Cold Regions Bibliography

Search Help: Searching the Cold Regions Database

• Searching the Records
• Displaying the Records
• Sorting the Records
• Downloading the Records
• Switching to the DOS Version of STAR
• Inquiries and Problems

Searching the Records

Your search options in STAR/Web are Browse or Basic Index. You can browse by entering Record numbers, e.g. R=5000 through 6000, etc. To use the Basic Index [BI], simply enter a search term. STAR will search for your term in a set of the text fields chosen as of most common interest.

Basic Index Fields [BI]

When searching by subject, your search may be more fruitful if you use designated thesaurus terms. There are separate terms for Antarctic and for CRREL records.

• CRREL Thesaurus
• Antarctic Thesaurus

Displaying the Records

When you want to view your retrieved records, STAR/Web gives you three choices. One is a standard Default Display, which shows an abbreviated list of the most essential fields, such as Author, Title, Source, etc. If you don't choose otherwise, you will automatically get the Default Display. To view the list of Default Fields, see Default Display Fields.

If you wish instead to view all fields in your retrieval, you may choose the All Fields option. This will display every entered field in your record set; see Show All Fields.

A third option is to make up your own display menu. You select the fields you want shown, and in whatever order you want them to appear; see Display: My Choice.

Once you have done your search, you can view the results in any of these three Display Options at will.

Sorting the Records

If you do not choose otherwise, STAR/Web will give you its Default Sort, which is by STAR Record Number, in descending order.

You may instead choose to sort your search by any STAR Field, and in Ascending or Descending order.

You can also change your sort command at will.

Downloading the Records

STAR/Web does not provide for direct printing or writing of records at your worksite. You may however download by e-mailing your searches to a desired address.

Switching to the DOS Version of STAR

STAR/Web provides a basic search capability, similar to the Novice mode in the NISC DISC. If you want to do more refined searches, you may switch to the DOS version of the database. When you do this, select the Search Option from the Main Menu and specify COLDBACK as the database you want to search.

This will give you a Search Screen and a bottom Command Line including the Help command. For instructions on searching in this STAR version, enter Help COLDBACK.SEARCH, which will give you a general tutorial on searching, a list of all STAR fields, and how to search on each field.

Inquiries and Problems

For any problems or questions on using STAR/Web, contact the Project Manager at:
crbp@loc.gov