Cofrin Library

University of Wisconsin Green Bay Cofrin Library Cofrin Library - Quality service, quality information, quality learning - UW Green Bay

Guide to Using the Government Documents Catalog Service

Search Term Entry 

Use these general guidelines when entering search terms: 

  • Use either upper- or lower-case letters when entering terms 

  • Omit punctuation marks, unless specified (as in Number Search) 

  • Substitute a space for a comma or hyphen where a title contains a number 

Basic Word Search 

To complete the Basic Word Search form:

  • Select the heading you wish to search (Author, Title, Subject, Notes or All Headings) from the Search drop-down menu. To search content notes, select Notes from the Search drop-down menu before entering your search term. 

  • Enter your search term in the "For:" text box. You may use more than one word. 

  • Enter search terms in any order (for Basic Word Search, the Boolean AND is assumed). 

    • Omit "The" as the first word of a title.

    • Include "A" or "An" as the first word of a title. Within a title, the words "of", "and", "the", "in", "to" and "for" are ignored. 

    • There is no automatic truncation in Basic Keyword Search. Enter search terms in complete form. For example: GONE WIND. 

  • Click Start Search. A Title List displays containing all titles which match your search term(s). 

  • Use [ <=First Page ], [ <=Prior Page ], [ Next Page=> ] and [ Last Page=> ] to browse the list. 

  • Click a title link to display the Full Record for the title. 

    • Advanced (Boolean) Word Search 

    Advanced Word Search lets you create "Search Equations" using the logical (Boolean) functions 'And', 'Or', and 'Not', with up to five keyword combinations, across multiple search headings. You can use the Advanced Word Search to locate materials by author, title, subject, notes, or all four headings, based on the keyword(s) you enter and the logical operators you select. Multiple keywords can be entered into any text box, in any order. The system assumes the logical operator 'And' for multiple keywords in any given text box. 

    The functions of the Boolean logical operators are: 

    And - This function retrieves all occurrences of 1st Term And 2nd term. For example, to locate materials about psychiatry written by Sigmund Freud, you would enter <Subject> psychiatry - And - <Author> sigmund freud. 

    Or - This function retrieves all occurrences of 1st Term Or 2nd term. For example, to locate materials about China or Japan, you would enter <Subject> china - Or - <Subject> japan. 

    Not - This function is used to exclude a term from a search; 1st Term Not 2nd term. For example, to locate books with Dracula in the title, but not written by Bram Stoker, you would enter <Title> dracula - Not - <Author> bram stoker. 

    To perform an advanced word search: 

  • At the basic search screen choose Advanced [Boolean] Search from the drop-down menu at the bottom of the screen.

  • Enter your "Search Equation": 

    • Choose the heading you wish to search from the first Search menu: 

      • Author: Searches for materials by the author's name (personal or corporate) 

      • Title: Searches for materials by publication title 

      • Subject: Searches for materials dealing with particular subjects 

      • Notes: Searches for words contained in notes about the item 

      • All Headings: Searches for matching words which appear in any of the four headings described above 

    • Enter the keyword(s) in the first For text box. You can use one or more words in the For text box. 

    • Keywords may be entered in any order. 

    • The total combined length of all keywords entered in a single For text box must be less than 50 characters. 

    • The following words are optional: 'and', 'at', 'by' 'etc.', 'for', 'from', 'in', 'of', 'on', 'the', 'to' and 'with'. The system ignores these words when entered in a For text box. For example, you could enter Gone With The Wind or just Gone Wind and obtain the same results. 

    • Click the And, Or, or Not radio button to set the logical function between the first keyword(s) and the next keyword(s). 

  • Repeat step 2 for subsequent keywords until you have entered all the keywords for your "Search Equation". 

    • Make sure the And - Or - Not radio buttons between the last keyword(s) and the first empty For text box, and between all other empty For text boxes are set to either Or or Not. If the And radio button is set in these cases, the system will display the "No Matches Found!" message when you perform the search. 

  • If you wish, you can use the Change menu to narrow the scope of your search. 

    • Add Language Qualifier: Limits your search results to materials, which are available in a specific language. When a language qualifier has been added, the Change menu includes the following options: 

      • Change Language Qualifier: Lets you change from the currently selected language qualifier to a new language qualifier.

      • Cancel Language Qualifier: Removes the language qualifier from the current keyword search. 

