e-Reference Reviews: December, 2004
Terrence E. Young, Jr. -- School Library Journal, 12/1/2004
Subject Specific Databases
A Powerful Research Tool
Subject specific databases, or vortals (vertical portals), are databases that provide highly detailed research information on a particular topic. They are the smallest, most focused search tools on the Internet and, in recent years, they've been on the rise. Currently, more of the so-called "mainstream" search engines, subject directories, and portals are including these subject-specific databases in their "hit" responses. Why the noticeable increase? It's probably because subject-specific databases narrow the overwhelming results returned by their large, 'we-have-it-all' counterparts. If you've managed to find a few recent, relevant articles on your topic using a full-text subscription database, go the extra step and dig deeper with a subject-specific database. Ultimately, it will save you time and provide in-depth, authoritative, up-to-date information on a specific subject since these kinds of databases cover more journals pertinent to their respective subject areas than general indexes.
The following subject-specific databases may be the ideal curricular support resources you need to fill that niche in your school's curriculum. Although they're not usually large, these focused databases reflect a tighter control of subject matter so that, when you search for a particular word, you may get the exact meaning that you expect. A science database, for example, will give you different results for the search word "cell" than a general database, where results might include cellphones.
World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO Schools. 2004. www.abc-clio.com/schools. $599/year subscription, volume discounts available. Free trial available. Updated daily. (Accessed 10/11/04).
Gr 7 Up-This latest addition to ABC-CLIO Schools' databases covers human history from prehistoric times to the beginning of the Renaissance with a straightforward, formatted layout. The home page offers the "Origins" section which reveals the connections between current events and the past; "Spotlight on" gives an in-depth examination of a particular historical event or issue; "What Is This?" provides an intriguing image of an ancient artifact and asks the reader to guess its function or purpose; "Term of the Day" provides definitions of relevant vocabulary terms; and "Did You Know?" presents an interesting piece of medieval trivia that is updated daily.
The rich content provides profiles of hundreds of city-states, countries, and regions of the ancient world (including the Roman Empire, Sparta, and Carthage); over 1,000 biographies (Alexander the Great, Confucius, William the Conqueror, etc.); interactive timelines for all chronological eras allowing students to compare developments in different regions across time; and a collection of primary source documents (Code of Hammurabi, Edict of Milan, photographs, and works of art).
The "Site Search" covers all categories and topics on the site. The more focused "Advanced Search" allows users to search by text, category, topic, or a combination of all three. A search on "mummification" returned two images, one video, three glossary terms, and two essays. The site's chronologically organized "Topic Explorations" provides overviews of specific time periods, enabling users to better understand the context surrounding historical artifacts.
Standards-based lessons and activities that are aligned with the world history course curriculum provide context to help build students' historical understanding and information literacy skills. In-depth topic explorations provide overviews of time periods, enabling users to understand the context surrounding historical artifacts.
If students can't find the information they need, they can e-mail the "Cybrarian," a team of ABC-CLIO editors with subject expertise who can assist students with finding answers. Schools subscribing to three or more ABC-CLIO databases are given access to ABC-CLIO's searchable e-book titles that support the database.
World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras is the definitive curriculum database on these topicsfor students. It brings together a broad collection of facts, primary source documents, images, and scholarly analysis with integrated access for all users. The breadth and thoroughness of its coverage will serve students and teachers well, and there is nothing else known to this reviewer that compares.
BookSource: Nonfiction.™ EBSCO Publishing. 2004. www.epnet.com/school/esbooksource.asp. Pricing for unlimited local and remote access for a single school, for a one-year period: Elementary School--$395; Middle School--$595; High School--$795. Free trial available. Approximately 250 books are added to the database with each quarterly update. (Accessed 10/6/04).
K-12-BookSource: Nonfiction is a cross-curricular research database that contains the full text and informative abstracts for 2,027 popular nonfiction books found in school and public libraries. It includes general interest, high interest, leveled full-text articles on science and social studies, and information on adventure, biographies, careers, civics, careers, health, history, literature, sports, adventure, hobbies, and technology.
