Search Help

Searchable Fields in Record for Archived Web Site

Each Web site in the collection has been described in a record that is used for retrieval of the site. The records contain the following information.

Keyword: Retrieves keywords across all of the following categories of data.

Title: Titles and alternative titles extracted from archived Web site or supplied by cataloger.

Name(s): Name (personal or corporate) of the entity who appears to be primarily responsible for the content of the site, as identified by reference to text or graphics, or by reference to an “about us” page. Personal names are entered as they appear in the Web site, but in a structured form, i.e., last name, first name, middle initial. In some cases personal and corporate names are expressed according to the Library of Congress Name Authority File.

Subject(s): Library of Congress Subject Headings are assigned to each archived Web site. In addition, a string of uncontrolled subject keywords is extracted from the archived Web site is included when available

Language(s): The primary language(s) of the archived Web site.

Abstract: A brief formulaic description of the site, either extracted from the archived Web site or supplied by cataloger.

URL at time of capture: Original URL location for the Web site at time of capture.

Date Captured: The date and time that the Web site was archived. (Searchable by year)

Genre: Web site.

Access Condition: Access terms and conditions associated with the archived Web site.

Collection Title: Descriptive title assigned to a group of selected and archived Web sites by the Library of Congress. Links to the persistent identifier for the Overview page for the collection, e.g., http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.natlib/collnatlib.12345678.

Citation ID: Resolvable persistent identifier for a Web site in the Library's Web Archives, e.g., http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.natlib/mrva1234.1234.

Record ID: Identifier for metadata/catalog record for a web site, e.g., mrva1234.1234.

Search for words or phrases:

• Single Term -- Enter single term into the search box and press [search].
  -- retrieves items containing the single term
• Multiple Terms -- Enter multiple words into the search box and press [search].
  -- retrieves items containing both words (like Boolean AND operator)
• Multiple Terms in Exact Order (Phrase) -- Place quotation marks around the words (in exact order) and press [search].
  For example: to search for United States --> enter "united states"
  -- retrieves items containing both words in exact order

Use wildcards:

If you are unsure about the exact spelling of a search term, or wish to expand your search to retrieve multiple terms, use wildcard characters.

• Single Character Wildcard -- Replace a single letter within a term with the question mark (?) For example: to search for text or test --> enter te?t.
  -- retrieves items matching the term, where the ? can be any character.
• Multiple Character Wildcard -- Replace a multiple letters within a term with a asterisk (*) For example: to search for music, musical or musicals --> enter music*
  -- retrieves items that match the original term with 0 or more characters where the asterisk was placed.

Please Note: do not use the asterisk (*) or question mark (?) symbol as the first character of a search term.

Boolean AND (+) and NOT (-):

You can use + (plus) or - (minus) symbols to indicate whether a term should, or should not, be retrieved.

• + (plus) -- retrieves items containing the terms.
  +cats + dogs will retrieve items with the both the words cats and dogs
• - (minus) -- does not retrieve items containing the terms
  +cats -dogs will retrieve items with the word cats, but not dogs

Need More Help?

If you'd like more help with searching or have other questions about the items in these collections, we recommend you Ask a Librarian.