MENAsearch – Tips for your research
MENAsearch is the discovery system of the FID Middle East, North Africa and Islamic Studies for your literature research.
Discovery systems are library search systems based on modern search engine technologies. Not only the holdings of one’s own library are offered under one search interface, but heterogeneous data sources are searched so that, for example, journal articles or full texts from licensed databases as well as electronic texts in open access can also be found.
Notes on the use:
Basics
Search terms
You can enter one or more terms in the search slot. The “autocomplete” function supports you in selecting search terms even for terms in non-Latin scripts.
Narrow down search result
Period, type, format
The number of hits can be narrowed down to a selected period of time using the slider. In addition, the search result can be limited to a publication type (e.g. printed) and a media format (e.g. book).
Search queries and search results
You can confirm search queries by clicking the search button or by pressing the Enter key after entering the term. The search for the entered terms runs through all fields (person, title keyword, keyword etc.). Search results are sorted according to a relevance ranking. The hit list can be re-sorted chronologically in ascending or descending order using the year arrows.
Access to licensed electronic resources (still under construction)
For a number of electronic resources with MENA content, the library offers access to the electronic full text. Follow the links provided. For members of Martin Luther University, access to licensed electronic resources is also possible from outside via Shibboleth or VPN. Wherever possible, the FID endeavours to negotiate national licences to which members of other universities/libraries can also access via their home institution.
Wildcard ?
The ? character can be placed anywhere in the search term or at the end of the search term. It replaces exactly one character.
Example:
– B?irut finds Beirut and Bairut
– B??rut finds Beirut, Bairut, Bayrut and Beyrut etc.
Search by person
When searching for a specific person, it is advisable to enter the name in inverted commas.
Example: „Carl Brockelmann“
Search in original script
MENAsearch allows you to search in the various scripts of the MENA region, but also in transliteration. It does not matter whether you use diacritics or the basic letters (e.g. Aḫbār or Ahbar). Since titles in original script (Arabic, Cyrillic, Armenian, Georgian, Latin with special characters) have only been recorded since about 2012, knowledge of the applicable DIN transcription rules is necessary in order to find older titles.
Various controls
Setting the search space
By default, the search space is set to “Search in all libraries”. The search is carried out in the entire K10plusZentral.
- You can restrict your search to the holdings of the FID in Halle. To do this, switch off “Search also community libraries” under Settings.
- For all holdings from the Common Library Network including the SYS, a link to the interlibrary loan catalogue GVK is provided (service still under construction).
- You can activate a phonetic search.
Select language
Select the menu language (German or English)
Select view
Select the display of the hit list in one to a maximum of four columns.
Watchlist
Display of all titles on the watch list
Login, access to user account (still under construction)
- Display of borrowings, orders, media that can be picked up and made available, reservations and fees
- Extension of loan period
- Cancellation of reservations
- Change password
Expert search
Various search keys can be entered in the search field to search specifically for e.g. language, keywords, place of publication.
Language
- Search key: 1) langcode, 2) language or sprache
- Search key: 1) (please enter ISO 639-2 abbreviation here in lower case), 2) (capital initial and English form)
Examples:
- langcode(geo) > Georgian titles/media
- sprache(Persian) oder language(Persian) > Persian titles/media
Keyword
- Search key: subject or schlagwort
Example:
subject(Sufismus) > titles linked to the keyword Sufismus
Classification/Systematics
- Search key: 1) class, 2) topic
- Search key: 1) (‚SYS Middle East subject classification‚) 2) (GBV basic classification) or (FID subject section)
Examples:
- class(’ssg 2.6′) > Titles on the subject “Islamic law”
- class(’ssg 3.2.2.2.3′) > Titles on the subject “History/Politics of Iraq“
- topic(BKL 11.81) > Titles on the subject „Qur‘an“
Year
Search key: year
Example:
Year(2005) > Titles with publication year 2005
Editor / Publisher
Search key: publisher
Search term: (Only transcription/latin script possible)
Examples:
- publisher(al-Markaz al-ʿArabī li-l-ʾAbḥāṯ wa-Dirāsat as-Siyāsāt)
- publisher(HH GAA patmowt̕yan institowt)
- [in both cases, of course, it is also possible to search using the basic letters]
Series
Search key: series or reihe
Search term: (Only transcription/latin script possible)
Example:
series(Nûbihar yayınları) > all publications of the series Nûbihar yayınları
Note
Combined search queries with these keys are also possible. The individual search keys are only to be connected with blanks (no Boolean operators!).
Examples:
year(2005) langcode(ara) topic(BKL 11.81) > Titles in Arabic language on the subject of the Qur’an published in 2005
langcode(tur) subject(Sufismus) > Titles in Turkish on the subject of Sufism
Overview of the internal commands with which you can further restrict your searches in Lukida. If there are 2 terms in one line, the search term is available in both English and German:
* acqdate erwdatum (Erwerbungsdatum)
* author autor (Autor / Verfasser)
* call abruf (Anrufzeichen)
* class sachgebiet (Sachgebiete)
* client mandant (Mandant bei MultiLBS-Systemen)
* collection (Kollektionen)
* collection_details (Pakete (kleinere Einheit innerhalb von Kollektionen))
* contents inhalt (Inhaltsverzeichnis)
* corporation koerper (Körperschaft)
* foreignid (Fremdschlüssel)
* format (https://wekan.gbv.de/b/nxtTWgQd4eEumm9Sn/lukida-doku/ffE3HayePeTrmkAuW)
* format2 (https://wekan.gbv.de/b/nxtTWgQd4eEumm9Sn/lukida-doku/v3stFxJQGXL3szMsR)
* genre (Genre)
* id ppn (PPN / ID)
* isn (ISBN und ISSN)
* language sprache (Sprache (Englische Sprache wie German, French, Italian usw.))
* langcode sprachcode (Sprach-Code (3 Buchstaben we ger, ita, fra usw.))
* norm (Verbundene Normsätze zu ID)
* ppnlink (Kinder von ID)
* prov (Provenienz)
* publisher verlag (Verlag)
* series reihe (Reihe / Serie)
* signatur signature (Signatur)
* subject schlagwort (Schlagwort)
* title titel (Titel)
* topic (Schlagwort)
* year jahr (Jahr)
Note:
* If the search term contains spaces, the bracket syntax is *as always* recommended.