EXPERT SEARCH : Selected Indexes
Examples and Explanation

For a list of all index codes, see:
Expert Search Indexes Listed by Name
Expert Search Indexes Listed by Index Code

Searches for material by and about persons and corporate bodies in the fields describing personal and corporate authors/creators, subjects, series, and other editions/versions.

Example:

KNAM shakespeare

Retrieves: the maximum of 10,000 catalog records for materials by and about persons and corporate bodies with the name shakespeare, such as "William Shakespeare" and the "Shakespeare Theatre."

Searches for material by persons and corporate bodies in the fields describing personal and corporate authors/creators, series, and other editions/versions. Does not search for names in subject fields.

Example:

NKEY shakespeare

Retrieves: catalog records for materials by persons or corporate bodies with the word shakespeare in their name, such as "Mary Shakespeare" and "Folger Shakespeare Library."

Searches for material by individuals in the fields describing personal authors/creators and series.

Example:

KPNC shakespeare

Retrieves: catalog records for materials containing the word shakespeare in a name, such as "William Shakespeare" or "Mary Shakespeare."

Searches for material by corporate groups in the fields describing corporate authors/creators and series.

Example:

KCNC shakespeare

Retrieves: catalog records for materials by corporate bodies or meetings containing the word shakespeare, such as the "Shakespeare Society" or the "Shakespeare Seminar."

Searches for material by and about corporate groups that are part of a larger corporate body such as "senate" in "U.S. Congress. Senate." Searches for the name in author/creator, subject, and series fields.

Example:

KCPB shakespeare

Retrieves: catalog records for materials where the word shakespeare is part of the name of a smaller corporate unit within a larger one, such as the "Yale University. Yale Shakespeare Festival."

Searches for material about persons or corporate bodies in personal or corporate subject fields.

Example:

KSNA shakespeare

Retrieves: the maximum of 10,000 catalog records for materials about persons or corporate bodies with the name shakespeare such as "Judith Shakespeare" or "Royal Shakespeare Theatre Company."

Searches for names of LC special collections in location, added entry, and notes fields. Especially useful when combined with the collection location search limit (see example #2).

Note: This search may result in "false drops." For example, the search words or exact phrase may be found in an unrelated note field.

Example #1:

KCOL johnston

Retrieves: items for materials from special Library of Congress collections that include the word johnston in their name, such as "Frances Benjamin Johnston Collection." Also retrieves catalog records for materials with the word johnston in a note field, such as "Johnston Export Pub. Co."

Example #2:
Limit the search to Prints and Photographs

KCOL "johnston collection"

Retrieves: catalog records for materials with the exact phrase johnston collection in Prints and Photographs (i.e., "Frances Benjamin Johnston Collection."

Searches for the words entered in the publisher's name subfield.

Example:

260B shakespeare

Retrieves: catalog records for works published by groups having shakespeare in their names, such as:

• Folger Shakespeare Library
• Shakespeare Head Press
• Instituto Shakespeare

Combine any of the above commands in order to refine your search results.

Note: It is no longer necessary to capitalize AND, OR, NOT when combining commands.

Example:

KSNA shakespeare AND
KPNC smith

Retrieves: catalog records about shakespeare by authors with the word smith in their name.

Searches for works about the subjects entered in authorized and uncontrolled subject heading fields; summary, biographical and geographical note fields; and place name fields.

Example:

KSUB "saint louis"

Retrieves: catalog records, including:

• catalog records for materials containing subject headings related to cities and counties matching the phrase saint louis
  • Saint Louis (Mo.)--Aerial views
  • Saint Louis (Mo.)--Buildings, structures, etc.
• catalog records for materials about events associated with saint louis
  • Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904 : Saint Louis, Mo.)
• catalog records for materials in which the phrase saint louis appears in a note
  • "Filmed at Saint Louis Hospital in Paris."

Searches for words or phrases only in authorized subject heading fields.

Example:

SKEY "saint louis"

Retrieves: catalog records for materials about cities and counties named saint louis and/or have the exact phrase saint louis in their name, such as "Saint Louis Railroad".

Does not retrieve all catalog records for materials relating to groups such as the "St. Louis Cardinals (Baseball team)" where the authorized subject heading uses the abbreviation "St." for "Saint." In order to retrieve records with both forms of the name, the search would be SKEY "saint louis" OR SKEY "st louis" in Command Keyword.

