What is a library database?
A library database is an online resource that contains articles and information from print resources such as magazines, newspapers, journals, and reference books.
Databases are not “Internet” sources
As a high school student or teacher, you must be able to find accurate information that is relevant to your assignments. Surfing the Web certainly can be quick and easy. However, it is much too easy to find irrelevant, unsubstantiated, and just plain wrong information.
Searching the right database will give you the quality information you need. The material found on a database is likely to contain more reliable and more thoroughly researched information than material retrieved from an Internet search engine.
Bessie Chin Library’s databases are available via the Internet but most are available only be subscription – a log-in process allows access only to members of the RHS community (including parents). Most of the information you find in our database collection cannot be found by searching Google or Yahoo.
Two Types of Databases:
Our library offers two types of databases:
1. Article Databases
An article database enables you to search through thousands (sometimes millions) of different magazines, journals and newspapers to find articles on a particular topic. Some of the articles you will find are full-text, which means you can read (or print out) the entire article right there online. Other times the database will only provide you with an abstract and citation, which tells you where you can find a print version of the article. Examples include the EBSCO databases, AP Science and Opposing Viewpoints.
2. Reference Databases
Reference Databases provide reference information (facts, statistics, background information) from many different print sources. Reference Databases are usually more subject-specific than the article databases. Examples are the Almanac of American Politics, CountryWatch and the encyclopedias.
Bessie Chin Library Databases
The following is a list of the databases offered at RHS. You may access our databases online by visiting
Almanac of American Politics- Online version of the biennial publication
"The Almanac includes profiles of every member of Congress and governor as well as in-depth and up-to-date narrative profiles of all 50 states and 435 House districts."
AP Science - Scientific and medical journals
A comprehensive collection of more than 500 magazines and journals designed to support advanced placement and college-prep level science studies.
AP Source -- See EBSCOhost
Britannica Online Academic Edition - Online encyclopedia
The Britannica Online database includes the full text of the Encyclopaedia Britannica,the Britannica Student Encyclopedia, the Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia, and the Britannica Concise Encyclopedia, a Britannica Internet Guide, and links to video & media files.
Columbia International Affairs Online - International affairs database
"Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO) is the most comprehensive source for theory and research in international affairs. … All sections of CIAO are updated monthly."
CountryWatch - Geographical information database
CountryWatch.com is an information provider for schools, universities, libraries and individuals who need up-to-date information and news on the countries of the world and for the public and private sector organizations with global operations and interests. CountryWire - accompanies each of the 191 CountryReviews and provides country-specific, comprehensive daily news from 12 international news services.
EBSCOhost Ultra Online Package - Periodical database
This package comprises several individual databases which may be searched separately or as a whole using StudentResearchCenter.
--Advanced Placement Sourceincludes over 6,000 professional, trade and scholarly journals suitable for advanced student research.
--ERIC contains citations and abstracts from over 980 educational and education-related journals, as well as full text of more than 2,200 digests.
--Health Sourcecomprises "consumer health information providing information on many health topics including the medical sciences, food sciences and nutrition, childcare, sports medicine and general health."
--MAS Ultra – School Edition "contains full text for more than 500 popular, high school magazines, … more than 360 full text reference books, 85,639 biographies, 104,481 primary source documents, and an Image Collection of 285,912 photos, maps & flags, color PDFs and expanded full text backfiles (back to 1975) for key magazines."
--Newspaper Source "...provides cover-to-cover full text for 35 national & international newspapers, selective full text for more than 375 regional newspapers, full text television & radio news transcripts are also provided."
--NoveLIST isa fiction database that provides subject heading access, reviews, annotations, and much more for over 120,000 fiction titles. It also includes other content of interest to fiction readers, such as Author Read-alikes, Book Discussion Guides, BookTalks, and Feature Articles.
--Professional Development Collection provides a highly specialized collection of nearly 360 full text journals, designed for professional educators.
--TOPICsearch is a current events database which includes 40,000 full text documents; selected full text articles for nearly 100 U.S. newspapers; 2,500 diverse sources including international and regional newspapers, biographies, public opinion polls, book reviews, pamphlets, government information. This is a particularly useful database for the Social Issues classes because of the way that information is concentrated and listed by topic.
eNotes - Curricular database
This is a comprehensive online educational resource which combines the highest-quality educational content with innovative services. Content is all fact-checked, edited, and written by professionals who are experts in their field. Topics covered by eNotes include literature, science, law & politics, history, business, social sciences, health, and arts. It also a college search database and access to almost 500 academic journals.
ERIC -- See EBSCOhost
FactCite – e-Books from the Lincoln Library
Online versions of reference books on classical mythology, biography, U.S. history and more.
Health Source -- See EBSCOhost
MAS Ultra: School Edition -- See EBSCOhost
Newspaper Source -- See EBSCOhost
NoveLIST -- See EBSCOhost
Opposing ViewpointsResourceCenter - Current events and controversial issues
This is an online extension of the very popular Opposing viewpoint series of books. It includes much of the text of books which cover a myriad of topics from abortion to youth. Each topic has tabs for "Viewpoints," "Reference," "Statistics," "Magazines & Newspapers," "Images," "Primary Documents," and "Web Sites." The Critical Thinking component includes vocabulary, definitions, and assessments to formulate arguments about and analysis of issues and concepts. Available in both text and MP3 formats.
Oxford Reference Online Premium - OxfordUniversity Press e-books
This database brings together language and subject reference works from one of the world's biggest reference publishers into a single cross-searchable resource. Topics include everything from art & architecture toscience.
Professional Development Collection - See EBSCOhost
ProQuest Learning: Literature - Literary database
A comprehensive resource including 3000+ author biographies; 40 searchable full-text literature journals; full-text literary works; and other key criticism and reference sources.
QuestiaSchool – Vast online library of e-books
Questia provides 24/7 access to the world's largest online collection of books and journal articles in the humanities and social sciences, plus magazine and newspaper articles. This rich, scholarly content is not available elsewhere on the Internet. To complement the library, Questia offers a range of search, note-taking, and writing tools. Our current subscription allows you to log in and set up a personal account. See library staff for log in procedure.
StudentResearchCenter -- See EBSCOhost
Teen Health and Wellness - Online health database
This databases "[p]rovides students with comprehensive curricular support and self-help tools on topics including diseases, drugs, alcohol, nutrition, fitness, mental health, diversity, family life, and more."
TOPICsearch -- See EBSCOhost
World Book Online - Online encyclopedia
This database includes all of the content of the print version of the encyclopedia, searchable by keyword and browsable, in advanced search, by title and subject. It also includes a huge collection of original source documents, a. dictionary with more than 248,000 definitions, and anatlas with full-color maps.
Other Databases
--Free Online Periodical Databases
Some good quality free databases are accessible from the library catalog. These include the Digital Book Index, the Internet Archive, the Directory of Open Access Journals and many others.
--Newspaper and Magazine Subscriptions
The Library also has subscriptions to various online versions of newspapers, magazines, and journals. These include: The Atlantic; New York Times, New Yorker; Scientific American Digital; Science and Wall Street Journal. Some require logins to take full advantage of their services. See the Database Passwords list for log-in information.
--Trial Databases–Go to
--MarinCounty Free Library and MARINet databases - Many databases available with a library card from MarinCounty libraries.
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Bessie Chin Library
Larkspur, CA94939
415.945.2662
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Library
Databases
An Introduction to Digital Resources at RedwoodHigh School
Spring 2009
Larkspur, CA94939
415.945.2662