In addition to being able to use natural-language, keyword searching of all the fields in Portolan records, researchers can also perform more specific and nuanced searches based on a list of descriptors which were developed in-house and which best reflect the genre and regional nature of the material. The core list of descriptors with notes on the use of some of the terms can be found here. Please note: this list of descriptors is evolving with new terms being added to Portolan records where appropriate.
Return to Portolan Bibliography
Descriptors assigned to bibliographic records
The following is a comprehensive list of descriptors assigned to records in Portolan CLC:
| Descriptor | Notes |
|---|---|
| Abenaki | |
| Abortion | |
| Absentee Fathers | |
| Abuse | Use specific terms Emotional Abuse, Physical Abuse and Sexual Abuse where possible |
| Acadian | |
| Adaptation | |
| Adolescence | |
| Adoption | |
| Adventure | |
| Africville | |
| Aging | |
| Alaska | |
| Alcoholism | |
| Allergies | |
| Alphabet Book | |
| American Civil War | |
| American Revolutionary War | |
| Animal Rights | |
| Animals | |
| Annapolis Valley | |
| Anorexia | |
| Antigonish | |
| Anxiety | |
| Archaeology | |
| Arctic Regions | |
| Art | |
| Atlantic Canada | Refers to the region comprising New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador |
| Australia | |
| Autumn | |
| Babies | |
| Badgers | |
| Bagpiping | |
| Banting, Frederick Grant, Sir | |
| Bats | |
| Bay of Fundy | |
| Bears | |
| Bees | |
| Beothuk | |
| Bestiary | |
| Bilingual | Denotes a work written in two languages |
| Bilingualism | Denotes a work whose subject matter is bilingualism |
| Biography | |
| Birds | |
| Birthdays | |
| Black and White | |
| Black Canadians | |
| Blackmail | |
| Blindness | |
| Board Book | |
| Boats | |
| Body Image | |
| Bolivia | |
| Botany | |
| Bulemia | |
| Bullying | |
| Cabot, John | |
| Camping | |
| Canada | |
| Cape Breton Island | |
| Caribou | |
| Cartier, Jacques | |
| Cats | |
| Champlain, Samuel de | |
| Chapter Book | |
| Charlottetown | |
| Children’s Rights | |
| Children’s Writing | |
| Christmas | |
| Clipper Ships | |
| Cloning | |
| Coal Mining | |
| Cod | |
| Colour | |
| Colour Plates | |
| Colouring Book | |
| Comic Book | |
| Community | |
| Community Service | |
| Computers | |
| Confederation | |
| Conflict Resolution | |
| Confusion | |
| Conservation | |
| Cooking | |
| Counting | |
| Cows | |
| Crabs | |
| Crafts | |
| Cranes | |
| Crime | |
| Crows | |
| Dancing | |
| Deafness | |
| Death | |
| Deer | |
| Denmark | |
| Deportation of the Acadians | |
| Diabetes | |
| Diaries | |
| Disability | Use the specific terms Learning Disability, Mental Disability and Physical Disability where possible |
| Disaster | |
| Discovery | Refers to the finding out or bringing to light of that which was previously unknown |
| Diseases | |
| Doctors | |
| Dogs | |
| Douglas, Howard, Sir | |
| Dragons | |
| Dreaming | |
| Drugs | |
| Ducks | |
| Easter | |
| Easy Reader | |
| Eating Disorders | Use the specific terms Anorexia and Bulemia where possible |
| Ecology | |
| Elephants | |
| Emancipation | |
| Emigration | |
| Emotional Abuse | |
| Emotions | |
| England | |
| English | |
| English Language | |
| Escape | |
| Exploration | Refers to the action of examining |
| Families | |
| Fantasy | |
| Farming | |
| Fathers | |
| Fear | |
| Fire | |
| First Nations | |
| First World War | |
| Fish | |
| Fishery | |
| Fishing | |
| Fishing Community | |
| Folklore | |
| Folktale | |
| Forestry | |
| Foxes | |
| Fredericton | |
| French Language | |
| Friendship | |
| Frogs | |
| Fur Trade | |
| Gaelic Language | |
| Gambling | |
| Games | |
| Generations | |
| Geography | |
| Geology | |
| German Canadians | |
| Ghost Stories | |
| Glooscap | |
| Government | |
| Grand Pré | |
| Great Auks | |
| Grenfell, Wilfred Thomason, Sir | |
| Grief | |
| Guilt | |
| Guinea Pigs | |
| Gulls | |
| Halifax | |
| Halifax Explosion | |
| Halloween | |
| Health | |
| Helping | |
| Historical Fiction | |
| History | |
| Holiday | |
| Home | |
| Homosexuality | |
| Horror | |
| Horses | |
| Howe, Joseph, Sir | |
| Humour | |
| Hunting | |
| Hurricane Juan | |
| Hurricanes | |
| Icebergs | |
| Identity | |
| Illiteracy | |
| Illustrated | |
| Imagination | |
| Immigration | |
