2.Search

You can search for materials from the top page and the search results screen.

2-1 NDL Search Overview

NDL Search offers three main types of searches: simple search (search from the top page), detailed search, and search by material type.
It is possible to customize the search fields for each search.
With simple search as the simplest basic form, other search screens consist of adding search fields to simple search.
On this page

We will guide you about.

Table 1 Search of the National Diet Library

Search Screen Name	Description Screen	Link
Simple search (outside the NDL premises)	This is a search from the top page. Initially, only the most commonly used search fields are displayed.	https://ndlsearch.ndl.go.jp/
Simple search (on the NDL premises)	This is the search screen when you open the top page on the NDL premises. Simple search (outside the NDL premises) + search fields that are often used in the NDL have been added from the beginning. *Cannot be accessed from the NDL premises.	―
Detailed search	You can search by specifying detailed conditions. Unlike the simple search on the top screen, multiple search fields are fixed and displayed in advance, and search fields cannot be added or deleted.	https://ndlsearch.ndl.go.jp/search/detail-search
Search by material type	Search fields suitable for the material type have been added from the beginning. The search scope is set for each screen. Please note that there is also a search screen that focuses on some of the library's holdings.	【Example】 Detailed Search (Newspaper) Materials of the NDL only Detailed Search (Map) Materials of the NDL only Doctoral Dissertation

Search customization is set up separately for each screen. Therefore, search fields added or deleted in the simple search (outside the NDL premises) will be carried over to the top page and the search result list, but they will not be carried over to the detailed search or search by material type. They must be added or removed individually.
For more information about search customization, see "About Search Customization".

2-2 Simple Search Description

Simple Search Screen

Table 2 Explanation of the simple search screen

Item Name	Description
Keyword search (1-a)	Search by title, author, publisher, subject, table of contents, etc. Enter a keyword in the text box and click the search button. A list of search results is displayed. You can perform an AND search by entering a space. For other available search symbols and operators, see Search Specification Details.
Specify search scope (1-b)	Refine the search to the search scope specified in the check box. You can also turn on the toggle to narrow down the list to materials available online. National Diet Library You can search the materials held by the National Diet Library, digital materials available at the National Diet Library, contracted E-journals, etc. Other libraries in Japan You can search for materials and digital materials held by other libraries in Japan that are linked with data. Available online For a detailed explanation, please refer to Materials available online.
Refiners (1-c)	You can expand search fields other than keywords by clicking. search fields can be customized. For more information, see Customizing search fields.

2-3 Customizing search fields

NDL Search remembers the status of search fields once they are added or deleted. The next time you use it, you can start the search from the same search field state as when you used it before.

Screen Description

Table 3 Description of the search screen for the open status

Item Name	Description
Search fields(2-a)	These are the search fields that can be used. For descriptions and specifications of individual search fields, see Description of search fields.
Add fields button(2-b)	This button is used to add or delete search fields. For details, see Edit search fields.
Clear button(2-c)	Resets the contents entered in the search field. The entered text is cleared, and the checkbox is returned to its initial state of selection. The database selected in the search field "Database" in "Specify databases individually" will not be cleared even if you click "Clear button", and it will remain as an option.
Close refiners(2-d)	You can collapse the expanded search screen to reduce the space⁽¹⁾ .
Collapse button(2-e)	You can collapse the search field by pressing the button⁽²⁾. When collapsed, the field name is displayed just below the keyword search field. You can open the search field by pressing the button next to the field name.
Collapsed search field(2-f)	You can display the search field again by clicking the button next to the collapsed field name.

Edit a search field

You can click the "Add field button (2-b)" to open the Add search field dialog. You can add search fields by selecting the checkbox from the dialog.

Table 4 Description of the Add search field dialog

Item Name	Description
Refinement search box(3-a)	You can search for search fields by keyword.
"Reset to initial settings" button (3-b)	You can reset the search field to the standard fields (initial state). There are nine standard items: Library, Title, Author/Editor, Publisher, Year, ISBN/ISSN, Call Number, Material Type, and Media type.
Search field (3-c)	Select the check box to add a search field, and uncheck the check box to delete the search field.
Search field group (3-d)	Displays similar search fields and search fields that are unique to a specific material type by grouping. By checking the checkbox next to the group name, you can add search fields in the group at once.
Link to Research Navi (3-e)	You can open the description page of the search field. Please use it when you want to know the meaning and specifications of the search fields in detail.
Cancel button (3-f)	Discards the previous search field selection state and returns to the search screen. The same behavior occurs when you press the × button in the upper right corner of the screen, or when you click outside the dialog box to close it.
Decide button (3-g)	Saves the edits of the search field and returns to the search screen.

NDL Search divides search fields into the following three stages.

Standard search fields
This is a search field that is displayed by pressing "Refinement conditions" without any particular customization. It is also an item that is set when you click "Reset to standard item" in the Add search field dialog.
Search fields that need to be added arbitrarily
This is a search field that needs to be added from the Add search field dialog in order to use it.
Search fields for each material type
In order to use it, it is necessary to add a search field from the Add search field dialog, and it is a search field that is supported only for a specific material type. Please note that only certain types of materials are supported, and depending on the combination with other search fields, the materials may not be found in the search.

