New databases, bird flu, and you!
Bird flu! It’s in the news.
Maybe your patrons are wondering about it. Maybe they’ve already transformed into giant chickens themselves! That’s what bird flu does right? I read that somewhere on the internet.
Just kidding! When I go looking for information online, I start with library databases. I love Wikipedia dearly, but sometimes it will lead me astray. Just look at this link! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_Flu.
Luckily for me, POWER Library has provided two new databases that can help with health information and much more: Health and Wellness and Academic OneFile Select, both from our pals at Gale. As with other Gale products, they look almost the same but contain different information aimed at different audiences.
Health and Wellness contains full-text articles from medical publications and reference works, but also from more popular, general media outlets with a focus on health information that is approachable for a general audience. Here are the results for a search for “bird flu” with a publication date limiter of the “past month.”
Notice that it leads with four audio clips from various NPR programs. Health and Wellness is for a general audience looking for reliable information that doesn’t get too deep into medical jargon.
However, if your patrons do want jargon, we now have Academic OneFile Select!
This resource is geared toward students, researchers, and curriculum-based learners. It provides access to full text articles across many disciplines, not just health, as well as also vocational/technical training material for students who are studying the trades. A nice complement to BlueCareer!
But back to the chickens. If I do the same search for “bird flu” with that “past month” time limiter, I get results that may not be appropriate for a lay audience but will definitely help with a college student’s research.
These new resources provide information for a variety of different types of patrons and are now live on the eLibrary website. Check them out!
-Mary, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
