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Names - Subjects - Titles - Notes
Publication Info - Numbers

Boolean Keyword: Indexes Examples and Explanation

While over 500 keyword indexes are available for use in Boolean Keyword, those described below are the most useful for typical catalog searching. In the table below, all index codes are shown in ALL CAPS; however, in actual searching they may be entered in lowercase.

NAMES
(Authors, Creators, Individuals or Organizations as subjects, etc.)
KNAM (Name: All)

Searches for material by and about persons and corporate bodies in the fields describing personal and corporate authors/creators, subjects, series, and other editions/versions.

Example:
KNAM di tella
Retrieves: catalog records for materials by and about persons and corporate bodies with the name di tella, such as "Torcuato Di Tella " and the "Instituto Torcuato Di Tella (Argentina)."
KPNC (Name: Personal Name)

Searches for material by individuals in the fields describing personal authors/creators and series.

Example:
KPNC shakespeare
Retrieves: over 5630 catalog records for materials containg the word shakespeare in a name, such as "William Shakespeare" or "Mary Shakespeare."
KCNC (Name: Corporate/Meeting)

Searches for material by corporate groups in the fields describing corporate authors/creators and series.

Example:
KCNC mexico
Retrieves: over 1300 catalog records for materials by corporate bodies or meetings containing the word Mexico, such as the "Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey (Mexico)" or the "Instituto Nacional de Ecología (Mexico)."
260B (Publisher: Name)

Searches for the words entered in the publisher's name subfield.

Example:
260B palgrave
Retrieves: about 50 catalog records for works published by groups having palgrave in their names, such as Palgrave or Palgrave Macmillan.
Combined Searches

Combine any of the above commands in order to refine your search results.

Note: It is no longer necessary to capitalize AND, OR, NOT when combining commands.

Example:
KSNA shakespeare AND KPNC smith
Retrieves: over 80 catalog records about shakespeare by authors with the word smith in their name.
Index types: Names - Subjects - Titles - Notes - Publication Info - Numbers

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SUBJECTS
KSUB (Subjects: All)

Searches for works about the subjects entered in authorized and uncontrolled subject heading fields; summary, biographical and geographical note fields; and place name fields.

Example:
KSUB "saint louis"
Retrieves: over 1420 catalog records, including:
  • catalog records for materials containing subject headings related to cities and counties matching the phrase saint louis
    • Saint Louis (Mo.)--Aerial views
    • Saint Louis (Mo.)--Buildings, structures, etc.
  • catalog records for materials about events associated with saint louis
    • Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904 : Saint Louis, Mo.)
  • catalog records for materials in which the phrase saint louis appears in a note
    • "Filmed at Saint Louis Hospital in Paris."
Combined Searches Combine any of the above commands in order to refine your search results.

Note: It is no longer necessary to capitalize AND, OR, NOT when combining commands.

Example #1:
KSTO handbooks AND SKEY "special education"
Retrieves: over 70 catalog records for handbooks relating to special education.
Example #2:
KSFG "science fiction" AND KSUB "saint louis"
Retrieves: a single book by Allen Steele called "The Jericho Iteration" with the exact phrase science fiction in a genre/form heading and the exact phrase saint louis in a subject heading
Index types: Names - Subjects - Titles - Notes - Publication Info - Numbers

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TITLES
KTIL (Title: All)

Searches for words or an exact phrase in fields and subfields describing titles, series, subjects and authors.

Example:
KTIL "canterbury tales"
Retrieves: over 450 catalog records for materials having the exact phrase canterbury tales in the title, including texts of and about "Canterbury Tales."
TKEY (Title: No Subject)

Searches for words or an exact phrase in fields and subfields describing titles, series and authors (relating to titles). Does not search for titles as subjects.

Example:
TKEY "canterbury tales"
Retrieves: over 370 catalog records for materials having the exact phrase canterbury tales in the title, including texts of the "Canterbury Tales," or for works about the "Canterbury Tales" are included only if they have the phrase canterbury tales in the title, such as "Critical essays on Chaucer's Canterbury Tales."
KSER (Series)

Searches for words or an exact phrase in titles of series.

Example:
KSER canterbury
Retrieves: over 280 catalog records for materials in series, such as "Canterbury Papers Series" and "Canterbury Readers in Russian Poetry."
KSTI (Subject: Titles/Works Only)

Searches subject fields for works about titles containing the search words or exact phrase. Includes chapters/parts of the work discussed as a subject.

Example:
KSTI "canterbury tales"
Retrieves: over 215 catalog records for literary analyses and other works about the "Canterbury Tales," including around 5 catalog records about a specific tale, the "Wife of Bath."
Combined Searches

Combine any of the above commands in order to refine your search results.

