Use this Quick Guide to learn more about how the VLCT Resource Library works.
There are two primary ways of navigating within the Resource Library's 500-plus electronic documents: Search and Browse.
Search
The general Search option allows you to perform a full-text search on all documents in the Resource Library. A full-text search looks for your search term (a single word or phrase) in the document title and in the content of the document. Results are returned in order of relevance - documents that most closely match your search criteria are displayed at the top of the list.
Match Exact Phrase
Use this option to return only exact matches to your query. While this generally returns fewer results, your returns should match more closely what you are looking for.
For example, if you search for the term Animal Control utilizing the Match Exact Phrase, the Resource Library will return a document that contains ...department of animal control today announced..., but not ...how to control animal behavior. Without Match Exact Phrase checked, both of these documents would be a part of the results. Remember to double-check your spelling, as it is critical to the success of an exact phrase search.
Quick Searches
Quick searches are preset searches on popular topics that have been prepared by VLCT staff. To search using the suggested term, simply click on it.
Search Within These Results
To assist you, VLCT staff members have prepared a list of similar search terms. The Resource Library will automatically draw upon this list to suggest alternate search terms to you. These search terms may help you obtain a more relevant list of documents than your original search term produced.
Spelling Suggestions
If you have trouble remembering the spelling of a word, or mistype a word while searching, the Resource Library will make spelling suggestions on the Results page. For example, if you type terraain, the Resource Library will display Did you mean: terrain. To search using the suggested term, simply click on it.
Similar Term Suggestions
If the search term you entered is similar to one in a list created by VLCT staff, the Resource Library will display an alternate, suggested search term. Using this search term may provide a more relevant list of documents than what your original search term produced.
Browse
Instead of performing a general document search, you can browse the Resource Library by document category. All documents within a category are displayed in alphabetical order by title.
Search Within This Category
Once you begin browsing a category, you can choose to perform a text search within it. This is another way to limit your search for more precise results.
VLCT News
For your convenience, the VLCT News listing on the right hand side of the page displays a list of the most recent additions to the Resource Library's Selected VLCT News Articles category.
Hot Documents
Hot Documents are documents that have been handpicked by VLCT staff because of their timeliness or because they respond to a particular issue that is generating a large number of member inquiries.