Searches for geographic names in subject and place name fields or subfields.

Example:

KSGE "saint louis"

Retrieves: catalog records for materials with subject headings relating to cities and counties named saint louis such as:

• Saint-Louis (Senegal)--History
• American wit and humor--Missouri--Saint Louis

Searches for the words or phrases in both personal and corporate name subject fields.

Example:

KSNA "saint louis"

Retrieves: catalog records for materials containing:

• entities with the phrase saint louis in their name
  • Saint Louis (Ship)
• entities located in saint louis
  • Washington University (Saint Louis, Mo.)
• persons whose activities are associated with saint louis
  • Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919--
    Journeys--Missouri--Saint Louis

Searches for words or phrases in subject fields for materials about titles/works.

Example:

KSTI "louis"

Retrieves: catalog records for materials, including one for Gerald Kaufman's book "Meet me in St. Louis," about the motion picture of the same title.

Searches subject subfields that designate materials of a specific form or genre of material. Used primarily for special format materials.

Examples:

KSFG "science fiction"

Retrieves: catalog records for materials with the exact phrase science fiction in the form/genre heading.

Searches general subject headings and "subdivisions," such as, "Handbooks, manuals, etc." or "Collectors and collecting," which are used to subdivide other subjects. For example, Numismatics--Collectors and collecting.

Example:

KSTO "handbooks manuals"

Retrieves: the maximum of 10,000 catalog records for handbooks and manuals on many different topics.

Note: A list of subdivisions can be found in Free-Floating Subdivisions: an Alphabetical Index, available in Library of Congress public reading rooms. An online list of subdivisions is available courtesy of Princeton University.

Combined Searches Combine any of the above commands in order to refine your search results.

Note: It is no longer necessary to capitalize AND, OR, NOT when combining commands.

Example #1:

KSTO handbooks AND
SKEY "special education"

Retrieves: catalog records for handbooks relating to special education.

Example #2:

KSFG "science fiction" AND KSUB "saint louis"

Retrieves: a single book by Allen Steele called "The Jericho Iteration" with the exact phrase science fiction in a genre/form heading and the exact phrase saint louis in a subject heading

Searches for words or an exact phrase in fields and subfields describing titles, series, subjects and authors.

Example:

KTIL "canterbury tales"

Retrieves: catalog records for materials having the exact phrase canterbury tales in the title, including texts of and about "Canterbury Tales."

Searches for words or an exact phrase in fields and subfields describing titles, series and authors (relating to titles). Does not search for titles as subjects.

Example:

TKEY "canterbury tales"

Retrieves: catalog records for materials having the exact phrase canterbury tales in the title, including texts of the "Canterbury Tales," or for works about the "Canterbury Tales" are included only if they have the phrase canterbury tales in the title, such as "Critical essays on Chaucer's Canterbury Tales."

Searches for words or an exact phrase in catalog records for serials only in fields and subfields describing titles, series, and authors (relating to titles). Does not search for titles as subjects.

Note: has the same effect as using Search Limits to restrict the Type of Material to "Serial (Periodical Newspaper, etc)" using the TKEY index.

Example:

JKEY "canterbury tales"

Retrieves: one serial catalog record containing the exact phrase canterbury tales for the newsletter, "The Canterbury Tales Project."

Searches for the word or an exact phrase in uniform title fields, including records for the title itself and for works about the title.

Example:

KTUT "canterbury tales"

Retrieves: catalog records for materials having titles such as "Canterbury tales : ... authoritative text," "Les contes de Canterbury" and "Discussions of the Canterbury tales."

Searches for words or an exact phrase in titles of series.

Example:

KSER canterbury

Retrieves: catalog records for materials in series, such as "Canterbury Papers Series" and "Canterbury Readers in Russian Poetry."

Searches full title statement for names of individuals or groups having some responsibility for the work (e.g., author, editor, compiler, composer, director, illustrator, performer, etc.).

Example:

245C canterbury

Retrieves: catalog records for materials, such as those "with an introduction by the Archbishop of Canterbury," or "illustrated by Allan R. Canterbury."

Searches subject fields for works about titles containing the search words or exact phrase. Includes chapters/parts of the work discussed as a subject.

