Introduction

Database Orientation

Popular Databases

Subject List

Alphabetical List

Online Reference Books

Off-Campus Access

E-Journal List

Printable Checklist

Printable Checklist

Databases cover a wide variety of sources, including article indexes, full-text article resources, dictionaries, encyclopedias and more. Through these resources, you can find newspaper, magazine, journal and newspaper articles, electronic books, and other types of information. Article databases are the most common type of database. Some article databases provide the full-text of articles. Others may provide only a summary or citation to an article. That article may then be found full-text in another database, in the library, or from another library through interlibrary loan.

At ISU, there are several ways you can access our databases from the library home page. There are six main headings for our database pages:

Popular Databases (http://library.indstate.edu/level1.dir/popular.html)
If you don't know which database to search, use the Popular Databases web page. It provides quick access to the most used resources on campus and is arranged in question format.

Subject List (http://panther.indstate.edu/subject.asp)
If you know what subject area you want to do your research in, but don't know which databases are the best resources in that area, use the Library Databases by Subject Area web page. There are lists for more than twenty subject areas.

Alphabetical List (http://panther.indstate.edu/dbalphalist.asp)
If you know which database you want to search, use the Alphabetical List. All of our databases are found in this A-Z list. The Alphabetical List features a Reviews button that lets you view starred reviews of individual databases. Read reviews created by members of the ISU community or create your own database reviews if you like. Also available from this page are links to the New Databases and Database Trials web pages.

Online Reference Books (http://panther.indstate.edu/ereftype.asp)
For highly-regarded, online reference books, use the Online Reference Books web page. Included here are links to: almanacs & encyclopedias, dictionaries, directories, general resources, maps & atlases, mega reference sites, statistical data, style guides, and utilities.

Off-Campus Access (/services/distance/proxy_instructions.html)
If you want to search library databases outside the ISU campus, follow the instructions found on the Off-Campus Access web page. This procedure is required because the library must limit access to most of our resources to the ISU community only. The username and password that you use to enter the proxy server is the same as your Portal ID and password. If you don't know your username and password or have problems getting access, the instructions provide contact information for assistance.

The library's E-Journal List (http://library.indstate.edu/level1.dir/ejournals/jnlsIndex.html) offers another way to access articles from our databases. If you are trying to find out if the library has online access to a particular journal, magazine or newspaper, you should use the E-Journal List. You don't need to know which database the journal is available in. This list, which covers more than 20,000 electronic periodicals, will give you that information.