Note: It is no longer necessary to capitalize AND, OR, NOT when combining commands.

Example #1:
KTIL "canterbury tales" AND 260B oklahoma
Retrieves: over 10 catalog records for materials having the phrase canterbury tales in the title and the word oklahoma in the name of the publisher (e.g., University of Oklahoma Press).
Example #2:
KTIL canterbury AND 245C corsa
Retrieves: a catalog record for a title containing the word canterbury: "The Physician's Tale," and the word corsa in the statement of responsibility, "edited by Helen Storm Corsa."
Index types: Names - Subjects - Titles - Notes - Publication Info - Numbers

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NOTES
KNOT (Notes)

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:

  • frequency
  • physical characteristics (e.g., globe, microfiche)
  • arrangement of material (e.g., organized into the following subgroups, arranged by series and series number, alphabetical by)
  • relation to other works (e.g., abridgement of)
  • content of items containing multiple works
  • restrictions on access (e.g., restricted, unclassified)
  • credits to persons participating in the creation of the work
  • indexing services; presence of a bibliography
Example:
KNOT shakespeare
Retrieves: over 2330 catalog records for materials where the word shakespeare is included in a note. Examples include:
  • contents notes from some collections
    • Janet Adelman--Shakespeare's ghost writers
  • inclusion of bibliographic material
    • "A select Shakespeare bibliography, by J. R. Brown": p. 33-48
  • notes on performers
    • Members of the The Royal Shakespeare Company
  • relationship to other works
    • Adapted from plays by William Shakespeare
  • additional content information
    • Includes a timeline that parallels events in Shakespeare's life with world events
KCON (Contents Notes)

Searches for words or an exact phrase in the contents notes only.

Example:
KCON "saint louis blues"
Retrieves: over 35 catalog records for materials about the composer of the "Saint Louis Blues" and sound recordings of the "Saint Louis Blues" drawn from the Contents Note.
KREF (Citation/Reference)

Searches for words or an exact phrase in special note fields for citations to indexing and abstracting services covering the title described in the catalog record or to other publications based on the materials described in the record.

Example:
KREF "chemical abstracts"
Retrieves: over 9380 catalog records for journal titles indexed by "Chemical Abstracts."

Note: results may be incomplete or outdated because citation/reference information is included in the catalog record only if known at the time of cataloging; and, in general, any subsequent changes are not reflected in the record.

Combined Searches

Combine any of the above commands in order to refine your search results.

Note: It is no longer necessary to capitalize AND, OR, NOT when combining commands.

Example:
K521 "ages 8-?" AND KSUB "civil war"
Retrieves: fewer than 10 catalog records for materials with the exact phrase civil war in the subject field, written for young people 8 years old and up.
Index types: Names - Subjects - Titles - Notes - Publication Info - Numbers

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PUBLICATION INFORMATION
KPUB (Publication Information)

Searches for words or dates entered in the publisher's name, place and publication date fields.

Example:
KPUB oxford
Retrieves: the maximum of 10,000 catalog records for materials with the word oxford in the publication information, such as "Oxford University Press" and "Oxford, England."
260A (Publication: Place)

Searches for the place of publication, creation, and/or copyright of a work.

Example:
260A Lexington
Retrieves: over 9250 catalog records for materials published in "Lexington, MA," "Lexington, KY," etc.
260B (Publication: Publisher)

Searches for the name of a publisher or distributor of a work.

Example:
260B Lerner
Retrieves: over 2090 catalog records for materials published by companies having the word lerner in their names, such as "Lerner Publications Co."
KDIG (Electronic Access [856 plus])

Searches for location and access information required for retrieving an electronic resource, such as http, email, remote login (telnet), dial-up, ftp, URL's, URN's, and logon information and electronic format type (e.g. ASCII, MIME).

Example:
KDIG http
Retrieves: over 9040 catalog records for materials which have a URL with the character string http in the 856 field.
Combined Searches

Combine any of the above commands in order to refine your search results.

Note: It is no longer necessary to capitalize AND, OR, NOT when combining commands.

Example:
260B oxford AND KSTO handbooks
Retrieves: over 200 catalog records for handbooks published by "Oxford University Press," etc.
Index types: Names - Subjects - Titles - Notes - Publication Info - Numbers

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NUMBERS
LCCN-ISBN-ISSN(NUMB)

Searches for Library of Congress Control Numbers (LCCN), International Standard Book Numbers (ISBN) or International Standard Serial Numbers (ISSN).

Rather than using NUMB, you may also use specific codes for each type of search:
 K010 for LCCN,
 KISB for ISBN,
 KISS for ISSN
 KISN for either ISSN or ISBN.

Library of Congress Control Numbers

* When entering an LCCN, always omit the hyphen; if the portion of the LCCN following hyphen is less than 6 characters, always add leading zeros to that portion of the number.

