Submitted October 18

    As an employee of the Wheaton College library, I am no stranger to the value of database FirstSearch.  In fact, Wheaton uses FirstSearch to conduct interlibrary loan activity.  Although I am familiar with the site, before being assigned this project, I had not taken the time to explore the database as if I was considering whether or not it would be a worthwhile investment for a library.  Upon investigating the suggested portions of the website, and some others that caught my attention along the way, I realized that it is well worth the investment.

     FirstSearch is an online database that serves as a reference tool; in fact, it is a master database that houses approximately seventy five databases.  Produced by OCLC, it has been in service since 1991.  The databases covered in FirstSearch span a range of subject area: art, literature, science, to name a few.  In other words, a subscription to FirstSearch allows users to access information from all databases, without having to individually subscribe to each one.  If a user is unsure of the type of information found on a particular database, more details are readily available.  A click on a database can reveal the subjects covered in that database, the number of sources, number of records, dates covered, frequency of updates, producer information, and copyright.  While it would be impossible to obtain expertise knowledge in all of the databases, FirstSearch makes information on each database readily available, so that users can learn about them as they search. 

       FirstSearch provides users with access to over ten million full text/image articles.  Users can choose from three levels of searching: basic, advanced, and expert.  Searching is user friendly:  a title search can be limited to a single word, part of a longer title, or the entire title name.  Searches can also be limited to full text articles or simply all relevant articles.  In addition to searching by title, users can also search by ISSN, browse by letter, list by database, or download lists of letters.  The “tips” provided underneath the search blocks are a special feature that assist users by suggesting things like searching by part of a title or using wildcard characters.  In addition to providing the title, author, publication, year, description, language, and ISBN, search results also produce the availability of the material in other libraries (worldwide), as well as the user’s library.  A direct link allows the user to immediately request the material via interlibrary loan, should the user’s library not have the material.

       There are two ways to purchase FirstSearch: via subscription or special per-search pricing.  Interested consumers who already have a membership to OCLC receive a discount.  Whether public or academic, this master database is a user friendly tool that would only enhance what a library has to offer its patrons.