subject words = fewer results and better
keywords = more results and sometimes worse*
*A keyword search will find the word anywhere--title, author, notes, description, publisher, etc.
Search for published, edited, and sometimes translated manuscripts in online library catalogs (particularly Worldcat) using the name of the medieval author (also try variants of the author's name too, i.e. the Latin version of the name) or title or shelf number. Try both title/author searches and keyword searches.
For facsimiles, try a keyword search in online catalogs using the using author or title words or shelf mark and the keyword facsimile.
Published guides to collections, archives, and libraries help identify and locate manuscripts. Print and online examples are listed below.
Tip: Use the Cornell LIbrary Catalog to identify other guides, and use Worldcat (a.k.a. "Libraries Worldwide") to identify guides Cornell does not own.
Examples of the complexities of Library of Congress Subject Headings:
Tip: Examples of useful terms for keyword searching in library catalogs:
Tip: Try returning to some of the classic guides to medieval studies for descriptions and locations of source material: