can select in the Object box depend on the menu option, workform, or field where you accessed the Find Tool. For example, in a Purchase Order workform, if you click Find in the Supplier field, the Find Tool opens with Supplier in the Object box. When you open the Find Tool from the Funds field, Fund is selected in the Object box.

Access Point (Search by)

You select the access point in the Search by box. The list of access points depends on the record type you selected in the Object box. For example, access points for bibliographic records include Title, Author, and Subject (among others). You can set your own default Search by access point for each record type. Then, whenever you log on with your user ID and search for a record using the Find Tool, the Search by option is automatically set for the record type. See Customize the Find Tool by user. You can set the option back to the system default at any time.

Search Type

The available search types depend on your selections in the Object box and the Search by box.

Tip:
When you do a title search, Polaris checks fields in the bibliographic record indexed for title searching, such as the 245, 246, 440, and 740 tags.

• Exact match (implicitly truncated) - Displays all the records beginning with the letters or numbers in the For box. No asterisk is needed after the term in this type of search. However, you may want to enter an asterisk before the search term. See Using Wildcard Characters in Searches.

Example:
Type energy in the For box for a bibliographic title search. The results list includes all titles that begin with energy.

• Exact match (explicitly truncated) - Displays only the records that exactly match the letters or numbers in the For box. If you use an asterisk, the Results list displays the same records as those of an implicitly truncated search.

Example:
Type energy in the For box for a bibliographic title search. The results list includes only items titled energy.
If you type energy*, the results are the same as for an implicit search of energy.

• Browse - Display the specified index headings, beginning with entries that start with text similar to the text in the For box. For example, a browse title search for trains displays the portion of the title index containing the first title that starts with trains. Browse searching is Unicode-compliant, so you can enter diacritics or special characters and the headings display that begin with the characters. See Doing a Browse Search.
• Keyword search - Finds records that include the exact search term or terms you input, in any order. There is an implied and between multiple words. For example, a keyword title search for trains displays a list of items that have the word trains anywhere in the title. See Doing a Keyword Search.
• Phrase search - A special kind of keyword search for multiple words in the exact order in which you entered them. See Doing a Phrase Search.

Sort By

Tip:
The Sort by option is not available for browse searching.

If you want search results to display in a specific order, you can select an option in the Sort by box. The sort option can be part of your user default settings when you are searching for a specific type of record. For information on setting a user default search, see Customize the Find Tool by user.

The available options in the Sort by box depend on the record. For example, if you are searching for a bibliographic record, you can select from the following sort options:

• Author
• Author, the Publication Date
• Author, then Title
• Call Number
• Call Number, then Author
• Call Number, then Publication Date
• Call Number, then Title
• Control Number
• Most Popular
• Publication Date
• Publication Date, then Author
• Publication Date, then Relevance
• Publication Date, then Title
• Relevance
• Title
• Title, then Author
• Title, then Author, then Type of Material
• Title, then Publication Date
• Title, then Type of Material
• Type of Material

Search String (For)

You specify the search string in the For box by typing one or more characters. Polaris ignores letter case, multiple spaces, and all punctuation (except quotation marks) entered in the For box. The search does consider special characters and diacritics. Consider the following when entering text in the For box:

Initial articles

If the Use Initial Articles Table checkbox is checked on the Settings tab, the initial article in a title is ignored or “stripped out” if that article is defined in the Defining Leading Articles).

Example:
Searching for The Great Gatsby yields the same results as searching for Great Gatsby.

The checkbox is used when the search type is Exact match (either implicitly or explicitly truncated), and you are searching for the following records:

• Authority Records (Heading, Tracing/Reference)
• Bibliographic Records (Title and Series)
• Check In Records (Title)
• Claims (Title) (both for Acquisitions and Serial versions)
• Course Reserve Records (Title)
• Hold Requests (Title)
• ILL Requests (Title)
• Invoice Line Items (Title)
• Issue Records (Title)
• Item Records (Title and Series)
• Part Records (Title)
• Purchase Order Line Items (Title)
• Reserve Item Records (Title)
• Route Lists (Title)
• Selection List Line Items (Title)
• Serial Holdings Records (Title)
• Subscription Records (Title)

Reusing a search string

All the search strings you type in the For box are retained during a Polaris session. To use a search string for another search, select the string in the For box.

Using an implicitly truncated search - A title search for “bulletin” could be done using the following string: bulle.

Note:
If you can use an ampersand (&) in a search string for phrase and keyword searching, it is equivalent to the word and. The ampersand and the word and are not interchangeable for exact match or browse searching.

Using Wildcard Characters in Searches

Wildcard characters are the special characters asterisk * or question mark ?, which you can use in a search to represent the rest of the word in keyword and exact match - implicitly truncated searches. A wildcard character is not necessary after the search term in an exact match - implicitly truncated search because the truncation is implied. However, you may want to enter an asterisk before your search term if you are not sure if something comes before the search term.

Examples:
Keyword searching - The entry King* for a keyword author search yields results such as King, Kingsley, and Kingford. The entry *King* for a keyword author search yields results such as Talking Heads, Dykinga, and Polkinghorne.

Exact match (implicitly truncated) -The entry material for a selection list line item notes search gets no search results. However *material finds the selection list line item that has the note: This is printed music, but the material type is set to 28 Youth. The search finds the results because it looks for material anywhere in the note.

Limit By

Tip:
The Limit by option is not available in Browse searches.

You can limit your search to narrow the results. For example, you can search for a title and limit the format to DVD. Some Limit by options have pre-set selections in the Value box. For example, if you select Language, a list of languages appears in the Value box. But, if you select Author, you type the author’s name in the Value box. You must be precise when you enter free text in the Value box because there is no implicit truncation. When you enter only a part of the value you want to limit by, you must also enter an asterisk.

Example:
If you are searching for item records by title, and you limit by Current borrower, type the patron’s name in the Value box in these formats:

last name*

last name, first name*

last name, first name middle name

You must include the comma and the wildcard character as shown. The last name alone will not work in the Value box.

The specific languages listed in the Value box are set in the MARC Language Scoping Display policy table. This list is used if the Staff Client profile Find tool: Use language scoping display is set to Yes in Polaris Administration. See Setting Language Display