Finding Information
The website’s hundreds of scholarly articles are arranged alphabetically in four main publication categories in the main menu under Criticism and Teaching > Articles > ALA, NYSHA, SUNY, and Other.
In addition, indexes are provided in the Resources section for these categories: author, subject, title, and other writers associated with Cooper’s works.
There are two main strategies for finding information quickly:
- using the indexes
- searching
Using the Indexes
Each article is cross-indexed in the Resources section of the main menu.
| For an index of: | Select this item: |
|---|---|
| Authors | Index by Author |
| Other writers and artists | Index of Other Writers and Artists |
| Subjects | Index by Subject |
| Titles | Index by Title |
In addition, most categories have introductory text summarizing the articles.
| For an overview of: | Select this item: |
|---|---|
| About Cooper’s writings | n/a |
| Articles from New York History | Articles from New York History |
| Cooper panels at the ALA Conference | Cooper Panels at the ALA Conference |
| Informal talks for non-academics by Hugh C. MacDougall | Informal Talks to Non-Academic Audiences |
| SUNY Oneonta Cooper seminars | SUNY Oneonta Cooper Seminars |
The Resources section also includes the following additional references.
| For: | Select this item: |
|---|---|
| Checklist of Cooper’s works | Checklist of Cooper’s Works |
| List of PDFs at the site | List of PDFs |
| Books about Cooper | Books about Cooper |
| Links to other Cooper sites | More Cooper Links |
Searching
The search engine’s normal state is to search through every page on the site (“All files”) for the keywords or phrases you’ve entered in the Search bar.
The use of filters to restrict the search is optional.
- A filter setting tells the site’s search engine to examine only one chosen category of information and exclude all other categories.
- In this case, the categories consist of scholarly articles on this website. Each article is assigned an invisible tag to identify its category. The search engine sorts through these tags to assemble the results page.
Search results are always presented in ranked order, meaning that a page with multiple mentions of Cooper would be considered higher in the list hierarchy (a “closer match”) than a page with only one mention. The placement of the word affects the ranking as well; a mention of Cooper in a Heading 1 title would appear before a mention formatted Heading 2.
How to Use Search Filters
Select the video below to see filtering in action. Our sample shows a search for “Cooper” in which results for the same word vary by category.
(19 seconds, no sound)
Notice how the number of mentions of “Cooper” (center screen) varies across the categories.
Determining which Filter is Active
Hover the mouse over the three-line icon to the left of the magnifying glass icon in the toolbar. A tooltip shows which search filter is currently in use:
Search filter tooltip at lower right.
Once the selection is made, the Search box text at the far left changes from “Search” to “Search + [your filter selection]”:
This reminder text disappears once you place the cursor in the Search box.
Choosing a Search Filter
To apply a search filter, select the icon left of the magnifying glass, and then select from the menu that drops down.
Search filter icon.
Our example shows the user selecting “ALA only” from the search filter menu:
Search filter menu. The selected filter “lights up” in red font.
Your search will be conducted across the website’s complete contents (“All files”) unless you choose to restrict it using one of the categories shown in the table below.
| Search filter category | Result |
|---|---|
| All files | Search all files on the site (do not restrict the search) |
| ALA only | Search only files in the ALA section of the Contents |
| NYSHA only | Search only files in the NYSHA section of the Contents |
| Other only | Search only files in the Other section of the Contents |
| SUNY only | Search only files in the SUNY section of the Contents |
Turning Off Filtering
To turn off filtering, select “All files” at the top of the search filter menu.
Note that your filter selections are not “remembered” after the browser window closes.
