Boolean Searching in SLM Digital Collections

In a previous post, we learned about how to start a search in the State Library of Massachusetts Digital Collections (SLM Digital Collections). Today we are going to take a closer look at a search refining technique called a Boolean search, which you can use to construct searches that will more precisely yield the results (and items) you are looking for.

Although some of the overall functionality and appearance of our digital repository changed significantly during the upgrade to the newest version of the platform for our digital collections, the ability to do a Boolean search remained the same. For patrons who interacted with the version of DSpace we used for our digital collections prior to the upgrade, the steps for how to do a Boolean search will seem very familiar. And if this is your first time visiting the SLM Digital Collections or you want a refresher on Boolean searching, the instructions in this post can help you find out how to do a Boolean search.

First, we will review what a Boolean search is—it is a kind of search commonly used on websites and search engines where you can limit, define, or broaden your search using operators and symbols.

The operators commonly used and what we use for Boolean searches in SLM Digital Collections are AND, OR and NOT. It is important to note that the plus sign (+) commonly used as a substitute for AND is not enabled as a Boolean operator for searching our digital collections. Neither is the minus sign (-), commonly used as a substitute for NOT, enabled in the search functions.

To use Boolean operators either use in all caps or all lowercase between each keyword. Each operator functions in a unique way:

• AND returns results with words appearing together in documents (example: boats AND harbors)
• OR returns results for documents containing either word (example: boats OR harbors)
• NOT returns results for documents containing one word and excluding the other word (example: boats NOT harbors)

Any query of 2 or more words essentially operates as the “AND” in a Boolean search and will yield results with both or all the words from the search in it. We will go through an example of how to apply a Boolean operator in the search box. So, if we typed into the search box boats harbor it yields the same number of results as if we had entered boats AND harbor. The query doesn’t have to be a phrase in this case but can be words that appear together in the documents we want to see. We can use more than 2 words at a time like in the query boats AND harbor AND fish.

Of course, we can also use the Boolean operator AND for pairing together specific phrases to find a specific set of documents. In this case we are interested in finding back issues of DMF News because we remember there was at least one issue that mentioned bluefin tuna fisheries, the Boston harbor and party boats all in the same issue. Rather than navigating through the maze of the communities and collections associated with Department of Marine Fisheries in SLM Digital Collections we can create a Boolean search for this that will find the DMF News issue(s) we are looking for.

First, we need to navigate to the search results page and select the community Division of Marine Fisheries to be entered inside the box next to the search box. The second step is coming up with a list of phrases to use-- bluefin tuna fishery, Boston Harbor, charter and party boats, and DMF News. Now we need to format the phrases properly to construct the search query. When using specific phrases in a DSpace search, Boolean or otherwise, it is important to add quotation marks around the phrase. In this case to construct the search query we need to enter “bluefin tuna fisheries” AND “Boston Harbor” AND “charter and party boats” AND “DMF News” in the search box and press enter, which should return only 10 results for back issues of DMF News covering these topics.

However, we’re seeing some results that aren’t issues of DMF News. It looks like the majority of them are DMF annual reports. This simply means we need to be a little more specific with the phrase “DMF News” in the query string.

To do this we can search with the title field (dc.title) by rewriting this portion of the string as AND dc.title:”DMF News.” And the 10 issues of DMF News are now the only items appearing in the search results.

However, we decided that we only want the issues mentioning the Boston harbor and party boats. If we removed the phrase “bluefin tuna fisheries” from the beginning of our query and moved it to the end using the NOT operator like this “Boston Harbor” AND “charter and party boats” AND dc.title:”DMF News” NOT “bluefin tuna fisheries,” we would get results that excludes the phrase bluefin tuna fisheries but does include results of Boston Harbor and charter and party boats appearing specifically in 3 issues of DMF News.

Now that we have gone over how to do Boolean searching on the SLM Digital Collections website, you have the know-how to do your own Boolean searches!

