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Logging in

Logging in as a Guest:
A guest is someone who does not have an Ohio State University username and password.

Logging in with an OSU ID:
An OSU Internet Username takes the form name.#, for example, doe.999 (the "@osu.edu" portion of your e-mail address is not needed). If you cannot remember your OSU username or login, visit the Office of Information Technology web site at http://www.oit.ohio-state.edu/userpass.html.

Browsing

You may navigate the collection using the browse categories below the Search Box. Choose the category you would like to browse, and click on the "Show sub-categories" link. The browse categories will automatically expand and anchor at the top of your screen. Next to each sub-category, you will find a number in brackets. This number indicates the quantity of images that are related to a particular category, sub-category, or term. If the category name is a hyperlink, you can click on it to get sub-categories or a set of images in that category.

Searching

To search the KSA Digital Library database, type in one or two descriptive words and hit the 'search' button. The search will return results that include ALL of your search terms (e.g. the search "gardens" and "parks" would return a result set where each record includes BOTH the terms). To widen your search, try a different, broader term, or use only one keyword (e.g. to find only "gardens", leave out your "parks" term. This will result in a larger record set). To narrow your search, simply add more words to the search terms you have already entered (e.g. to find only urban gardens, use the terms "urban" and "gardens"). Your new query will return a smaller subset of images. You may also want to try the browse categories to explore the collection.

To take advantage of the Search, keep these tips in mind:

• It searches the Titles, Descriptions, Subject/Object names (type of work), Organization names, Architects/Designers names, Construction materials, and Geographic location names.
• It automatically adds an "and" between words in a query. Therefore, it is not necessary to include "and" between search terms.
• It ignores common words like "a", "and", "is", or "the".
• It enables stemming. Simply add an "*" after the word to return results with that word stem. This may be helpful if you are unsure of a word ending or the word could have multiple endings. For example: "colos*" would return colossal and colossus
• It is not case sensitive. Therefore, "Parks" and "parks" will return the same results.
• It allows phrase searching, which means putting quotation marks around two or more words. For example, the search "hall of mirrors" will return results containing that exact phrase.
• It does not understand special characters. For example, a search for "allées" will return zero results, because the "é" is interpreted as a symbol rather than an "e". To obtain relevant results, simply enter search terms without using special characters. For example: use "allees" instead of "allées".