The CERL Thesaurus is available via an online interface. A full list of files integrated into the CERL Thesaurus is available here. Below we offer detailed information on how to access and search the CERL Thesaurus.

Accessing the CERL Thesaurus

The CERL Thesaurus is freely accessible via the CERL website. Users can search the database directly through the web interface without registration.

For institutions and advanced users, the database can also be accessed using the SRU (Search/Retrieve via URL) protocol (more information here) or Linked data (more information here)

Search, Browse and Download/Print

In the web interface, you can Search and Browse the CERL Thesaurus, save your searches and download/print records.

You can enter the name of a place, person or an institution (i.e. a corporate body) in the general search box and click on search.

You will then be presented with a page of hyperlinks. The page is divided into categories, namely the number of occurrences of your search term in Corporate Bodies, Printers, Publishers etc., Places, Persons and Provenance. Clicking on one of the hyperlinks in one of the categories takes you directly to the relevant CERL Thesaurus record.

If the results lists from your first search was large, you can opt to Limit your search (by Name only, by Feature (Images, Provenance, Printer’s Device), or by Gender. You can also Sort your results (Alphabetically or Chronologically).

You can browse five categories of CERL Thesaurus data (Corporate Bodies, Printers, Publishers etc., Places, Persons and Provenance) by alphabet. Select one of the five categories, and enter either a single letter or a term in the search box. You can select how many items from the browse list you want to display.

Your searches and search results may be saved in a number of ways, by using History, Bookmarks or the download options.

Search and Browse actions will be recorded in History. The History is available throughout the current session. When you return the next day the History will be empty again.

You can download and print a record in one of the following formats: RDF/XML, RDF/Turtle, JSON-LD, JSON, YAML and the CT Internal Format (based on UNIMARC Authorities but with repeatable fields, see also CT Format).