How are the Library's databases different than the Internet?

The Eden-Webster Library System pays a subscription fee for our users to obtain access to the Library's databases through the Internet. These fees are paid to companies called database suppliers or vendors. These database suppliers, in turn, must pay the individual magazine and journal publishers, and thus the authors, for the right to distribute their articles. Libraries pay for electronic access to periodical articles in databases much the same way we pay for subscriptions for the print copies of Time, The New York Times, and Journal of the American Medical Association which are available in the library.

When you search a database available on the Library's Web site, you are using the Internet to access and search that database. You are not searching the entire Internet. You are also not searching every periodical article which is stored on the Internet. You will only find the articles which are stored as records on that database.

The databases are great for finding:

• Citations to articles from well-known magazines, journals, and newspapers, especially if you need to cover a topic over many years. Even if a periodical has a website, it may only select several articles from an issue and may not provide an archives of back issues.)

• Research in primary sources. Several discipline-specific periodical indexes on our Web site allows you to easily retrieve a list of relevant scholarly articles from hundreds of journal titles. Although some publishers of research journals are placing their content on the Internet, many require you to have an online subscription to access the text of the articles. To collect the best materials on your topic, you may need to find a library with a print subscription.

• Specially packaged or commercial information products, such as the Literature Resource Center and the API Photo Archives. These are usually not available for free on the Internet.

• Full-text of some materials. The full-text of articles from magazines and newspapers are increasingly being made available through online databases. The text from research journals are less likely to be available through a database, though this is changing also. For example, the PsycARTICLES database includes both indexing and full-text for over 40 titles published by APA.

As there are over 100 databases available through the Library, it is essential that you select a database which contains the type (subject and format) of information you need. Click the Next button for more on how to choose an appropriate database which is the first step in finding the information you want.