When it comes to databases and journal article retrieval there’s really no such thing as TMI. You never know what random bit of information you’ll find from some of our most unique databases in the A-Z list. You may look at this list and think “I’ll never need that.” But challenge yourself to think beyond what you need, starting with a few of the databases mentioned below, FYI.
Soon you’ll be singing a different tune about your daily life like, “Yoho, Yoho a Viking’s life for me.” The Daily Life Thru History database gives you organized and accessible info about eras from as far back as 10,000 BCE Greece to modern day America. Know your ancestry? Find out more about what it meant to be “from there.” And you think your sniffles are bad? Read up on daily life during the Black Death!
Have you seen the YouTube video “Stuff” Girls Say and the various iterations of it based on ethnicity? If you haven’t, you should go look it up right now. How about a parody using info from the database British and Irish Women’s Letters and Diaries? It covers the years 1500 to 1950 and is searchable for everything from courtship customs to what’s for dinner in their own words. I see an awesome student project written all over this! Besides, when else can you read someone’s diary and not get caught?
Use it before you lose it. Your brain, that is. What better way to be prepared for the zombie apocalypse than delving into the Caribbean Literature database? Zombie lore originates in Caribbean culture; maybe if you read like a zombie they won’t notice you’re still a human. Don’t forget to use the search term zombi* (as this is the original spelling of the word and adding the * will find multiple endings.) BRAAAIINNNSSSS!
No matter what your gender or sexual identity may be those definitions affect every aspect of how we live our lives. The GenderWatch database accesses articles from 300 different publications dealing with those identities and issues; women’s movements, men’s studies, and info on the transgendered community all intersect here. For a truly investigative approach select “biographical” from the advanced search menu to read about real people dealing with real gender-related issues.
Someday researchers will look back at our social networking sites and wonder why on earth we felt the need to publicize our significant-other spats, medical maladies and universal eulogies. Was it an obsession, narcissism, or just plain ole loneliness? Well that someday is today; you can already read the research being conducted about social sites. And NO, you can’t read about it on Facebook; try the Communication & Mass Media Complete database instead.
Have you used one of the library databases to broaden your mind? Did you find a bit of information you didn’t even know you were looking for? Tell us about it on our library Facebook page!