Discovery Service - Search Tips

Search terms
Enter one or more keywords into the search box. Recommended keywords will be shown while typing. To search for an exact word order, wrap your keywords in quotation marks. Example: "Chemie für Mediziner".

Search query and search result
The entered keywords will be searched over all fields of the title descritpion (person, title, bywords, etc.).
These can also be specifically adapted under »Settings« (= see More Settings).

Wildcard *
You can use the symbol * at any place within or also at the beginning or end of your search term. It replaces an arbitrary number of characters.
Example: Schif*ahrt finds Schiffahrt and Schifffahrt

Wildcard ?
You can use the symbol ? at any place within or also at the beginning or end of your search term. It replaces exactly one character.
Example: Tos?ana finds Toskana and Toscana

More settings
In the "Settings"-menu you can chose one or more search criteria within "More settings".
Confirm the selection by clicking "Ok".
Then add the keywords to the search boxes and confirm them by clicking the checkbox.
Important! The settings will be used for futher searches. To stop this behavior, go to the settings and delete the keywords from the search boxes or reset the complete advanced search by clicking "Clear".

Person search
To find a specific person, preferably enter the name wrapped in quotation marks.
Example: "Theodor Storm"
Or use "More settings" to find a specific person.

Signature search
A signature can be found by putting it between quotation marks.
Example: "Bp 9342", "D 3.03/2020,1", "43.0 Rie 1"

Foreign characters
If the title or the authors are stored in the specific letters of the original language, you can also find it by using the original characters.
Example: Константин Александрович Федин

Cross-community libraries search
To do this, select »Search also community libraries« via »Settings«. Example of a title in the original language that can be found nationwide:
Example: История текста и биография А. П. Платонова

If you have found a hit in another library, you can use »interlibrary loan« to access the Common Union Catalogue (GVK), from where you can place your interlibrary loan. Further information on interlibrary loan can be found here.

Phonetic search
Similar search terms can be found by using the "Phonetic search". This can be helpful if the correct spelling of a name or term is unknown.
Example: Tolstoy finds Tolstoi, Tolstoj etc.

Narrow down search result
By using the filters left hand to the search results, the result can be narrowed down to a selected period of time or, by activating the check boxes, to specific criteria (eg. electronic or printed).

Access to licensed electronic resouces (e-books, e-journals, e-articles)
The university library offers acces to the full text of licensed electronic resouces. For access from outside the campus a connection to the university network via VPN is necessary. Further information can be found here.