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~How To Search

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There are two methods of searching our catalogue, Quick Search and Detailed Search.

Quick Search:

This is a quick and convenient method of searching our catalogue. This search box can be found on the right side of this page and many other pages on our website. To do a Quick Search simply type ALL or PART of the TITLE, AUTHOR, STOCK ID, or EAN into the Quick Search field and press enter or return on your keyboard. A list of full and partial matches will be displayed. This method of searching is best if you know exactly what you are looking for and want to find it quickly.

Detailed Search:

This is a more precise method of searching and is much better if you are browsing for a selection of items on a particular topic or theme. Detailed Search is available by clicking on SEARCH at the top of each page. Detailed Search works in the same way as Quick Search and allows you to search our catalogue by TITLE, AUTHOR, STOCK ID, or EAN (13-digit ISBN). [10-digit ISBN search coming soon]

However, you can also search our entire catalogue for KEYWORDS in the description or synopsis of an item. This makes it much easier to search for books by content, or to find books on specialist topics. Simply type your search terms into the search field, choose ALL under the drop down menu beside the search field, and click FIND to generate a list of items.

For instance, if you want to find references to Desdemona, type this into the search field, choose ALL from the drop down menu, and then click FIND. You would also find references Desdemona if you simply typed ‘Desd’ but typing in ‘mona’ and then searching using ALL will bring up references to many other things that include ‘mona’ – ‘Monash’, ‘monarch’, etc.

Browse by Topic:

Under Detailed Search you also have the option to browse our catalogue by TOPIC. Simply select a topic from the lower drop down list - this will generate a list of most the books we currently have on that topic.

Please note: if you are looking, for instance, for all books on, or reference to, Ben Jonson, you may not necessarily find them all under the topic ‘Ben Jonson: Life, Critical Studies’, as this will only list those books that are about Ben Jonson, and critical examinations of his works, in general.

If you want to locate most major references to Ben Jonson, click any title that is listed under the topic ‘Ben Jonson: Life, Critical Studies’ (or any other topic that starts with ‘Ben Jonson'), and then click on ‘Ben Jonson’ as a related keyword – this will then display most tagged major references.

Single Record Display:

Click on any title to show a single record from the list of search items generated. This single page displays our inventory record and, more often than not, a book image. This screen also lists the topics associated with the stock record and you can browse through them at will.

If you can't find the item you are looking for then please contact us and we will do our best to locate it for you.