Example:

KSTI "canterbury tales"

Retrieves: catalog records for literary analyses and other works about the "Canterbury Tales," including around 5 catalog records about a specific tale, the "Wife of Bath."

Combine any of the above commands in order to refine your search results.

Note: It is no longer necessary to capitalize AND, OR, NOT when combining commands.

Example #1:

KTIL "canterbury tales" AND
260B oklahoma

Retrieves: catalog records for materials having the phrase canterbury tales in the title and the word oklahoma in the name of the publisher (e.g., University of Oklahoma Press).

Example #2:

KTIL canterbury AND
245C corsa

Retrieves: one catalog record for a title containing the word canterbury: "The Physician's Tale," and the word corsa in the statement of responsibility, "edited by Helen Storm Corsa."

Searches for words or an exact phrase included in any notes fields. Notes fields may contain a wide variety of information including such things as:

• frequency
• physical characteristics (e.g., globe, microfiche)
• arrangement of material (e.g., organized into the following subgroups, arranged by series and series number, alphabetical by)
• relation to other works (e.g., abridgement of)
• content of items containing multiple works
• restrictions on access (e.g., restricted, unclassified)
• credits to persons participating in the creation of the work
• indexing services; presence of a bibliography

Example:

KNOT shakespeare

Retrieves: catalog records for materials where the word shakespeare is included in a note. Examples include:

• contents notes from some collections
  • Janet Adelman--Shakespeare's ghost writers
• inclusion of bibliographic material
  • "A select Shakespeare bibliography, by J. R. Brown": p. 33-48
• notes on performers
  • Members of the The Royal Shakespeare Company
• relationship to other works
  • Adapted from plays by William Shakespeare
• additional content information
  • Includes a timeline that parallels events in Shakespeare's life with world events

Searches for words or an exact phrase in the contents notes only.

Example:

KCON "saint louis blues"

Retrieves: catalog records for materials about the composer of the "Saint Louis Blues" and sound recordings of the "Saint Louis Blues" drawn from the Contents Note.

Searches for words or an exact phrase in special note fields for citations to indexing and abstracting services covering the title described in the catalog record or to other publications based on the materials described in the record.

Example:

KREF "chemical abstracts"

Retrieves: catalog records for journal titles indexed by "Chemical Abstracts."

Note: results may be incomplete or outdated because citation/reference information is included in the catalog record only if known at the time of cataloging; and, in general, any subsequent changes are not reflected in the record.

Searches for words or an exact phrase in special notes fields for credit/performer information.

Example:

KPRF "danny kaye"

Retrieves: catalog records for sound recordings or moving pictures in which "Danny Kaye" has performed.

Note: do not invert the word order of a personal name. Search as firstname lastname or however the name normally appears.

Searches for words or an exact phrase in a special note field specifying an age, grade range, or other characteristic of the work's intended audience.

A ? (question mark) may be used for truncation.

Example:

K521 "ages 4-?"

Retrieves: catalog records for materials containing such notes as "For ages 4-6," "4-7," "4-8," etc.

Note: this search index is best used to find children's books. It is not useful for adult audience differentiation.

Combine any of the above commands in order to refine your search results.

Note: It is no longer necessary to capitalize AND, OR, NOT when combining commands.

Example:

K521 "ages 8-?" AND
KSUB "civil war"

Retrieves: catalog records for materials with the exact phrase civil war in the subject field, written for young people 8 years old and up.

Searches for words or dates entered in the publisher's name, place and publication date fields.

Example:

KPUB oxford

Retrieves: the maximum of 10,000 catalog records for materials with the word oxford in the publication information, such as "Oxford University Press" and "Oxford, England."

Searches for the place of publication, creation, and/or copyright of a work.

Example:

260A Lexington

Retrieves: catalog records for materials published in "Lexington, MA," "Lexington, KY," etc.

Searches for the name of a publisher or distributor of a work.

Example:

260B Lerner

Retrieves: catalog records for materials published by companies having the word lerner in their names, such as "Lerner Publications Co."

Searches for location and access information required for retrieving an electronic resource, such as http, email, remote login (telnet), dial-up, ftp, URL's, URN's, and logon information and electronic format type (e.g. ASCII, MIME).

Example:

KURL http

Retrieves: catalog records for materials which have a URL with the character string http in the 856 field.

