Plurals and other variations: You can use an asterisk at the end of a word stem to find plural forms and other variations on that word.

example: searching for "work*" will match works, worker, working, etc.

Punctuation: All punctuation marks entered in a search box are ignored and treated as spaces.

example: searching for anti-slavery and anti slavery will match both anti-slavery and anti slavery.

To search for a phrase, simply enter it in a text box. No need to enclose it in " " marks.

Use regions to restrict searches: Most of the search forms have pull-down menus that allow you to specify specific areas, or regions, of a text to search in. The items in the menu change depending on what collections you have selected. A general rule of thumb is: the more collections you select, the fewer region options will be available to search in.

Click the search button: To submit any search form you must click the "search checked collections" button. You cannot activate the search by hitting the enter or return key.

Specific collection search options: Each collection listed in your collection list has a link to "collection home," where you will find search options not available in the multiple collection search forms.