Jinfo: Global thinking about local searching

Global thinking about local searching
Jinfo Blog

9th February 2012

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If you are like me, whenever you are working on a research project, the first place you turn to is one of the big three databases – Nexis, Factiva or Dialog. You know that the big three do not cover everything, but when you are on a tight deadline, you hope that a search in one of these databases will quickly and easily produce your desired results. Of course, that rarely (if ever) happens. A thorough search has to include many resources besides large databases. Sometimes the knowledge you seek can be found in the most ordinary of places – at the library.

The first place to look is your local public library (which is also likely to provide an excellent resource for locating other specialised libraries in your area). Most public libraries have a number of popular databases such as Reference USA, Ancestry.com, Health & Wellness Resource Center, Medline and CultureGrams, as well as a database that includes your local newspapers. Depending on how big your home city is, your public library may subscribe to heavy duty resources that contain legal and financial information such as Morningstar Investment Research Center, Small Business Reference Center, LexisNexis Library Express with Legal Content, Business & Company Resource Center and Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History.

We usually think of local four year colleges, universities and community colleges as serving their student populations only. These libraries are underrated as research resources. Most of these institutions of higher education have specific areas of focus, so their libraries will subscribe to the corresponding research resources. Often, library policy will allow local residents access to their resources, but you might have to go to the campus to use these resources. Again, check with the reference staff at the library for any restrictions before you begin a project using any of these resources. For example, College of DuPage, a community college in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, has strong programmes of study in Fashion Merchandising and Motion Picture/Television, so the library subscribes to Berg Fashion Library and Film Maker Library databases.

Arthur Weiss of AWARE, a competitive intelligence research firm based in Stanmore, Middlesex, in the UK, recommends a special collection at the University of Sussex for information on the Bloomsbury set, including Virginia Woolf. For information on ancient Jewish manuscripts, Weiss suggests the Genizah On-Line Database at the University of Cambridge.

Museum libraries can be treasure troves of databases. Some museums are affiliated with schools that have nationally accredited undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate programmes, so the libraries have more than just museum subject-specific resources. The Ryerson and Burnham Libraries at Art Institute of Chicago have all the art databases that you would expect, plus Business Source Elite, Chicago Tribune archives from 1849 to present, Dissertation Abstracts and Film and Television Literature Index.

The moral of the story is, always be on the lookout for resources. You never know where a great database or collection of materials will live and you just might need to use it one day. We will always need the big three databases, but a good researcher knows they are just one component of a thorough search. Part of the fun of research is working out where we will find exactly what we need. Often, we find what we need right under our noses in places we often visit for other reasons.

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