3.3. Search the Catalog

Last Updated 04/02/2024

Performing Catalog Searches

Make sure that you search the entire NC Cardinal catalog when you search for new title records, by using the Keyword Search, Numeric Search, or MARC Search tabs. You should always search for a bibliographic record in several different ways. For example, you can first search by ISBN in the Numeric Search tab, but then you should also do a search by title and/or author to be sure you find and examine every possible matching record. Check your search scope and ensure that you are searching all of NC Cardinal. If the existing record does not meet the standards as outlined in Best Practices or you find multiple matching bibliographic records, refer these to a bibliographic cataloger for further evaluation and correction.

Advanced Search

The Keyword search, Numeric search, and MARC search are the three left most tabs at the top of the search interface. The dropdown menu to select the search scope is in the top right of the search interface.

You can select or limit catalog searches by:

Keyword—finds the terms you enter anywhere in the entire record for an item, including title, author, subject, and other information.
Title—finds the terms you enter in the title of an item.
Author—finds the terms you enter in the author of an item.
Subject—finds the terms you enter in the subject of an item. Subjects are categories assigned to items according to a system such as the Library of Congress Subject Headings. Note that you can also perform searches for genre headings, as well, using this search.
Series—finds the terms you enter in the title of a multi-part series.
Item Type—searches for a specific type of resource, like book or audiobook.
Video Format—finds a specific type of video (DVD, Blu-ray).
Library—limits search to a specific library or libraries.

The search features within Evergreen do not require you to enter author last names first. You do not need an exact title or subject heading. An Evergreen search enables you to enter plurals and alternate verb endings and will still find results. For example, if you enter dogs, Evergreen will also find items with dog.

Evergreen assumes an “AND” if you type in multiple terms. You can exclude a term (“NOT”) by using “-“ (minus). For example, vacations -Britain will search for materials on vacations, but not Britain. If you want to exclude electronic resources from your search, use “-electronic” as a keyword limiter.

You can search for an exact phrase using double quotes. For example, “Harry Potter” will find only items with the exact phrase, not with the terms Harry or Potter alone.

For more detailed instructions for thoroughly searching the catalog, please watch this short NC Cardinal video:

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