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Library
Database
Nearly
all libraries maintain a database of their holdings. Typically, librarians
give their local database a name; for example, Calvin's database
is called WebCat. The database is usually prominently displayed
on the library's webpage. See in this
how newer, Web-based OPACs like WebCat seamlessly link to Web
resources such as electronic books, journals, and government documents.
While there are many
similarities between the library's database and the research databases
discussed earlier, there are also several differences. These are discussed
below.
Characteristics
of WebCat (Calvin's Library Database)
Everything
in WebCat is available or accessible on campus. Article databases—those we encountered earlier in this chapter—index far more than
is owned by the library.
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WebCat contains
more than 600,000 records. |
Journal articles
cannot be found in WebCat. You can search for the title of a journal, and WebCat will then provide information on whether a particular issue of that journal is housed in the library. But you must use research databases to locate individual articles. |
WebCat contains
many formats, including microforms, CDs, videos, government documents,
electronic material, and journal titles.
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WebCat provides
seamless linking to Web resources. Somewhere in the record for Web
sources will be a link that takes you to the source. WebCat contains
hundreds of thousands of links to Web resources.
Electronic
Books |
150,000
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Electronic
Journals |
12,000
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Government
Documents |
4,000
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Like the research
databases discussed above, WebCat also uses subjects. Use the
same basic search techniques discussed above to locate useful subjects
in WebCat. However, very narrow topics often are not found. Since
a majority of the items in WebCat are books, the subject coverage
tends to be broader than subject coverage in journal articles. Therefore,
instead of searching for Aster ericoides (White Aster) you
may have to use the subject "Wildflowers of the American West"
and examine the table of contents or the indexes for references to
Aster ericoides. Similarly, instead of searching for "prozac"
and "children," you may have to use the subject "Depression
in Children" and find references to Prozac. |
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See an
of the "Basic Search Option" in WebCat |
See
an
of the "Advanced Search Option" in WebCat |
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