Search Tips

Hints for querying the Merton manuscripts database

1. The search box:

Type search term in the box above.  You can type in a whole word, a phrase, or any part of a word.  Generally, the shorter your search query, the more results you will receive.

2. Entire words:

For a simple search for a term like "Bible," there are the following results.

3. Results:

The results present a summary listing of titles.  Although the results simply show the title and a few details, you are actually searching the FULL description under each manuscript.  For instance, although few of the titles you see contain the word "Bible," Bible will be listed under its subject and/or full description of the item.  You can enter a publication name, book title, subject, etc.

4. Partial word searches:

Benedict can denote a complete word, but this also searches any combination of these letters, even in longer words containing them.  There is no need to use a wildcard symbol, such as an asterisk (*), to designate a partial term.  Searching for "Benedict" will bring back the following: Benedict, Benedictine, Benedictines, Pre-Benedict, Benediction, etc.

5. Partial word search results:

Some results of this search are pretty obvious: "Benedict, Saint, Abbot of Monte Cassino".  As mentioned before, we also have instances in the beginning of words, "Benedictine monasticism", and in the middle of words, like "Pre-Benedictine".  Where is the "Benedict" in "Approach to creativity", "Letter of St. Anselm", or Place of Obedience in Monastic Renewal"?  Remember from example #3 above that the full description of a title and its subjects are searched; therefore, since "Approach to Creativity" was published in the American Benedictine Review, it will register in the search results.

Note:  When you click the website link of each title, you perform a page search for your search term by holding the control (Ctrl) key with the letter "F" (Cntl+F) or using the Find of this Page command from the Edit toolbar in Internet Explorer, Netscape or Mozilla Firefox.  If your term is not on this first page, it may be on one of the sequential web pages for a particular item.