WISER: History

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WISER History Advanced OLIS searches
Isabel Holowaty, History Librarian Kate
Petherbridge, Upper Camera Superintendent
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• Aims of today
• Make the most of OLIS the easy way!
• How to combine searches
• How to display titles by date (sorting)
• How to find all books in one library/language
  only (limiting)
• What are cross-references
• How to find books on a particular subject
• Questions
• Hands-on

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Live demo For the demo, well be using the
Telnet version of the OPAC. It has higher
functionality than the Web-based version.
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• Combined keyword searching
• combine key information about the item you are
  looking for in order to focus your search more
  precisely
• For example, to find The History of England by
  Macaulay the easiest way is to perform the
  combined search
• awMacaulay twhistory England.

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• Sorting / Limiting results
• sort or limit your search results to find
  exactly what you need
• For example, to find a lending copy of Macaulays
  History of England-
• sort by date to find a recent copy
• limit results to a library with a lending
  collection
• (e.g. HFL) by changing search parameters

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• Reset parameters!!
• reset the search parameters if you want to
  search the full catalogue again
• please reset the parameters when you finish so
  they dont impact on other library users
• check the search parameters if you only find
  items in one library when you search- someone may
  have left search limits in place

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• Modify your search
• lets you include such limits to your search as
  publication date, language and publisher
• gives a brief guide for each option to help you
  enter your desired limit in the correct form
• no need to reset as new search option starts a
  different search that can then be modified if
  needed

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• Cross references
• take you to the correct catalogue entry for the
  person, title etc. you are looking for
• Remember to type the cross-reference in as a
  search itself in order to find the full list of
  relevant material.
• For example, if we search aChurchill, Winston we
  
• find a cross reference to the official catalogue
  heading.

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• Extend your search
• use terms from one catalogue entry to link to
  other similar items
• The extend search option allows you search
  using terms from the current record such as
  author, title or shelfmark. You can also use
  subject terms to extend your search.
• Use the previous screen options to return to
  the original record and expand your search in
  different directions.

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• Useful if author and/or title unknown
• Use of a thesaurus
• Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH)

Subject searching
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A thesaurus
BT Architecture
Historic buildings
RT Historic sites
NT Birth places NT Historic farms NT
Literary landmarks
BT Broader Term NT Narrow Term RT Related Term
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• Advantages
• Bring together synonyms, variant spellings, etc.
• Consistent reliable use of language
• Retrieves all entries on subject regardless of
  language used by
• author
• For gerbillurini, ammadollini, etc. use gerbils

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Art - England - Oxford
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• Subject searches
• Information on people organisations
• Information on places
• Information on topics
• Finding primary source material
• Finding useful reference sources

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• Primary source materials
• Useful terms
• Archives
• Biography
• Correspondence
• Charters
• Diaries
• Genealogy
• Interviews

• Maps
• Pamphlets
• Personal narratives
• Sources
• Speeches
• Statistics
• Wills

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• Reference sources
• Useful terms
• Atlases
• Gazetteers
• Maps
• Dictionaries
• Encyclopedias
• Handbooks, manuals, etc.
• Directories

• Bibliographies
• Catalogues
• Indexes
• Registers
• Chronology

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Putting it all together Which is the most
recently published English book on Mussolini in
the HFL?
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Questions hands-on