| In the catalog, select the Quick Search tab.
- Enter your search in the format: Lastname, Firstname, to browse through the pages of titles.
- You also can enter the name, dates, and first word of the title to jump to a particular point in a list of the composer's works.
- Select Browse Prolific Author/Composer in the Search by dropdown list.
Examples: (Click on the search examples to perform a search of the catalog)
| Messiaen, Olivier, 1908- Catalogue d'oiseaux |
| Beethoven, Ludwig van, 1770-1827. Sonatas, piano, no. 15, op. 28, D major |
| Wagner, Richard, 1813-1883. Tristan und Isolde. Lieberstod. |
Boolean Search
This search allows you to combine author, title, and subject searches in a single search.
| In the catalog, select the Quick Search tab.
- You must connect the keywords with the "Boolean" connectors and (both terms must appear), or (either term can appear), or adj (both terms must be present and adjacent).
- Best search for finding short musical works.
- Select Boolean Search (use and, or, not) in the Search by dropdown list.
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Examples: (Click on the search examples to perform a search of the catalog)
Any Word Anywhere Search
This is a type of keyword search that mimics Google Internet searches.
| In the catalog, select the Quick Search tab.
- Do not include articles or conjunctions.
- Search for phrases by enclosing them in quotation marks.
- All important keywords should be preceded by a plus sign (+). If you do not use the plus sign, you will retrieve many more irrelevant items; the system will try to sort them by relevance.
- Select Any Word Anywhere in the Search by dropdown list.
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Examples: (Click on the search examples to perform a search of the catalog)
Browse Author Search
Use this search for any type of name, other than composer: performer, conductor, author of a book, or a musical group. This type of search will give you a list of titles by a particular author, or titles performed by a particular ensemble or performer.
| In the catalog, select the Quick Search tab.
- Enter your personal names in the format as: Lastname, Firstname. Enter group names in direct order.
- If you are looking for a book about a composer or performer (instead of a work by her/him), enter the person's name as a subject search, not an author search.
- Select Browse Author in the Search by dropdown list.
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Examples: (Click on the search examples to perform a search of the catalog)
Start of Title Search
Use this search for titles of individual works, titles of collections, and titles of recordings.
| In the catalog, select the Quick Search tab.
- Best used when you are searching for a musical work with a distinctive title, such as Falstaff, not for works with a generic title, such as Symphony no. 6.
- Enter the title, all words in the correct order, omitting "a", "an", "the" and their equivalents in other languages if they are the first word of the title. Wording of the title must be exact.
- Select Start of Title in the Search by dropdown list.
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Examples: (Click on the search examples to perform a search of the catalog)
Browse Subject Search
Use this search to find books about musical (and other) topics, and to find scores and recordings by musical genre and instrumentation.
| In the catalog, select the Quick Search tab.
- The subject search looks for name headings (for books about people), and short phrases that librarians assign to items, called Library of Congress Subject Headings.
- If you are looking for a work by a composer (instead of about her/him), enter the person's name as an author search, not a subject search.
- Select Browse Subject in the Search by dropdown list.
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Examples: (Click on the search examples to perform a search of the catalog)
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