My search topic is lifelong learning/resources/ in public libraries. This search starts with the topic's most specific facet which is “lifelong learning.” To increase my chances of finding relevant hits I also include a related term, “continuous education.” I search Library Literature (LibLit) since my next specific facet, “public libraries,” would be partly covered by this database for library literature. Below is the record of a good hit:
Search Results:
1776 Records found for (lifelong learning) Smart Search OR (continu* education) Smart Search
Evaluation: This is an efficient way to start a search, especially in a topic with more than two concepts (facets), provided the user knows which concept is most specific in the search topic. Otherwise one can search each facet individually to find the most specific facet, i.e. the one that yields the lowest number of hits. In this case the more specific facet is quite evident without having to actually conduct individual searches for each facet. The initial 1776 hits obviously needs to be narrowed down to a manageable number, and Boolean limiters (e.g. AND, WITH) may be used to incorporate the remaining facets in the search topic (in this case "public libraries" and "resources/programs"). In other words, a building block search is the next logical step here. Non-subject limiters such as language, document type, and year of publication can also be applied to further narrow down the search.
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