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Research Guides

LibrarySearch Tips

A guide to the University of Toronto Libraries' LibrarySearch platform

Reading Results

Once you have input your search terms and clicked the search button, a set of results will appear that conforms to the criteria you identified.

Each results page is divided into two sections. The menu on the left side provides various ways to narrow your search. The content on the right is a list of results, each a brief record of one source. 

Results screen showing the division between filter tools on the left and search results on the right

Notice that above the first result is a page number, the number of results on the current page, and the total results generated by your search. You can use this information to decide if your search needs to be narrowed or expanded. 

Results of search with page number and number of results highlighted.

Reading an Item Record

"Record" is the word that the library uses to describe each item in your set of results. 

Item records are important because they provide basic information about each source including:

  1. Format.
  2. Title
  3. Author
  4. Publication information.
  5. Excerpt from item description or abstract.
  6. Access details: Online availability or physical location information.

Each of these numbered elements are shown in the following image.

Brief record with elements numbered from 1 to 5.

Each record in your search results also provides access to a more detailed description of the record as well as additional tools you can use to share or save this information. To access the detailed source record, click on the thumbnail image or item title. If you want to share or save, click on one of the icons at the top right. 

Record with thumbnail, title, and save and share options highlighted.

Clicking on the item thumbnail or title will open a more detailed record as shown in the following image:

Example of the first section of a detailed record.

When reading the detailed record, notice the navigation menu on the left side. Selecting any of these options will take you further down the page or return you to the top. Options include: Top, Send To, View Online, Details, More Information, and Citations. Items with different formats may include different menu options. 

Detailed record highlighting navigation menu.