To support curriculum standards, one or more of 170 benchmarks are assigned to content within the following areas: language arts, civics, earth and space sciences, physical sciences, U.S. history, and world history. The benchmarks appear in the citation as hot links, and when clicked, a list of all content in the database sharing the same benchmark will appear.
The database is fully searchable. Users can limit their searches by one or more of the following criteria: book title, year published, Lexile reading level, number of pages, or articles with images. Searches can also be conducted from book title and subject authority files. Parenthetical searching and Boolean operators are supported.
BookSource: Nonfiction provides content representing a wide spectrum of works, including many of the complete series from top book publishers. A complete title list is available on the Web site. The book content is broken into manageable, meaningful units, based on the divisions established by the publishers. These units can be chapters, sub-headings, or whole books for short, one-subject publications. Each unit appears as its own record in the result list with its citation information and detailed abstract. The citation for each record includes a link, "Click to view Table of Contents," that provides a list in the order of the table of contents of all the records for that specific publication in the database.
Since this database is different from the familiar "enter search term" to retrieve relevant information, users should begin by clicking on "Database Help" and read the scope notes, searching tips, definitions of fields, and information on using limiters and advanced searches.
I searched the subject "terrorism" and retrieved 99 hits. I narrowed it to "high school" and the lists dropped to 49. All results screens give you the option to sort by date, source, or relevance and to limit your results to high school, middle/junior high, or elementary.
Library media specialists should request a free trial and compare the database titles to their collection. If your non-fiction collection is outdated then Booksource: Nonfiction can fill the void.
Global Views and Voices: Articles, Debates, and Personal Testimony on the World Today. Alexander Street Press. 2004. alexanderstreet.com/products/glvv.htm. Academic subscriptions range from $304 to $1,995, scaled to library type and budget. K-12 prices--$315 to $405. Free trial available. Updated quarterly. (Accessed 10/12/04).
Gr 6 Up-Created this year, Global Views and Voices offers a variety of political viewpoints free of propaganda and delivers contemporary perspectives on current events, globalization, the media, development, culture, and the arts from writers around the world.
The 600-plus authors range from well-known Westerners, such as President Jimmy Carter (37 articles), world-class columnists such as Paul Rogers (139 articles), to native writers from 58 countries. Citizens with local perspectives offer compelling narratives: Farida Khan from Bangladesh debates with Anita Roddick (owner of the Body Shop) over justice in the Asian garment industry and Gil Loescher writes about the bomb in Baghdad that left him severely injured and killed his colleague, Arthur Helton. Global Views and Voices offers the entire openDemocracy archive (http://opendemocracy.com) which dates back to early 2000.
Global Views and Voices is an innovative resource for studies in international affairs, foreign policy, political science, the media, diversity, anthropology, history, journalism, the environment, sociology, comparative cultures, religion, defense/war/peace issues, globalization, and social policy. It contains over 3,800 full-text articles, 2,400 links to full-text articles, and 200 photo essays on more than 100 topics of global relevance. Also included are more than 5,800 postings from 1,200 individuals around the world.
Global Views and Voices juxtaposes the views of leading thinkers with local and personal perspectives. The database includes thousands of articleson key topics of global importance: terrorism, migration, racism, gender, politics, media, climate change, poverty, and famine, which are presented through the eyes and emotions of the protagonists. Site material is not limited to conventional format; the content also includes photo essays, interviews, video clips and other material largely unavailable on the Internet or conventional databases.
The "searchability" of this database is awesome. You can "browse" sources, debates, articles, images, places, authors, and subject. Full-text searching for keywords and phrases can be further narrowed using the 22 fields in the Advanced Search mode, and the depth of subject indexing and cross-references makes this database relevant across many disciplines. Schools that want their students to think critically about issues on a global perspective should sign up for a trial.
Greenwood Daily Life Online: Exploring Everyday Life Past and Present. Greenwood Publishing. 2004. www.greenwood.com. $595 to $995 for unlimited access annually for a single site. Contact: E-mail gemsales@greenwood.com for multiple site pricing. Free trial available. Updated quarterly. (Accessed 10/3/04).
