Help Limiting/Refining Searches

You can limit a search by choosing various categories that narrow your results. The more you limit, the narrower the search becomes. If you get no results, you might try removing one or more of the limiting categories you have chosen.

  1. You can click on Limit to items on the shelf only to limit your search to items not currently checked out.
  2. You can choose to limit your search to items owned by a particular Oakland library (Asian, Dimond, Main, etc) by clicking on the location from the drop-down menu labeled Location or Age (your search will otherwise default to searching all of OPL).
  3. You can limit your search to items at a particular age level by clicking on the Location or Age drop-down menu, scrolling all the way to the bottom and choosing Children's or Young Adult.
  4. You can limit your search to items published in one or more particular languages. From the drop-down menu labeled Language, make a selection such as English, Spanish, etc. The system will otherwise default to Any.
  5. You can limit your search to items published in a particular year or range of years. In choosing that option, type the correct years in the Published After and Before boxes.
  6. You can choose to sort your search results by date published, title, or relevance.
  7. On the Advanced Keyword Search page you can limit your search to one or more formats or material types such as Book, DVD, Music CD, etc. From the drop-down menu labeled Material Type, make a selection. The system will otherwise default to Any. On that page you can also limit your search to items issued by a particular publisher. Simply type in the publisher's name in the box provided.
  8. For some types of searches (author, title, subject and call number) there are some different sorts and limits available after you perform your search and get your initial results. To see them, do your search, then click the "Limit/Sort Search" button at the top of screen.

If you have trouble limiting or refining your searches, call your local Oakland Public Library location for help or ask online via e-mail or chat.