Tip 1: Keep searches simple and specific. For example, to find a Washboard band, you only need to enter: washboard.
Tip 2: Try double-checking your spelling before giving up a search.
Tip 3: Word order, case and punctuation are not important in a quick search. For example, Nelson Mandela may be entered: mandela nelson
Tip 4: When using the Advanced Search interface, try to use the most appropriate term box for your search.
Tip 5: Case and punctuation do not matter in an Advanced Search, but subject and person searches containing multiple words will return better results if entered in the order you would expect to see them. For example, a subject search on civil rights will return better results than rights civil.
Tip 6: After you’ve entered your terms in the Advanced Search form, the result counter at the top of the page will verify that there are results available for your search.
Tip 7: After you’ve run your search, use the facet sidebar to refine your results further.
Boolean searches using OR and NOT will not return appropriate results. The default operator is AND, and all searches will return as though they were ANDed. Wildcarding by adding an asterisk to your search term is also currently unavailable.