Gr 7 Up-Based on the Greenwood Encyclopedia of Daily Life, this site provides full-text content from reference works, monographs, and primary source documents. The database includes images (1200 color and b&w), maps, illustrations, and timelines. Daily Life Online provides students with information regarding the daily lives of people from ancient civilizations and cultures of the past (3,000 BC) to those of the modern era. The site is exceptionally navigable and well structured and the main interface enables users to approach the content from period, time, or subject.
A set of common navigational links appear at the top of every page: Quick Search, Advanced Search, Help, and Home. A "quick search" on the drink "mead" produced lots of information, including the recipe.
In each category, students can search or browse by the following time periods: Ancient World, Medieval World, Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries, Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, Nineteenth Century, and the Modern World. They can also search or browse by region (click on the world map) or by subject (Domestic Life, Economic Life, Intellectual Life, Material Life, Political Life, Recreational Life, and Religious Life). The standard searching capabilities are present: keyword, natural language, Boolean operators, and wildcards. Type "primary source documents" into the quick search field and hit the Primary Documents tab in the search results. This will list all the primary documents available.
Completing a search returns results sorted into encyclopedia articles, book chapters, primary documents, and images with the number of hits in each format listed on the format tab. Search results can also be sorted by subject, region, or time. Every entry has a set of related resources that appears on the right-hand side of the screen. These may include chronologies, images, maps, external links, lesson plans (correlated to the National Center for History in the Schools standards and links to hundreds of authoritative, vetted academic and cultural Web sites) or Tours through Time. Citations in MLA format are found at the end of each article.
The consistency of content makes it easy for users to undertake comparative studies across regions, time periods, or both. Students and teachers will enjoy reading and researching based on the familiar phrases "remember when" and "in the good old days." If you are looking to revitalize your social studies program or need a case study for "if you think you have it bad," just take an excursion through Daily Life Online.
Search It! Science: The Books You Need at Lightning Speed. Heinemann. 2002. searchit.heinemann.com. Multiple User License: $195; Individual User License: $65 for an annual license; $10.00 for a six-weeklicense. Free trial available. Updated monthly. (Accessed 10/1/04).
K- Gr 8-The Search It! Science database includes 4,731 (10/04) highly recommended children's science trade books selected by a national panel of librarians and experts in science and education. Approximately 25 new titles are added each month and once a year, the database purges books that are no longer available in libraries.
What makes Search It! Science so easy to navigate is that with the exception of keyword searching, users (including elementary students) can click on icons, select from drop down menus, or select a letter of the alphabet and find a title or an author.
Search this graphic and icon-rich database of titles by Subject (fourteen), Kind of Book (Genre/Type, How Hard, How Long), Keyword, Title/Series, Author, Library Info (Book format, Dewey Number, ISBN, Publication Date, Publication Status, Publisher), or Teaching Concerns (Award Winners, Curriculum Connections, Equity, Graphics, Stylistic Format, Voice). Searches can be broadened or narrowed with the touch of a key.
Want a list of 35 titles on the environment for fourth graders with a wide range of reading levels? Searching for biographies of African-American scientists that include photographs? How about a good science-related read aloud? It's all here. By combining literary, scientific, graphic, and issue-oriented elements, K-8 teachers, students, and library media specialists can expand or shrink their list of recommended titles.
Search It! Science mimics the real-life search strategies of users with access to a collection of scientifically accurate, diverse, well-written science books. The site's user-friendly interface makes it easy to connect with topics that intrigue and the appealing graphics encourage both browsing and targeted searches. Search It! Science's fully text-searchable annotations, full-color cover images, summarized reviews from five professional sources, and author information simplifies the book identification and ordering process for collection development.
Students (and teachers) can also satisfy their curiosity by clicking on "What's New," "Wonder Questions," "Quirky Subjects," or "Brainstorm."
This multimedia literature-searching tool enables students to match their scientific reading interests and teachers and librarians to match curricular needs with children's trade books. The bargain basement price makes Search It! Science a must purchase for all districts, especially those with a goal to increasing statewide science test scores.
Browse October e-reference reviews 
