Whether you’re a seasoned library veteran or a relative novice, you’ve probably noticed that the Thompson Library has hundreds of databases of various kinds, from the very broad and comprehensive (e.g., ProQuest Research) to the very specialized (e.g., Fire Insurance Maps Online). Finding the right ones on our A-Z list can be challenging, partly because there are so many to choose from. In the past several years, we have been editing our guides and lists to make them more user-friendly. Here are some of the highlights.
Number of databases. Our A-Z list was too long. A lot of our databases overlap; for example, some databases include smaller sub-databases. Some databases’ content is easier to find using our Search All discovery tool that powers our homepage search box. Other databases have become obsolete, or are hardly ever used. We’ve pared down our A-Z list of databases from about 1,200 to under 860. Our goal for each subject guide is to list a few top relevant databases, with a link to the others. This way, people aren’t confronted with a bewildering list of databases, without guidance on which one(s) would be most useful.
Added and renamed subjects. Each database is assigned one or more subjects and one or more types (i.e., formats), both of which are searchable. For example, the database Psychology & Counseling is assigned the subjects “Psychology,” “Social Work,” and “Social Sciences,” and the types “Audio,” “Text Collection,” and “Video.” So if you search the A-Z list for the subject “Social Work” and the type “Video,” Psychology & Counseling will come up. We’ve recently added some new subjects, streamlined the types, and renamed some of both. This will make it easier for you to drill down to what you need.
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New or Renamed Subjects (examples) |
New or Renamed Types (examples) |
Subject nesting. We’re still trying this one out to see how useful it is. Subject nesting allows subjects to have “parent-child” relationships. For example, the broader and more general subject “History” has four child subjects that are more specifically focused:
The number in parentheses next to each subject indicates how many databases have that as a subject.
Search box. To save everyone a click, we added a tab to the homepage search box to search for databases. You can still follow a link to the A-Z list to browse or search there.
Even Bigger Changes Are Coming!
Sometime in the next few months, we will upgrade to a newer version of the A-Z list, with some useful features. Databases can have their own landing pages (example) with useful information and tips. (We will have the option to switch this off or use it selectively if people don’t like this feature). We expect to be able to create smaller A-Z lists for different purposes or user groups.
Take a preview of the new A-Z format. We don’t yet have a release date, but will announce the changes once they are ready.
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions about our databases or the A-Z list, please feel free to contact Paul Streby, our Resource Access Librarian!
University of Michigan-Flint
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