With the OPAC Ricerca (Search) function you can find a record through keywords or phrases. There are four different search options:
1) base (basic)
2) per scorrimento (browsing)
3) avanzata (advanced)
4) CCL

By choosing this option, you can select a single search field: Autore (Author), Titolo (Title), Anno di pubblicazione (Year of publication), Dewey Classification etc.; the default search searches all fields. If you enter several words, they will be combined by default with the boolean operator AND, and they will all be searched. You can also use the OR and NOT operators [for further instructions in Italian, see the "operatori booleani" paragraph in our "Guida alle banche dati"]; if you wish to use AND/ OR/ NOT as part of the search terms, not as boolean operators, write them between inverted commas. If you choose the Adjacent words option, you will find only the records where the terms appear next to each other. To refine your search, you can filter the results by Lingua (Language), Anno (Year), Biblioteca (Library), Formato (Format) (book or journal).

This type of search is very similar to a traditional search in a print catalogue: entries are listed in alphabetical order. You can retrieve, among others, lists of titles, authors (bodies and persons), collections, publishers, shelfmarks; just enter the search terms and select the index you wish to consult. The text, if present, will be the second entry in the list. Adjacent terms in the list, which are often similar to, or variations of the search term, will help you find what you are looking for. By selecting one of the entries in the list, you will retrieve the first record to which it is connected, in the standard format.

With this type of search you use drop down menus to specify search fields; you can search several fields at the same time. The fields are connected with the logical operator AND. You can view results by clicking on the number of retrieved records, even if you only selected a single field. To refine your search, you can filter the results by Lingua (Language), Anno (Year), Biblioteca (Library), Formato (Format) (book or journal).

You can search several fields using all the boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) with a single codified search string. Field codes can be viewed in the CCL Codes section of the On-line help (for instance WTI=Words in the title field, WAU=Words in the author field etc.) For instance: (WAU=ruskin or hegel) not (WTI=culture). This search will retrieve all the works written by authors whose name is either Ruskin or Hegel, and whose titles does not include the word "culture".

N. B. For useful characters, symbols and conventions, you can consult the OPAC's Help & FAQ (in Italian).