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Search Help

Search All: What is Search All?; How to start a search; Search Results
Tips for searching: Be specific; Phrases need quotes
Library Search: What is Library Search?; Library Search Results
Archives Search: What is Archives Search?; What is included in Archives Search?; Archives Image Search, a Prototype
Ancestors Search: What is Ancestors Search?; What is included in Ancestors Search?; Ancestors Search Results
Website Search: What is Website Search?; Website Search Results
Video: How to Begin your Search Online

Search All

What is Search All?

Search All allows you to search the vast resources of the Library and Archives Canada (LAC). LAC combines the holdings of the former National Archives of Canada and the former National Library of Canada.

These resources include:

LAC's website;
LAC's library catalogue of our published holdings, as well as locations of published materials from over 1300 contributing Canadian libraries; and
a selection of LAC's descriptions of archival material.

You can search all of LAC's collections at once, or you can limit your search to an individual collection. Search All is being launched as a field trial to encourage participation in its development.

How to start a search

Using Search All is easy. Simply type into the search box one or more words that best describe the information that you want. Then press Enter or click the Search button. See our tips for searching for more detailed help.

In response to your search, you'll see a list of the most relevant results. The results include website, library and archival items from LAC.

Search Results

The Search Results show the items found by your search. The five most relevant items from each of the Library, the Archives and the LAC website are shown first.

For more information about an item, click its title.

To see all the items in a particular group, click Show All. For example, clicking Show All in the Library group shows all the Library results for your search.

Your results are presented with the most relevant items on top.

You can sort or limit your search results by using the options shown on the right of the Search Results screen. For example, you can limit the results to a specific type of material or format, such as maps.

For more information about search results, see Library Search Results, Archives Search Results, Ancestors Search Results, or Website Search Results.

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Tips for searching

Be specific

Choosing the right search term is the key to finding the information you need. Start with the obvious.

Example: If you're looking for general information about Montreal, try montreal.

It's wise to use multiple search terms.

Example: If you're planning to search Montreal Canadiens, you'll do better with montreal canadiens, than with either montreal or canadiens by itself.

Ask yourself if your search is specific enough.

Example: It's better to search using montreal molson centre than montreal arena.

Capitalization is not important. You can type your search in either uppercase or lowercase.

Example: paula martin returns the same results as Paula Martin or PAULA MARTIN.

Phrases need quotes

Use quotes if you want only results that include an exact phrase.

Example: "paula martin" does not find Paula Andrea Martin.

Do not be afraid to use wildcard characters to get around possible spelling variations or typographical errors. Use a question mark (?) to replace a single character. Use an asterisk (*) to replace a string of characters.

Example: Type Wilfr?d, and you will get results with Wilfrid and Wilfred.

Example: Type patriot*, and you will get you results with patriote, patriots, patriotism, patriotic, patriotique, patriotisme, etc.

If the search yields too many references, you can always narrow your search by using quotation marks or the appropriate logical operators, such as AND, NOT and OR (note that the logical operators must be capitalized).

Example: Type Ottawa OR Bytown, and you will get results that mention this city, regardless of which way it is identified.

Example: Type Mackenzie King, and you will get results with every description that combines these two words.

Example: Type "Mackenzie King", and you will only get results where this specific expression appears.

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Library Search

What is Library Search?

Library Search allows you to limit your search to the catalogue that lists the holdings of libraries across Canada. As a national catalogue, Library Search not only shows the published materials held at Library and Archives Canada (LAC), but also those located in over 1,300 libraries across Canada.

Library Search contains records for books, magazines, newspapers, government publications, theses, sound recordings, maps and electronic texts, including items in braille and large print.

Library Search Results

Library Search Results shows the library items found by your search. For each result, you see the main title (underlined), author, date, whether the material can be found online (if applicable), and whether the item is available in the LAC catalogue or held in contributing Canadian Libraries.

Your results are sorted to show you the most relevant items at the top.

You can limit your search results by using the options shown on the right side of the Library Search Results screen. For example, you can sort the results by title, and then select a specific type of material or format, such as maps.

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Archives Search

What is Archives Search?

Archives Search allows you to limit your search to descriptions of archival material in the holdings of Library and Archives Canada (LAC). LAC has custody of millions of textual, photographic, iconographic, audio, philatelic, cartographic, architectural and other documents. This material mainly, but not exclusively, illustrates Canadian life. It is organized into fonds, collections (which are themselves subdivided into sous-fonds, series, sub-series, sub-sub-series, files and items) and accessions, which reflect the activities and functions of a person, family or organization.

What is included in Archives Search?

The following archival research tools are currently searchable in Archives Search:

General Inventory
Government of Canada files
Métis Scrip
War Diaries of the First World War
Prime Ministers' Fonds

For a list of archival research tools that are not currently available via the Archives Search, please see Databases.

Archives Search Results

Archives Search Results displays the descriptions of archival material found by your search. For each result, you see the main title, type of material, creator or provenance, dates of creation, extent, level of description, and whether the material can be found online (if applicable).

Your results are sorted to show you the most relevant items at the top.