Searches for coded information supplied by publishers participating in the Cataloging in Publication program (CIP), about the projected date of publication of forthcoming titles. After the titles are received by the Library, this date is removed from the catalog record.

Example:

K263 0111

Retrieves: catalog records for works scheduled to be published in November 2001.

Note: the Projected Date of Publication is always expressed as year (last two digits) followed by month (two digit number), for example, 9908 is August of 1999.

Combine any of the above commands in order to refine your search results.

Note: It is no longer necessary to capitalize AND, OR, NOT when combining commands.

Example:

260B oxford AND
KSTO handbooks

Retrieves: catalog records for handbooks published by "Oxford University Press," etc.

Searches for catalog records whose LC Classification numbers begin with the sequence of letters and numbers entered. An online summary of LC Classification is available.

Example:

KCLA "pg3326?"

Retrieves: catalog records for works whose class numbers begin with the characters pg3326.

Searches for Library of Congress Control Numbers (LCCN), International Standard Book Numbers (ISBN) or International Standard Serial Numbers (ISSN).

Rather than using KNUM, you may also use specific codes for each type of search:
 K010 for LCCN,
 KISB for ISBN,
 KISS for ISSN
 KISN for either ISSN or ISBN.

Library of Congress Control Numbers

* When entering an LCCN, always omit the hyphen; if the portion of the LCCN following hyphen is less than 6 characters, always add leading zeros to that portion of the number.

International Standard Book Numbers

* Hyphens MUST NOT be included in ISBN search statements.

International Standard Serial Numbers

* Hyphens MUST be included in ISSN search statements, and the ISSN MUST be enclosed within quotation marks.

Because ISSN and ISBN records are included in LC catalog records only if they are available to the cataloger at the time of cataloging, try another search method if the search is unsuccessful.

LCCN Example

KNUM 44012966

Retrieves: one catalog record with the LCCN 44-12966.

Note: Hyphens must be excluded and an extra zero added before "12966".

ISBN Example:

KNUM 0821122681

Retrieves: the catalog record with ISBN 0-8211-2268-1.

Note: Hyphens must be excluded in ISBN searches.

ISSN Example:

KNUM "1481-3122"

Retrieves: the catalog record for ISSN 1481-3122.

Note: the ISSN must be enclosed in double quotation marks and the hyphen included in ISSN searches.

Searches for catalog records matching a complete or partial Library of Congress Control Number.

When entering LCCNs, always omit the hyphen. If the portion of the LCCN following the hyphen is less than 6 characters, always add leading zeros to make it 6 characters in length.

Example #1:

K010 90083066

Retrieves: one catalog record with the LCCN 90-83066.

Note the exclusion of the hyphen and extra zero added before "83066."

Example #2:

K010 agr65000273

Retrieves: one catalog record with the LCCN agr65-273.

Note the exclusion of the hyphen and three extra zeros added before "273."

Example #3:

K010 98000001

Retrieves: one catalog record with the LCCN 98-1.

Note the exclusions of the hyphen and five extra zeros added before "1."

Example #4:

K010 "agr?"

Retrieves: catalog records for materials with LCCNs beginning with the prefix agr.

Searches for either International Standard Serial Numbers (ISSN) or International Standard Book Numbers (ISBN).

Because ISBN and ISSN numbers are included in LC catalog records only if they are available to the cataloger at the time of cataloging, try another search method if the search is unsuccessful.

Example #1:

KISN "0264-3421"

Retrieves: the catalog record for the serial publication with the ISSN 0264-3421, "Journal of chemical technology and biotechnology: Biotechnology," along with its predecessor and successor titles.

Note: for ISSNs, always include the hyphen and enclose the search string in quotation marks.

Example #2:

KISN 0815311745

Retrieves: the catalog record with the ISBN 0-8153-1174-5, "As you like it, from 1600 to the present."

Note: for ISBNs, always omit all hyphens and spaces. It is not necessary to enclose the search statement in quotations.

Searches for International Standard Serial Numbers (ISSN) only.

Because ISSN numbers are included in LC catalog records only if they are available to the cataloger at the time of cataloging, try another search method if the search is unsuccessful.

Example:

KISS "0899-5362"

Retrieves: the catalog record with the ISSN 0899-5362 for the title "Journal of African Earth Sciences."

Note: for ISSNs, always include the hyphen and enclose the search string in quotation marks (" ").