| Imprisonment | Refers to detention in a prison or place of confinement |
| Incest | |
| Infidelity | |
| Insects | |
| Internment | Refers to confinement within the limits of a country or place. |
| Inuit | |
| Ireland | |
| Irish Canadians | |
| Isle aux Morts | |
| Italian Canadians | |
| Japanese Language | |
| Journeys | Refers to a continued course of going or travelling, having its beginning and end in place or time, and thus viewed as a distinct whole |
| Juvenile Delinquency | |
| Kentville | |
| Kentville Harvest Festival | |
| Knitting | |
| Kosovo War | |
| Kuwait | |
| Language | |
| L'Anse aux Meadows | |
| Leadership | |
| Learning Disability | |
| Legal System | |
| Legends | |
| Letters | |
| Lewis, Maud | |
| Life Cycles | |
| Lighthouses | |
| Lobsters | |
| Louisbourg | |
| Loyalist | |
| Loyalty | |
| Machinery | |
| Magic | |
| Mahican Indians | |
| Maliseet | |
| Maliseet Language | |
| Manners | |
| Maps | |
| Marine Biology | |
| Maritimes | Refers to the region comprising New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. |
| Marriage | |
| Mathematics | |
| Medicine | |
| Memoir | |
| Memories | |
| Mental Disability | |
| Mermaids | |
| Mice | |
| Microform | |
| Middle School | |
| Mi’kmaq | |
| Mi'kmaq Language | |
| Mining | Use the specific term Coal Mining where applicable |
| Missionaries | |
| Monkeys | |
| Monsters | |
| Moose | |
| Morals | |
| Mothers | |
| Movable Book | |
| Moving | |
| Multiculturalism | |
| Multimedia Format | |
| Music | |
| Mystery | |
| Mythical Creatures | |
| Napoleonic Wars | |
| Natural History | |
| Nature | |
| New Brunswick | |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | |
| Non-fiction | |
| Northumberland Strait | |
| Norway | |
| Nova Scotia | |
| Novel | |
| Oak Island | |
| Oceanography | |
| Otters | |
| Owls | |
| Painting | |
| Parental Pressure | |
| Parody | |
| Peer Pressure | |
| Penguins | |
| Persian Gulf War | |
| Pets | |
| Photographs | Denotes a work illustrated with photographs |
| Photography | A work whose subject is photography |
| Physical Abuse | |
| Physical Disability | |
| Picture Book | |
| Pigs | |
| Pioneers | |
| Pirates | Refers to people who plunders or robs from ships, esp. at sea, without authorization from a government |
| Plants | |
| Play | |
| Poetry | |
| Polar Bears | |
| Police | |
| Politics | |
| Ponies | |
| Pop-up Book | |
| Porcupines | |
| Poster | |
| Poverty | |
| Pregnancy | |
| Prime Ministers | |
| Prince Edward Island | |
| Privateering | Refers to the action of capturing a merchant shipping belonging to an enemy nation with an armed vessel owned and crewed by private individuals. These individuals hold a government commission known as a letter of marque authorizing such action. |
| Puffins | |
| Puppets | |
| Quebec | |
| Rabbits | |
| Raccoons | |
| Rats | |
| Ravens | |
| Reading | |
| Realism | |
| Recycling | |
| Reindeer | |
| Religion | |
| Resettlement | |
| Responsibility | |
| Revolution | |
| Rhythm | |
| Romance | |
| Sable Island | |
| Sailing | |
| Sailors | |
| Salmon | |
| Santa Claus | |
| Scandenavia | |
| School | |
| Schooners | |
| Science | |
| Science Fiction | |
| Scotland | |
| Scottish Canadians | |
| Sea Stories | |
| Seals | |
| Seashore | |
| Seasons | |
| Second World War | |
| Secretaries | |
| Seven Years' War | |
| Sexual Abuse | |
| Sexuality | |
| Shadows | |
| Sharing | |
| Sheep | |
| Ships | |
| Shipwrecks | |
| Short Stories | |
| Siblings | |
| Skating | |
| Skunks | |
| Slavery | |
| Sleep | |
| Smuggling | |
| Snow | |
| Soccer | |
| Social Class | |
| Songs | Denotes a work which contains song lyrics |
| Soup | |
| Spanish Language | |
| Sport | |
| Sports Psychology | |
| St. John’s | |
| Stars | |
| Storytelling | |
| Submarines | |
| Suicide | |
| Swimming | |
| Tales | |
| Tall Ships | |
| Teachers | |
| Thailand | |
| Theatre | |
| Theft | |
| Tides | |
| Time Travel | |
| Toronto | |
| Tortoises | |
| Toys | |
| Traditions | |
| Trains | |
| Translation | |
| Travel | |
| Treasure | |
| Trees | |
| Trust | |
| Turtles | |
| Unemployment | |
| Unions | |
| United Empire Loyalists | |
| United States | |
| Valentine's Day | |
| Vanity | |
| Vietnam War | |
| Vikings | |
| Vocabulary | |
| War | |
| Weather | |
| Whales | |
| Wolves | |
| Woodcuts | |
| Wordless | |
| Writing | |
| Young Adult |