Operators

Operators

Operators allow you to focus your search by linking search terms and defining the relationship between them. The following types of operators are recognized.

• Boolean operators
• Positional operators
• Relational operators

Some operators take precedence over others when searching the catalog; refer to Operator Precedence (below) for more information.

In addition, you cannot search for operators when they are at the beginning or end of search expression and not enclosed in double quotation marks.

Boolean Operators

Boolean operators (AND, NOT, OR, XOR) locate records containing matching terms in one of the specified fields, both of the specified fields, or all of the specified fields. Use Boolean operators to connect words or phrases between more than one text field, or use Boolean operators to connect words or phrases within a text field.

• Use the AND operator to locate records containing all of the specified search terms. For example, if you search under "dogs AND cats", records containing all of the specified terms are located.
• Use the OR operator to locate records matching any or all of the specified terms. For example, if you search under "dogs OR cats", records containing either the first search term or the second are located.
• Use the NOT operator to locate records containing the first search term but not the second. For example, if you search under "dogs NOT cats", records containing the first search term but not the second are located.
• Use the XOR (exclusive or) operator to locate records matching any of the specified terms but not all of the specified terms. For example, if you search under "dogs XOR cats", records matching any one of the specified terms but not all of the specified terms are located.
• The words and, or, not are read as Boolean operators by default when used in a single text field. To have these words read as search terms, enclose them in quotation marks.  Example: truth "or" dare

Positional Operators

Positional operators (SAME, WITH, NEAR, ADJ) locate records in which the search terms are in close proximity within the same bibliographical record. Positional operators can be used to connect words or phrases within a search field but not between search fields.

• Use the SAME operator to locate records in which a bibliographic record field contains all of the specified terms. All of the search terms are located within the same record field, though not necessarily in the same sentence. For example, if you search under "Chicago SAME history", only records containing both "Chicago" and "history" within the same bibliographic field will be retrieved.
• Use the WITH operator to locate records in which a field contains a sentence with all of the specified terms. For example, if you search under "Chicago WITH history", only records containing both "Chicago" and "history" in the same sentence in a bibliographic field will be retrieved from this search.
• Use the NEAR operator to locate records in which a field contains all of the search terms next to each other; however, the order of the terms does not have to match the order they were entered. For example, if you search under "Chicago NEAR history", only records with the terms "Chicago" and "history" next to each other within the same bibliographic field would be retrieved from this search. "Chicago" or "history" could display first in the field.
• Use the ADJ operator to locate records in which a field contains all of the search terms adjacent to each other and in the order they were entered. For example, if you search under "Chicago ADJ history", only records with the terms "Chicago" and "history" adjacent to each other within the same bibliographic field and with "Chicago" listed first in this field would be retrieved from this search.
• In addition, you may append a number to the positional operators NEAR and ADJ to limit or broaden the proximity between words. For example, "FROM ADJ1 HERE ADJ2 ETERNITY" shows how to search for the title, "From Here to Eternity." ADJ2 means that the words may be within two searchable words of each other, but they must be in the order they were entered.

Relational Operators

Relational operators (<, >, =, <>, <=, >=) allow you to search numeral expressions. Use relational operators by enclosing a field name or entry tag number in braces {}, then typing a relational operator and number.

• <     less than
• >     greater than
• =     equal to
• <>     not equal to
• <=     less than or equal to
• >=     greater than or equal to

For example, if you type "{DATE} < 991022", records whose Date field contains values less than 991022 are located.

Operator Precedence

When the search expression consists of a combination of terms, the order in which these terms are searched can be defined. If two operators are at the same level in the list, the term at the left is searched first, then the right. Refer to the following list for operator precedence, with the highest listed first.

• =
• <>
• <
• <=
• >
• >=
• NEAR, ADJ
• WITH
• SAME
• AND, NOT
• XOR, OR