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How do I get the new Primary Title (te:) index to show up in the drop-down menu of Advance Searches?

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Symptom

  • The new Primary Title (te:) is not showing up in the drop-down menu of Advanced Search.
  • WorldCat.org is selected as a database

Applies to

  • WorldCat Discovery

Resolution

Currently, the te index is only enabled for the Worldcat database.  Additional databases will be added in the future (see "Phase 3" Additional Information).  For clarity, the WorldCat database is not the same database as the Worldcat.org database.

Please consider selecting the WorldCat database. Here is our guide to selecting databases in the service configuration:
Default Databases and Licensed Content - OCLC Support

What is the difference between WorldCat and WorldCat.org? What do I need to know about the central index?

Additional information

WorldCat Discovery release notes, March 2025:

  • Please note, this new index will be delivered through a phased implementation, and this release delivers Phase 1. Phases 2 or 3 may change as we get additional feedback from users on the use of the index in the coming weeks.

    Phase 1: WorldCat database primary title searching

    When searching the WorldCat database, you can now improve search precision with the Primary Title index, ensuring more accurate results for specific title searches. The new Primary Title (te:) index in WorldCat Discovery searches only the MARC 245 $a and $b subfields, providing more precise title matches for known-item searches. Unlike the Title (ti:) index, which searches multiple title-related fields, the te: index focuses solely on the main title. This improves accuracy and helps users quickly find the exact item they need.

    This new index is labeled “Primary Title” in WorldCat Discovery and is available for selection on the advanced search page when searching the WorldCat database. The index code “te:” can also be used when constructing searches in the basic search box.

     

  • Phase 2 will add additional MARC 245 subfields $n number of part/section of a work and $p name of part/section from WorldCat database records that display in the search results title.

     

  • Phase 3 will expand this index to include titles from the Central index so that the index can be used with the WorldCat.org database as well as other central index databases.

Page ID

62836