One of the advantages of a computerized catalog is the ability to search many fields. In library jargon, another way to say this is that computerized systems provide an increased number of access points. As we saw in the previous record, these fields (access points) are author, title, subject headings, notes, etc. The broadest search is the keyword search. It searches all the fields for the terms you enter and retrieves the most records. Searching Innopac
How do you decide what type of search to do? Base your choice on the information you have. If you know the title, do a title search. If you know the author, do an author search. If you know the subject, do a subject search.
When doing a Title Search, enter the exact title, omitting articles such as a, an, or the. A Keyword Search should be used when the exact title or subject is not known. A Title Search for Harriet Tubman retrieves all items whose titles begin with those two words. A Keyword Search for Harriet Tubman revrieves all records with those two words. This is because Keyword searches anywhere in the title, subject, note, or contents fields.
