Muhlenberg's online catalog "Encompass Search" searches all libraries worldwide by default to ensure that you have the best chance of locating exactly what you need. But, if you are looking for a particular book and want to limit your results to only items in Trexler Library's Pennsylvania German Collection, you will need to combine search terms to limit your results.
To limit your search, add AND b8:Pennsylvania German Collection to your search terms.
For example: if you want to see a list of all the Bibles Trexler holds in its Pennsylvania German Collection, type the following into the Encompass Search bar:
ti:Bibl* AND b8:Pennsylvania German Collection
You can browse the entire collection of Pennsylvania German material (in date order; oldest to newest) by entering the following search:
b8:Pennsylvania German Collection
(Note that books without a date attribution sort first in this browse, and may not be the oldest books in the collection. Also note that this collection includes books about Local History which may have nothing to do with Pennsylvania Germans.)
To locate items that were written in the Pennsylvania German dialect, do a language search.
ln=pdc (ln= language search; pdc= the language code for Pennsylvania German)
We are constantly updating the coding of our P.G. materials, so not all holdings will be accurately reflected in the above search yet...
All materials in the Pennsylvania German collection will be identified in the Encompass Catalog by the prefix "P.G.".
Getting started -- Using Encompass Search
Enter your search terms into the single search box, and click on 'Search'.
Then, use the sorting and filtering options on the left of the results page to refine your search. (See the topics in the tabs to the left for more information on Sorting and Filtering).
Encompass Search uses a ‘keyword search’ which means that by default it will search for ANY of the terms you enter ANYWHERE in the database. This will result in lots of ‘hits’ but some of them might not be what you need. It often helps to enter specific phrases within quotes to get a more accurate search.
If you find that the results from Encompass Search are not what you expect, you may need to refine or enhance your search strategies (see “Encompass Search Tips”), or you may need to search special databases to access resources not yet available through Encompass Search.
If you need help in locating relevant resources, or would like assistance in searching, please contact or visit a Trexler Library research librarian.
