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FirstSearch
FirstSearch
A Guide to the Basics
ILLINET/OCLC Staff
March 2008
Table of Contents
Accessing FirstSearch and Selecting Databases
Basic Searching
Advanced and Expert Searching
Viewing Search Results
The WorldCat Services Administrative Module
Linking FirstSearch to a Web-based Catalog
Interface Display
Databases Offered by the Illinois State Library
Purchasing Access to Additional Databases
Practice Exercises for FirstSearch
Expert Searching
Questions
Accessing FirstSearch and Selecting Databases
OCLC’s First Searchis an online service that gives library professionals and end users access to a collection of reference databases. With FirstSearch, materials in your library’s collection are highlighted in results from searches in dozens of leading databases. To access the databases, go to: and logon with your library’s authorization and password.
Once you are logged on, select the appropriate databases(s) to search by using one of the three options available on the navigation bar.
List All Databases—Select this option to see a list of all available databases.
List Databases by Topic—Select this option to see the databases grouped together in broad categories.
Suggest Best Databases—After entering a keyword, author, or source and selecting a database topic area, FirstSearch will scan the databases for your topic and return a list of estimated results. You can then select from that list.
The “list all databases” is displayed here. FirstSearch allows searching of up to three databases simultaneously. In the example below, however, we have chosen to search only PerAbs (Periodical Abstracts).
Basic Searching
Basic Searching provides simple search boxes (e.g., keyword, author, title). This interface is appropriate for quick results using a simple search statement.
Advanced and Expert Searching
The advanced searchprovides three search boxes for separate search statements that can be combined using Boolean operator (AND, OR, and NOT) selected from pull-down menus. Additional limiting by date, language, and record type is also available.
The expert search is designed for experienced searchers who prefer to construct logical search strings. In the example below, we are looking for MEDLINE literature published in 2006 in which the terms heart and stress occur within 3 words of one another.
Viewing Search Results
Let’s rerun the advanced search on the top of page 4. Forty-nine items are retrieved from the WorldCat database—33 of which are books. To view a detailed record, click on the appropriate title.
The detailed record for the second title in the retrieval set is displayed below.
To determine which libraries own the title click on “libraries that own item.”
Libraries with Web-based catalogs can set up a link to their catalog in the FirstSearch administrative module. Because the Acorn Public Library has set up this link, we are given information on the availability of the book when we select their library.
The WorldCat Services Administrative Module
Web-based administrative tools let you manage every aspect of your FirstSearch account.
Among the features of the administrative module are options to:
Manage all authorizations
Control access to databases and full text
Control access to journal content
Customize displays and functionality for search and results
To access the administrative module, go to: and logon with your library’s authorization and password.
Tabs across the top of the Administrative Module allow you to manage various aspects of the service. To change passwords, click on the Authentication/Access tab and then select (on the left-hand side of the screen) “Passwords.”
To change a password (for the administrative module, the user service interface, etc.). type the new password (use at least 4 but not more than 10 characters in the password) in the appropriate box and click “save changes.”
If you would like your users to be able to logon to FirstSearch automatically (within the library) you will need to add your library IP address(es) by clicking on the “IP Address Recognition” box that appears directly below “Passwords.” Enter the correct IP address(es) or range according to the instructions and click on the “save changes” button. Once you have added your IP range, you may set up a link to FirstSearch using the URL:
To control access to the various FirstSearch databases, click on the “Database Access” box above “Passwords.” In most cases you will want to retain the default setting that permits access to all of the databases that you have purchased (or that have been purchased for you), but you may deselect any database that might be inappropriate for your users.
Linking FirstSearch to a Web-based Catalog
The full power of FirstSearch for your users, you will want to link your Web-based catalog to the service. Under the linking tab, select “Web Library Catalogs” (left-hand side of the screen) and enter the URL for your catalog’s entry screen. Next, enter the URL for the screen that displays an ISBN (and an ISSN or an OCLC) search of your catalog and click on the “Save Change” button.
Interface Display
To make changes in the way the FirstSearch screen displays to your users, click on the Interface Display tab. Under “Your Library Settings,” you many change the default search screen (basic, advanced, expert), the interface colors etc. “Topic Areas” can be customized as can the type of library holdings (regional, group, all, etc.) than your user sees.
Databases Offered by the Illinois State Library
ArticleFirst OCLC’s index of articles from the contents pages of journals.
Clase/ PeriodicaAn index of articles from Latin American and Caribbean journals.
eBooksCatalog of online ebooks available through libraries
worldwide.
ECOAn OCLC collection of scholarly journals.
ERIC Journal articles and reports in education.
