A New York Public Library website


How Do I Use the Catalog?

Using the Search Box

To begin a search, type one or more words into the search box located at the top of every page. Search results appear as a list of abbreviated records; these records link to more information (metadata).

Keywords

A word typed in the keyword box looks for that term in any of these fields:

  • Name (creators and subjects)
  • Title
  • Date (specific date)
  • Medium
  • Object number

By default, typing multiple words generates a search for instances where ALL the terms appear in a record, that is, an AND search.

Single field search

Directly right of the search box is a drop down menu that allows the user to search for terms in a single field. The fields available for searching in this way are:

  • Name (creators and subjects)
  • Title
  • Date (specific date)
  • Medium
  • Object number

Search Terms Wildcarding, and Stop Words

Are not enabled at present.

How To See Everything

To browse the entire contents of the collection, you can run a search with nothing entered in the search box.

Capital Letters

It is not necessary to capitalize proper names in search terms. Searches are not case-sensitive: a search for "Lewis Hine" or "Lewis wickes Hine" will yield the same results.

Punctuation and Diacritics

Punctuation marks such as commas, periods, dashes, and diacritics should not affect keyword searches. For example, keying in "Therese Bonney" retrieves records associated with "Thérèse Bonney" and vice versa.

No Results

Use synonyms if a particular word search retrieves no hits, partial words for spelling uncertainties, or try dropping extra words.

Relevancy Ranking

Search results are ranked by relevancy according to the frequency in which terms appear in the following fields: title, image id, description, and subject. Use the drop-down facets found on the left-hand side of the screen to limit the results returned.

Search history

Your most recent 50 searches can be reviewed and accessed from this page. Saved searches also include previously visited "linked queries" (for example, the Subject or Name links on Image Detail pages). Searches are stored only during your current browser session.

Advanced searching

Advanced search allows the user to refine searches. Searches can be performed with a variety of combinations. The fields available for Advanced Search are:

  • Name (order by Creator, Other Names)
  • Title
  • From Date (year only)
  • To Date (year)
  • Medium (text field allows alpha-numeric values)
  • Object number

Operators available for Advanced Search are: "OR", "AND", and "NOT"

Advanced search tips

  • Select "match all" to require all fields.
  • Select "match any" to find at least one field.
  • Combine keywords and attributes to find specific items.
  • Use quotation marks to search as a phrase.
  • Use "+" before a term to make it required. (Otherwise results matching only some of your terms may be included).
  • Use "-" before a word or phrase to exclude.
  • Use "OR", "AND", and "NOT" to create complex Boolean logic. You can use parentheses in your complex expressions.
  • Truncation and wildcards are not supported - word stemming is done automatically.

Selected items

Items that you have selected by checking the "Select" box to the right of the search results are available for viewing with clicking on "selected items" at the top of the page. If any items have been selected, the count is shown in parentheses. Selected items are stored only during your current browser session. Selected items can be printed, emailed or cleared.

Printing

To print a list of your result set, use the "print" button on the menu on the results page. To print selected items use the use "print" button on the menu on the selected items page. Printed lists display brief records. To print a single record, use the use "print" button on the menu on the item page. Printed item-level records display the complete record.

Emailing

To email a list of your result set, use the "email" button on the menu on the results page. To email selected items use the "email" button on the menu on the selected items page. Emailed lists display brief records. To email a single record, use the use "email" button on the menu on the item page. Emailed-item level records display the complete record.

Questions

For further information regarding items found in the catalog please contact:

Print Collection: prnref@nypl.org

Photography Collection: phgref@nypl.org