How to Search

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Finding information can be confusing 😕

Where do you start? How do you find exactly what you’re looking for?

Below are tips and tricks on how to:

  • Search in the library
  • Search using the library catalogue
  • Search on the Internet

1. Searching in the Library

At Gold Coast City Libraries, we organise our collections in two ways:

  • In our fiction collections, we label resources by the first three letters of the author’s last name.

For example, in the junior fiction (JF) part of the library, books by J.K Rowling (JF ROW) and Rick Riordan (JF RIO) will both be found in the ‘R’ section.

  • Our non-fiction collections are organised by the Dewey Decimal Classification system (DDC) and the first three letters of the author’s last name.

The Dewey system is where different topics are given a number from 000 to 999. For example, in the junior non-fiction (JNF) area, a book on Christianity would have a code that begins in the 230s, such as JNF 230.12. A book on Australian history would be found in the 900s with a code such as JNF 994.

  • Click here for a Dewey Decimal Classification system guide.

2. Searching using the Library Catalogue

The library catalogue is easy to use!

  • You can look up items by typing a word or two into the main search box and clicking the ‘play’ button (triangle shaped arrow pointing right).
  • Here are some tips that may help you:

  • On the left side of the search page, there is a drop down box titled ‘Refine by’ where you can refine your search. These options let you choose items based on their availability (whether they are in the library), genre (fiction vs non-fiction), format (book vs ebook), collection (junior vs adult), and other characteristics.
  • To select more than one option, use the check boxes.

  • For advanced search options, click the ‘advanced search‘ button located under the main search box. This will bring you to a new menu where you can be very specific when searching for an item. Here you can specify which format, collection, location or language you want. You can even combine search criteria when looking for an item in the catalogue.
  • For example, you may be looking for a picture book in Greek at Southport library. Simply put in your specifications and press ‘search’.

If City Libraries doesn’t own a book you are looking for, you can request the title through the following links:

Quick tip: If you’re not sure what book to read, Who Next…? is a fun, interactive tool that lets you explore different book genres/themes.

3. Searching on the Internet

The Internet is a great tool for learning and playing. But it’s not without risks! Here are some safe search tips for finding information using the Internet:

  1. Turn on the ‘safe search’ setting in your browser to remove unsafe or inappropriate content from your search results.
  2. Be specific and use exact words in your search. You may be tempted to type a full sentence into the browser, but you will get more accurate results if you put in one or two key words or the exact phrase you need.
  3. Use synonyms if you can’t find what your looking for. Trying words that mean the same thing (for example, “climate change” for “global warming”) could help you get more results.
  4. Using AND to search for both terms (cats AND dogs), OR to search for either (cats OR dogs), or NOT to not search for the second term (cats NOT dogs) can help refine your search. Quotation marks for specific words can help narrow your topic (“cats and dogs in Queensland”).
  5. After typing your key word, search within a site by typing the word site: with the colon and typing in the URL. For example, to find information about cats and dogs in the New York Times website, you might search: “cats and dogs” site: nytimes.com

This video by Common Sense Media provides more tips on how to stay safe and find what you’re looking for online!

Kid-friendly search engines can also be used to find information and stay safe. Below are my top three kid-friendly search engine sites:

  1. Kidzsearch: An easy-to-use search engine powered for grades K-8. This search engine has links to music, news, games, facts, and sites such as KidzTube.
  2. Kiddle: Created by Google, Kiddle features their own encyclopedic images and all search results are checked by editors.
  3. Safe Search Kids: This colourful, custom search engine uses additional filtering to block potentially harmful material so you can explore the Internet safely.
Quick tip: Do you need help recognising the difference between information that is true or false, useful or not useful, helpful or unhelpful? The How to Evaluate tab can help!

References

Common Sense Media Ratings & Reviews. (2013, November 12). Smart online search tips for kids [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqGlhNDx7_k

Fingal, D. (2021). 5 safe search engines for elementary students. ISTE. https://www.iste.org/explore/iste-standards/5-safe-search-engines-elementary-students

KidCyber. (2022). Dewey decimal system. https://www.kidcyber.com.au/dewey-decimal-system

Slavin, T. (2022). Advanced online search techniques. Beanz Magazine. https://kidscodecs.com/online-search-techniques/