We paired NHTI student Cameron Buker with library technical guru Kevin French for a database showdown. Cameron tried tracking down information on Google while Kevin used one of the library’s subscription databases. Guess who won? Yeah, it was Kevin, by a landslide. But Cameron came away with a fresh perspective on reliable searching techniques.
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Goodbye Google. No more fruitless searches for a query on “how to properly manicure spring flowers.” That’s right, I can then spend more time in the garden rather then scouring the web for information.
Of course I could use Google to locate information, but EBSCOhost, a subscription database service widely used in schools and libraries, simply can weed out any unwanted material better. Plus, it allows users to search magazines, newspapers and reference books that aren’t available to Google.
Kevin French, automation coordinator at the Concord Public Library, showed me that the EBSCOhost database packs an educated-punch, beating up on the weaker Google.com.
An EBSCOhost tool I was impressed with was the “year slider.” It’s is a convenient tool to limit my search results by year. If I just want to see articles from 1998-2009, I can do that with the slider. Sadly, Google does not have any special quirks like this.
I was also fascinated with the Auto Repair Reference Center inside EBSCOhost. This database has information on domestic vehicles as well as imported automobiles dating back to the 1940s. To add icing on the cake, 191,000 drawings and 72,000 technical service bulletins are offered to assist any confused car owner.
To make EBSCOhost even sweeter, instant MLA/APA documentation can accurately be created with one simple click of the mouse. This small component makes writing research papers a lot less tedious. All these ingredients makes EBSCO a cake baked to perfection.
Cameron Buker
We don’t know about you, but Cameron sure has gotten us excited about databases. And the best part? Library card holders can access all of that information from home through the library’s website, onconcord.com/library. For a complete list of databases, visit the website or inquire at the reference desk.
Here are some database highlights:
1 Auto repair reference: Information on most major manufacturers of domestic and imported vehicles, with repair information for most vintage makes starting as far back as 1945. Includes drawings and step-by-step photographs; technical service bulletins and recalls; enhanced wiring diagrams; specifications and maintenance schedules; and a labor time guide and estimator.
– Learning Express: Interactive practice for a wide variety of tests, including the GED, ASVAB, GRE, Civil Service exams, TOEFL exams, and AP exams. Also, access to skill-building books for adults and students to help improve writing, reading or math skills, as well as practice materials to become licensed or certified in a variety of fields.
– Consumer Health Complete: Medical resource with full-text encyclopedias, reference books, health reports, drug and herb information, alternative health sources and current health news.
– NoveList: Book reviews, annotated book lists, author read-alike lists, first chapter excerpts and more than 300 book discussion guides for reading groups.
– Newsbank: Full-text articles from the Concord Monitor, the New Hampshire Union Leader and the New Hampshire Sunday News. The articles begin in October 2002 for the Concord Monitor and in 1989 for the Union Leader, and continue to the present.
– HeritageQuest: For genealogical research. Find U.S. census records from 1790-1930, Revolutionary War records, periodicals, books and more. Building a family tree? You may also be interested in Ancestry Library Edition for military, immigration, birth, marriage and death records, though this particular database may be accessed at the library only.
