Electronic Resources BPL Big Dig Databases by Subject Databases Alphabetically Full-text E-journals BPL Big Dig FAQs Help with BPL Big Dig Related Links Library Catalogs Internet Links

How Do I Find... Ask a Librarian - 24x7 Books and other resources Booklists - Adults Booklists - Teens Booklists - Children BPL Publications & Souvenirs Branch Locations Calendar of Library Events City of Boston Website Directions to BPL Locations Downloadable Audio & Video Electronic Books (text) ESL and Literacy Services Espaņol Genealogy Resources Government Information Hours Library Cards Library History Museum Passes My Library Account Norman Leventhal Map Center PIN Numbers Printing Tips Renew my Books Request books Restaurants Sargent Murals Sound Archives Special Collections Sports Temples of Boston Store Support the Library Wireless Access at the BPL   Boston Public Library Guide to Searching with BPL Big Dig Electronic Resources The Boston Public Library has a product called WebFeat that helps us make better use of our electronic resources. WebFeat allows you to search multiple databases simultaneously. The product uses software that translates your search into the appropriate “language” in each of the selected databases. We have integrated this product into our Electronic Resources section and named it BPL Big Dig. PDF - Printer Friendly version of this guide Searching in BPL Big Dig Quick Search If you want to include the Library’s catalog in your search, leave the check mark in the box. If you do not want to include the Library’s catalog in your search, click the box to remove the check mark. Type a word(s) into the search box. Click SEARCH. Advanced Search If you want to include the Library’s catalog in your search, leave the check mark in the box. If you do not want to include the Library’s catalog in your search, click the box to remove the check mark. Type a word(s) into one or more search box(es). Use Boolean operators to broaden or narrow the search. Click All dates to search for things published in any year. Click Year Range to limit to things published with in a date range and then enter the years in the date range fields. Search for images only by placing a check in the 'image only' box. Only resources that include pictures will appear in the search results Place a check in the 'full text' box and only full-text articles and books will appear in the search results Click SEARCH. Truncation Use ? to replace one character within a search term. Example: wom?n (retrieves woman, women) Use * to replace one or more characters at the end of a search term. Example: drug* (retrieves drug, drugs, druggist) Note: if the database WebFeat is searching does not support the truncation it is dropped. Boolean Operators Use OR to connect similar terms. OR broadens your search. Example: hispanic or latino Use AND to connect separate concepts. AND narrows your search. Example: doctor and surgeon Use NOT to eliminate separate concepts. NOT narrows your search. Example: kennedy not politician Proximity Operators Searching for Phrases -- There is no perfect method for exact phrase searching in BPL Big Dig since different databases have different parameters. However, using "Quotation Marks" around your search term will help limit most results to exact phrase. Selecting Databases to include in BPL Big Dig On each page that lists the databases you may search, there is a check box in front of each database. Mark each database that you want to search by clicking in the box, a check mark will appear. You need to have at least one resource selected, and you may have any number between 1 and all listed on that page. To select every database on the page use the Select/Deselect All check box. NOTE: If you are on the alphabetical listings of databases selecting all will cause the system to search over 70 databases simultaneously. This will usually result in a slower search and more hits than you will be able to look through. For both Quick and Advanced Searches you may also choose to include or not the MBLN Catalog in your search. The default is to have this selected. If you do not want to include the catalog, click in the box and the check mark will be removed. Search Results As the search is working you will see an animated image while the system digs for information. The results page will be empty until responses come back. A list of result sets will appear as the databases respond. Each database that was selected to be searched will have a response, if for any reason the system could not connect to one of the selected resources this will be indicated in the results. You may scroll down and be looking at the first results while the system is accessing the remainder of the selected resources. Each resource’s hits will display in the results page. There is a header for each database. You may click on the View Details link to go to the cited article/image etc. If you click Resource Description a small window will pop up with the description. Clicking Top will return you to the top of the results page. Printing Search Results Click the View Details link, a new window pops up with the record. Click FILE then PRINT PREVIEW. Make sure the pages are what you want. If you are using this database within a BPL location there is a charge for computer printing. Click PRINT on the print preview window. Click PRINT on the print command window. Close the window to get back to the results list. Downloading Search Results Click the View Details link, a new window pops up with the record. Insert a formatted disk into a floppy drive. Click FILE then SAVE AS. Type the disk drive, the filename and .txt in the FILE NAME box. Example: a:myfile.txt Click SAVE. Close the window to get back to the results list. Emailing Search Results If you are in BPL building this feature is not available from the BPL Big Dig interface, you will need to access the individual databases for this service. If you are using this remotely and you have an email client (Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora, etc) configured use the following directions. Click the View Details link, a new window pops up with the record. Click FILE then SEND then Page by email. You email client will pop up; send email as you would normally. Close the window to get back to the results list. Searching Databases Directly On each page that lists the databases you may search a database directly without using the WebFeat search tool. Click on the link to enter the database. If you are within a BPL building you will be sent directly to the database. If you are accessing it remotely you will be sent to an authentication page to enter your BPL library card number. When you are in the database search as you are used to. The Boston Public Library has written guides for most of our subscription databases. When you see lists of databases look for the icon. Click this to go to the guide. These guides will tell you how to search each database directly, and will also tell you how to print, download or email from the databases. PDF - Printer Friendly version of this guide Central Search Return to top of page

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