What is the difference between keyword and subject searches?
Subject searching retrieves only the official Library of Congress (LC) Subject Headings.While Subject searching is usually more precise, LC headings can be quite different from common expressions. For example, the LC Subject Heading for the “French Revolution” is France–History–Revolution, 1789-1799. If you are unsure of the correct heading, try searching by Keywords, then use the records you retrieve to identify and link to LC Subject Headings. Keyword searching is very powerful because it scans many record fields (titles, notes, authors, corporate/organization names, etc.) and can be combined with Boolean operators (and, or, not). For example, a search for the word wind will retrieve items such as the title Gone with the Wind or the author Windsor Edward Duke Of. By using combinations, the Keywords search can be more precise: (cats or dogs or pets) not laboratory.
Related Questions
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