Reference Services

Electronic Resources

Since 1982, the Reference Department has provided computer-based information resources to library users. Online database access via the DIALOG Information Retrieval Service was initiated by Murle Kenerson, who at that point had sole responsibility for providing this resource to the University community. Subsequent involvement by Reference Department faculty in two grant projects supported by the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE), U.S. Department of Education, provided training opportunities for other library faculty and staff from TSU, as well as providing additional financial resources to underwrite costs for access to this computer system.

The DIALOG system now provides access to millions of documents and data in over 650 different databases, with the capability to meet information needs by providing relevant information in virtually every subject area. As a result, DIALOG remains the "backbone" of electronic information access in the Reference Department.

The Reference Department has also provided a number of resources in compact disk (CD-ROM) database format, first from stand-alone workstations, which allowed only one user at a time, then migrating to the local access network (LAN) format, allowing multiple users to search individual databases simultaneously. As a result of the widespread availability of Internet connections, the CD-ROM format is being superseded by direct Internet access to systems and databases. Due to the technical assistance provided by library and University computer specialists, a number of databases which were once accessed only by CD-ROM, are now available to users by direct linkages from the TSU Library homepage on the World Wide Web.

Users accessing the TSU computer network on campus or from remote sites can now interface with library resources in book and/or periodical formats by connecting to Online Catalog and/or Databases as listed in the website.

The system has been upgraded to allow full access to selected databases for TSU users, who are identified by either their campus identification numbers or their TSU electronic mail (e-mail) addresses. Many databases are capable of providing full-text journal articles, along with bibliographic citations, abstracts of data, and/or other document types. Some of these databases include Academies of Science Abstracts, Agricola, Carl UnCover, CINAHL (Online Resources), and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO), Disclosure, EDGAR, EiTech Index, ERIC, ERIC Digest, EthnicNewsWatch, FindLaw, GPO, Grateful Med, InfoPlease, InfoTrac, Lexis-Nexis, Marcive Web DOCS-Express Search, MEDLINE, MLA, OCLC's FIRSTSEARCH, and PsycInfo. For more information concerning databases available through the library, please visit the Electronic Resource section of the Brown-Daniel Library home page.

While these systems are constantly changing in order to stay competitive in the information marketplace, adding new features which make them more "user-friendly," the Library and the Reference Department remain committed to providing as much quality and quantity in electronic reference services as our resources will allow.