Searching RDA Toolkit

RDA Toolkit offers a a single search box that is found in the lower right portion of the blue navigation bar. The search engine functions similarly to Google and other web search engines. For best results,

• Use the search engine's preferred syntax.
  • If you are searching for an exact phrase, enter the phrase in quotation marks. For example, a search of "Carrier Type" will pull the phrase "Recording carrier type" but not the phrase "type of carrier".
  • If you are searching for all words in any order, enter the phrase without quotation marks. For example, a search of Carrier Type will pull both the phrases "Recording carrier type" and "type of carrier". RDA Toolkit does not use Boolean operators. Using Boolean terms such as "and", "or", and "not" will not improve your search results. The Toolkit search engine assumes an "and" relationship between terms.
  • If you want to search a word but are uncertain about the form or spelling or the word, use either an asterisk (*) or percentage sign (%) as a wildcard. The wild card can be used as a replacement for letters in a word. For example, a search of Abbrev* will return results for "abbreviation," "abbreviations," "abbreviated," and abbreviate." Use an asterisk (*) to replace one or more letters in a word; use a percentage sign (%) to replace only one letter. RDA Toolkit does not use the question mark (?) as a wildcard.
• Remember these web search engine basics.
  • Search is not case sensitive. For example, a search for "Carrier Type" and "carrier type" will yield the same results.
  • Search is not punctuation sensitive. For example, a search for "entities.", "entities:", "entities" will yield the same results.
  • Search is not externally weighted. Relevancy rankings for phrase-based searches are calculated on number of occurrences within a document(s) and relative position of each hit within the document (i.e., does it occur in a heading or a paragraph). The importance of the document itself in relation to other documents in RDA Toolkit collection is not factored in.

Along the left side of the search box is a drop-down menu that allows users to narrow the documents to be searched. The default setting for the menu is "All." The options are as follows:

• All - this setting searches all RDA Toolkit content, including RDA entity and element pages, guidance chapters, glossary, vocabulary encoding schemes, resources, policy statements, and user-contributed documents. It does not search AACR2.
• RDA Only - this setting searches only RDA content, which comprises RDA entity and element pages, guidance chapters, glossary, vocabulary encoding schemes, and revision history.
• Policies - this setting searches only policy statements, and only the policy statements that are active in your profile setting.
• Exact Title - this setting requires that the user enter the exact name of a entity or element or other page. With an exact match, the search action skips the results page and resolves at the corresponding RDA page. The Exact Title search does not work if you use quotation marks in the your search phrase.
• Glossary - this setting searches only the RDA Toolkit glossary.
• Contributed Documents - this setting searches globally and locally shared documents created by RDA Toolkit users with the site's HTML editor tool.

MARC 21

Users can search the RDA Toolkit by entering MARC 21 fields, indicators, and subfields. For example a search of "264 *1 $b" (using quotation marks, asterisk for missing empty indicators and a dollar sign as a delimiter) will return 3 results, including "name of publisher." The terms "Authority" and "Bibliographic" can be added to further limit the search.

Original Instruction Numbers

Some instructions numbers from the original RDA Toolkit have been included to facilitate locating RDA instructions. Simply enter the instruction number in the search box using quotation marks; the search results will collect any exact matches. Users should be aware that the mapping of original instruction numbers to new RDA instructions is limited. If an instruction number yields no results, try shortening the instruction number by one or two digits. For example, a search of "7.5.1.3" (using quotation marks) will yield no results, but a search of "7.5" (using quotation marks) will return a hit on "equinox."

Citation numbers

Citation numbers have been created to meet a need for a shorthand reference to instructions that can be used in print resources. Citation numbers reference discrete passages of the RDA content. To search by citation number simply enter the number into the search box, and the search will resolve to the corresponding passage in RDA Toolkit.

The search results page is composed of several pieces that allow users to refine their search and filter their results. At the top of the search results page the individual search terms are listed in blue ovals. Clicking on the "x" in an oval allows the user to quickly remove a term from the search. At the top of the left column is a search box that is used to add new terms to the current search string.

Display of search results

Beneath the search box is a drop-down menu that provides the option to display the search results by relevance ranking or in alphabetical order. The search results are grouped into three document categories: RDA Documents, Policies and Contributed Documents, in that order. Next to the heading for each group is the number of results currently displaying for that group and total number of search results for the group. The default setting is to display the first ten RDA Documents results, the first five Policies results, and the first five Contributed Documents results.

The individual search results are composed of four parts. The first part is the title of the page, which is also the link to the page. It appears in a blue font. Next is a brief preview of the text containing the search hit. The last line of the search result includes the type of document (e.g., element, guidance, glossary, policy statement) in bold type and when the file was last updated.

Filtering search results

In the left column are filter menus for each document group: RDA Documents, Policies and Contributed Documents. The default setting for each of these menus is "All." Checking a list item in a menu will remove the "all" designation and filter the results for the selected category (or categories).

Saving searches

Any search may be saved by clicking the "Save Search" button at the bottom of the left column. You will need to name the search and set a share value on the search. Once saved, the search may be accessed through the search box drop-down menu in the blue navigation bar.