Questions about library databases II

Students may ask:

Are the full texts of articles available online?

If they are using an internet search engine on the open internet, the full text may not be available. Even so-called open access websites that are intended to encourage scholarly research expect readers to be subscribers. The TU Libraries research databases do provide full texts of all articles, ebooks, and other contents, since the library pays subscription fees. This means that as soon as readers have done a search on the database, they are able to download whatever they need. All researchers who consult databases should keep in mind that they are businesses, and they do not provide a service for free. Therefore there are certain rules that all readers must observe when consulting databases, and this is true for all libraries around the world. Companies that own and manage databases are very protective of their property. So it is essential that all information only be used for personal research. While this may seem obvious, databases check their reader statistics carefully and if they notice an extraordinary number of downloads, they may think someone is trying to set up their own research database and compete with them in business. When this happens, the database may suspend access to the database for an entire university. This inconveniences all the readers who are following the rules. An example of this sort of problem happened in 2011 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), when someone designed a robot to download articles from JSTOR. Naturally, JSTOR noticed that something unusual was happening, the as a result, MIT had to go the trouble of changing access to this database for its entire research community. So it is useful to keep in mind that all databases have rules for readers, and it is better for everyone if they are followed. Students may ask:

When should I do an internet search and when should I use the TU Libraries databases?

The answer would be that it depends on the kind of information needed. If they just need factual material, for example the birth year of a famous writer or scholar, then a simple internet search will probably solve the problem. If there are more complicated questions that will take time to answer, and especially if articles that might be of interest are not available for free on the open internet, then databases are the right solution. At this point the student may be confused, and ask:

Why are there such a confusing number of databases?

Databases provide different things to students and ajarns interested in different subjects. The point is to make available for research and classwork all the articles, books, and other sources of information that researchers may need. No one will need most of what is available, but a wide choice of many thousands of items makes it more probable that whatever is needed will be available to database readers. All database readers should remember that since databases are businesses, they make available help services 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including weekends and holidays. Although our TU librarians are eager and willing to help students, there are some times, such as 3am, or on holidays, when the librarians are not in the libraries. However, for example EBSCOhost supplies an online research service with full-text databases, a collection of ebooks, subject indexes, medical references, and historical digital archives. It offers tutorials on YouTube that may answer questions about how to use the service. It also has a reader support website where questions may be asked at any hour of the day or night. Other databases offer similar services, so when it doubt, students and ajarns can just Google the name of the database and add the word Help or the word Helpdesk.

These help desks can resolve typical reader problems, which may be solved by just switching to a different browser. Mozlla Firefox and Google Chrome tend to work better with databases than Internet Explorer or Safari. Cookies should be turned on the computer, and pop-up blockers turned off. Sometimes the security level of the researcher’s computer is set too high to work well with the database, which involved downloads. The TU Libraries website and whatever database may not be working as needed should be listed as trusted websites.

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)