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If you're new to research, start here. When you become more familiar with the Handbook of Latin American Studies (HLAS) and want to learn more advanced search techniques, please refer to the Experienced Researchers section of this guide.
Don't forget to play around while searching HLAS! The best way to become familiar with HLAS is by using different search phrases and search boxes and adding/removing limits. You may discover something new that will be crucial to your research by trying a different approach or technique. Experimenting with search techniques will also help you search other online resources more effectively. With just a little practice, you'll become an experienced researcher.
In addition to Quick Search, there are three other ways to search using HLAS Web.
Keyword Search, like a web search, provides a single search box to find words and phrases anywhere in the HLAS record - or specifically in title, author, or subject fields. Search results are ordered by relevance. A Boolean option is available from the Keyword Search menu for searchers who prefer command-driven queries with Boolean (AND, OR, NOT) functionality.
The Keyword Search URL is: https://hlasopac.loc.gov/Keyword
Keyword Search is helpful if you're looking for specific items, but are unsure of the complete name of an author, for example, or if you don't know the exact title. Drop-down menu options let you look for keywords in the title, author, or subject. More specific keyword filtering is available with Advanced Search.
Keyword (all words) finds all words in any order or exact phrases located anywhere in the record (combines words using a Boolean AND). Your search results will contain every term in your query. Use Keyword (all words) when you're not sure what fields contain the words or phrases you need or when your searches return no results using title, author, or subject search types.
Keyword (any words) finds any words in any order located anywhere in the record (combines words using a Boolean OR). Your search results will contain one or more terms (but not necessarily all terms) in your query.
For example, searching the term "Mexican muralists" under KEYWORD (all words) results in just over 25 titles including both keywords. If you search "Mexican muralists" under KEYWORD (any words), your results list will include more than 9,500 titles! This is because your search asked for items that include any of the words "Mexican muralists" or "Mexican" or "muralists." If you are looking for something specific, change your keyword selection.
Browse Search provides a search box for finding words and phrases in titles, authors, and subjects, and arranges the results in an ordered alphabetic or numeric list. Browse Search helps you find titles, authors, or subjects in alphabetical order with cross-references. To use this type of search, you should already know the title, author, subject, etc., that you want to find. This search is sometimes referred to as a "left match" search.
The Browse Search URL is https://hlasopac.loc.gov/Browse
Advanced Search provides a guided search form that allows you to search for combinations of keywords anywhere in the record or in specific fields (titles, authors/names, subjects, HLAS annotations, publication information, etc.). Advanced Search is useful if you are looking for specific items but do not know, for example, the complete name of an author or the first words of a title.
The Advanced Search URL is: https://hlasopac.loc.gov/Advanced
