diff --git a/bookwyrm/connectors/abstract_connector.py b/bookwyrm/connectors/abstract_connector.py
index d63bd135..ab9900a7 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/connectors/abstract_connector.py
+++ b/bookwyrm/connectors/abstract_connector.py
@@ -34,10 +34,15 @@ class AbstractMinimalConnector(ABC):
         for field in self_fields:
             setattr(self, field, getattr(info, field))
 
-    def search(self, query, min_confidence=None):# pylint: disable=unused-argument
+    def search(self, query, min_confidence=None):
         ''' free text search '''
+        params = {}
+        if min_confidence:
+            params['min_confidence'] = min_confidence
+
         resp = requests.get(
             '%s%s' % (self.search_url, query),
+            params=params,
             headers={
                 'Accept': 'application/json; charset=utf-8',
                 'User-Agent': settings.USER_AGENT,
diff --git a/bookwyrm/connectors/self_connector.py b/bookwyrm/connectors/self_connector.py
index 0c21e7bc..c5d58a59 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/connectors/self_connector.py
+++ b/bookwyrm/connectors/self_connector.py
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@ class Connector(AbstractConnector):
     ''' instantiate a connector  '''
     def search(self, query, min_confidence=0.1):
         ''' search your local database '''
+        if not query:
+            return []
         # first, try searching unqiue identifiers
         results = search_identifiers(query)
         if not results:
diff --git a/bookwyrm/views.py b/bookwyrm/views.py
index 5c5934dd..cc45bfb2 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/views.py
+++ b/bookwyrm/views.py
@@ -258,10 +258,12 @@ def get_activity_feed(
 def search(request):
     ''' that search bar up top '''
     query = request.GET.get('q')
+    min_confidence = request.GET.get('min_confidence', 0.1)
 
     if is_api_request(request):
         # only return local book results via json so we don't cause a cascade
-        book_results = connector_manager.local_search(query)
+        book_results = connector_manager.local_search(
+            query, min_confidence=min_confidence)
         return JsonResponse([r.json() for r in book_results], safe=False)
 
     # use webfinger for mastodon style account@domain.com username
@@ -278,7 +280,8 @@ def search(request):
         similarity__gt=0.5,
     ).order_by('-similarity')[:10]
 
-    book_results = connector_manager.search(query)
+    book_results = connector_manager.search(
+        query, min_confidence=min_confidence)
     data = {
         'title': 'Search Results',
         'book_results': book_results,