Searches for International Standard Book Numbers (ISBN) numbers only.

For ISBNs, always omit all hyphens and spaces. It is not necessary to enclose the search statement in quotation marks.

Example:

KISB 0333556186

Retrieves: the catalog record with the ISBN 0-3335-5618-6 for "Détente in Asia?"

Note: because ISBN and ISSN numbers are included in LC catalog records only if they are available to the cataloger at the time of cataloging, try another search method if the search is unsuccessful.

Searches for government documents by numbers assigned according to the Superintendent of Documents Classification (SuDoc) System, the Government of Canada Publications: Outline of Classification, or other government classification schemes.

SuDoc numbers must be enclosed it in quotation marks (" "), including all spaces and punctuation marks. For more information see the help screen on SuDoc numbers.

Partial SuDoc numbers may be searched.

Example #1:

K086 "y 4.f 76/2:el 1 s/2"

Retrieves: the catalog record for the Joint Committee print "El Salvador: the United States in the midst of a maelstrom."

Example #2:

K086 "y 4.f 76/2:e1"

Retrieves: several U.S. Congressional Committee Documents.

Searches for catalog records whose Dewey numbers contain the sequence of numbers and characters entered. Does not search across "subfields"; therefore, complete Dewey numbers may not be searched. Many records in the Library of Congress online catalog have not been assigned Dewey numbers.

Search text must be surrounded by quotation marks ( " ). Punctuation must be exact. A ? (question mark) may be used for truncation.

Example:

K082 "700/.9/04?"

Retrieves: catalog records whose Dewey numbers begin with 700/.9/04.

Searches for catalog records containing USMARC geographic area codes (GAC) for geographic areas associated with the subject of the work. The USMARC Code List for Geographic Areas is available online.

Example:

K043 "s-pe"

Retrieves: the maximum of 10,000 catalog records for materials relating to Peru.

Searches for catalog records containing a "geographic class code" for a geographic area and/or subarea covered by an item. The code can provide more precise geographic access than the codes searched in K043 (Geographic Area Code) and is primarily used in records for cartographic materials.

Example:

K052 3810

Retrieves: catalog records for maps associated with New Jersey.

Note: the geographic classification code is derived from the Library of Congress Classification-Class G and expanded Cutter number lists for place names. Cutter numbers for place names in the United States are also published in Geographic Cutters.

Searches for coded forms of cartographic mathematical data, including scale, projection, and/or coordinates. For digital items, the coordinates can represent a bounding rectangle, the outline of the area covered and/or the outline of an interior area not covered. For celestial charts, it may also contain zone, declination data, and/or right ascension data, and/or equinox.

Example:

K034 250000

Retrieves: catalog records for cartographic material having a Scale of 1:250,000.

Searches catalog records for system control numbers other than those assigned by the Library of Congress or other National Bibliographic Agencies.

Examples include OCoLC, (the code for OCLC) and DNLM, (the code for the National Library of Medicine system).

Example:

K035 29403763

or

K035 "(OCoLC)29403763"

Note: If a system abbreviation is used, parentheses must surround the system abbreviation and the search string enclosed in double quotations.

Retrieves: a catalog record with the OCLC number 29403763 for the title "1887-1947 Baseball Card Price Guide." If there were other records with the number 29403763 used as control numbers in systems besides OCLC, the first search would also have retrieved those records.

Combine any of the above commands in order to refine your search results.

Note: It is no longer necessary to capitalize AND, OR, NOT when combining commands.

Example #1:

KISS 0264? AND
KTIL technology

Retrieves: catalog records for materials having the word technology in a title field and ISSNs beginning with the number 0264.

Example #2:

KISB 08153? AND
SKEY shakespeare

Retrieves: catalog records for materials with ISBNs beginning with 08153 about "Shakespeare."

Example #3:
To retrieve materials relating to Peru which do not have Peru or Peruvian in a subject field.

K043 "s-pe" NOT KSUB peru?

Retrieves: catalog records relating to peru including records relating to:

• groups living in Peru
  e.g., Aymara Indians
• lesser known languages in Peru
  e.g., Amuesha language
• historical events involving several countries including Peru
  e.g., the Battle of Ayacucho in 1824
• biographical works about individuals associated with Peru
  e.g., César Vallejo