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For a thorough discussion of how to search the ESTC using RLIN, follow this link to the ESTC's Newsletter: Factotum - Occasional paper 7.
Click here for a brief summary of ESTC search terms using RLIN.
Follow this link for instructions in searching the ESTC using the University of Calfornia's MELVYL system.
Summary of ESTC search terms and indexes.
Files display
English Short Title Catalogue -- ESTC (EST)
To search this file, type SEL FIL EST
Contains records for works printed in any language in England or its
dependencies from the beginning of printing through the end of the
eighteenth century, as well as works printed in English anywhere else
in the world during that period. Subject headings appear in records
for items published in 1700 or earlier.
Dates of coverage: 1473-1800
Supplier: British Library, London
Center for Bibliographic Studies and Research,
University of California, Riverside
Update frequency: Daily
Size: More than 300,000 records as of November 1995
For current statistics, type SHOW NEWS
For a key to a particular LIB code, type SHO LIB and the code (case sensitive).
English Short Title Catalog (ESTC) -- EST -- Searching Hints and Examples
Author, Personal name Indexes: PN, PE
(word or phrase) Examples: find pn nick-all, j
find pn c---m, c
find pn citizen of london
find pe a o
Hints: Include hyphens or asterisks.
Omit titles such as "Sir" or "II".
Use PE to search names made of initials.
Author, Corporate name Indexes: CW, CP
(word or phrase) Examples: find cw comforts poor
find cp society for better# poor
Hints: Use only distinctive words with CW.
Delete hyphens and asterisks that
replace letters, along with the spaces
they occupy.
Use "#" to truncate for variant forms.
Truncate all phrase searches.
Imprint Indexes: IMW, IMP
Printer/publisher Examples: find imw tooke
(word or phrase) find imp re-printed by e#
Hints: Use IMW and just the last name if the
first name or the exact form of the
printer/publisher statement may vary.
For IMP searches, use the statement as
it appears on the title page, including
"printed by" or like phrases.
Truncate phrase searches.
Imprint place Index: IPL
Examples: find ipl oxford
find ipl oxonii
Hints: Use the modern form of a place name to
pick up all works from a place; use the
form from the title page to focus your
search.
Imprint year Index: IYR
Examples: find iyr 1749
find iyr 17656
Hints: Use dates as they appear on the title
page, but omit slashes.
Date of publication Index: PYR
Examples: find pyr 1750
find pyr from 1750 to 1760
find pyr after 1789
find pyr before 1715
Hints: Use the modern form of the date or
range of dates.
Use "from...to" rather than hyphen.
Avoid large date ranges.
Title Indexes: TW, TP
(word or phrase) Examples: find tw col#r
find tp escape from the#
find tp fruitful# sermon
find tp m-------c l-------n's#
Hints: Use only distinctive words with TW.
Use TP to search titles with words
that include hyphens or asterisks
that replace letters.
Use "#" to truncate for variant forms.
Truncate all phrase searches.
Country of publication Index: CPB
Example: find cpb fr
Hint: Use with USMARC country codes.
Language of publication Index: LG
Example: find lg ger
Hint: Use with USMARC language codes.
General notes Index: NGW
(word) Examples: find ngw attributed defoe
find ngw engrav#
Hint: Truncate to find different
forms of a word.
Citation Indexes: NRW, NRP
(word or phrase) Examples: find nrw wing s282d
find nrw s282d
find nrw foxon
find nrp wing 2nd ed. s282d
Hints: Use the name of the bibliography
or the number or both with NRW.
Use the exact form of the reference
with NRP.
Omit parentheses.
Location of item Indexe: LW
(word) Example: find lw dunblane
Hint: Use LW with distinctive words from the
place or library name.
Holding library Index: LIB
Examples: find lib viu
find lib o and not lw oxford
Hint: LIB is not case-sensitive; when LIB codes
are the same except for case, combine LIB
with LW.
Shelfmark Index: SMK
Examples: find smk k.168
find smk psnc#
Hints: Include punctuation but omit / and ()
Truncate to search a range of numbers.
Subject Indexes: SW, SD, SP
(word, subdivision, Examples: find sw machinery
phrase) find sd maidstone
find sp alchemy--early#
Note: Only records for Hints: Use SW index to search by subject
items printed before 1701 (topic, corporate or geographic name).
include subject headings. Search hyphenated corporate names as two
words, separated by space hyphen space.
Genre code: Index: GNR
Example: find gnr v
Genre codes: Advertisements a
Directories d
Prospectuses and proposals p
for printing
Songs and single-sheet s
verse
Almanacs v
English Short Title Catalogue - ESTC (EST)-- Copyright Statement
The EST file is the copyrighted product of the British Library and
ESTC/NA and/or its suppliers and licensors. Users of this file may
reproduce a single copy of any record retrieved online for use within
their own organization. Under no circumstances may users store any
record(s) electronically for the purposes of resale, redistribution,
or performing on-going searching.
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Last updated October 3, 1996 by J. Baney.
Send mail if you have comments or suggestions.
