How to do Subject Searches

Subjects are assigned by the library to describe the major topics of items in the catalogue. Subjects used in this library are based on a largely universal subject system - the United States "Library of Congress Subject Headings."

Ask library staff for help to find the subject used in the library catalogue which best describes your topic.

If you know the subject we have used to describe an item you will find all works we hold on a particular topic, regardless of the terms or jargon used by the authors. For example for the subject "land rights" the library uses the subject description "land tenure". You will find all items about land rights under SUBJECT: land tenure.

If you do not know the subject used by the library, it can be difficult to conduct an exhaustive search on a topic.

Word order and spelling of subjects need to be matched exactly. American spelling is often used, for example theater (not theatre), organization (not organisation) etc.

How to find the appropriate Subject

• Do a KEYWORD search to find relevant items. Looking at the full display, locate at least one relevant item. Then examine the SUBJECTS listed for this item; these subject descriptions are links, so you may click on them to go to a list of other items on the same topic.
• OR try a SUBJECT search using your own choice of topic word/s. You may be automatically directed to the appropriate terms or other suggested subjects.
  If your search finds nothing to match your query, your search will retrieve:
  "Your entry (eg. global networking) would be here -- Search as Words."
  Then click on Search as Words to perform a KEYWORD search (see above).
• OR use the printed list, known as Library of Congress Subject Headings, near the information desk in your library.
• OR ask library staff for help.

Topics described by very new, very distinctive or jargon terms may not have an equivalent subject, for example: biodynamics; cyberculture; internet romance. Use the KEYWORD option, which also enables you to combine concepts, for example: (courtship OR love OR romance) AND internet.

Back to SUBJECT search.