GPO U.S. government publications.
Illinois CatalogOCLC catalog of materials in Illinois libraries (SILC).
MEDLINE All areas of medicine, including dentistry and nursing.
PapersFirst OCLC index of papers presented at conferences worldwide.
Proceedings An OCLC index of worldwide conference proceedings.
WorldAlmanac Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia and four almanacs.
WorldCat OCLC catalog: Books, Web resources, and other materials.
Dissertations Dissertations and theses in WorldCat.
Purchasing Access to Additional Databases
For access to additional databases, you must either purchase a subscription or a block of searches. For a database subscription price quote, please contact our network. Blocks of searches may be ordered at the Online Service Center at:
Practice Exercises for FirstSearch
Basic Searching
Search in keyword, author or title indexes
Limit to “items in my library” or, in some databases, to “full text only”
Rank results by relevance or date
Database = WorldCat
User’s guide to the brain in the title index. After you retrieve your results, limit to books.
Database = WorldCat
Shakespeare in the author index. After you retrieve your results, limit to scores, then sort by date.
Advanced Searching
Select indexes from drop down-menus.
Combine terms with Boolean operators (and, or, not).
Search limits depend on database (e.g., year, document type, language, library code, full-text).
Rank results by relevance or date.
Databases = PerAbs and WilsonSelectPlus
Seasonal affective disorder in the keyword index, and
Sad in the title index, and
Limit to 2001
Database = WilsonSelectPlus
Recipes in the keyword index, and
Chocolate in the keyword index, not
Peanuts in the keyword index
Database = WorldCat
Subliminal messages in the keyword index, and
Limit to UIU and
Rank by date
Database = WorldCat
Oliver Twist in the title index, and
Limit to Spanish
Expert Searching
Command line searching with index label:
Enter an index label along with a search term. Combine these “search keys” as needed (e.g., au: dickens and ti: tale of two cities). Index labels will vary with each database. Click on the “indexed in” drop-down menu to see which labels are pertinent to the database you have selected.
To search for an exact phrase, use quotation marks (e.g., “culture shock”).
Use the Boolean operators AND, OR, and NOT to combine search terms when you need to expand or narrow a search. AND retrieves only records that contain all search terms and will thus narrow your search. OR retrieves all records that contain one or both terms and will thus expand the search. NOT eliminates records that contain a search term and will thus limit a search. Use NOT with caution or you may unintentionally eliminate relevant records. Use parentheses ( ) to specify the order in which terms will be combined. Process AND, OR, or NOT in left-to-right order unless parentheses ( ) are used. For example:
(baseball AND brewers) OR twins
baseball AND (brewers OR twins)
Use proximity operators for adjacent terms. Type w between two terms to search for records containing both terms, in the order typed, with no words between them. Type w and a number (1-25) between two terms to search for records containing both terms, in the order typed, with no more than that number of other words between them. For example: aluminum w wiring / aluminum w2 wiring.
Type n between two terms to search for records containing both terms, in any order, with no words between them. Type n and a number (1-25) between two terms to search for records containing both terms, in any order, with no more than that number of other words between them. For example: overview n 1998 / chicken n3 egg.
Use truncation to search for a term and its variations by entering only the root of the term followed by an asterisk (*). Use the truncation symbol only at the end of a term (e.g., librar*).
A wildcard is a special character used to represent one or more characters in a search term. FirstSearch recognizes two wildcards. The pound sign (#) represents a single character and the question mark (?), alone or with a number, represents zero to nine additional characters. Include a number if you know the maximum number of characters the wildcard will replace. Wildcards can be used at the beginning, middle, or end of a term. For example:
wom#n (woman or women)
colo?r (color, colour, colonizer, colorimeter)
colo?1r (color, colour, but not colonizer or colorimeter)
To search for a word and its plural form, add a plus sign + to the singular form. The plus + will search for any plural formed with either -s or -es. For example, giraffe+ retrieves all records that contain giraffe and giraffes. To search for the plural of words that change form, such as mouse or story, search for both forms and combine them with the Boolean operator OR. For example, to retrieve mouse and its plural, search for mouse OR mice.
Options to limit your search will vary by database but may include limiting by:
Full text, library holdings, document type, language, year, and items on the Internet.
Questions
To review the service we have demonstrated today, access the free Connexion browser tutorials at:
Contact us at the ILLINET OCLC Services office by phone or e-mail.
Debra Aggertt217.558.1945 / William Echelbarger
217.524.6313 / Suzanne Schriar
217.785.1533
If we are not available, please feel free to call OCLC Customer Service at:1.800.848.5800.