CLSC 555 Information Systems Webliography: Online Databases
by
Wendy Addison

 

| Commercial Vendors and Publishers | Public Access | User Behavior | Industry Overview | Evaluation | Ethics |
| Technical Standards |

 

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• Commercial Vendors and Publishers
  
  
  • Proquest
    As stated on its Website, "The ProQuest brand today encompasses more than 100 products and services for research and learning at all levels. Users get easy Web access to more than 4,000 newspapers and periodicals, over a million dissertations, and a wide range of other content." The easy-to-navigate site provides a description of the different resources available and a copy of the license agreement (with numerical blanks, of course, to be filled in after negotiations). The site is designed primarily as a marketing tool.
    
    
  • Dialog
    Dialog offers more than 900 databases. Its Website offers extensive corporate information as well as details about its services. Its product names tend to the generic, and sorting one's way through options such as ĘDialog DataStar Classic Web, Dialog DataStarWeb, DialogWeb, DialogSelect, Dialog1 and Dialog Profound requires patience.
    
    
  • LexisNexis
    The LexisNexis Website includes corporate information and details about the service's more than 16,000 databases. Would-be customers can search for the best products by product name, occupation, industry, or task. However, the database descriptions are oriented towards marketing as much as informing.
    
    
  • Gale Group
    The Thomson Gale Website provides information on the company's databases, including 88 which are online. The catalog of products, which are directed primarily at the library and school markets, can be searched by product name, publisher/imprint, subject, series, media, or new products and concise fact sheets are available for each database. Finding the site's most useful features requires tenacity; they are not readily apparent.
    
    
  • Bilkent University Library
    Many university library Websites provide lists and descriptions of the online databases to which they subscribe; Bilkent University's is one of the most useful. It provides useful descriptions of 78 online databases geared to academic libraries, and the list is available in Turkish or English. As with all such resources, there is no access to the databases for those who are not affiliated with the university.
    
    
  • "The Library and Information Professional's Guide to the Internet"
    Facet Publishing's third edition of "The Library and Information Professional's Guide to the Internet" has a British accent. The list provides links to 15 familiar and not so familiar commercial online information retrieval services. Some links are already outdated.
    
    
  • The Spire Project
    The Spire Project is described as a combination of "Library Science, Computer Technology and Sociology." Its section on commercial databases describes, evaluates, and links to free and paid resources. The project is the result of a two-person endeavor, and its authors' personalities and marketing aims are apparent.
    
    
  • ACQ Web
    ACQ Web is "a gathering place for librarians and other professionals interested in acquisitions and collection development," features a Directory of Information Vendors and Electronic Publishers. The easy-to-browse list provides a brief description and link to each company. It does not allow browsing or searching by database name.
    
    

   

• Public Access
  
  
  • "Research Tools" at the Library of Congress
    The image of the bronze entry doors of the Library of Congress's Jefferson Building is a fitting welcome to the library's "Research Tools" Website. The site includes links to and brief descriptions of the LOC's online databases and Internet resources. If there is a weakness, it is simply that the sheer volume of resources covered can be overwhelming.
    
    
  • A Journalist's Database of Databases
    "A Journalists's Database of Databases" links to downloadable databases, searchable databases, international databases and other database-related resources. It is a gateway to an impressive library of information. However, most of the databases are compilations of numbers, requiring the user's considerable effort to add meaning.
    
    
  • First Gov
    The U.S. federal government is the world's largest publisher. First Gov, its searchable Web portal provides links to its services and information, including many online databases. The quantity and shifting boundaries of the areas covered might swamp an unfocused information seeker.
    
    
  • The Digital Library Federation
    The Digital Library Federation has compiled a list of public access digital library collections. There are links to 471 different digital collections published by 34 institutions. Because collection titles, descriptions, and publishers are searchable by keyword but their content is not, finding one's way to desired information can require patience.
    
    
  • The University of Michigan's School of Information
    The University of Michigan's School of Information hosts the Internet Public Library. The informal but authoritative site includes access to online databases, online real time chat reference, and reference tools. Its very slow loading time will try most visitors' patience.
    
    
  • The Singapore Ministry of Education
    The Ministry's Internet Educational Resources page provides a list of subscription-based online information resources for educators. It includes reviews, links, and suggestions for particular age groups. The list, which includes 18 resources, is not very comprehensive.
    
    
  • The Smithsonian Institute Research Information Institute
    This Web site includes a searchable library of the Smithsonian's extensive collection. It includes specialized databases relating to marine biology, as well as articles, manuscripts, photos, archival materials, oral histories, films and sound recordings. Navigation at the site is a little ungainly.
    
    
  • The Spire Project
    The Spire Project is described as a combination of "Library Science, Computer Technology and Sociology." Its section on commercial databases describes, evaluates, and links to free and paid resources. The project is the result of a two-person endeavor, and its authors' personalities and marketing aims are apparent.
    
    

   

• User Behavior
  
  
  • "What Factors Influence Database Use?" (ACRL)
    A paper presented at the ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries) Ninth National Congress. Author Carol Tenopir's conclusion that librarians influence use in a variety of subtle and obvious ways provides a basis for further research. The article, which was published in 1999, is dated and the statistics were not generated specifically with the aim of answering the question posed by the author.
    
