Searching the Digital Archives of the Executive Council

The search screen above is designed for single word or multiple word searching. A search will produce an Index Screen that displays the total number of retrieved items and lists each resolution by title. The index screen will allow you to browse the results and to click on individual entries for the resolution text. Below are some helpful searching strategies.

Single Word (type one word, e.g.: Hispanic)

Typing a single word in the search box will return all resolutions that contain that word anywhere in the text. This approach works best for a broad, catch-all search on a topic or person.

Multiple Words (type two or more words with a space between, e.g.: Hispanic ministry)

Use this approach to recall all the resolutions that contain both the words Hispanic and ministry anywhere in a resolution (not necessarily next to each other). You can also type Hispanic or ministry to retrieve an index list of (1) all the resolutions that contain the word Hispanic; together with (2) all the resolutions that contain the word ministry. These very broad strategies locate everything that the Council has said in relation to both the Hispanic population and ministry -- either together or separately. This approach is good if you are unsure of exactly what you are trying to find as it allows you to browse a large list of retrieved items.

Compound Words (type the words inside quotation marks, e.g.: "Hispanic ministry")

Using the quotation marks retrieves strings of words wherever they appear: precisely as you type them, and exactly next to each other. This strategy is excellent for precise searching of specific word phrases. Use it whenever you are looking for terms such as "Standing Committee on World Mission".

Topic Search:

If you are having trouble beginning, try the Topic button. This will take you to a preselected list of resolutions that the Archives has determined are substantively related to the subject category. The mere mention of a word such as Evangelism will not qualify a resolution for entry under that category (the resolution has to be about evangelism). Be sure to use your own search terms if you want to rely on your own judgment of relevance.

Other Searching Strategies:

• Using the Year search window (see "To Limit Search by Date" at top) will narrow the search and bring fewer resolutions to the screen.
• The Executive Council resolutions of any single meeting can be retrieved by typing in the first nine characters of a number that matches the month and year (e.g., typing EXC111998 will return all resolutions passed at the meeting held in November of 1998).
• The search tool is not case sensitive (use: Charles or charles; use EXC111998 or exc111998).
• An asterisk will "truncate" your words in order to pull in more items -- a useful way of bringing up plural forms and unsure spellings (e.g.: missionar* for missionary and missionaries).
• Boolean searching is available for those who are familiar with it. You may use the conjunctions and, or, and parentheses (), as in (hispanic or minority) and evangelism

For additional help in using this resource, please contact The Archives of the Episcopal Church:

(512) 472-6816

Research@EpiscopalArchives.org