There are recent changes in how the Library presents and manages our A-Z list of Databases.
Utilizing the relatively recently adopted and implemented Electronic Resource Management (ERM) component of our integrated library system, we can now dynamically update in real time the list of databases to which we provide access. This allows our A-Z list of databases to be the most up to date list of electronic resources that we provide to you.
In the past the A-Z list required a much more involved and labor intensive process in order to update content and manage what the list actually looked like to the user. This new system requires a very simple alteration within the records found in our library system and monitored by the library technical services staff. These changes immediately take effect, altering what is displayed on the Library’s list of A-Z databases within seconds.
This new dynamic A-Z list of Databases presents a more modern but also more easily navigable interface for the researcher. It is uncluttered and extremely simple to use.
As a researcher, you can click on a letter listed alphabetically at the top of the page and immediately be linked to a list of all of the databases that we subscribe to whose name begins with that letter.
Directly underneath that feature there is a drop down menu labeled “Database Subject.” By selecting a subject, you see a list of all of the databases we subscribe to that provide content related to that subject matter.
The next feature of the A-Z list is labeled “Search for Databases.” Here you can use the drop down menu to choose “Database Name”, which allows you to type in the specific name of the database you are looking for or you can choose “Database Subject” which allows you to type in a subject you are researching and then be provided with a listing of databases that provide content related to that subject.
The Final feature of the new A-Z list is an area labeled “Trial Databases”. This is the section where there will be a listing of any databases for which the Library has trial access as a way to examine whether or not the resource will be added to the collection.
Access to the A-Z list of databases is available via the Library’s homepage by clicking on the “Databases” link under the Articles & Database tab or by clicking on the “Databases” link under “Library Resources” in the My.Scranton portal under the Library tab. The URL for the A-Z list page is :
http://www.scranton.edu/academics/wml/databases.shtml
The dynamic A-Z list of Databases provides a more elegant solution to the question of providing our library users with a more intuitive and functional research interface.