Topics
Guide sections
The guide is divided into four topics, matching the situations in which people most often have to look for something. The first is about words: how to ask a question so the answer turns up faster. The second is about home: how to keep papers and files so that a year from now you can pull out what you need in a minute. The third covers libraries and archives, where the information you do not have to hand is kept. The fourth is about losses: what to do when something goes missing. Each topic has cards linking to the relevant pages and a tip on where to begin if you are short of time.
Good order is not about perfect shelves. It is the habit of putting a thing where you would look for it first.
Selection criteria: the task is familiar to most people and needs no special training; the advice works without relying on a particular search engine, app, shop or institution; the material concerns your own belongings, documents and publicly available information, never searching for people or anyone else’s personal data; the answer is honest about where your own efforts end and a professional’s work begins.
Questions and search words
How to get from a vague hunch to a precise question: keywords, synonyms and related terms, exact phrases, excluding what you don’t need, narrowing by time and place.
- Five questions before any search
A short checklist on the home page: what you need, where it is, who keeps it, what else it is called, when to stop.
- Answers on how to search
Why a long question works worse than three words, and what to do when you get far too many results.
- Search terms explained
Keyword, synonym, exact phrase, exclusion and narrowing — in the guide’s glossary.
Home: papers and files
Manuals and appliance data sheets, warranty papers, receipts, contracts, scans and photos of documents — how to store, label and sort them so you can find them later.
- The manual for an old appliance
A practical article: the rating plate, the box, the manufacturer, the service centre, and what to do if the manual is gone.
- A home archive in a weekend
A collection for anyone who has finally decided to sort out the drawer of papers and the downloads folder.
- Storage terms explained
Inventory, file naming, backup copy, one fixed place.
Libraries and archives
The online catalogue, reference help, interlibrary loan, the reading room and writing to an archive — in general terms, without naming any particular institution.
- Answers about libraries and archives
What a call number is, how to order a book from another city, and what to put in a request.
- Your first library visit
A collection for anyone heading to a reading room for information for the first time.
- New pages
The guide’s feed of new pages with dates and topic tags.
Lost and found
Retrace your route, check the obvious places, contact the lost-and-found office on public transport or at an institution, use your device’s finding feature and, in case of theft, report it to the police.
- When something goes missing: the first half hour
A collection on what to do straight away, while your memory is fresh and the item may still be nearby.
- Do you help find items personally?
A short answer on the home page: no, we only describe the general steps.
- Archive of pages
Every page of the guide by preparation date and tag.
Related pages
- Practical
How to find the manual for an old appliance, plus the catalogue of upcoming articles.
- Questions
Short answers on how to search, where to keep documents and what to do when you lose something.
- Collections
Reading routes: a home archive in a weekend, the first half hour after a loss, a library visit.
Sources
- Poisk365 guide materials
- Public library rules of use — general provisions
- Household appliance operating manuals — general sections
Information is current as of the date it was prepared. Every library, archive, lost-and-found office and service centre sets its own procedures, so check them in person or on the organisation’s official website. Phone and computer menus may also look different after updates.