If you've visited the library's webpage in the last few weeks, you might have noticed a new link dead-center on the site. Under the "Databases" tab on www.library.coe.edu, there is a new link to direct users to databases with which we currently have trial access. Every once and a while, different publishers will allow the library and our users to test out new databases in order to evaluate them and decide if they might be a good addition to our collection. At any given time, we might have 1-3 trials running, though sometimes we may have more; other times, no trials at all. Here at the library, we wanted our patrons to be able to find and use these products (what kind of test can you have without users?) while at the same time making sure that they knew that these databases were not necessarily permanent additions. It would be rough to get used to using a database only to have the access mysteriously disappear mid-semester. To meet this need, we thought it most appropriate to create a new page that explicitly stated that these were trials. We also describe the databases, along with the timeline for the trial. We hope that people will be able to use these databases and the resources therein, and we also hope that users will give us feedback. Find a database that you like a lot? Email the library at khandler@coe.edu and let us know what you think. If you want to be anonymous, you can always drop a note in the library's virtual suggestion box.
We can't promise that we always add new databases, as unfortunately we can't subscribe to everything that we want. What we can promise is that we'll use your feedback to help us figure out how best to expand our collection, and in the mean time, you'll have access to some great new databases. Give them a try today!
