Hello, everyone! So, I've mentioned once or twice that librarians love research, right? Bearing that in mind, something that is incredibly important to me is making sure students have access to quality research materials. Now, I know it's oh-so-tempting to send them to the Internet and have them Google their hearts out for information. But, as you all know, the interwebs is a fickle place - full of everything from high quality information, to completely false information, to everything in between. I've heard the grumbling from students when I talk with them year after year about evaluating websites (a conversation for another post), and the good news is that there's a way for them to easily find quality information...databases!
Now for my quick spiel on databases. They are collections of authoritative, reliable information and are a paid subscription service. Databases have information from reputable sources from a variety of formats. Some databases have original content, while others have articles from newspapers, magazines, and scholarly journals. Still others offer video and audio. Students do not need to evaluate databases because the information in them comes from reputable sources. These are powerful research tools that can help students with much of the research process, including narrowing down topics - are you excited yet??
Scranton students are lucky to have access to several different databases for their research. Our library provides them access to EBSCO History Databases (which cover world religions and American history) and Scholastic ScienceFlix (which covers a wide variety of scientific subjects). In addition to databases provided by our school, a wide array of databases are available to our students through Michigan eLibrary (MeL). Databases from MeL which are especially useful for our students include: Opposing Viewpoints in Context, Research in Context, InfoTrac Student, and Britannica School.
Of special note this year is that any databases produced by Gale (these include Opposing Viewpoints, Research in Context, and InfoTrac Student) interact with Google apps. So, students can save articles that they find in these databases to their Google Drive. This is also handy for teachers, because these databases allow you to assign an article as part of an assignment in Google Classroom. See, now I know you're excited because you're thinking of all the great articles you can find for non-fiction reading and to support your curriculum and the ease with which you can assign them. I'm imagining your wild cheers of happiness!
Now, how do you find all of these amazing databases? They are all linked on the Scranton Library Website under the "Research Resources" tab. It's usually easiest to access the MeL databases through the MeL site, which is also linked on our "Research Resources" page. Our Scranton databases require a password, which I will be happy to give you - all you have to do is ask! I don't want to put it out here since this blog is technically public, and our databases are only for Scranton use. If you want to know more about how to use databases with your lessons or want to explore how to use a specific database, please don't hesitate to come chat with me about it. I'll be happy to dig in to these awesome resources with you!
Now for my quick spiel on databases. They are collections of authoritative, reliable information and are a paid subscription service. Databases have information from reputable sources from a variety of formats. Some databases have original content, while others have articles from newspapers, magazines, and scholarly journals. Still others offer video and audio. Students do not need to evaluate databases because the information in them comes from reputable sources. These are powerful research tools that can help students with much of the research process, including narrowing down topics - are you excited yet??
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| How seriously beautiful is Scholastic ScienceFlix? |
Of special note this year is that any databases produced by Gale (these include Opposing Viewpoints, Research in Context, and InfoTrac Student) interact with Google apps. So, students can save articles that they find in these databases to their Google Drive. This is also handy for teachers, because these databases allow you to assign an article as part of an assignment in Google Classroom. See, now I know you're excited because you're thinking of all the great articles you can find for non-fiction reading and to support your curriculum and the ease with which you can assign them. I'm imagining your wild cheers of happiness!
Now, how do you find all of these amazing databases? They are all linked on the Scranton Library Website under the "Research Resources" tab. It's usually easiest to access the MeL databases through the MeL site, which is also linked on our "Research Resources" page. Our Scranton databases require a password, which I will be happy to give you - all you have to do is ask! I don't want to put it out here since this blog is technically public, and our databases are only for Scranton use. If you want to know more about how to use databases with your lessons or want to explore how to use a specific database, please don't hesitate to come chat with me about it. I'll be happy to dig in to these awesome resources with you!
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