Cline Library - About Digtial Archives

About the Digital Archives

The Colorado Plateau Digital Archives provides 24/7 public access to the regional archival treasures held by the Cline Library. Explore thousands of vintage and contemporary photographs, diaries and letters, oral history interviews, films, and maps which document the history of the Colorado Plateau and NAU. Most items have been digitized from the original format; some resources are "digitally born." New material is added weekly.

Library staff welcome questions and comments. For questions about using these pages and resources, see Ask a Librarian. To comment on the layout and functionality of the site, see Make a Comment.

The Library offers access to these archival resources for purposes of education, scholarship, and personal enjoyment. Commercial or other for profit use may require payment of license fees. Some items presented may be protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). It is the responsibility of the user to secure any necessary permissions regarding copyright prior to use. The Library is eager to hear from copyright holders who are not properly identified.

Searching the Colorado Plateau Digital Archives

The Colorado Plateau Digital Archives can be searched using Boolean logic (AND, OR, NOT) to construct a complex query. Personal names do not need to be inverted during a search. You can use syntax or wildcards to narrow or broaden queries.

The search will locate the single word, exact phrase, or selected terms in any field in the digital object description: creator, title, date, collection name, content summary, biography/history, subjects, places, people, and organization. The search is not case sensitive (capitalization is not important).

Boolean Search Examples

AND

Boolean AND Search Example

Results include any records that contain both Canyon and Grand.

Boolean OR Search Example

Results include any records that contain either Canyon or Grand or dam.

NOT

Boolean NOT Search Example

Results include any records that contain both Canyon and Grand, but not dam.

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Syntax and Wildcards

You may also use the following search symbols or wildcards to conduct queries in the Digital Archives that narrow or broaden search results:

Enter search term(s) that incorporate double quotations (""):

Double Quotations Search Example

Using double quotations ("") instructs the search engine to narrow the query to precisely those elements found inside the quotations. This precision will eliminate any variations, such as Nicholson from the search results.

Enter search term(s) that incorporate an asterisk (*):

Asterisk Wildcard Search Example

Using the * symbol will broaden the query to include variations to search elements. The terms Pow* and boat* will return results that contain words beginning in Pow (such as Power and Powell) and boat (such as boat and boating).

Enter search term(s) that incorporate a question mark (?):

Question Mark Wildcard Search Example

You can use the question mark (?) if you are uncertain about the precise spelling of a search term. For example, ka?ak tells the search engine to return records that contain words that begin in ka and end in ak, such as kayak.

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Limiting by Date(s)

Enter a year, or range of years in the date space(s) provided under optional.
The Year format = yyyy (year range: yyyy-yyyy) will allow you to limit a search by a specific year or range of years. To ensure accurate results when limiting by date(s), please use the proper Year format and arrange dates in chronological order.

This is an optional search tool and is not required to conduct a search in the digital library.

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Limiting by Type(s)

Select one or more of the type or genre boxes provided under optional to limit query results. The types or genres in the Digital Archives include:

textual materials (manuscripts, books, articles)
visual materials (photographs, film)
maps
sound recordings (oral histories, phonograph recordings)

This is an optional search tool and is not required to conduct a search of the digital archives.

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Quick Archives Search

The "Quick Archives Search" box at the top of the left column on many pages allows you to launch a quick search of the Digital Archives. Enter a word or words in the box and click Go! By default, the words are automatically connected by Boolean "ANDs," so that you will only see those records in which all of your search words appear. If you get no results, try fewer words.

Quick Archives Search Example

For more sophisticated searches and more options, see the Colorado Plateau Digital Archives homepage.

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Other Tips

Once you have found an item in the Colorado Plateau Digital Archives that meets your needs, try finding related material by clicking on the links under creator, collection name, subjects, places, people, or organizations in the description.

Each digital object offers a thumbnail, a description, and a full size image. Click on the image for the largest view.

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