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Index Codes for Searches

Command Keywords

About Command Keywords

All index codes can be used in combination with Boolean operators. Link from the index name below to a discussion of keywords used in that index.

Name (Author, Narrators, etc)   ---   Subject   ---   Title   ---   Format   ---   Location   ---   Note   ---   Production/Publication   ---   Number (Book Number/Dewey Decimal )

Name (Author, Narrators, etc) Indexes

KNAM (Name: All)
Searches for material by and about persons and corporate bodies in the fields describing personal and corporate authors/creators/narrators and names as subjects. Examples:
  • knam Shakespeare
  • knam "Askey, Bob"
Retrieves names in narrator fields
Uses Boolean operators. To search for records with name headings for Shakespeare and Scourby and with the word poetry in a subject heading:
  • knam Shakespear? and knam scourb? and skey poetry
NKEY (Name: No Subject)
Searches for material by persons and corporate bodies in the fields describing personal and corporate authors/creators/narrators. Does not search for names in subject fields. Example:
  • nkey Shakespeare
KSNA (Subject: Names Only)
Searches for material about persons or corporate bodies in personal or corporate subject fields. Example:
  • ksna Shakespeare

Subject Indexes

SKEY (Subjects: Authorized)
Searches for words or phrases only in authorized subject heading (including subject subdivisions) and genre heading fields. List of genre headings used by NLS Examples:
  • skey Bobcats retrieves topical subject headings
  • skey "mystery fiction" retrieves genre headings
  • skey Shakespeare retrieves names used as subject headings
  • skey France retrieves geographical subject headings
  • skey "civil war" retrieves subject subdivisions
  • skey Bible retrieves titles used as subject headings
KSNA (Subject: Names Only)
Searches for the words or phrases in both personal and corporate name subject fields.
KSTI (Subject: Titles/Works Only)
Searches for words or phrases in subject fields for materials about titles/works. Example:
  • ksti Bible retrieves works about the Bible

Title Indexes

KTIL (Title: All)
Searches for words or an exact phrase in fields and subfields describing titles, series, subjects and authors. Includes titles in contents notes. Example:
  • ktil oz
  • ktil "wizard of oz"
  • ktil "wagons west" retrieves series titles as well as main titles
  • ktil "gift of the magi" retrieves titles in contents notes
Most, but not all short story collections as well as a limited number of other types of collections cataloged by NLS, i.e., works produced by NLS and locally produced network books, have contents notes. RFB&D works also frequently have contents notes. Works cataloged by other agencies in the Union Catalog may not necessarily have contents Notes for collections. See the k505 index below to search only the contents notes
TKEY (Title: No Subject)
Searches for words or an exact phrase in fields and subfields describing titles, series and authors (relating to titles). Includes titles in contents notes. Does not search for titles as subjects. Example:
  • tkey Bible retrieves records for the Bible, not for books about the Bible
440T (Title: Series)
Searches for words or an exact phrase in titles of series. Example:
  • 440t "Hercule Poirot" retrieves records with Hercule Poirot in the series title
KSTI (Subject: Titles/Works Only)
Searches subject fields for works about titles containing the search words or exact phrase. Example:
  • ksti Bible retrieves records for books about the Bible

Format Index

245H (General Material Designation)
Searches for words or an exact phrase in the general material designation, the bracketed statement in the title field stating the medium of the book. This index code is an alternative to limiting by medium. The phrases that are used in this field are limited to:
  • braille
  • electronic resource
  • map
  • music (braille)
  • music (large print)
  • sound recording (enregistrement sonore used on some catalog records from Canada)
  • text (large print)
Example:
  • 245h sound retrieves records for sound recordings. Only one word is needed here.
  • 245h music retrieves braille and large print scores

