What's the Difference?

I've had a lot of folks ask what the difference is between a database and the Internet? They ask how they know if they are getting reliable information. Some faculty members ask their students NOT to use the Web. What these faculty members may not know is that we get lots of information delivered via the Web. This information, primarily databases, is content for which the library pays. The comments below may help to distinguish the content providers from one another.

What is a library database?

Databases are selective, organized collections of data. You are probably familiar with a telephone book, which is a simply organized set of data. Phone books are organized alphabetically by last name, when it comes to white pages, but are alphabetical by topic when it comes to yellow pages.

Many of our library databases have specific subject focuses. They support searches at both basic and advanced levels, use indexing, and hold content at a variety of levels which has been evaluated. They also often use authority files to make entries consistent. Other databases hold content that is unique to that database. In our library, databases are largely full-text materials (those that hold unique content always are), though some are primarily indexes. These collections can include articles from print professional journals, popular magazines, newspapers and print or electronic-only reference sources. Using them saves time and energy.

The library makes all databases available through paid subscriptions. Many of the items in these databases are in .pdf (portable document format), which means that the item(s) accessed through the database(s) are exact replicas of print versions. Click here to install the free Adobe Acrobat reader on your computer, so that you can easily read .pdf documents.

STCC students have access to the databases to which the library subscribes from home with STCC library bar codes, and on campus in any computer lab or in the library itself.
Some examples of library databases are:

Examples of General titles:

Ebscohost Academic Search Premier (1975-) contains indexing and abstracts for more than 8,200 journals, with full text for more than 4,500 of those titles. PDF backfiles to 1975 or further are available for well over one hundred journals, and searchable cited references are provided for nearly 1,000 titles. Academic Search Premier contains unmatched full text coverage in biology, chemistry, engineering, physics, psychology, religion & theology, etc.

Academic OneFile (1980 - ) is a major source for peer-reviewed, full-text articles from the world's leading journals and reference sources. With extensive coverage of the physical sciences, technology, medicine, social sciences, the arts, theology, literature and other subjects, Academic OneFile is both authoritative and comprehensive. With millions of articles available in both PDF and HTML full-text with no restrictions, researchers are able to find accurate information quickly. Includes full-text coverage of the New York Times back to 1995. Updated daily.

Blackwell Synergy: This professional journal only database provides access to more than 1 million articles from 850 full text journals covering disciplines in health, science, engineering, computing, law and social sciences.

Examples of Subject Specific Titles:

American National Biography Online is a tool that examines American history through the lives of the men and women who shaped the nation. Over 14,000 signed articles by recognized authorities on famous deceased Americans can be accessed by subject's name, subject's occupation, subject's century, through special collections like Asian Pacific Heritage or Hispanic Heritage, and even by author.

Science Online is a curriculum oriented database with thousands of definitions and essays, hundreds of videos, flash animations, hundreds of diagrams, biographies, and experiments, scores of timelines and other useful content that applies directly to science subjects.

The Internet:

The Internet is made up of many elements, and is actually an interactive network of computers that can talk to each other. It has no constant authoritative index, no controlled content, no specific audience and is always changing. There is no oversight, and the information provided is generally not reviewed, evaluated or edited. The Graphical User Interface (GUI) that most people use to access the part of the Internet known as the World Wide Web supports the efforts of anonymous people to engage by submitting their thoughts and contributions. Mozilla's Firefox and Internet Explorer are two of many browsers that let searchers use the World Wide Web. Search engines, such as Google or Yahoo, crawl the Internet but there are many other search engines, none of which provide access to the entire Internet. The search engines work by using an algorithm to match searchers' terms with the content of web pages. Some web pages die, but the links may still be captured by the search engine. The Internet Archive is a good tool to use to find an item that is no longer available "live."

One way to use the Web efficiently is to go to directories, such as Librarian's Internet Index, Intute, the Internet Public Library or Infomine, where librarians and other researchers have identified useful sources. We also recommend visiting sites from the .edu and .gov domains to find materials of higher quality.