Finding What You Need on MCADD

The MCADD by PAHAR archive has a large collection of books, journals, maps, old photographs, and partner archive material related to the Himalaya. Since the archive has thousands of files, there are different ways to search depending on what you are looking for.

PAHAR gives you four main ways to find material:

1. Quick Title Search
2. Full-Text Content Search
3. Collection Browse
4. Detailed Filter Search

Each one is useful in a different situation.

1. Quick Title Search

Where to find it:
In the collection page like this, Its is a search bar available on every page.

What it does:
It searches the titles, names, and headings of documents in a collection.

Use this when:
You already know the name of the book, map, report, author, or subject you are looking for.

Example:
If you know you want Himalayan Journal so you will directly go here and will search for required volume.

2. Full-Text Content Search

Where to find it:
On the homepage, under the Search section.

What it does:
This is a deeper search. It looks inside the documents, not just at the title.

That means if a word appears anywhere inside a PDF, book, journal, or map, this search can find it.

Use this when:
You are researching a topic, person, place, event, or phrase.

Example:
If you search for Everest, the system will show documents where Everest is mentioned, even if the word Everest is not in the title.

How to make results more useful

You can choose a category such as:

• Books
• Journals
• Maps
• Photos

After searching, you can also narrow the results by typing part of a document title in the Narrow by document title box.

When you click a result, the document opens in a new tab. You can then use:

• Ctrl + F on Windows
• Cmd + F on Mac

This helps you find the exact word inside the document.

3. Collection Browse

Where to find it:
On the homepage, under Browse the Collection.

What it does:
It lets you explore the archive by category.

You can browse:

• Books & Articles
• Journals
• Maps
• Old Photos
• Partner Archives

Use this when:
You are not sure exactly what you want, or you simply want to explore what is available.

Example:
If you are researching Himalayan history but do not know any specific book title, start by browsing the collection.

4. Detailed Filter Search

Where to find it: On the Search page.

What it does: This is the most advanced search option. It lets you filter results by:

• Collection type
• File format
• Year range
• Author
• Source

The results appear in a table. You can sort the results by title, year, author, or file size.

Each result also includes a direct download link.

Use this when: You have specific requirements.

Example:
You can search for Maps from 1880 to 1920 published by the Survey of India.

This is useful when a normal search gives too many results, and you want to narrow them down.

Which Search Should You Use?

Simple Tips for Better Searching

• Start with simple words. A clear keyword is usually better than a long sentence.
• Try different spellings. Older documents may use older spellings.
• Use more than one search method when needed.
• After opening a document, use Ctrl + F or Cmd + F to jump directly to your search word.

For example, try different spellings such as:

• Kashmir and Cashmere
• Lhasa and Lhassa
• Gartok and Gartokh