How are identifiers searched in the Summon UI?

Most identifier fields in Summon (such as ISBN and DOI) are defined as type "string" and are processed differently from other fields (such Title and Abstract), which are defined as type "text" and are subject to normal text analysis processing. With string identifier fields, the entire contents of the field is treated as one searchable unit and requires string processing. For basic searches, Summon users can specify search identifier fields using field search syntax, or they can select the identifier fields in Summon’s Advanced Search interface.

String identifier fields are case-sensitive, and the search query terms must exactly match the field values, including punctuation symbols and whitespace. When using the field search syntax, users should enclose each search term in double quotes so that punctuation, symbols, and whitespace are processed as part of the identifier. For example: LCCallNum_Ident:"E169.Z8 S83 2012" 

Exceptions: The following exceptions apply to string identifier fields:

• The ISBN, EISBN, ISSN, EISSN, IsbnAll and IssnAll fields allow searching with or without the hyphen. The following examples are equivalent: ISBN:”0140053204” and ISBN:”0-14-005320-4”.

• The DOI field is case-insensitive.

• The Call Number field has the following variations:

  • LCCallNum – This is the text version of the Library of Congress call number.

  • LCCallNum_Ident – This is the string version of the Library of Congress call number. Summon API users should use this field if exact matches are desired.

  • NLMCallNum – The National Library of Medicine call number is a string field.

  • DisplayCallNum – This field stores library-specific call numbers, which may or may not be the same as LCCallNum or NLMCallNum. This is a string field.

  • CallNumAll – This field maps to LCCallNum_Ident, NLMCallNum, and DisplayCallNum.

The following table lists the supported identifier fields, their processing type, and whether they are supported in advanced searches. For advanced search configuration details, see Settings: Advanced Search.