You can limit your search results by using the options shown on the right side of the Archives Search Results screen. For example, you can sort the results by title, and then select a specific type of material or format, such as maps.

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Archives Image Search, a Prototype

What is Archives Image Search?

Archives Image Search is a new prototype tool that allows you to search for digital images of archival material in the holdings of Library and Archives Canada (LAC). A thumbnail for each search result helps you identify records of interest quickly and efficiently.

How to Search

To perform a search of digitized archival content:

Go to Archives Image Search.
Enter one or more keywords into the keyword box.
Optional: In the "Type of Material" field, select an option from the drop-down list to narrow your search.
Click on the "Submit" button. This will generate an Archives Image Search Result list.

This prototype only searches the following fields: Name, Title and Location. Future iterations will search more fields and more collections.

"And" is the default Boolean operator when more than one keyword is used.

How to Interpret the Results

Each entry on the results list contains:

thumbnail(s) of the archival record;
the MIKAN number, which you can click on to access the full description of the record in a new window; and
the title of the record.

Image Navigation

Click on a thumbnail to enlarge the image.
A navigation toolbar will appear at the bottom of the enlarged image.
To view the previous image, click on the back arrow located on the far left of the toolbar.
To view the next image, click on the forward arrow located on the far right of the toolbar.
To zoom in and out of the image, click on the arrow located at the centre of the toolbar. You can also zoom in and out by using your mouse wheel.
To close an image and return to the search results page, click on the "X" button located in the top right corner of the image screen.
A search result containing multiple images will display a thumbnail set of the first 24 images linked to the archival description. The total number of images associated with that record will be indicated at the bottom of the image set. To view and navigate the rest of this set of images, click on the arrow following the text "Continue viewing this series of images."

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Ancestors Search

What is Ancestors Search?

Ancestors Search focuses your search on genealogical databases, many of them refer to Library and Archives Canada (LAC) holdings. There are census, military, immigration and land records which are the most consulted by genealogists.

LAC records are organized into fonds, collections (which are subdivided into sous-fonds, series, sub-series, sub-sub-series, files and items) and accessions, which reflect the activities and functions of a person, family or organization.

What is included in Ancestors Search?

The following genealogical research tools are currently searchable in Ancestors Search:

Citizenship Registration Records for the Montreal Circuit Court (1851-1945)
Courts-martial of the First World War
Divorce in Canada (1841-1968)
Federal Census of 1871 (Ontario Index)
Gaspé Land Commission (1626-1841)
Home Children (1869-1930)
Immigrants at Grosse-Île (1832-1937)
Immigration Records (1925-1935)
Lower Canada Land Petitions (1626-1865)
Montreal Emigrant Society Passage Book (1832)
Port of New Westminster Register of Chinese Immigration (1887-1908)
Soldiers of the First World War - CEF (1914-1918)
Soldiers of the South African War (1899-1902)
Russian Consular Records/LI-RA-MA Collection
Upper and Lower Canada Marriage Bonds (1779-1865)
Upper Canada and Canada West Naturalization Records (1828-1850)
Western Land Grants (1870-1930)
Ward Chipman, Muster Master's Office (1777-1785)

Some genealogical research tools are not available via the Ancestors Search. You can access these tools through the list provided on the Basic and Advanced search screens.

Ancestors Search does a search on given names and surnames. For a more specific search, e.g. by regimental numbers for First World War military records, we recommend that you consult the specific database accessible through the list provided on the search screens.

Search Tools

To facilitate your search, we offer the following tools:

Wordwheel:

On the basic search screen, once you enter a surname, the Wordwheel dialog box will open showing different combinations of the surname with given names. You can select the item by clicking on it and then submit the query. This reduces trial-and-error searching.

Wildcard character:

Use the wildcard character * to find out about variations of names e.g. Joh* for John, Johnson, Johanson, Johansen etc.

Soundex:

Soundex is a coding system used for surnames. Many archival records were indexed using this system. It brings together names that sound alike e.g. Tremblay, Trombley, Trumble, and Trimble. The soundex is not automatically set. To activate the soundex, click the Exact match box.

Topics:

Genealogical databases are grouped by topic. Under each of these topics, you can select a single database to search.

Ancestors Search Results

Ancestors Search Results displays the descriptions of genealogical material found by your search. For each result, you will see the surname and given name(s) and the descriptive elements to help you identify your ancestor(s). These descriptive elements are different depending on the database. It can be the name of a spouse, a date and/or an age.

Your results are sorted to show you the most relevant items at the top. You can limit your search results by using the options shown on the right side of the Ancestors Search Results screen. For example, you can sort the results by

Relevance (default setting)
Name (given name)
Date (chronological)
Online Status
Topics; and
Dates (specific period).

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Website Search

What is Website Search?

Website Search allows you to limit your search to Web pages of digital products, services and virtual exhibits that can be found on the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) website.

Website Search Results

Website Search Results shows the Web pages of the LAC website found by your search. For each result, you see the main title, text from the page, subjects (if available), and the URL.

Your results are sorted to show you the most relevant items at the top.

You can limit your search results by using the options shown on the right side of the Website Search Results screen. For example, you can sort the results by title.