Frequently Asked Questions
Introduction
This part of the CLCD help facility provides answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ) pertaining to the structure and use of this information retrieval service. The questions have been organized under the following topics:
> Setup Questions
> Search Questions
> Browse Questions
> Result Display Questions
> Other Questions
If you do not find an answer to your question here, please use the e-mail message link at the bottom of the search screen to send your question or suggestion to our webmaster.
Setup Questions
The following questions address system setup and operational problems that may be encountered:
Q: Are there any special setup requirements on my computer to use the CLCD?
A: Your computer must have either a dialup or dedicated connection to the Internet and a web browser must be installed. Use of Netscape Navigator 4.0 or Microsoft IE 4.0 or higher is preferred.
Q: Can I access the CLCD with version 3 browsers from Netscape or Microsoft?
A: Yes. However, some search and display features will not be available with the 3.0 versions of these two browsers.
Q: Why doesn't the CLCD search screen look as nicely organized on my computer as it did when I first saw a demonstration of the service?
A: It may be that your computer's video resolution is set to standard VGA mode (640x480). The CLCD search screen has been optimized for display on monitors where the resolution has been set to SuperVga (800x600). Although still functional, the search screen will not be displayed as nicely by the browser at the lower resolution.
Q: Why is my browser displaying JavaScript error messages?
A: You must be using a version 4 browser with JavaScript support enabled for several functions to be available on the Search results page. For example, JavaScripts provide the ability to sort the records in the results set and to select and save specific records found by the search.
Q: How can I obtain an upgrade for my version 3 or earlier browser?
A: Browser upgrades are available for free from both Netscape and Microsoft's web sites.
Q: I forgot my Userid and PIN number. What should I do?
A: Call the CLCD Help Desk at 1-800-469-2070.
Search Questions
The following questions address problems and issues that may be encountered while using the search functions:
Q: When I do a search that has been restricted based on the Age field, why do I get so few hits?
A: By restricting your search based on Age, you are implicitly restricting your search to books that have been reviewed. The age qualification is based on the age ranges assigned by reviewers; age ranges are not available in plain vanilla records (those that do not include a review).
Q: When I enter several words in the search field, the search engine frequently returns a message that it found no matching records. Why doesn't it give me records with partial word matches?
A: The search criteria defaults to requiring a match on "all of the words". To broaden the search, choose the option to select records based on "any of the words."
Q: Sometimes when I do a search I get a message that says that no records were found, but I know that's not true. What could I be doing wrong?
A: What's probably happening is that you did not start out with a cleared search screen. It's very easy to do a search, look at the results, and then use the back button to do another search. However, if you selected one specific genre or some other qualifier on the prior search, your new search may still include that qualifier. To avoid this type of problem, we recommend you make it a point to use the NEW SEARCH button on the results display in such circumstances instead of the BACK button.
Q: I want to search for unrelated books by ISBN, how can I do that?
A: In the search field type the ISBN number(s) without the dashes and leave one space between each string of numbers. Click search and it will retrieve the records that meet your criteria.
Browse Questions
The following questions address problems and issues that may be encountered when using the browse functions:
Q: When I enter a Dewey Decimal catalog number, why does the browse function sometimes returns no matching records?
A: Rather than entering the full number, start your browse by entering the root classification number (e.g., 204.5).
Q: When I enter a subject term, why does the browse function sometimes return a list of author names?
A: The browse function defaults to browsing the author index. To browse the subject term index, be sure to select the Subject Term index before clicking on the BROWSE button.
Q: How do I display the list of titles associated with one or more subject terms?
A: Click on one or more of the boxes to the left of the subject terms, so that the boxes contain a check mark, and then click on the SELECT button at the top of the screen. A search will be performed that will create a new results set containing all of the records for the selected index entries. The results set can be used in the same way that other result sets generated by the Search page are used, as previously described.
Result Display Questions
The following questions address problems and issues that may be encountered with the procedures for displaying search results:
Q: Why do some of the words in the results displays appear in red?
A: The words highlighted in red are the search words that the search engine found in the record.
Q: Why are certain words and names underlined and displayed in blue?
A: The underlined words are hypertext links that display details about a specific title or perform searches for additional information.
Q: What do the green dots signify that appear before some titles?
A: A green dot indicates that one or more reviews exist for that title.
Q: What are the boxes that appear before each title?
A: If you click on the box, a check mark will appear in the box. The subset of titles selected in this way can be saved using the SAVE RESULTS button. Information in the saved subset can be sorted, displayed and printed to create a customized bibliography.
Other Questions
The following questions address various other problems and issues that may be encountered:
Q: How often is the database updated?
A: The database is updated monthly with an average of 1500 additional reviews.
Q: Age range information is displayed in the reviews. How can I relate this to grade?
A: A general rule of thumb for converting grade to age is to add 5. For example, using this rule of thumb, 4th grade translates to Age 9.
Q: How is the age range for a book determined by your reviewers?
A: The age range is assigned subjectively -- taking into consideration the publisher's recommendation with adjustments when appropriate based on the reviewer's perspective.
