First Search is a database available through the Library of Michigan which indexes a large number of general and specific subject periodicals several of which provide full text articles. If you are not a resident or employee of the Beaverton Rural School District, you will need to ask your local school or public librarian about access to this site. It is available free in some areas and for a fee in others. First Search is in the process of being revised; the directions which follow apply to the current version and will reflect the New First Search in December when it is complete.

I. Logging In:

A. From anywhere but Beaverton Rural Schools: First Search Login Page

1. Click on Use First Search on the left side of the opening screen.

2. Type in your Authorization Code and password. If you do not know these, contact Ms. Sherrod if you are a Beaverton resident.

3. Hit the Start button

B. From Beaverton Rural Schools Network: First Search Entry

From either location, continue on with the following steps:

C. Select All Databases (last one in the list on the left side)

D. Select the Database you wish to use: WilsonSelect, NYT (New York Times), NetFirst (all these are full text)

Warning! Never use your Browser's Back and Forward buttons: always use the buttons at the top and bottom of FirstSearch's screens.

Only exit using their Exit button at the top or bottom of the screen.

II. Basic Search (default, for now)

A. Type in your search phrase; you do not need to use any Boolean terms or punctuation.

B. Make sure that Subject is showing in the Keyword index, unless you are looking for a specific author, title, or other item.

C. Click on Start Search button.

D. Click on title of article to see the citation OR Click on Full Text Online if it appears after the title to see the entire article.

III. Advanced Search (will be default in December)

A. To select Advanced Search, click on the button for it below the Basic Search windows.

B. Using Boolean connectors fill in the search boxes marked Word, Phrase according to your topic.

C. To use the Index boxes, click on the arrow for the pull-down menu to set each one according to your word or phrase. For example, use the default Subject (keyword) category if you are looking for a general subject, but select Author (keyword) or Title (keyword) for authors and titles of specific articles or with your subject in the author or title field. Avoid using (exact phrase) categories unless you are absolutely sure of the spelling and word order. Be aware that these index window menus change according to the database you are using.

D. Below the word, phrase and Index windows you will see several windows allowing you to limit your search. The most important ones may be Availability, which allows you to select full text only by highlighting online, and Years, which allows you to limit the dates being searched. Again, pull down menus help you in your choices and these windows also change depending on the database selected.

E. When you have everything set the way you want it, click on the Start Search button.

F. As in the Basic Search, click on the title of the article to see only the citation OR click on Full Text Online if it appears after the title to see the entire article.

IV. Printing or E-mailing Results

A. Once you have completed your search and have found your resources, you can either print or e-mail whatever you have found.

1. To print, simply use your browser's print button when your screen shows the full text of the article you want.

2. To e-mail either a bibliography of citations or the actual articles you will find an E-Mail button at the top and bottom of the screen. To e-mail citations you will have to use the Tag record boxes by clicking on each Tag box beside the citations you want to send. Once you have tagged all you want, up to 20 at one time, find the E-Mail button, click it, and follow the directions. To send actual articles, bring up the full text of the article on your screen, find the E-Mail button, click it, and follow the directions. Once you have typed in your e-mail address in one session, it will remain until you exit the program.

One last warning: if you get caught up in reading an article or exploring a website you found through NetFirst, your First Search session may be ended. First Search has a timeout feature that goes into effect when it does not sense any activity. If this should happen, just re-log on, but you will have to start your searches over. As in all other computer-related activities, SAVE, SAVE, SAVE!

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