All PPLD Libraries have print Encyclopedias and Dictionaries available for viewing on the shelf in the Reference Section. For assistance with finding these resources at the library, please ask a staff person.
What is a reference book? This is a book that cannot be checked out from the library. However, these books are intended to be referred to while researching a specific topic or subject. They are typically authoritative and scholarly, making them great resources for students.
Getting started with your search:
A keyword search looks for one or more complete words that are contained anywhere in a record, including: titles, people, places, notes, abstracts, summaries, descriptions, and subjects. This type of search is a good substitute for a subject search when you don't know the authorized subject heading form. You can enter words in upper or lower case, and if you use multiple words you can enter them in any order.
Your search results can contain a range of items related to your keyword(s) search:
Subject headings describe the content of each item in a database. Use these headings to find relevant items on the same topic. Searching by subject headings (a.k.a descriptors) is the most precise way to search databases.
What you need to know about subject headings, also commonly referred to as subheadings:
A phrase search uses quotation marks to allow an exact match to the phrase searched. This can be a title or keyword search, and can include two or more words. For example:
Boolean operators allow you to group, include, or exclude certain terms in your search. You can use these operators:
Operator | Description | A search like the following... | Will return these results... |
---|---|---|---|
AND (uppercase), or the plus sign + |
This is the default search operator. The database will search using the word "AND" or the plus sign to find all of the words typed in the search box. Note: Any search for terms without an operator will return items with all the words. |
guns AND germs AND steel guns + germs + steel |
with all of the words entered in the search box: guns, germs, steel |
OR (uppercase), or the | symbol | The use of the word "OR", or the | symbol, will search for either of the words listed in the search box. |
costume OR fashion costume | fashion |
for any of the words entered in the search box with results that will include either terms, but not necessarily both: costume OR fashion |
NOT (uppercase), or the minus sign - | The word "NOT" or the minus sign will exclude terms from your search. |
Paris NOT fashion Paris - fashion |
for Paris, but not fashion |
quotation marks " " | To search for an exact phrase, the search terms should be enclosed in quotation marks. | "The Grapes of Wrath" | where all words are located directly next to each other in the search results |
parentheses ( ) |
Use parentheses to create more precise searches. | dog (walking OR feeding OR grooming) |
dog walking dog feeding dog grooming |
Truncation allows you to search for a term and its variations by entering a minimum of the first three letters of the term followed by a question mark symbol (?) or an asterisk (*).
Examples:
This search... | Returns items whose record contains the following: |
---|---|
securit* |
security securities securitization |
invest* |
investor invested investing investiture investment |
Wildcards are special characters used to represent additional characters in a search term. They are useful when you are unsure of spelling, when there are alternate spellings, or when you only know part of a term. You can use these two wildcards:
Pound sign (#): The pound sign, also called a number sign or hash mark, represents a single character.
Example:
Question mark (?): The question mark represents any number of additional characters. Include a number if you know the maximum number of characters the wildcard will replace.
Example:
Stop words are frequently occurring, insignificant words that appear in a database record, article or web page.
Common stop words include: a, an, the, in, of , on, are, be, if, into, which
Why stop words matter?
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