2008 Woodie Awards
SectionsLibrary databases aid students
Jeremy Kirbey
Issue date: 11/6/07 Section: Features
- Page 1 of 1
One of the most diverse resource tools Missouri State offers is its collection of online databases.
The online databases are electronic resources with a specific structured set of information, said Lynn Cline, head of collection development and acquisitions department. The majority of these are articles from scientific or literature journals. They can be searched for citations from articles or the full text, as well as within certain dates and subjects.
There are also a variety of other databases with a wide variety of information. Among these are dictionaries, encyclopedias, collections of music and other types. In total the school hosts 122 different databases, Cline said.
The databases have been around since 1984. The first was a four terminal system called Inf0trac. It was a database that indexed magazine and journal articles. To use it, one had two choices. They could see if the library had a print version of the magazine or journal containing the article, or see if the specific article was on one of the microfilm cassettes the index came with, Cline said.
The decision to use the database was simple. It provided faster, easier searching for articles, as well as a more diverse method of searching, allowing students to search for specific terms as opposed to a printed periodical index, Cline said.
Cline said that by 1990, the school possessed a dozen indexing and abstracting databases on CD-ROM.
The databases all receive use. Some only receive a few hits per term, while one in particular receives as much as 20,000. The total amount of hits the library recorded in 2006 was 282,000, Cline said.
How much does it cost the school to maintain these databases? It varies between each database, often dependent on how much use it receives. Size, scope, subject matter and whether or not they contain full-text or other features are also taken into account, Cline said.
"A database may range anywhere from $500 to $30,000 annually, though typically somewhere between $4,000 to 7,000," she said. "The libraries spend in the neighborhood of $325,000 on databases. It is money well spent; they receive a significant amount of use."
Each hit also has its own cost. Cost per use varies per database, based on a sliding scale. As such, the most expensive database may not have the highest cost per hit, Cline said.
"Academic Search Premier, one of our large, all-purpose, full text databases costs over $22,000," Cline said. "How-ever, its total usage in 2006 totaled over 42,000 hits, so its cost per use was approximately 53 cents. Short Story Index, on the other hand, costs only $646.00, but since it only received 184 hits, cost $3.51 per hit."
The online databases are electronic resources with a specific structured set of information, said Lynn Cline, head of collection development and acquisitions department. The majority of these are articles from scientific or literature journals. They can be searched for citations from articles or the full text, as well as within certain dates and subjects.
There are also a variety of other databases with a wide variety of information. Among these are dictionaries, encyclopedias, collections of music and other types. In total the school hosts 122 different databases, Cline said.
The databases have been around since 1984. The first was a four terminal system called Inf0trac. It was a database that indexed magazine and journal articles. To use it, one had two choices. They could see if the library had a print version of the magazine or journal containing the article, or see if the specific article was on one of the microfilm cassettes the index came with, Cline said.
The decision to use the database was simple. It provided faster, easier searching for articles, as well as a more diverse method of searching, allowing students to search for specific terms as opposed to a printed periodical index, Cline said.
Cline said that by 1990, the school possessed a dozen indexing and abstracting databases on CD-ROM.
The databases all receive use. Some only receive a few hits per term, while one in particular receives as much as 20,000. The total amount of hits the library recorded in 2006 was 282,000, Cline said.
How much does it cost the school to maintain these databases? It varies between each database, often dependent on how much use it receives. Size, scope, subject matter and whether or not they contain full-text or other features are also taken into account, Cline said.
"A database may range anywhere from $500 to $30,000 annually, though typically somewhere between $4,000 to 7,000," she said. "The libraries spend in the neighborhood of $325,000 on databases. It is money well spent; they receive a significant amount of use."
Each hit also has its own cost. Cost per use varies per database, based on a sliding scale. As such, the most expensive database may not have the highest cost per hit, Cline said.
"Academic Search Premier, one of our large, all-purpose, full text databases costs over $22,000," Cline said. "How-ever, its total usage in 2006 totaled over 42,000 hits, so its cost per use was approximately 53 cents. Short Story Index, on the other hand, costs only $646.00, but since it only received 184 hits, cost $3.51 per hit."
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