By Piper Sartison
Elm Staff Writer
On Feb. 11, the Washington College Clifton Miller Library announced that they acquired the database Access World Bank for students to use for research.
According to the email, this database will provide students with accessible material, ranging from historical to current newspapers from all over the world.
“This database provides a lot of built-in support with its advanced features that facilitate a more intuitive user experience,” Director of Public Services and Faculty Librarian in STEM Alexandria Baker said. “Much like others in our collection, the interface allows users to easily refine their results, specify a desired word count, and quickly see previews of source materials. User interface design and user experience are important to us.”
According to Baker, she believes that Access World News will give students the opportunity to explore topics related to science, fine arts, humanities, and more, as many expressed wanting additional sources alongside the accessible database Nexus Uni.
Currently, “Members of our team are constantly soliciting the input of students and faculty when developing our collections,” Baker said. “We consider the informational needs of our library users, areas of opportunity, and keep our gaze fixed on what’s the ‘latest and greatest’ in library resources. We also factor in the data we have concerning the usage of other resources.”
According to Electronic Resources Librarian Cori Arnold, Access World Bank is made up of three different archives and databases: Black Life in America, which covers the experiences of Black Americans from the 18th century to the modern day; research collection Hispanic Life in America; and Access World News, which similarly covers the experiences of Hispanic and Latinx Americans to the present.
Additionally, this specific database gives students the opportunity to access local news outlets from around the world.
“If you needed to know something that happened today, you could do research on that in Access World News,” Arnold said.
According to Arnold, once the database is affordable and efficient, they will begin to “work with the vendor to gain access to [the database] by essentially paying for it.”
With the two different systems in place, Arnold said she believes that this will provide the WC community with efficient context with multiple different sources. The Miller Library faculty is also currently looking for students to use this new database.
“Members of our team are constantly soliciting the input of students and faculty when developing our collections,” Baker said. “We consider the informational needs of our library users, areas of opportunity, and the keep our gaze fixed on what’s [new] in library resources.”
“We also factor in the data we have concerning the usage of other resources. Access World News filled an important gap in our collection,” she said.
Although Access World News will provide students with historical context, according to Baker, there is an additional “Hot Topics” section that presents information on national current events.
“With some many emerging technologies and new developments spanning every field of interest, it’s a great way to capture what’s happening in the world around us,” Baker said.
Photo by Olivia Dorsey
Featured Photo Caption: In expanding their digital archives, the Washington College Clifton Miller Library installed a new database called Access World Bank, which includes the research collections Black Life in America, Access World News, and Hispanic Life in America. Faculty members are currently encouraging students to test this new database.