Getting started - searching

Digital texts hosted by the University of Michigan University Library and delivered through DLXS may be searched within a given collection. When collections are found in a group, searching is possible across collections within this group. To conduct a search, follow these steps.

Select a search type

By default, selecting a collection group lands you at the Basic search page. This is the simplest search form, but there are more complex searches available, including Boolean, proximity, and bibliographic searches. At the top of each search form (See Fig. 1) there are links to other search forms.

Fig. 1: The top navigation bar showing the search menu expanded.

For more about search type options, see choosing a search type.

Enter query terms in the appropriate search form

Having chosen a search type, you can now enter your search query terms. Depending on your search type, you can combine up to three words or word phrases to match in a specified area of the text. In addition, for Boolean, Basic, and proximity searches, you can restrict your search to only those items that match certain words in bibliographic fields (i.e., author, title, etc .).

For more about composing effective searches, see search tips.