Why does a title ti: search returns items where terms are not in the title?
Symptom
- Using the ti: index does not restrict to only words in the title
Applies to
- WorldCat Discovery
Resolution
When local bibliographic data (LBD) is present on a bibliographic record, behind the scenes metadata from the parent record like title, author, subject, and notes fields are copied into the LBD into a keyword field.
For more precise searching consider using the te: index
Search ti:
Search te:
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.