    
  • LIBRES (Library and Information Science Research Electronic Journal)
    A case study of the adoption of online databases in public libraries in Victoria, Australia, appeared in LIBRES (Library and Information Science Research Electronic Journal) and attempts to explain why librarians and patrons were slow in making use of the online databases. By assessing the content, usability, and use of the four online databases, the study suggests that librarian training is a key component of more successful technology diffusion. The article's contribution to the understanding of information seekers' behaviors could be maximized by reducing the use of jargon.
    
    
  • The Chronicle of Higher Education
    In an article published in The Chronicle of Higher Education, author Scott Carlson discusses the impact on academic libraries of off-site use of online databases by students. His overview includes an accessible mix of statistics and anecdotal reports, including one academician's lament about students' loss of flirting opportunities. He is not alone in coming up a bit short on suggestions for how to bring students back into the library building.
    
    
  • Library Journal
    In a Library Journal article entitled "Online Databases," author Carol Tenopir argues that learning how to use fee-based information resources is important for Library Science students. Her discussion portrays many of the features associated with commercial databases. It focuses primarily on Dialog.
    
    
  • 
    The University of Waterloo's Website includes an "Introduction to Searching Databases." The guidelines are designed to help information seekers conduct their own reference interview with themselves. While such efforts are needed, these suggestions don't go far beyond a common sense approach.
    
    
  • James Cook University
    James Cook University's Website offers a primer on how to reference material found in an online database. The article includes links to other citation guides. Its extreme brevity means that most users will need to use those links to obtain the required information.
    
    

   

• Industry Overview
  
  
  • Information Today, Inc.
    The Information Today, Inc. Website includes features on information services, knowledge management, and computers in libraries. It provides a wealth of up-to-date material. However, distracting graphics result from the site's commercial nature and too many of the promising hits delivered by its search engine are listed as "missing."
    
    
  • The University of Houston
    The University of Houston Website features a lengthy bibliography of articles touching upon library issues in regard to e-journals and online databases. There are more than 125 references. Very few provide links to the articles.
    
    

   

• Evaluation
  
  
  • The Institute for Museum and Library ServicesThe Institute for Museum and Library Services Website features a "Framework of Guidance for Building Good Digital Collections." Along with key principals of digital collection development, the simply written document includes links a multitude of Websites that have bearing on the topic. Its 2001 publication date begs for an update.
    
    
  • "A Tempest in a Librarian's Teapot: EBSCO, ProQuest, Gale Exclusive, and Unique Titles"
    In this article, author Larry Krumaker article considers the amount of exclusive material available through each of the online databases. His discussion provides a glimpse at some of the accessibility issues at play as information is delivered online. It would be interesting to read a 2004 update of this 2001 article.
    
    
  • Evaluation Criteria for Online Databases
    In association with students in an Advanced Reference Class, Della Curtis of Towson University's Office of Library Information Systems has developed a set of "Evaluation Criteria for Online Databases." It is simply stated and offers a comprehensive guide for librarians making decisions about which databases to make available to their patrons. While generally helpful, it does not break significant new ground.
    
    
  • The World Wide Web Virtual Library
    The World Wide Web Virtual Library includes a list of resources for help in evaluating online information sources. The site includes links to dozens of articles and bibliographies. Its evaluation of each is not comprehensive enough to steer visitors to the most helpful links.
    
    

   

• Ethics
  
  
  • Centers for Disease Control
    In an article published at the Centers for Disease Control Website, authors A. Marks and Karen K. Steinberg consider the sometimes conflicting interests of profit and scientific progress. The article considers a case in which the ethical questions inherent in requiring payment for information are evident. It does not, however, generalize from its narrow focus to the larger online database industry.
    
    
  • Appendix: Ethics Codes (Elon University)
    As international standards are necessary in hardware, software, and telecommunications, rapidly developing technology also requires that we address ethical standards. Elon University professor Janna Quitney has compiled a collection of ethics codes that touches upon guidelines for online content, reliability, the ethical use of database information, and other issues related to online news ethics. Last updated in 2000, it is nonetheless a useful resource.
    
    
  • First Monday
    In a paper published in First Monday, author Richard Clarke considers whether evolving information delivery paradigms threaten to restrict public access to information, heralding a new Dark Ages. The provocative article raises many important issues. Ironically, its verbal sophistication limits its accessibility.
    
    

   

• Technical Issues
  
  
  • "Accessibility of Online Databases: A Usability Study of Research Databases" (Oregon State University)
    Ron Steward, Director of the Technology Access Program at Oregon State University,is the author of this eye-opening assessment of the accessibility of online databases nominally available to students at OSU. The study found widespread problems that only become more severe with the migration to Web-based delivery. The study's conclusion that there is a large gap between "functional usability" and basic conformity with standards of universal design needs to be revisited: It was last updated in January 2003.
    
    

   

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Created by Wendy Addison for CLSC 555 Webliography Assignment

© Wendy Addison 2004