Ebsco

Good news, everyone! New databases for all!

Recently, staff evaluated two new Ebsco resources that aim to fill gaps in our electronic job and career resources: BlueCareer for career information about the trades, and FinancialFit for personal finance and financial literacy. These topics continue to be popular with patrons, and the new learning tools will enhance and support our work. 

We plan to have these resources up and running in early November, so it’s a good idea to get a sneak peek ahead of time. Let Hilary or Mary know if you have any questions. Both databases will be available to all Allegheny County library card holders. Check them out!

Blue Career  

This new workforce development platform from EBSCOlearning is the one-stop shop for members of your community to explore the skilled trades industry, start their careers, connect with employers and more. 

You can click here to view the experience of a job seeker or employer through short demo videos. 

FinancialFit  

FinancialFit includes a curated collection of personal finance lessons, videos and interactive tools that empower all members of our community — no matter their current financial situation — to make good financial decisions and achieve their financial goals. 

If you would like a more in-depth walk-through of both these resources, you can click here to view the recorded video presentation that Ebsco provided for the evaluation team. 

It’s our hope that these news tools will offer robust coverage for subject areas that weren’t previously addressed in our eResources. Let me know what you think!

-Mary, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

Continue ReadingGood news, everyone! New databases for all!

Company Profiles & Investment Research Resources

Did you know that the library offers several resources to help researchers, investors and the general public learn more about companies and businesses?

The Consumer & Business resources link on the county eLibrary site provides access to several databases with a wealth of information.

Business Source Elite

For anyone researching the background profile of a company or business, they can start with Business Source Elite from EBSCO. This helpful resource offers Company Profile reports which break down key facts, company history, key employees, major products/services, top competitors, as well as company locations & subsidiaries.

Screen shot of EBSCO Business Source Elite site
Company Profiles can be found in the top menu (circled) of the Business Source Elite database.

Business Insights: Essentials

To get more detailed information about a company, researchers can use Business Insights: Essentials. In addition to basic information, this resource links to academic journals, investment reports, news, and trade journals. Furthermore, it provides links to related subjects like financial data, legal issues, management and company statistics.

Business Insights: Essentials provides in-depth company background information and related news.

Morningstar Investment Research

Finally, if patrons are looking for information specific to financials and investments, a great go-to source is Morningstar Investment Research. This trusted resource provides all sorts of financial information from stock ticker data to company ratings & performance, Morningstar analyst reports, company portfolio information and so much more.

Happy researching!

Richelle @ Sewickley Public Library

Continue ReadingCompany Profiles & Investment Research Resources

What’s Next?

Nothing is better than finding a good book and finding out it’s a series to keep it going. However, it is not always clear what title to start with or which title comes next.

The Kent District Library, in Kent County, Michigan, created the What’s Next: Books in Series Database to help search series. They define a series as two or more books linked by character(s), settings, or other common traits. The database is searchable by author last name, author first name, name of a series, book title, category or genre. It is the perfect resource if you need a printed list of titles.

Fantastic Fiction is also a great resource for keeping up with your favorite authors and series. When searching an author, you can see all their series in order and all their titles that are not a part of a series. A unique feature of Fantastic Fiction is series that are not tied by author, for example the various Star Wars and Star Trek series. 

Of course, there is the Novelist Plus database! Like the others, Novelist provides author’s series, but a feature that makes Novelist stand out is the Read-alikes specifically for series!

Happy reading!

Leigha Lamont @ Wilkinsburg Public Library & Eastridge Branch

Continue ReadingWhat’s Next?

Digging into Database Content

Most of us are generally familiar with how a database works, how to perform a simple search and download an article. But do you know which sources of information make up those results pages?

All of that information is readily available for you to discover, if you have the time.  Having an idea of some of the most common magazines, reference sources, and journals make up the database content might make answering patron questions easier.  Having that information will allow you to recommend more appropriate resources to assist in research.

MasterFile Premier title sources can be downloaded as Excel or HTML files from here: https://www.ebsco.com/products/research-databases/masterfile-premier . Included in the information is data on the start and stop date of full text data, web publishing delay information (embargo), and PDF availability.  This can be helpful, especially for patrons doing research with a specific publication target date.

Let’s take a look at how our patrons are using specific resources. In 2017 these magazines/journals are included in the most downloaded in Allegheny County:

  • Consumer Reports
  • American Record Guide
  • Knight-Ridder Business Newsfeed
  • Library Journal
  • Consumer Reports Buying Guide
  • USA Today
  • Publishers Weekly
  • Talent Development
  • New Yorker
  • Christian Science Monitor
  • Time

You can find title lists for other resources as well.  To find title lists for Gale products like US History inContext, Literature Resource Center, or Opposing Viewpoints inContext scroll to the bottom of the page after you are inside the product and click on “About…”.  On the about page you will find title lists available.

Dustin/ Lynne, Sewickley Public Library

Continue ReadingDigging into Database Content