Advanced Tips for Using GPO on SilverPlatter CD-ROM NMSU Library Documents Unit J. Smith and L. Horton, Compilers Fall 1995 The GPO (Government Printing Office) on SilverPlatter CD-ROM is an index to bibliographic records for government publications distributed by the U.S. Government Printing Office. It is an easy-to-use computerized version of the Monthly Catalog. Because this depository library selects about 63% of items distributed by the GPO, some materials listed are not available in the library. Materials not held by the library may be obtained through Interlibrary Loan. Coverage begins with July 1, 1976. Basic user instructions are found in the Introduction to GPO on SilverPlatter CD-ROM handout. How to Search Free Text Press F2 (Find) and type a word or phrase. The truncation symbol (*) at the end of a word root finds all records containing any word that begins with the root. Boolean operators "and," "or," "not," "with," and "near" can be used to expand or narrow your search. Press ENTER. Additional term(s) may be searched by pressing F2 (Find) and typing them in preceded by an "and" operator. Press ENTER, and press F4 (Show) to display the records. Operator Search Example Finds Records Containing and drugs and narcotics both drugs and narcotics or drugs or narcotics either drugs or narcotics not drugs not narcotics drugs but not narcotics with drugs with narcotics drugs in the same field as narcotics near drugs near narcotics drugs in the same sentence with narcotics How to Search the Online Index Press F5 (Index) and type a word or phrase. Press ENTER. The Index will be displayed with the blinking cursor under the term(s). Use the up and down arrow keys and press S (Select Terms) to select a term. Use the arrow keys and S (Select Terms) to select additional term(s) which will be combined with an automatic "or" operator. (You do not have to type the "or.") Press F (Find) to search for records. Press F4 (Show) to display the records. How to Search GPO Fields Searches may target specific fields. For example, to find publications authored by Elizabeth Dole, at the FIND prompt type Elizabeth Dole in AU. This search results in records in which Elizabeth Dole is an author, not a subject. To locate records in which Elizabeth Dole is the subject only, at the FIND prompt type Elizabeth Dole in DE. A publication type, such as statistics, may be located by typing statistics in PT or PT=statistics. To search by date of publication, use the equal (=), less than (<) or greater than (>) signs, for example, PY>1988. To search numerical fields such as a SuDocs call number, eliminate punctuation and spaces, for example, a1378fpl259 in SU. Types of field searches may be combined. For example, publications published since 1988 on the subject of education containing statistics may be located using the following search at the FIND prompt: Education in DE and PT=Statistics and PY>=1988. Press ENTER and then press F4 (Show) to display the results. Note: Pressing the F3 (Guide) key provides much helpful information concerning GPO and its fields. Abbreviation Field Name AN: Monthly Catalog Accession Number SU: Superintendent of Documents (SuDocs) Call Number with Punctuation SU: SuDocs Number Without Punctuation (not used) CA: Corporate Author (Agency or Bureau) AU: Personal Author TI: Title SO: Source (Place, Publisher, Publication Year) PY: Publication Year PD: Physical Description SE: Series NT: Notes CT: Contents Notes IT: GPO Item Number and Microfiche Format Designation DE: Descriptors (Subject Headings) PT: Publication Type (Map, Serial, Bibliography, Monograph, Microfiche, Statistics, Microfilm, Autobiography, Motion Picture, Literature-Review) OC: OCLC Number UD: Date of Update AB: Abstract (few records have abstracts) How to Mark Your Records To mark records for printing or downloading use the up and down arrow keys to position the cursor on the desired record. Press ENTER. An asterisk (*) will indicate that the record has been marked. Repeat procedure to mark all desired records before printing or downloading. To unmark a marked record, position the cursor on the marked records and press ENTER. How to Print Your Results Press F6 (Print) to display the Print options box. Press ENTER to accept default print settings (the citation, including the AN, SU, AU, CA, TI, SO, SE, and IT fields). To select your own print settings, type C (Change Options) after pressing F6 (Print). Make the desired changes and press ENTER. How to Download to Disc Use a double-sided high density disc formatted for an IBM compatible computer. Press D (Download) and then C (Change Options). Select desired options, including correct drive, and press ENTER. How to End Press F7 (Restart) twice to erase your search history and display the Title Screen. Jeanette Smith and Leilani Horton, New Mexico State Univ Library