Tips for Searching the Resource Clearinghouse

• You may search by a single word or phrase.
• In searching, spelling does matter. Capitalization does not matter.
• Punctuation will affect your search results.
  Only use punctuation in your search if you expect it to be in the item title or description for which you're searching. For example, if you are searching for "Children's Defense Fund", you must use the apostrophe.
• If you are unsure of a title, author or subject heading, type in the information you know.
  For example, if you are searching for the book "At Risk Children and Youth: A Crisis in our Schools and Society" by William E. Davis and Edward J. McCaul, but do not remember the full title, author, etc. you could search using key words such as risk, children, Davis, McCaul, and schools.
  
• Try different search words.
  For example, there are many words to describe a resource. Try several different options and combinations - but use just two or three words at a time to be sure you get a variety of results, e.g. Children, child, child's, kid, kids or Dr. and Ph.D.
• Add or remove the letter "s" for more results.
  For example, you'll get two different lists of items when you search for Childrens and children. Try your search with and without the final "s".
• If your simple search was unsuccessful, using the advanced search options may return more results.
• Advanced searches using AND / OR help refine the results returned.
  "Education" AND "Children" will return only resources that include both words.
  "Education" OR "Children" will return all resources with either word, or both.
• For a closer match, use the advanced search options and specify a date, name, program or location.
  For example, to find a particular item "children", don't just type children in the search box. If you're looking for information on high-risk children, Click on the Resource Library button and in the Topic Keyword box enter children and under programs choose High-Risk. If you want only books, follow the steps above and choose book under type of resource.