eLibrary Search Tips

Searching for a Docket and/or Sub-Docket in General Search

The eLibrary General Search tool allows you to search for dockets and sub-dockets in several ways.

General Rules

The Docket field accepts both a single docket number and multiple dockets.

In the Docket field, a dash (-) will be assumed at the end of each entry unless a full sub-docket (for example, ER11-4046-001) is entered.

Multiple Docket Numbers and Partial Numbers

To search for multiple docket numbers at one time, enter each, separated by a comma. This can include:

  • Full docket numbers (e.g., RM96-1)
  • Full sub-docket numbers (e.g., RM96-1-041)
  • Partial docket numbers (e.g., RM96)

Note: When entering a partial sub-docket suffix, the user MUST enter an asterisk at the end of the entry or enter a ? if using a wildcard for a specific position in the sub-docker suffix. (E.g. ER11-4046-1*, or ER11-4046-1?1).

RM96-1 will return all sub-dockets of RM96-1. RM96-1-041 will return any document containing the sub-docket RM96-1-041. RM96 will return all rulemaking entries for Commission year 1996.

To facilitate entering multiple sub-dockets, after entering a full docket in the Docket field, multiple sub- docket extensions (e.g. 001, 002) can be entered in the sub-docket field. For example, entering RM96-1, RM96-2 in the docket field and 000, 001 in the sub-docket field will return only the 000 and 001 sub- dockets for each docket entry.

One or more of the following can be entered in the Sub Docket field:

  • Sub-docket extension (e.g., ER11-4046-1* or ER11-4046-1?)
  • Partial sub-docket (e.g., 01)
  • Partial docket with “?” wildcard

Note: When entering a partial sub-docket suffix, the user MUST enter an asterisk at the end of the entry or enter a ? if using a wildcard for a specific position in the sub-docker suffix. (E.g. ER11-4046-1*, or ER11-4046-1?1).

Warning: If the user enters a docket number with the sub-docket extension (e.g., RM96-1-041) in the docket field, the sub-docket field will be disabled. For example, entering RM96-1-000, RM96-2 will disable the sub-docket field and will return all records in the Docket No. RM96-1-000 and all sub-dockets in Docket Number RM96-2.

Wildcards

An asterisk will be assumed at the end of each entry. Users may also use a question mark as a wildcard to replace a single character. For example, to search for all sub-dockets from 000 to 009 the user may enter 00?.

Searching by Reference Number Types

eLibrary allows users to search for documents based on several number types and provides the flexibility to enter numbers in multiple formats. Sample formats for each type are provided in the following table.

Reference Number Type Sample Formats
Docket ER11, ER11-4046, ER11-4040-0201
Accession 19940824-0052, 19940824*
Parent Accession 19940824-0052, 19940824*
Federal Register Cite 65 FR 57088, 65 FR*
Federal Court Case 11TH CIR 7784, DC CIR*
FERC Cite 99FERC62,030 or 99FERC*
Opinion 409, 409-a, or 409*
Order 888, 888-a, or 888*

Note that symbols, such as the paragraph symbol (¶), are not supported characters for searching.

Using Date Types

The listed date types will vary depending on the search tool. The differences between these date types are as follows:

  • Genreal Search
    Filed Date is the date a document is received and stamped by the Office of the Secretary. The Document Date is the date on the face of the document. The Posted Date is the date that a document is published in eLibrary. The Create Date (New Docket Search Only) is the date the docket / sub-docket was created in FERC Online Administration (FOLA).
  • Docket Search
    The Filed Date in this search is the date range used to filter the activity on the entered docket number in eLibrary.
  • New Docket Search
    The Filed Date in this search is the date the docket number was first generated and is set by the administrator (FOLA). The Create Date in this search is a system generated date/timestamp when the docket number was first generated.

Keyword Searches

Boolean Searches

At its simplest, a keyword search can be conducted on just a word or a phrase, but with the tips on this page, you will be able to tailor your search for more complete results. These tips will get you started with basic query language and acquaint you with Boolean search operators in eLibrary.

