9/10/07 WK 10 Using Search Engines

Week 10 Lecture

Online Libraries and Databases.

Programs found online today incorporate search options which create opportunities for locating information quicker and more efficiently than methods available in the past. Libraries and databases are online reference catalogues produced by organisations such as libraries and museums. These types of information resources hold large amounts of information including articles, dictionaries and digital data such as pictures.

Online Libraries
Using online libraries has many advantages. Some of these include convenience, as travel to a location to search a collection is not longer necessary and information is provided directly to the user who has access to a computer. Available online, these services can be accessed 24/7. They are easy to update so contain recent information and the benefits of electronic data for note taking when copy and pasting are available.

The types of libraries and databases can be classified as text repositories, which are large lists of sources sometimes containing whole texts. Online journals, which may need to be subscribed to but can provided by the organisation for the use of its patrons. Electronic books are available to be read online or downloaded, music is also available for access but adhering to copyright laws must to be honoured. Also, artworks can be viewed in these catalogues but the image of the quality may be of a lesser standard.

There are limitations to the use of online catalogues which can include a subscription, requiring the user to pay. On occasion only the reference may be supplied and access to the source may not be available. With music and art catalogues copyright and plagiarism polices need to be considered. Online libraries need to be referenced correctly the same as with acknowledging any other source. Becoming familiar with the copyright laws in your subject will be useful although most sites will list their copyright legislation's for the reader to access.

Databases
Databases focus mainly on data collection, also contain a search and browse facility and are similar in many ways to online libraries. Some of the types of online databases can include news and media, government information and statistics and/or genealogy resources. Advantages of online databases can be that they contain current information such as magazines, are comprehensive (easy to use) and as with online libraries are browsable, allow 24/7 access and benefit from electronic note taking facilities. Some of the disadvantages include subscription only, some are not indexed (not able to be found by search engines), can contain a lot advertisements making navigation difficult and may contain too much information

Workshop Summary

List 10 useful functions of the ECU library site

1. Search by resource type eg. books, journals, websites. This is useful when looking for a specific resource and making sure the titles that are found are relevant.

2. Liberty: Learning to find information. This information is to assist in making a search more efficient. It is useful situated on the library home page as not knowing how to search for information limits the user in finding instructions on how to search.

3. Getting started at the library. This is good for students new to the library who want to find our where to start. It gives a brief overview of some of the electronic support systems as well a finding help from a librarian.

4. The quick catalogue search feature is valuable to the user who knows exactly what they are after and wants to go directly to a sources information in the catalogue. This was good when knowing a book is nearby but the dewy number is needed to find it.

5. 'Extend display' button in the library catalogue allows for the campus location, author and dewy number to appear when searching by title. This is use as it allows for ease of use when looking for a source immediately. Locating a book on a subject available in the library is faster.

6. The 'Save marked items' buttons enables sources to be collected whilst continuing searching. This option is particularly useful as when viewing 'saved marked item', a opportunity to email the list to another location enable quick retrieval of already located items.

7. The 'search other catalogues' option in the catalogue window allows for quick linking to other libraries if items on a subject can not be found in the ECU website.

8. Clicking on the ECU Library Catalogue banner at the top of the page is useful to start a search over quickly.

9. The option to search past exam paper makes this available when it might necessarily not been thought of.

10. The news update heading on the library home page allows for students to be easily notified when library hours change.

Who might use the MEDline plus interactive tutorials what may they get from it?

The simplicity of information presented in the tutorials on MEDline plus is aimed at being understood by the general population. This site would be most useful for people looking for a broad over view on medical issues and would be most beneficial to children of primary school age. As medical information can sometimes be hard to find and then too difficult to understand, these tutorials would be a good starting point. Children in primary school would benefit most from the tutorials as they are the youngest demographic to which the information is aimed at. School children would benefit as they would only have limited knowledge on medical ailments. When faced with illness and disease, knowledge is power. Knowing factual information about a illnesses can help in facing and in dealing with the problem. Children who are experiencing or who know some one with an illness could use the site to help them understand.

This site would be less useful to third year medical students and medical practitioners as their knowledge would exceed the level presented in the tutorials. Although, assumedly a doctor or nurse would know more about health issues than those on this site, they may not, or find it useful for areas they are not knowledgeable in or find it useful in other areas such as helping in educating children.