    • Add Date Qualifier: Limits your search results to materials which were published during a specific year (or range of years). When a date qualifier has been added, the Change menu includes the following options: 

      • Change Date Qualifier: Lets you change from the currently selected date qualifier to a new date qualifier. 

      • Cancel Date Qualifier: Removes the date qualifier from the current keyword search. 

    • Add Media Qualifier: Limits your search results to materials which are available in a specific media format (such as books, manuscripts, music, or visual materials). When a media qualifier has been added, the Change menu includes the following options: 

      • Change Media Qualifier: Lets you change from the currently selected media qualifier to a new media qualifier.

      • Cancel Media Qualifier: Removes the media qualifier from the current keyword search.

    • When more than one qualifier has been added, the Change menu includes the Cancel All Qualifiers option, which removes all qualifiers from the current keyword search. 

  • Click the Start Search button to begin the search. When the search is completed, a Title List displays listing all the items which match your "Search Equation". If only one item is located, the system shows the Full Record Display for that item. 

  • If your search does not yield results, the following message displays: 

    No Matches Found!
    The system cannot locate any records for the following Combined Search term(s):
    "(your search term)"
    Please check your spelling. If you need help with your search, please contact a librarian.

    • Title List 

    The Title List is displayed as a result of a Search. The search criteria for the Title List and the total number of titles in the list are displayed at the top of the screen. Each page of the Title List displays up to 10 titles. You can view the Full Record Display for any title in the list by selecting the title link. 

    To view the Title List: 

    • Use the scroll bar to scroll through the current page display. Use the [ Top of Page ] link to return to the top of the current page. 

    • When the number of titles in the list is small, the list is sorted in alphabetic order, by title. When the list is large, it is not sorted. 

    • Use the [ <=First Page ], [ <=Prior Page ], [ Next Page=> ] and [ Last Page=> ] links to display other pages of the list. Use the [ List Format ] and [ Label Format ] links to change the way title list information is displayed. 

    • Each item in the Title List has an associated link, which allows you to display additional information for the title. 

    • Click the title link to view the Full Record Display for that title. 

    Full Record Display 

    The Full Record Display is displayed as a result of a Search, or by selecting certain links on a Title List. Each full record includes complete bibliographic information for the title, and includes holdings information (a list of libraries which have a copy of the title). Other related information is provided, depending on the display format you choose. You can perform additional searches by selecting links in the bibliographic data. 

    To view the Full Record Display: 

    • Use the scroll bar to scroll through the Full Record Display. Use the [ Top of Page ] link to return to the top of the page. 

    • When the full record is displayed from a Title List, use the [ <=First Title ], [ <=Prior Title ], [ Next Title=> ] and [ Last Title=> ] links to display other records from the list. 

    • Use the [ Card Format ], [ Labeled Format ] and [ MARC Format ] links to change the way the full record information is displayed. 

    • Each Full Record Display contains complete bibliographic information, including title, author, description, subject, and catalog number(s). Links in the bibliographic display let you perform additional searches from the Full Record Display. Bibliographic links are not available when the full record is displayed in MARC Format. 

      • Click an Author link to view a list of other titles by the same author. 

      • Click a Title link to view a list of other items with the same title. 

      • Click a Subject link to view a list of other titles in the same subject area. 

    Holdings information: 

  • Click the [ Holdings ] link to scroll the Full Record Display to the Holdings field. 

    • Each entry in Holdings is annotated to indicate whether the title is held locally (My Library). 

    • When the number of institutions which hold the record is 100 or less, all holders are displayed on this screen. 

    • When the number of institutions which hold the record is 101 or more, the first 80 holders are displayed on this screen.

    • The remaining holders may be displayed (on a separate page), by use of a link located at the end of the Holdings section on the Full Record Display. 

  • If the Cofrin Library is listed then the library is currently receiving that Item group. This does not mean that we have or do not have that particular item. The only way to be sure if we own one of the government publications is to take the following steps. 

    • Note the SuDocs call number from the record display. 

    • Go to the 5th floor of the library.

    • Check in the US Gov Pub paper section under the SuDocs number. If it is not there, then also check the microfiche cabinet. If the item is not there then we don't have this particular item. 

    • You may request this item through Interlibrary Loan. We can get most items from one of the two Regional Depository Libraries in Wisconsin.