The basic Boolean search operators used in eLibrary include:

  • OR
  • AND
  • NOT
  • “”
  • ()

In addition, this page will explain:

  • BEFORE
  • NEARN
  • PARAGRAPH
  • SENTENCE
  • XOR

Note: All search operators (e.g. AND) must be written in CAPITAL LETTERS.

OR

OR searches for files that contain any of the terms specified or all of the terms.

Example of OR

Hydroelectric OR Dam – Searches for files that contain either hydroelectric or dam.

AND

AND searches for files that contain all of the listed terms.

Examples of AND

Hydroelectric AND Dam – Searches for all files that include both terms, even if the terms are not located together in the document.

NOT

NOT searches for all instances of a specified word but excludes documents that include the word after the NOT operator.

Examples of NOT

Hydroelectric NOT Dam – Will search for all documents that contain the word hydroelectric but will exclude those files that also contain dam.

Using NOT to Exclude Multiple Items
To exclude multiple items, use quotation marks “”, parenthesis marks (), or both.

Quotations treat the enclosed words as a phrase; parenthesis marks treat the enclosed words as individual words, but not necessarily as a phrase.

  • Document 1: The girl got an ice cream float.

  • Document 2: A girl got ice in her cream soda.

Girl NOT “ice cream” – Excludes Document 1, but returns Document 2. Girl NOT (ice cream) – Excludes both documents.

Quotation Marks “” (For Exact Phrases and Words)

Put quotation marks around keyword(s) to search for the term(s) literally. If a single keyword is not in quotations, eLibrary will search for the word and variations.

To search for a specific phrase, such as “Mississippi River”, put quotes around the phrase. Searching for a phrase without quotes will return documents that contain all of the terms, but not necessarily together. For example, entering Mississippi River could result in a document containing “The State of Mississippi” and “the Nile river”.

Examples of Phrases with Quotations

"Federal Energy Regulatory Commission" – The search engine will literally look for the complete phrase Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Parenthesis ()

Parenthesis can be used to combine multiple terms, but not as a phrase (see NOT). Parenthesis can also be used to combine multiple operators and/or phrases to create complex searches (see the operators that follow).

Examples of Parenthesis

(Hoover XOR Coulee) AND (Hydroelectric XOR Dam) – Returns all instances of Hoover and Hydroelectric, Hoover and Dam, Coulee and Hydroelectric, and Coulee and Dam.

The Boolean operators above compose the most common Boolean operators. Below are listed several less-common operators that may be useful when performing a more complex search.

BEFORE

BEFORE returns results where the first word precedes the second one.

Example of BEFORE

Hydroelectric BEFORE Power – Includes only documents where hydroelectric precedes power.

NEARN

NEARN searches for documents where the second word is N number of words from the first word. N is a number that you specify.

Example of NEARN

Big NEAR2 Dog – Returns all instances of big red dog but will not return instances of big furry red dog.

PARAGRAPH

PARAGRAPH selects documents that include all the search elements you specify within a paragraph. Note that the syntax includes plus signs before and after the PARAGRAPH operator.

Example of Paragraph

“interstate commerce"+PARAGRAPH+"natural gas" – Searches for all instances where interstate commerce and natural gas occur in the same paragraph.

SENTENCE

SENTENCE selects documents that include all of the specified words within a single sentence.

Example of SENTENCE

"interstate commerce"+SENTENCE+"natural gas" – Searches for all instances where interstate commerce and natural gas occur in the same sentence.

XOR

XOR returns documents where only one of the indicated terms is used, but not both terms. In other words, XOR excludes documents where all of the terms are listed and where none of the terms are listed.

Example of XOR

Hydroelectric XOR Dam – Returns documents that contain only the word hydroelectric and documents that contain only the word dam.

Keyword Search Results and Sorting

For keyword searches, eLibrary will return search results in order of relevance. However, those results can be resorted using the column sort arrows next to the appropriate column headers. For example, in the search results table below, select the sort arrow next to the Filed or Accession column header.

For example, in the search results table below, select the sort arrow next to the Filed or Accession column header.

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This page was last updated on November 18, 2022