Library Search

As you type a query in the Simple Search box, you can choose one of four options (which we call SCOPES in this guide) from the dropdown menu that appears.  On the Advanced Search form, these options appear as radio buttons across the top. Here's what they contain:

• Everything: This is the default search which combines the Books and Media and the Articles & More options and includes records from external sources such as Texas Scholarworks, the Blanton Museum of Art, the Harry Ransom Center, and the Collections Portal.
• Books and Media: Everything in the University Libraries' physical and electronic collections (books, e-books, journals and periodicals, media, music, maps and more, plus the collections of the Harry Ransom Center and the Briscoe Center for American History.  
• Articles & More: Full text articles, e-book chapters, and other content available through UT Libraries.
• Course Materials: Physical and electronic materials currently designated by instructors for UT courses. Search by keyword, course number, or instructor name.

The Search system allows you to refine your results after running a search, to focus on specific types and segments, or to narrow large results sets. You can apply one or more of the following filters (or exclude them).

• Show Only - you can narrow by choosing online or physical materials only or other attributes.
• Resource Type* - the format of the information, e.g. Book, Journal, Article, Chapter, Video, Map, Dissertation, Conference, etc.  The available selections depend on the composition of your results and which scope you're searching.
• Creation Date* - enter a publication date range and click on Refine.
• Library - select one or more library entities for physical copies of materials.
• Location in Library - this lists a larger subset of locations within the above Library facet; it's more granular down to the actual location level (e.g. reference, reserves, oversize, etc.). These entries will make more sense if you select a Library filter first.
• Subject** (heading) - a selection of topical headings applied to records in the results.  This means controlled vocabulary terms, not topics in general.  It's not comprehensive or consistent across all records you may find, and some records lack subject headings entirely.
• Author/Creator**
• Language*
• New Records - limit to records added to the database within the last week, month, or three months.
• Data Source - narrow your search to results from external sources.

* Filters marked with an * (asterisk) above are also available as pre-search limits using the Advanced Search form. 

** Author/Creator and Subject heading are available as specific search fields in the Advanced Search form.

Applying Multiple Filters and Excluding Filters

• When you hover your cursor over a filter, a checkbox appears to the left.  Click it, and then repeat to add other filters.  When you're done, click Apply Filters at the bottom of the column.  You can remove selected filters later if you want. 
• To exclude results based on a filter, click the red Exclude button that appears to the right of the filter name when you mouse over it. 
• Filters can be saved within your search session, or cleared at any time.

If you search for a known item and you do not get the results you were looking for, then you can expand your search by using the Include results beyond UT toggle. This will show articles and books that we might not license or own but that you can request through our Document Delivery or InterLibrary Loan services.

If you are encountering issue the Troubleshooting Guide can help.

Ex Libris Documentation

Our Library Search interface is powered by the Primo VE system from Ex Libris.  Here are some links to their documentation.  Note that not all of the features they describe are available or activated in our version, and that the generic screens and labels may be different from ours. 

Relevancy

Primo uses several criteria to rank results including matching the query, an academic significance and the publication date of the item. The relevance of an item is boosted if query terms are included in specific metadata fields (author, title, subject). Other factors include proximity of terms and the search type being conducted (topic vs known item).