Database vs catalog

In the world of libraries, the term “database” is commonly used to refer to electronic indexes of periodical literature ( journals, magazines, newspapers, and so on). Use the library databases to find articles on your topic. Some databases only provide abstracts, while others provide full text.

Catalogs are used to represent the library’s holdings, both electronic and print. Think of the old days and the card catalog. We’re talking about the same thing here, just that library catalogs today are web based and accessible via the library website. Use the library catalogs Lumen and Prospector to find the books you need.

A bit more about catalogs. Many libraries allow you to link to electronic resources via their catalog. For example, in the Lumen catalog you can find catalog records with links to electronic books, journals, and thesis. Keep in mind that although you can find links to electronic journals in the library catalog, what you cannot do is search for specific articles, just the journal title itself. So as a general rule: databases for articles searches, catalogs for book searches.

*On this blog, information about the library catalogs and databases can be found in the Databases category

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Manage your database search results

Most of the library databases offer you the option of marking items in your search results and placing them in a temporary folder. The following screenshots are taken from the EBSCO platform:

1. First, look for a check box or folder icon to the left or right of the item in your search results. Click the check box or folder icon to add the item to your temporary list or folder.
   
2. Second, look for a link just above your search results that says “saved” items or in the EBSCO family of databases, “folder has items”. Click this link to view only those items that you have marked or placed in the temporary folder.
   
3. The folder or list or marked items is temporary and will be erased as soon as you log-out or close the database! So you need to do something with these items. The easiest and most effective is to email them to yourself. Be aware also, the print and save features refer to the database record, no the actual article.
   

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