If you are feeling stuck at any point using Boolean operators in a search while using SLM Digital Collections, you can reach out to our reference department for assistance by email or by 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

It's Hummingbird Season in the Library!

Once the calendar turns to May, the region gets ready to welcome the ruby-throated hummingbird back from its winter migration! These fast-moving birds might be hard to spot out in the wild, so we've made it easy on you by selecting the ruby-throated hummingbird (plate 47) as our featured Audubon. This print shows the male (labeled 1), female (labeled 2), and young (labeled 3). They are all depicted fluttering around the trumpet flower. 

After spending the winter months in Florida, Central America, and Mexico, the ruby-throated hummingbird heads north for its breeding season. According to the Mass Audubon website, if you are looking to welcome the hummingbird back with feeders, then it is best to place them outside from the end of April into the first week of May. 

The colorful ruby-throated hummingbird is the only hummingbird that nests east of the Great Plains, and is commonly seen in Massachusetts. Both males and females have glossy green feathers covering their bodies, and as per its name, the male has a it has a bright red gorget (area covering its throat). The hummingbird's wings beat about 53 times per second, and since it burns so much energy, it must consume more than its own weight each day to stay alive!

Visit us from May 9 through June 7 to see the hummingbird on display in our reading room. 

Elizabeth Roscio

Preservation Librarian

Idea City Panel with David Gamble, Matthew Kiefer, and Rosalyn Negron

• Idea City: How to Make Boston More Livable, Equitable, and Resilient
• Wednesday, May 15, 2024. 12pm - 1:00pm
• In-person and virtual event
• State Library of Massachusetts - Room 341, Massachusetts State House
• Livestream Link

The State Library of Massachusetts Author Talks Series is excited to host a panel discussion with David Gamble, Matthew Kiefer, and Rosalyn Negrón!

Please join us on Wednesday, May 15th at noon, in our historic reading room for a discussion between David Gamble, Matthew Kiefer, and Rosalyn Negron, all contributors to the recently published Idea City: How to Make Boston More Livable, Equitable, and Resilient (UMASS Press, 2023). The book addresses a range of the challenges that Boston contends with in the twenty-first century and considers ways to improve the city for everyone. Many of the issues tackled, including resiliency, mobility, affordable housing, public health, social equity, and economic equality are of ever-increasing relevancy for cities around the world. The conversation, taking Boston as a case study, will provide food for thought for dedicated urbanists, whether involved in public policy, the design and planning of our cities, or simply involved and concerned urban citizens.

Panelists

David Gamble AIA AICP LEED AP is a Lecturer in Urban Design and Planning in the Department of Urban Studies at MIT. An architect and urban planner and Principal of Cambridge-based Gamble Associates, his research and writing investigate the catalytic effects of urban design and planning projects with a focus on the creative implementation strategies to overcome barriers to redevelopment. David is Author and Editor of “Idea City” (UMass Press, 2023) and co-author of “Rebuilding the American City” (co-author Patty Heyda, Routledge Press, 2016). He received his Masters of Architecture in Urban Design from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard.

Matthew J. Kiefer practices real estate development and land use law at Goulston & Storrs in Boston and is a Lecturer in Real Estate at Harvard's Graduate School of Design. His practice focuses on the nexus of private initiative and public policy and obtaining parcel dispositions and entitlements from public agencies for complex urban projects. He has a particular focus on cross-sectoral projects that address unique policy, feasibility and design challenges. Matthew has written and spoken widely on land use topics. He is a graduate of Boston University and the University of Michigan Law School, and was a Loeb Fellow at the Harvard GSD.

