At yesterday’s Reference Roundtable we discussed various databases subscribed to by single libraries. One that was deemed useful--and inexpensive! was The Global Road Warrier. Here is a link to the book version of the product, which calls itself the “175-Country Handbook for the International Business Communicator and Traveler.”
http://www.worldtradepress.com/Global_Road_Warrior.html
To take a look at the online product, go to http://www.globalroadwarrior.com/index2.asp A brief look shows a database will be great for travelers—for questions like “Can I use my cell phone in the country I’m going to? What kind of electrical current do they have? Are there discount train passes? Can I find an internet café?” But there is more, including lots of information for uses other than travel. The Society & Culture section includes a great section Life Cycles that details the society’s customs of marriage, family, old age and death. Just think of the homework questions this could answer! Free trials are available. Questions? Both David Murphy in Duxbury and Moira Cavanaugh in Braintree subscribe to the service, and neither town pays more than $300, including home access. Hingham has added NovelistPlus, the nonfiction adjunct to EBSCO’s Novelist. They love it, so either take the tour at
http://support.epnet.com/training/flash_videos/PlusTourFiles/NoveListPlusTour.htm
or call Kathy Leahy for her thoughts on the product.
I did a demo of Google Scholar’s new attempt to help users get access to the full text of articles listed by linking the user to his public library’s databases. If you are in OCLN library, go to Google Scholar and do a search. (Let me know how this works from CLAMS.) Scan the citations displayed, keeping an eye out for AONE Full Text @ MBLC Warning—this is not ready for prime-time, ‘cause clicking on the link does not actually bring you to the article—yet! But it’s a way to use the fabulous google search engine to come up with great articles ---and be assured that the full text is a step away. To see the process work better, go to the new BPL homepage and click electronic resources. At the bottom of the page, click on
Do you use Google Scholar?
Include Full-Text @ BPL content in Google Scholar results
Valid BPL library card required for remote access. (sign up for an ecard if you need one!)
Give it a try--it's the wave of the future, as libraries try to meet their patrons where they lurk...on google...and then lure them into the databases that give them free access to articles they need.
Linda Beeler, Thomas Crane Library, Quincy
