Searching

Search levels

Users can search at different levels of the archive.

To search the entire archive, enter a search term into the search box in the top right corner:

Search Entire Archive

Users can also search within a collection or folder. To search within a folder, navigate to the collection/ folder and enter your search terms in the “Search within current folder” box:

Search within folder

Search Tips

Keyword Searching

AND, OR, NOT (Boolean) searching

• AND
  • If users are searching for materials that contain multiple keywords, type the first keyword, followed by AND, and the second keyword. For example, trains AND Boston will only show results for items that contain both keywords.
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    Search (AND)

     

• OR
  • Use OR to include search results that have two or more similar concepts. For example, trains OR Boston will return records that include either of those terms.
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    Search (OR)

     

• NOT
  • Use NOT to exclude a keyword from search results. For example, if a user is searching for information about mayors but does not want results for Boston mayors, they can use NOT to exclude Boston from the search results. Example: mayor NOT Boston.

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    Search (NOT)

Exact Phrase Searching

A phrase search is used when the user is looking for a set of terms in the exact order they appear. Entering a phrase in quotes will only return results for that exact phrase. For example, searching “Battle of Bunker Hill” will only return results with that phrase in that order:

Search (Exact Phrase)

If a user types Battle of Bunker Hill, that will return results with any of these terms: Battle; of; Bunker; Hill:

Search (regular)

Use a wildcard search to return results that include the exact spelling of the term up to the asterisk.For example, searching for  organ* finds organization, organizations, organize, organizers.

Search (Wildcard)

Refining search results

Users can refine search results using facets and filters

Facets

Use the facets on the left to narrow results down by date, item type, collection type, or collection.

Filters

Advanced search options can be accessed by clicking “+Filter” button.

• Click on the down arrow to choose a filter
• Enter your search term
• Click “Add” button

Sorting search results

Search results are sorted by relevance, but users can also sort by date or title by clicking the sort drop-down or changing the direction of the arrows in each column.