Searches on the subject matter of the recordings are normally most successful when using the Subject Keywords box.
This facilitates a drop-down list when you insert the keyword. More than one keyword can be searched eg song Gaelic.
Searches can also be made in the summary field though please note that apart from individual tracks and the SC (cassette series)
there is no summary available for fieldwork recordings.
Within the subject field you can search on language, genre, subject.
1. Language used on the recording:
- Gaelic
- Scots: Please note that this often includes Scots, Scottish English and English in the SA series
- Other languages named as appropriate
- In many cases no language is specified (meaning that English or Scots is used)
2. A broad categorisation of the type of information or genre:
- belief
- biography
- charm
- cure
- custom
- game
- genealogy
- language (discussion of dialect, language use etc)
- music
- place-name
- poem
- prayer
- proverb
- recitation: formal, from printed source
- rhyme
- sayings
- sermon
- song
- tale: includes stories, legends, anecdotes
- tradition: oral history, description, information on ‘way of life’, material culture etc – not covered by any of the other genres outlined here.
- verse
3. Keyword categorisation according to subject e.g. fishing, food, crofting, waulking, farming, house construction, storytelling, cultivation etc.
Searchable terms will appear underneath the box as you type.
Compound terms are, as yet, unjoined so if searching for New Year, please put in New and Year as separate terms.
There are a couple of index classifications that have been used – the Aarne Thomson Tale Classification (AT) has been entered into the Subject
Keyword field (though is not a complete listing) and also appears for individual tracks under Tale Ref.
There is a separate field for the Classification Index Reference. This generally only applies to individual tracks in the SA category.
If you have the title for an individual song, tale, commercial recording you can search in the Title field. Where
fieldwork items are concerned it is often better to search using a distinctive word rather than using the whole title
as there is variation in titles used, particularly for songs.