In a previous post, we learned about how to browse digital collections in our upgraded digital repository. Today we’re sharing some search tips to help you find what you need. While some of the functionality and appearance of our digital repository features changed significantly during the upgrade to the newest version of the platform, the searching functions remained the same. For patrons who interacted with the version of DSpace we used prior to the upgrade the steps for how to search will seem very familiar. And if this is your first time visiting the SLM Digital Collections, the instructions in this post can help you get started with searching the collections in SLM Digital Collections.
To perform a keyword search on specific collection or community, first go to front page and either type in a keyword or phrase into the basic search box.
To perform a keyword search on specific collection or community, first go to front page and either type in a keyword or phrase into the basic search box.
Alternatively, you can click the white magnifying glass icon next to it. If you click the white magnifying glass without entering a keyword or phrase the search box, all of the documents in SLM Digital Collections will be returned in the search results.
You can also go directly to the search page by clicking the green magnifying glass in the upper right corner at the top of landing page. The search box next to it functions the same as the larger search box on the landing page. We recommend for searches with one keyword to use the small search box in the upper right corner. For searches with more than one keyword or an entire phrase, we recommend starting with the large search box on the landing page.
Once you are on the results page, you will see a search box at the top center of the page. Click on All of DSpace next to the search box at the top of the page and a pop-up window will appear for choosing to continue to search all of SLM Digital Collections or to narrow the search to a specific community or collection.
If you know the name of the community or collection, type into the pop-up search box part of or the entire name of a community or collection. A dropdown list of will appear and you can select the community or collection you want to perform a search in.
Only one community or collection can be chosen in the pop-up window; more than one community or collection cannot be selected in the pop-up window and need to be run as separate searches.
Now if you had already entered in a keyword or phrase before clicking the magnifying glass icon or pressing Enter, SLM Digital Collections will run the search again with your initial query. This time around it will narrow the results down to the specific community or collection you want to see documents in.
If you hadn’t already entered in a keyword or phrase, and only clicked the magnifying glass icon to get to the results page, enter it in the search box on the results page after selecting the specific community or collection you want to see specific documents in. When you are looking for a specific phrase and want to return documents that only contain a specific phrase be sure to use quotation marks around the phrase to get better results.
If you are feeling stuck at any point while searching for items in SLM Digital Collections, you can reach out to our reference department for assistance by email or by calling calling 617-927-2590. Or if you are visiting our reading room, come up to the reference desk and someone can help you.
Emily Crawford
Technical Services Librarian
If you are feeling stuck at any point while searching for items in SLM Digital Collections, you can reach out to our reference department for assistance by email or by calling calling 617-927-2590. Or if you are visiting our reading room, come up to the reference desk and someone can help you.
Emily Crawford
Technical Services Librarian
