Government Documents Database Documentation

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction
2. Keyword Searching
3. Searching by Title
4. Searching by Agency
5. Searching by Call Number
6. Sorting Results

The Government Documents database contains data on the government documents held in the Magazine Room at the Main library. It does not contain information about holdings at any of the library's branches. Holdings include materials from state government only. Results can be sorted by title, call number, agency, publication date or date received.

Access to records in this database is possible through several different fields, the title, call number, the government agency and a broad keyword search. A record must match all fields on the search form before it will appear in the results. This makes it important to avoid filling in fields with data that is too narrow or too broad. Search strings that are too narrow will produce no results. Search strings that are too broad will produce a list with too many results to sort through. Users will probably find a mixture of searching by keyword or title the most useful for their needs.

Information on how to search each field is described below:

Search strings can include the AND, OR, NOT operators. Using the AND operator between two terms will require that both search terms appear in the record. For example, searching by the phrase 'Education AND adult' will select all magazine titles with both the word 'education' and 'adult' in them. The OR operator will select records with either search term in them, so 'education OR adult' will select records with either 'education' or 'adult' in them. Commas may be used in place of the OR operator in search strings. The NOT disqualifies records that contain the word following the operator. For example, 'education NOT adult' will disqualify any magazine record that contains the word 'adult' anywhere in the name, subject or availability fields.

You can also use parentheses and question marks within your search string. Using parentheses and quotations within your search clarifies the order in which search should be evaulated. Search strings within () parentheses are treated like a single unit are evaluated first. Search terms outside the parentheses are then evaluated against the results of those inside the parentheses. Quoted words or phrases are searched for in exactly the form you provide them in. This helps resolve problems with words like 'and, or, not' that you don't want to use as an operator. For example, without quotes the search string "war and peace" would be evaluated as a request for magazines with both the word 'War' and 'Peace' the them. With quotes it would be evaluated as a single phrase which just happens to include the word 'and' in it.

The keyword search field can be searched using two wildcards characters. The star "*" character can be used as a replacement for any number of additional characters. For example, a search for '*Beth*' would find any of the following: 'Elizabeth', 'Beth' or 'Bethany'. You can also use the "?" character within search strings. This character can only replace a single character. For example, "wom?n" would select records with either "woman" or "women" in the record.

Finally, unless you'd like to search for records in exact case-sensitive format, you should always enter your searches in all uppercase or all lowercase format. If you uppercase the first letter of any word in your search statement, it will be taken as though you require that first letter to be uppercased before being selected.

Searching by Title

If you know part of the title of the government document that you are looking for, enter that word or phrase in the Title field. The database will search for documents that contain that word or phrase regardless of where that word or phrase is found within the title. For example, searching by 'education' will select titles with any of the following phrases: Arts in education reform, Education, Initiatives in Education, Nutrition Education resources, Educational progress. If you search using a phrase, the results will have to match that phrase exactly within the larger title. For example, searching by 'Adult education' will select documents with any of the following titles: Adult Education, Comprehensive Adult Education, Adult Education reforms, Comprehensive Adult Education reforms, Adult Educational reforms.

Feel free to match this field up with a keyword search, but remember that doing so means that results must fulfill both requirements. If you aren't sure about the words in the title, it may be better to simply search by keyword.

Searching by Agency works the same way as searching by title. Your search can match all or part of the agency to be selected. This can be helpful if you aren't sure what the current title of the bureau, department or agency is. For example, instead of searching by Department of Education, simply search by 'education.' Although this method can select documents from more than on government group, it is a safer search than the longer 'Department of Education' search since the phrase has to match exactly in order to be selected.

Although it is relatively rare that one would know the call number for a government document before performing a search, it is possible to include portions of a call number as a part of your search. To search by call number simply type the portion that you do know into the Call Number field.

The library assigns call numbers to Ohio government documents using the Ohio Documents Classification Scheme. This scheme assigns call numbers by document/series type and publishing institution. If you know the type of document you are looking for, use the following table to determine which code to search by:

Each call number is prefixed by a code for the department that published the document. If you know that the document you are searching for was published by a specific department, you can search using the code for that department to narrow your results.You can figure out the code for a departments by combining "O" with either the first two significant letters of the title or the initial letters of the first two significant words. For example, to search for documents by the Department of Education, you can add 'OED' into the call number field and the system will only select records that include OED as part of the call number. For departments with more than one significant word in their name, try searching using the initial letters of the first two significant words. For example, to get only documents by the Ohio Department for Employment Services, use 'OES'.

By default, searches are sorted alphabetically by title from left to right. This can be changed, though. You can also see results in order by Agency, Call number, publication date, or date received. To do this, simply change the "Sort By" drop-down box at the bottom of the form to your desired sort order.