Education

Subject Searching

Subject searching looks for words in the Subject field. It will only find materials based on what subject they are organized. It is a good strategy for topics that are well-defined, and have a lot written about them. 

Keyword Searching

Keyword searching allows you to search for words in any of the text fields of the catalog.  Keyword searching is usually less precise, but more flexible than subject searching.  Keyword searching is particularly useful for new topics, and for combining two or more ideas.

Use these features in the Library Catalog to expand

• $ is used as a truncation symbol to retrieve all terms beginning with the same root. The $ may replace more than one character.
• A number following a $ is used to indicate the maximum number of characters the $ can represent.
• ? is used as a wildcard to mask one character to retrieve similar words (e.g., woman and women). It can be used in the middle or at the end of a word.
• A number following a ? is used to indicate the exact number of characters the ? represents.

Examples of Truncation/Wildcards in the Library Catalog:

 Use the User Guide for the Rutgers University Library Catalog for searching tips.

If the book is IN-LIBRARY, you can go to the library to check it out or use Book Delivery to have it delivered to a convenient Rutgers library location for you.

If the book is CHECKEDOUT, MISSING or not owned by Rutgers Libraries, use E-Z Borrow to request book from a library outside of Rutgers.

If there are no copies listed in the Library Catalog, use E-Z Borrow to request a copy.  If there are no copies in the E-Z Borrow system (PALCI), use Interlibrary Loan and Article Delivery to request a copy from another library.

If the book is IN-PROCESS, use Book Delivery to initiate priority processing and delivery.