Week Ten - Online Libraries & Databases 11/05/07

Lecture
Online libraries are convenient, can access many resources, journals are updated frequently, electronic formats are easy to make notes by copying and pasting, and can be accessed anytime anywhere. There are five types of online libraries which are online text repositories, online journals, electronic books, musical and artworks. The bad thing about online libraries is that often only the catalogue is online and this lets users browse and search the collections, a lot of libraries will require a fee to use its resources and the media item's quality may be reduced. Referencing online libraries is vital and has to be in APA format. Online databases are organised collections of information. They are similar to online libraries; it has search, browse, collecting and distribution tools. There are seven types of online databases which are people search, email directories, genealogy resources, maps and atlases, government information and statistics, news and media, and portals. The pros of online databases is that it is comprehensive, current, browsable, searchable, 24/7 access and it is in an electronic format. The cons of online databases are many databases is only accessible through subscription, there are lots of advertisements, navigation is difficult and there is too much information. Online libraries and databases are a very useful source of information, they are very similar, some cost money and some are free, and they are updated frquently.

Workshop
Ten useful things on the online library at ECU is the information about the ECU library, the resources for students, researchers and staff, referencing, multimedia resources, document delivery, loan services, catalogues, databases, websites and podcasts.
In the http://www.medlineplus.com/ there are 165 tutorials to choose from and I chose the Exercising for a Healthy Heart. Doctors, nurses, chemists and medical students may use this site to learn valuable information from it and they can get a lot of information from this site rather than having to search several other sites.

Summary
I looked around the ECU Online Library. Listed ten useful functions I have found on the Online Library. I entered the MEDline Plus website to look at health topics. I chose to pick Exercising for a Healthy Heart and searched for it in the website and then I did a tutorial on Exercising for a Healthy Heart. Then I wrote down who I thought would use this website and why they would use it.