MAKING IT NEW

DATABASE TERMINALS AND THE INTERNET

by Peter J. Salber

The "soul of a new machine," as Kidder pointed out nearly 20 years ago, is neither instantly created nor easily fathomed. Over the past several months, the Brooklyn campus library has been installing many new machines as well as new systems to run them and new databases to which they can be connected. The bugs, while annoying, have not prevented library users from conducting research nearly-as-usual.

The most flawless transition to the new systems has been the migration of the online catalog (LIUCAT) to Horizon (see Introducing the New LIUCAT). Although the new LIUCAT has already been upgraded a couple of times since its installation, the changes have not been disruptive. Users who've noticed the changes have found that searching the catalog for all LIU campuses has been made more convenient.

NINE NEW TERMINALS

More problematic has been the installation of the nine new database terminals clustered near the third-floor entrance to the library. These were formerly connected to a CD-ROM server at the C.W. Post campus. The databases available were basically index-and-abstract tools, limited in their coverage of older materials, which required monthly updating at Post. The link between Post and Brooklyn had become quirky, with downtime not uncommon. All this has changed.

The computers themselves are new and the means of access are new -- all databases are now reachable through the Internet. LIUCAT is also available from these terminals (in addition to its availability at the seven "dedicated" terminals). A similar multi-function terminal has been installed on the fourth-floor periodicals counter, with more to come on the fourth and fifth floors.

Searching the databases is not all that different from the way it used to be, except now each terminal has a mouse attached. Each computer is set to open at a "library resources" homepage, from which you scroll down through a menu of what's available. Clicking on a database title connects you to that database. Search terms are then typed into a blank search field, and various boxes may be checked to limit the search to specific dates or sources. Results can be printed, downloaded to a floppy disk, or e-mailed to the destination of your choice.

CONNECTION PROBLEMS

The major bug encountered with the new terminals has been some difficulty in connecting to certain databases. So far, the reference librarians have been successful in working with library patrons to find ways around this problem. There are, for example, alternate homepages with better, quicker, links to the databases. Sometimes connections can only be made through using the "bookmarks" menu in the web browser, and sometimes the URL must be manually typed. If you encounter any problems with connecting to the databases, BE SURE TO CONSULT WITH A LIBRARIAN. Don't simply give up in frustration.

WIDER COVERAGE

Among the improvements in coverage? Medline is now searchable over its entire backfile, no longer restricted to only the past five years. Infotrac (the "Expanded Academic ASAP") now includes many full-text articles as well as simple citations and abstracts, and covers a backfile from 1980.

ABI/Inform Global provides the full text of business articles from a wide variety of sources, as well as information on more than 60,000 companies. To see a full list of the available databases, with a brief description of each, pick up a copy of "Library Guide 17" which is available near the card catalog on the library's third floor.

NEW AND FULL TEXT

The most exciting new database available to the LIU community is a product from Lexis-Nexis called "Academic Universe." It's an almost entirely full-text database, with an extensive backfile: some publications are available from the late '70's through the current issue. It's divided into a number of search categories such as "General News Topics," "Company News," and "Company Financial Information." Also available are country and state profiles, several reference books and directories, a version of Medline, the extensive Lexis files of state and federal case law, and a "Foreign Language News" file which includes news sources in Dutch, French, German, Italian, and Spanish.

DATABASES FROM ANY PC

Perhaps the best news of all is that any of these databases are available from ANY computer on the Brooklyn campus. The database websites recognize the addresses of all campus computers which have Internet access, and automatically allow users at those computers to search, without asking for an ID or a password. Links can be made from the LIU library resources page, or by typing the URL's directly.

Lexis-Nexis:
http://web.lexis-exis.com/universe/

Infotrac:
http://www.infotrac-custom.com/itcustom/liulibs_main

 

Infotrac consists of:
General BusinessFile ASAP
Expanded Academic ASAP
National Newspaper Index

 

Proquest Direct:
http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb

The Proquest databases are:
ABI/Inform Global
Accounting and Tax
PA Research II
Proquest Newspapers

Silverplatter:
http:// webspirs.silverplatter.com:8000/ waldo

The Silverplatter databases are:
Art Index
Biological Abstracts
CINAHL
ERIC
GPO [Government Printing Office]
Int'l Pol. Sci. Abstracts
IPA
ISA
LISA
A Matter of Fact
MEDLINE
SERLINE
MLA Bibliography
PsychINFO
Sociological Abstracts)

 

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