Customization Specification Details

Saving Customizations

Customization information for search fields is saved under the following conditions.

When you are not logged in
Even if you are not logged in, your search fields will be saved. It is stored in the browser, and the previous state is recorded even if the browser is closed. It will be reset by deleting "Cookies and other data" and "Site data" in the browser function.
When logging in
If you log in, the search fields from the last login will be applied. At this time, the customized search field will be overwritten with the state of the search field when you are not logged in.

The customization status of search fields is set for each screen. Therefore, the customization status of the search field is not inherited between simple search (outside the NDL premises), simple search (on the NDL premises), detailed search, and search by material type.
Example: If you added the search field "NDC" to the simple search (outside the NDL premises) using a computer at home. In this case, when you visit the National Diet Library, you need to add "NDC" again in order and use "NDC" in a simple search (on the NDL premises) from the terminal in the NDL.

2-4 Description of the search field

In NDL search, you can specify the following search fields:
If you enter multiple search fields, an AND search will be performed between the fields.
If there is a mark next to the search field , you can click it to go to the help commentary.

Table 5 Description of search fields

Item Name	Description
Library	Select the check box to select whether you want to search only the collections in the National Diet Library or other libraries in Japan. In addition, you can narrow down the materials available online by turning on the toggle switch of "Materials available online".
Title	Various titles (titles, volume and part numbers, series titles, Contents(NDL data only), article titles when searching for journal articles, etc. ) in the search. If you enter multiple words in an field, an AND search is performed.
Authors/Editors	Search for authors, editors, translators, and more. If you enter multiple words in the field, an AND search will be performed.
Publisher	Search for the name of the publisher, organization, or individual who published the material. If you enter multiple words in the field, an AND search will be performed.
Year	Searches for the year in which the material was published. Please enter the year of publication in 4 digits. You may not be able to search by the year of publication of each volume issue. If you don't find any hits, please search without the year field.
ISBN/ISSN	Search by ISBN or ISSN.
Call No.	Search by call number of the National Diet Library.
Material type	Search by material type. For more information, see Material types.
Media type	Search by media type. For more information, see Media type.
Holding libraries	You can search by entering the name of the National Diet Library and other libraries in Japan. Prefix search is also supported. For details of the main institutions that can be searched, please refer to List of Data Providers. Also, once you perform a search, the institution that owns the found material will be displayed, and you can narrow down the search with the check box.
Location	You can select the location of the collection from the Tokyo Main Library, the Kansai-kan, the International Library of Children's Literature. In addition, you can choose whether to include in the digital data that is available in the library regardless of the service point. If you select the Tokyo Main Library, Kansai-kan, International Library of Children's Literature, or a service point therein, the data of tangible objects and digitized materials in that service point will be searched. Even if you find it in the search, you may not be able to use the material, so please check the "National Diet Library Holdings" column on the Bibliographic Records screen for information on how to use it. "Digital Data" includes the National Diet Library Digital Collections, e-books and e-journals available in the NDL, website names collected through the Web Archiving Project (WARP), Current Awareness articles, and online journals published in Japan for which the ISSN is registered. "Digital data (data for the Parsons with Print Disabilities)" is all data that can be used by registering and logging in to Mina Search. Please note that the data can only be used by registered users of the Transmission Service for Persons with Print Disabilities.
Databases	Narrow down your search to databases that are linked to NDL Search. You can toggle the OR/NOT toggle switch to switch between OR and exclusion. For details, please refer to Search Targets of the NDL Search. After selecting "Specify databases individually", you can cancel it by checking the "Deselect All" checkbox and pressing "Apply".
Collection	Narrow down your search to a group of materials. See collections for more information.
Available online	You can search by specifying the public status of the Internet. The choices for the search item "Internet browsing" are as follows: Available without login: Materials that do not require registration and can be browsed by anyone with an internet connection. Available with Digitized Contents Transmission: Materials subject to the National Diet Library's Digitized Contents Transmission Service for Individuals (User registration (official registration) of the NDL is required to use the service. However, it is not available if you live outside of Japan. ） Limited (Only at NDL on-site): Materials that can only be browsed at the National Diet Library (It includes materials of National Diet Library Digital Collections, materials of Web Archiving Project (WARP), contracted e-journals, e-books, etc.) Limited (Only at Holding Libraries on-site): Digital materials provided by the other libraries in Japan and can only be browsed in the holding library. Available with Digitized Contents Transmission (Document for disability person Materials for Persons with Print Disabilities): Materials that can only be used by those who are registered users of the Data Transmission Service for Persons with Print Disabilities. Available with purchasing: Digital data from the Japan Publication Registry Office (JPRO). Not available online: Materials that do not fall into any of the above categories. *In the NDL Search, "Available without login" or "Available with Digitized Contents Transmission" materials are referred to as "Available online." For more information, please refer to the materials available online.
Table of Contents and Articles	Search for the title of the "article" by the type of material such as the Japanese Periodicals Index, the details of the contents of the books in the NDL's collection, the table of contents of reference books, collections of papers, and materials selected by the NDL staff from the books and periodicals in the Library's collection, the table of contents of the materials in the NDL Digital Collections, and the table of contents included in the publication information.

