Library Databases

							The library versus Google

How to make Google your last stop for research
MCNY Library Reference Services/Judith Mavodza 2007

Beyond Google
 The

first step is to consider the world of information available to you beyond Google. Or, more importantly, before Google.

 Often

the hardest part of the research process is just getting started. Two places to begin looking for information are Library article databases and the Internet.

What is a Library Database?
A library database is an indexed collection of magazine, journal, newspaper articles, reviews, abstracts, and other information that has been checked for accuracy and reliability by publishers, then licensed for distribution in online/ electronic format.

What is a Library Database?
 Many

of the databases come from known print sources, and publishers sell subscriptions to libraries to access information in an online format. For example, an article that you find in Educational Leadership in the Online Resources link of the library will be the same article that was printed in Educational Leadership as the print version.

What is a Library Database?
MCNY Library provides access to numerous online databases. Examples include: Academic Search Premier, ProQuest, and JSTOR. Other databases the Library subscribes to are listed on the http://www.mcny.edu/library/bookmark.ht ml web page.

What is the Internet?
The Internet is a worldwide connection of linked computer networks which provide access to many different types of information.

What is the Internet?
 The

original uses of the Internet included just text applications such as: e-mail, file transfer, newsgroups and bulletin boards, and telnet.

What is the Internet?
The World Wide Web, or web for short, is a part of the Internet that you search using Google or Yahoo which provides access to multimedia (sounds, pictures, and moving images) in addition to text information available on websites.

Characteristics of the Internet
No

official body oversees the organization, cataloging, and evaluation of sources found on a specific page. Free to anyone with computer access. Anyone can publish anything to the web . It can be difficult to narrow down the results Websites come and go

Use the internet when you
-are willing to evaluate the content of websites. – want to visit a specific website – want to access digital collections – want to access government information – want to access commercial sites – want instant access to today's news – want to find information on organizations, groups, personal web pages

Use library databases when you
need

to find scholarly journal articles, magazine articles, newspaper articles and information not indexed or available on the web want to save time on your research, because a database provides one-stop access to credible information specific to your topic, instead of searching through thousands of web pages are looking for biographical information are looking for statistical information are looking for encyclopedic overviews of topics

Evaluating Information requires a consideration of the following criteria
 Audience
 Authority  Fact  Bias  Currency/

or fiction?

Timeliness  References

For further information
Contact MCNY Reference Services reference@mcny.edu Call 212.343.1234 x2008 or 2015