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Black Studies

Omni Search Tips

Quick Tips

  • Omit initial articles (e.g. the, a, an, le, la) when searching for the title of a work
  • Capitalization is not necessary
  • Author search: last name first name

Keyword Searching

A Keyword or Keyword Boolean search will search all parts of an item’s record, including book chapter titles (drawn from the Table of Contents) of many recently published books.

  • Keyword search: the Boolean operator AND is assumed between each search word. Enclose phrases in “quotation marks” to keep words in the phrase together.
  • Keyword Boolean: allows you to control your search results by combining your topic words and phrases (using AND and OR) and excluding unwanted concepts (using NOT).

Boolean Operators Explained

AND narrows your search results because all words entered into the search box must appear somewhere in each returned result
OR broadens your search results because either/any of the words entered into the search box must appear somewhere in each returned result
NOT excludes unwanted terms/concepts from being returned in your search results

More Tips

  •  Use quotation marks for phrases: “african diaspora”
  •  When combining multiple words/phrases with more than one Boolean operator, group search terms by using parentheses, example: (black OR "african american") AND (culture OR society)
  •  When you locate a relevant title, check the assigned subjects to search for additional materials
  •  Record the call numbers of relevant books and utilize Show on Floorplan as you orient yourself to the layout of the library stacks
  •  Log in to Omni to Save Searches, add titles to Favourites, check your Account