International Standard Book Numbers

* Hyphens MUST NOT be included in ISBN search statements.

International Standard Serial Numbers

* Hyphens MUST be included in ISSN search statements, and the ISSN MUST be enclosed within quotation marks.

Because ISSN and ISBN records are included in LC catalog records only if they are available to the cataloger at the time of cataloging, try another search method if the search is unsuccessful.

LCCN Example
NUMB 44012966
Retrieves: one catalog record with the LCCN 44-12966.

Note: Hyphens must be excluded and an extra zero added before "12966".

ISBN Example:
NUMB 0821122681
Retrieves: the catalog record with ISBN 0-8211-2268-1.

Note: Hyphens must be excluded in ISBN searches.

ISSN Example:
NUMB "1481-3122"
Retrieves: the catalog record for ISSN 1481-3122.

Note: the ISSN must be enclosed in double quotation marks and the hyphen included in ISSN searches.

K010 (HLAS bi number)

Searches for catalog records matching a complete or partial HLAS Control Number.

When entering HLAS bi numbers, always omit the hyphen. If the portion of the LCCN following the hyphen is less than 6 characters, always add leading zeros to make it 6 characters in length.

Example #1:
K010 bi2001002251
Retrieves: one catalog record with HLAS bi2001002251.

Example #2:
K010 bi 98001131
Retrieves: one catalog record with the HLAS bi98-1131.

Note the exclusion of the hyphen and two extra zeros added before "1131."

KISN (International Standard Numbers)

Searches for either International Standard Serial Numbers (ISSN) or International Standard Book Numbers (ISBN).

Because ISBN and ISSN numbers are included in LC catalog records only if they are available to the cataloger at the time of cataloging, try another search method if the search is unsuccessful.

Example #1:
KISN "0264-3421"
Retrieves: the catalog record for the serial publication with the ISSN 0264-3421, "Journal of chemical technology and biotechnology: Biotechnology," along with its predecessor and successor titles.

Note: for ISSNs, always include the hyphen and enclose the search string in quotation marks.

Example #2:
KISN 0815311745
Retrieves: the catalog record with the ISBN 0-8153-1174-5, "As you like it, from 1600 to the present."

Note: for ISBNs, always omit all hyphens and spaces. It is not necessary to enclose the search statement in quotations.

KISS (ISSN: All)

Searches for International Standard Serial Numbers (ISSN) only.

Because ISSN numbers are included in LC catalog records only if they are available to the cataloger at the time of cataloging, try another search method if the search is unsuccessful.

Example:
KISS "0899-5362"
Retrieves: the catalog record with the ISSN 0899-5362 for the title "Journal of African Earth Sciences."

Note: for ISSNs, always include the hyphen and enclose the search string in quotation marks (" ").

KISB (ISBN: All)

Searches for International Standard Book Numbers (ISBN) numbers only.

For ISBNs, always omit all hyphens and spaces. It is not necessary to enclose the search statement in quotation marks.

Example:
KISB 0333556186
Retrieves: the catalog record with the ISBN 0-3335-5618-6 for "Détente in Asia?"

Note: because ISBN and ISSN numbers are included in LC catalog records only if they are available to the cataloger at the time of cataloging, try another search method if the search is unsuccessful.

K043 (Geographic Area Code)

Searches for bibliographic records containing USMARC geographic area codes (GAC) for geographic areas associated with the subject of the work. The USMARC Code List for Geographic Areas is available online.

Example:
K043 "s-pe"
Retrieves: up to the maximum of 10,000 catalog records for materials relating to Peru (in this case, approximately 3,000 records).
Combined Searches

Combine any of the above commands in order to refine your search results.

Note: It is no longer necessary to capitalize AND, OR, NOT when combining commands.

Example #1:
KISS 0264? AND KTIL technology
Retrieves: over 10 catalog records for materials having the word technology in a title field and ISSNs beginning with the number 0264.
Example #2:
KISB 08153? AND SKEY shakespeare
Retrieves: over 10 catalog records for materials with ISBNs beginning with 08153 about "Shakespeare."
Example #3:
To retrieve materials relating to Peru which do not have Peru or Peruvian in a subject field.
K043 "s-pe" NOT KSUB peru?
Retrieves: Retrieves over 560 records relating to peru including records relating to:
  • groups living in Peru
    e.g., Aymara Indians
  • lesser known languages in Peru
    e.g., Amuesha language
  • historical events involving several countries including Peru
    e.g., the Battle of Ayacucho in 1824
  • biographical works about individuals associated with Peru
    e.g., César Vallejo
Index types: Names - Subjects - Titles - Notes - Publication Info - Numbers


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