Subject headings allow you to search for resources on a particular author or topic and are often more productive than keyword searches.
Keyword searches work best if you have multiple concepts or topics and need only a few books.
For a comprehensive subject search, search with subject headings as well as keywords.
Searching Omni
Start with a keyword search, but expect to revise it.
Keyword Searching TIPS
Search Technique |
What It Does |
quotation marks |
Searches for exact phrase |
Truncation * |
Searches for all forms of a word |
Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) |
Lets you broaden or narrow your search |
To find books by a particular author/person, search Omni by author:
To find books about a particular author/person, search Omni by subject heading:
To find books on a topic, use a keyword search if you do not know the correct subject heading for a topic. Think of the focus (or key) words that describe your topic.
When searching OMNI for books, use the facets located on the search results screen, to limit your search results to books & ebooks.
When you find relevant results, note the subject headings assigned. Refining your search using the same subject heading terminology may yield more precise results. For example, some subject headings retrieved:
Examples of subject headings relating to American history: