TCPL Information Treasures Revealed

The Ithaca Journal
April 23, 2007
by Lawrence Carey, Adult Services Librarian

The Tompkins County Public Library, with the support of our community, has developed into a state-of-the-art center for learning, entertainment and self-improvement. Your library offers you personalized service from dedicated staff, access to organized information and library materials, all in a comfortable facility.

But, did you know that much of the library's electronic (digital) information and services are available over the Internet through the library Web site at http://www.tcpl.org/? We have become a virtual library by enabling remote access from any computer connected to the Internet. This virtual online information is available to you 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and gives you the ability to search the library catalogue, access your library account to renew and reserve items, ask reference questions, read about library news, events and exhibits, and much more.

Also available is a virtual treasure trove of information, which can be described as “specialized collections of searchable digital information,” often referred to as “databases.” These databases are comprised of a vast amount of information that is not readily available by searching the Internet, and they are comprised of full-text searchable archives of magazines, newspapers, books, documents and other reference sources.

In today's age of open access to information it is unfortunate that people in our community, and many communities around the nation, are not aware of the wealth of specialized online information available to them from libraries. Many people are relying primarily on free Internet information using search engines such as Google for their information needs. However, as a librarian I often meet people who look everywhere for information, even using Google, and come up empty-handed. Yet when I show them how easily they could find exactly what they need in a library database, they are amazed and delighted.

Perform a Google search for Consumer Reports reviews and get an offer to buy a subscription to their magazine to access the reviews. Search the library's online magazine database collection and connect to 9,611 full-text Consumer Reports articles from 1991 to present, for free. A Google search for Newsweek articles will result in an offer to purchase articles for $2.95 each or 25 articles for $35.00. Connect to our online resources and gain access to 81,733 full-text Newsweek articles from 1990 to present. Hard to believe? Yet these are only two examples of a multitude of specialized information treasures available to you from our library.

Our library subscribes to a wide variety of specialized databases that can be accessed in the library or virtually by remote access with a Tompkins County Public Library card. To access this information go to the library Web site at http://www.tcpl.org/, click on “Magazines and Databases Online” and enter the barcode number on the back of your library card. All of our database collections offer organized, reliable and searchable information that is not available on the “free” Internet. If you need assistance or have questions about accessing our online collections, visit or call the reference desk at 272-4556.

To quote Mel Brooks, “It's Good To Be King.” Well, it's good being a librarian. Having the opportunity to bring relevant information to the lives of so many people in our community makes me feel like a “virtual” prince of knowledge.
Some of the Information treasures that await you:

• Rosetta Stone — Learn one or more of 30 languages online through this interactive language program. Select a language and choose a language skill you want to develop: listening comprehension, reading, speaking or writing.
• MasterFILE Premier Magazines and Newspapers — Access to 1,700 full-text magazines, newspapers and journals, 500 reference books, 84,000 biographies, 5,000 book reviews and an image collection of 202,164 photos.
• Reference USA — Search 14 million U.S. and 1 million Canadian Businesses by name, location and industry type, size and yellow page heading. A valuable resource for company research, marketing and business start-up. Also search 120 million U.S. households by name, address, phone number, zip code, street and much more.
• NoveList Fiction Guide — A fiction reader's guide to finding new authors and titles. Allows readers to select a favorite author or title as a starting point to locate other authors and titles of interest. Browse more than 1,200 theme-oriented book lists, 160 awards lists and 1,800 fiction related Web sites.
• HeritageQuest Online Genealogy — Research family history from 20,000 books, the entire U.S. Federal Census from 1730-1930 and 1.9 million genealogy and local history articles.
  

Lawrence Carey is an Adult Services Librarian at the Tompkins County Public Library. The TCPL's column appears on the fourth Monday of each month.