All searches can be refined by selecting one or more of the criteria listed on the search screen.

The main text entry box contains four possible types of searches:

A. KEYWORD SEARCHING
Searching keywords in this database is very similar to searching some of your favorite Web search engines. A keyword search will retrieve any record that has the term you enter in any one of several fields, including creator, title, caption, annotation, note, description, or subject terms. The database recognizes the following three operators:

+ equals the "AND" operator. If you want all of your search results to have every term you enter, enter the "+" operator between each word.

- equals the "NOT" operator. If you want to exclude certain records if a keyword is present, use the "-" operator before each term to be excluded.

[BLANK SPACE] equals the "OR" operator. Leaving a blank space between words is an implied "OR" search.

NOTE: This database now supports phrase searching, so you can enter "St. Paul" (quotes included) in the keyword search box, and only retrieve records where these two words occur in the order specified. Without the quotes to indicate phrase searching, this search would instead look for records with either "St." OR "Paul" in the record.

B. ID# Searching
Every item in this database contains a unique identifier in the "Identifier" field of the item record. If you know the unique identifier for an image, simple enter it and select the "ID#" searching option.

C. Subject Searching
Utilizing a controlled vocabulary for describing objects makes a database more reliable. For example, if you always refer to a person, place or concept in the same way in each record, you can be certain that you retrieve every record in which this standardized term occurs. Every object in this database was described using subject terms commonly used by librarians and archivists. All Subject Terms used in this database also are listed in the "Limit Search by Specific Subjects" box on the search page. If you enter any one of these terms as a Subject Search, exactly as it occurs on the list, you will retrieve every record in which it occurs.

D. Title Searches
Nearly every poster in this database has an associated title. This search restricts keyword searches to just the title field.

E. Creator Searches
Many of the posters in this database can be attributed directly to a specific artist. The List of Artists lists all artists/illustrators currently represented in the database. This list will continue to grow as the digitization project continues.