Please refer to the following pages for explanations of other search fields.

2-5 Search Specification Details

Search Symbols (Forward/Backward Match/Phrase)

By entering the search symbols " and * before and after the search word, you can search for a forward or backward match, or a phrase search.

Table 6 Explanation of search symbols

Search Name	Description
Prefix search	You can perform a prefix search by adding the half-width character "" to the end of the search term. 【Example】 Search for "図書館" Search for materials starting with "図書館" such as → "図書館", "図書館の歴史", and introduction to "図書館学概論".
Backward match	Search For call numbers and various numbers of detailed search fields, it is also possible to search for a backward match by adding "*" in front of the search term.
Phrase search	If you insert a search term with a half-width character ", you can search including spaces. 【Example】 Search for "journal of science" → Search for materials containing "journal of science".

About single-character search

In the case of a single-character search, the search is performed as a prefix match. For this reason, you may not be able to search for a single letter at the end or just before a word break.

Search Operators (AND/OR/NOT)

You can perform an AND/OR/NOT search by entering the following initials and delimiters, such as single-byte spaces and full-width spaces.

Table 7 List of search operators

Initial	Operator
None	AND
+	OR
-	NOT

For example, if you enter "Natsume + Soseki -Kokoro", you will specify "Natsume OR Soseki NOT Kokoro".

Please enter "+" and "-" in single-byte characters.
When "AND", "OR", and "NOT" are used together, they are processed in order from left to right.
Even if you specify OR for all words, the first word will be treated as AND.

This is an example of a search that specifies "Natsume", "Soseki", and "Kokoro" in keyword input.

Venn diagram showing search targets for "Natsume", "Soseki", and "Kokoro"

Table 8 Area description of the Venn diagram showing the search targets for "Natsume", "Soseki", and "Kokoro"

Area Number	Description
(1)	Materials that contain the word "Natsume" but do not contain the words "Soseki" or "Kokoro"
(2)	Materials that contain both the words "Natsume" and "Soseki" but do not contain the word "Kokoro"
(3)	Materials that contain the word "Soseki" but do not contain the words "Natsume" or "Kokoro"
(4)	Materials that contain both the words "Natsume" and "Kokoro" but do not contain the word "Soseki"
(5)	Materials that contain all the words "Natsume", "Soseki", and "Kokoro"
(6)	Materials that contain both the words "Soseki" and "Kokoro" but do not contain the word "Natsume"
(7)	Materials that contain the word "kokoro" but do not contain the words "Natsume" or "Soseki"
(8)	Materials that do not contain the words "Natsume", "Soseki", or "Kokoro"

Table 9 Examples of search operator inputs and search results

Operator Patterns	Input Values	What to hit	Numbers on the Venn diagram
AND	Natsume	Materials containing the word "Natsume"	(1), (2), (4), (5)
OR	+Natsume	Materials containing the word "Natsume"	(1), (2), (4), (5)
NOT	-Natsume	All materials that do not contain the word "Natsume"	(3), (6), (7), (8)
AND AND	Natsume Soseki	Materials containing both the words "Natsume" and "Soseki"	(2), (5)
AND OR	Natsume +Soseki	materials containing the word "Natsume" or containing the word "Soseki"	(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6)
AND NOT	Natsume -Soseki	Materials that contain the word "Natsume" but do not contain the word "Soseki"	(1), (4)
OR AND	+Natsume Soseki	Materials containing both the words "Natsume" and "Soseki"	(2), (5)
OR OR	+Natsume +Soseki	Materials containing the word "Natsume" or containing the word "Soseki"	(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6)
OR NOT	+Natsume -Soseki	Materials that contain the word "Natsume" but do not contain the word "Soseki"	(1), (4)
NOT AND	-Natsume Soseki	Materials that do not contain the word "Natsume" and contain the word "Soseki"	(3), (6)
NOT OR	-Natsume +Soseki	Materials that do not contain the word "Natsume" or contain the word "Soseki"	(2), (3), (5), (6), (7)
NOT NOT	-Natsume -Soseki	All materials that do not contain both the words "Natsume" and "Soseki"	(7), (8)
AND NOT AND	Natsume -Soseki Kokoro	Materials that contain the word "Natsume" that do not contain the word "Soseki" and materials that contain the word "Kokoro"	(4)

2-6 About search history

If you are logged in, save your recent searches.
You can view the search history by clicking on the search window.

The search history displays the specified search conditions in a simple manner.
Click "> Search history" to move to the search history screen.

Table 10 Description of the search history screen

Item Name	Description
Search history (1-a)	Displays search conditions that have been executed in the past by search field. By clicking on the area, you can search by that condition again.
Clear All (1-b)	Deletes all of your search history.
Delete button (1-c)	Deletes a single search history.

Footnotes

^
When searching in a collapsed state, the input value of the collapsed search field is also included in the search condition and the search is performed.
^
If you perform a search in a collapsed state, the input value of the collapsed search field will be included in the search condition and the search will be performed.