Author

Users will be able to search under any recognised variation of an author's name, and they will still be directed to a full list of results.

In the sixteenth century it is very common for authors to be known by a variety of names. Sometimes authors are known by different names in different parts of Europe ('Cicero, Cicéron'). Sometimes authors themselves chose to adopt a Humanistic pseudonym.

Here we have standardised all author names to a single form.

The form used is the name chosen by the National Library or equivalent for the place of the author's birth.

For Mediaeval and Classical authors we use the International Latin standard.

Thus whatever the variation under which users search, the results page will present their results under the standardised name.

Title

The short title is derived from the title given on the title page, if the book survives, or from the best bibliographical reference, where a copy has not been examined.

The short title presents the substance of what appears on the title-page. The author's name and biographical information relating to the author ('Martin Luther, monk of Wittenberg') is removed. The incipit ('Here begins') is also removed.

The titles are lightly modernised, with modern use of u/v and i/j. Contractions are expanded. Otherwise the title is presented as it appears. The major exception is the titles of 15th century books (incunabula) where the Incunabula Short Title Catalogue uses uniform titles rather than literal transcriptions of title-pages. In some cases (for instance 15th century books published in England) we have linked these uniform titles with the title page description.

Users searching for place names or for themes and subjects through the title search will therefore have to be aware that they should search for all variations. This can be done through the use of the search builder.

The title field, author, place and printer searches ignore accents.

Printer

Our records list all printers, publishers and booksellers named on the title-page or in the colophon. Inferred printers (that is printers not named in the book but identified by bibliographical study) are also identified.

Printers often used many different variations of their name. Sometimes they used a different form for books published in Latin as opposed to vernacular languages.

In these records a single standard usage has been adopted, regardless of the form used in the book. We use the name predominant in the place where the printer or publisher was born or active. For Latin and vernacular alternatives, we adopt the form chosen by the relevant national bibliographical authority.

Where one printer worked for another printer or publisher, or at the command of a particular bookseller, we attempt to specify this relationship accurately. In cases where an edition was split between different booksellers, and each had their name on a portion of this shared edition, we treat these as bibliographically distinct items. Each has a different record and reference number.

Place of Publication

The place of printing search works on the same principles as the author search.

All places of printing have been standardised. They appear in the database under their modern name rather than the place name as it appears on the title page.

Our list generally follows the modern usage of the territory in which the place is currently located (thus 'Strasbourg' rather than 'Strassburg'). However, as before, our indexing function ensures that regardless of what variation you use for your search ('Rome', 'Rom', 'Roma') the results will be complete.

Classification

The Classification search is one of the most innovative features of this database. It allows specialist users to search quickly for all books published on a particular theme or genre. To facilitate the categories are deliberately kept broad.

All books in the database have been tagged according to this classification scheme. Many have been given more than one classification. Thus books of the metrical psalms will be returned in lists of book Bibles and music books. Books of Canon Law will appear on lists of religious books and legal texts.

Some categories will be very large. The capacity exists to introduce a more fine-grained categorization scheme for large categories such as drama, literature, religious or medical books. This advanced scheme is currently under development.

Language of publication

The language search reflects the predominant language of the text.

Date

Users may search for all books printed in a particular year; all books printed before or after a particular year; or within a specified date range.

These searches are inclusive of all dates within the specified range.

To search for undated items use 's.d.' Note, however, that many undated items have been tagged with an estimated date, and so will now be returned the date search.

Digital copies

The digital copies icon will identify editions where a digital copy is available. This is currently the case for around 40,000 editions.

Copies with a digital text are identified with a camera icon.

To find a digital text users may use a variety of strategies.

Users may limit searches to return results only for books where a digital copy is available.

Alternatively, once a search has been made, it is possible to order results on the results page to show books with digital copies at the top of the list.

Digital copies are derived from a variety of sources. Some are free public access (as for instance in Gallica, Google Books, or the collections of the Bayerisches Staatsbibliothek Munich). Some are made available by commercial providers.

Search Builder

The search builder offers the opportunity for the most complex analytical searches. There are two principal types of search: one which enables the user to combine groups (by using 'or') and one which enables the user to isolate a particular part of a group (by using 'not').

Some examples are given below.

To unite two subject categories for a search

• [subject - Religious Books; OR subject - Bibles; AND place - Spain]

Works of Erasmus published in Basle or Paris

• [author - Erasmus; AND place - Basle; OR place Paris]

German books published outside Germany

• [language - German; NOT place - Holy Roman Empire]

Direct Citation Search

To directly access the record where the citation number is known, use the direct citation search.

Choose the citation source (e.g. FB) and enter the number in the space provided.