Improve your search results
When using the search function on our Alibris for Libraries homepage, you'll get optimal results by following these tips:
- Less is more: A few general search criteria will yield the greatest number
of matches.
- More is less: For fewer and more
precise matches, use more (and more specific) search criteria.
- Use asterisk wildcards: If you include an asterisk (*) with a word (or partial word), you
will receive listings with words comprised of that root word. For instance, "rail*" will yield titles that contain the words "rail," "railroad," "railways," "railroading," and
so on.
- Search by subject: Enter
relevant keywords in the Subject field to search for items by topic.
- Search by general words: Enter terms in the Any Word(s) field to find
records containing those words in each search category. For instance, entering "bridges"
in Any Word(s) would yield books with "bridges" in the title
(such as The Bridges of Madison County), books by
authors whose names contain the keyword (such as Robert
Bridges), and books that are about bridges.
- Use limiting fields: If you desire results filtering, check the appropriate box to limit your search
to only related titles. For example, check the Nonfiction box to only receive titles designated as nonfiction.
Using lowercase or uppercase letters will net the same search results.
Find it by title, author, etc.
If you know the title or the author/artist name, you can search on the Alibris for Libraries homepage. If you don't know the title or the author/artist, you can use other fields such as Subject or Any Word(s). If you are searching for something more specific, you can narrow your search by specifying the publisher, binding, or label. Use the Search In pull-down menu to search for music or movies.
To initiate a new search from elsewhere on the site, you can return to the Alibris for Libraries homepage (for broader search options) by clicking the Alibris logo in the top-left corner, or use the Search box on the upper-left of all other pages.
Find books by ISBN
Use the ISBN field in the Search box to search by ISBN. Please note that many books do not have ISBNs, so you may receive better results searching by
title and author.
Find items by UPC
After changing the Search In field on the Alibris for Libraries homepage either to Music or to Movies, you can search by Universal Product Code (UPC) to locate movies and music. Please note that
many movie and music items do not have UPCs, so you may receive better results searching by title or artist.
Find books by LC
class
On the Alibris for Libraries homepage, enter the LC class in the LC Class field. You may increase your search results by doing a wildcard search
by adding an asterisk (*) at the end of your search term (e.g.,
"GV*"). Please note that many books do not have LC classes, so you may receive better results searching by subject.
Boolean searching
The Alibris search engine will automatically perform an "AND"
search. "NOT" searches can be done on a limited basis by entering
a positive and negative value in the same search field and using a hyphen (-)
before the negative value. For example, to search for all titles
by Thomas Hardy except for Tess of the D'Urbervilles, enter "thomas hardy -tess" in the Any Word(s) field. To exclude most children's literature,
enter a subject and then the "-juvenile" exclusion.
Note: Not all of our titles are designated as "fiction" or
"nonfiction," so you may still get some fiction titles when you
use "-fiction".
"ADJ" (adjacent) searches can be done on a limited basis by
using quotes in the Title or Author fields. Adjacent author searches should
list, within quotation marks, last name first, then comma, then first name.
For example, to search for all titles with "South America" as
adjacent words in the title, enter "south america" (with quotes) in the
Title field.
Product descriptions
Most items for sale on our Web site are described in detail, including
the price, the publisher or label, the publication or release date, and the edition.
Most descriptions also include a notation of the item's overall physical
condition, including whether it is hard or soft cover, the condition of
the spine, any markings, condition of the pages, etc. Click the title
for more information about an item. If you still have specific questions
about the condition of an item, or to clarify the description, you can
click the Contact the Seller link to access an e-mail form
for asking the seller a question.
For a complete explanation of the terms
that are likely to appear in a book's description, check out our Glossary
of Book Terms. You can also refer to our Glossary
of Music Terms and Glossary
of Movie Terms.
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