Location Index

K852 (Holding Code)
Searches for words or codes in the holding agency field. All NLS locations can be searched with the word: NLS. All books produced locally by network libraries may be searched with the word: Regional. A list of holding codes includes other agency codes. Example:
  • k852 nls retrieves books held by NLS
  • k852 otbnl retrieves books held by the Canadian National Institute for the Blind
  • k852 nnjbi retrieves books held by the Jewish Braille Institute

Note Indexes

KNOT (Notes: All)
Searches for words or an exact phrase included in any notes fields. Notes fields may contain a wide variety of information including such things as:
  • contents notes
  • annotations
  • braille notes (e.g., web braille, contracted, uncontracted, print/braille)
K505 (Notes: Contents)
Searches for words or an exact phrase in the contents notes only. Most, but not all short story collections as well as a limited number of other types of collections cataloged by NLS, i.e., works produced by NLS and locally produced network books, have contents notes. RFB&D works also frequently have contents notes. Works cataloged by other agencies in the Union Catalog may not necessarily have contents notes for collections. The TKEY and KTIL indexes described above search the contents notes and the other title fields. Example:
  • k505 magi
K520 (Notes: Annotation)
Searches for words or an exact phrase in the annotation.
K521 (Notes: Content Descriptors)
Searches for words or an exact phrase in a special note field specifying a target audience grade and other characteristics of the work. Works cataloged by NLS (i.e., NLS and locally produced network books) will contain the following phrases as appropriate:
  • Caldecott Medal winner
  • Newbery Medal winner
  • Pulitzer Prize winner
  • Award winner
  • Bestseller
  • Contains descriptions of sex
  • Contains descriptions of violence
  • Contains strong language
  • For preschool-grade 2
  • For grades k-3
  • For grades 2-4
  • For grades 3-6
  • For grades 4-7
  • For grades 5-8
  • For grades 6-9
  • For junior and senior high
  • For high school and adult.
  • Female narrator
  • Male narrator
These phrases are not necessarily used in catalog records submitted by other agencies. Examples:
  • K521 "6-9"
  • k521 grade? retrieves grade or grades, i.e., all juvenile works
  • k521 high retrieves records for young adults
  • K521 male
  • knam "steel danielle" not (k521 sex or k521 violence or k521 strong) retrieves records with Steel, Danielle in a name field but without descriptions of sex, or strong language or descriptions of violence.

Production/Publication Indexes

KPUB (Publication: Special Format Publication Information)
Searches for words or dates entered in the special format publisher's and producer's name, place and publication date fields. Producer names are not always entered with a uniform name. E.g., American Printing House for the Blind may be entered that way or as APH. Examples:
  • kpub NLS
  • kpub APH or kpub "American Printing House for the Blind" use Boolean "or" to search for both versions of a name
  • kpub 2000 retrieves records with the date 2000 in the date of production field
K534 (Publication: Original Publisher Information)
Searches for names of the original print publishers. Publisher names are not always entered under a uniform name. E.g., Alfred A. Knopf or just Knopf. Example:
  • k534 Knopf
260C (Publication: Date of production)
Searches for year of production in special format. Note that many older records and some records that were not cataloged by NLS do not have the year of production recorded. Example:
  • 260c 2003 retrieves records produced in 2003

Number (Book Number/Dewey Decimal Number)

K082 (Classification: Dewey)
Searches for bibliographic records whose Dewey numbers contain the sequence of numbers and characters entered. Does not search across "subfields" so searches for a Dewey number in combination with the dewey code "b" for biography will not work. unless entered separately. Search text must be surrounded by quotation marks ( " ). Punctuation must be exact. A question mark may be used for truncation. Example:
  • k082 "599.753?" retrieves records whose Dewey numbers begin 599.753
  • k082 78? and k082 b to retrieve biographies of musicians
K084 (Book Number)
Searches for bibliographic records whose book numbers contain the sequence of numbers and characters entered. Examples:
  • k084 "RC 12345" retrieves the record with the book number RC 12345
  • k084 inprocess retrieves records with Inprocess in the book number field