POxBo Search Tips

This page provides some brief advice on how to make best use of this database in your searching.

  1. The best starting point for understanding how to make full use of Ker’s catalogue is his own Scope and Arrangement.
  2. As Ker explains, the Latin form of an author’s name is used, so, e.g., Beda not Bede, Hieronymus not Jerome. However, if the work is an unidentified commentary on a text, then the name of the author being commented upon is given in English. Therefore, for works by Aristotle, type ‘Aristoteles’, but for anonymous commentaries, use ‘Aristotle’.
  3. Boolean searches are accepted, so, in the example just given, if you want to retrieve all fragments related to Aristotle — texts, commentaries by known authors and anonymous ones — type ‘Aristot*’.
  4. The search facility is for authors and titles. In addition, you can search using the filters. For example, if you want to find all host volumes printed in Venice, you can do so by choosing that city from the drop-down menu for Place of Publication. Similarly, if you want to limit your search to books published there by a specific author (but, of course, bound in Oxford), you can combine a search term and a filter.
  5. Each fragment has been designated a subject and that provides a filter. Remember to confine your search to ‘Ker’ before selecting the subject.