Rosalyn Negrón is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Massachusetts Boston, where she is also Research Director for the Sustainable Solutions Lab. Rosalyn's research is primarily driven by issues of health and well-being, with particular attention to the role of decision-making, social connections, and social environments. A past Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, Rosalyn’s research has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health, the Max Planck Institute for Religious and Ethnic Diversity, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She leads several projects, including the Sustainable Solutions Lab climate adaptation stakeholder mapping project, and an NSF study to understand the complex factors that shaped Puerto Ricans' decision to leave or stay in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. Beyond Puerto Rico, she has done research in Jamaica, Florida, New York City, and Boston. Rosalyn is a leader in transdisciplinary research and directs UMass Boston’s Transdisciplinary Dissertation Proposal Development program.

We will be livestreaming the talk on our YouTube channel courtesy of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Broadcast Services - tune in at noon.

If you are able to join us in person for this talk, attendees will be able to participate in a question-and-answer session with the authors as well as purchase a copy of Idea City. Books are $30.00; cash, check, and Venmo are accepted. As always, this author talk is free and open to all. Assisted listening devices will be made available upon request. Any questions or concerns, please email us at AuthorTalks.StateLibrary@mass.gov.

Want to stay up to date on future Author Talks at the State Library? Join our mailing list. Also follow us on Instagram, X, or Facebook for updates! For more information on the State Library Author talks series, please visit our site.


Author Talks Working Group

Collection Spotlight: North American Civic League for Immigrants Records, 1908-1946

In 1907, a committee was appointed by the Boston YMCA to investigate what was called “the immigration problem.” This committee, formed in 1908 and chaired by Dr. Chauncy Brewer, was the North American Civic League for Immigrants. The stated purpose of the League was “the betterment of the immigrant, with primary instruction in civics for a ‘patriotic purpose.’” The League’s agents met immigrants at ship ports and train terminals and aided them in the naturalization process. They helped immigrants secure employment and housing, as well as teaching night classes and giving lectures both in English and immigrants’ native languages. The library holds the League's records from 1908 through 1946 (MS Coll. 24). 

League offices formed in many other cities throughout the Northeast and their publications were distributed at libraries across the nation. Pamphlets within the collection list investigations the League conducted at ports of entry and industrial workplaces in an effort to ensure safe conditions. Annual reports describe individual instances in which immigrants were helped by members of the League. Some examples of this are as follows: securing a lawyer, assisting with bank loans and taxes, obtaining wages unlawfully withheld, and aiding a man “who wrongfully supposed wife had sunk on steamer Ancona.” 

While the League certainly provided practical and needed assistance to new and recent immigrants, the League’s stated purposes and goals for doing so reveal less than altruistic motivations. Materials within the collection describe the intention to assimilate and “Americanize” immigrants through League programs, discouraging the continued use of native languages and cultural practices deemed un-American. League publications also express antipathy to labor movements and organizations.

In the League’s 1915-1916 annual report, Dr. Brewer writes,

“The League was organized to do what it might to mitigate the greatest peril that has ever threatened the American people and the principles of its Democracy, - to bring home to loyal people the fact that the extraordinary immigration from over seas was nothing less than an invasion of people untrained in self-government, and, pending national action, to secure such retaining points among the great foreign population as should help it to thwart the plans of revolutionaries and agitators.”

The League’s 1918-1919 annual report states,

“The theory upon which the League bases its programs is as follows: most immigrants are well disposed on entering the United States but do not so continue because of the necessary struggle for existence or exploitation. The alien must therefore be reached as early as possible in his first year of residence. If this is done he may become a useful resident. If it is not done he becomes a menace. In order to rightly influence the immigrant the League has found it necessary to secure his confidence.”

The collection offers a glimpse into the struggles facing immigrants to the United States in the first half of the 20th century, as well as the attitudes surrounding their arrival by those within the League and adjacent organizations. The finding guide for the North American Civic League for Immigrants Records can be found on the State Library’s digital repository.

Alyssa Persson

Special Collections Processing Librarian

State Library Newsletter - May Issue

Happy May! Catch up on our new books, displays, and upcoming catalog upgrade in this month's newsletter. Pictured here is a preview, but the full issue can be accessed by clicking here. And you can also sign up for our mailing list to receive the newsletter straight to your inbox.