Ebsco Host via The Buena Park Library District
Curriculum: Education and Research
Suitable from elementary and up
Annotation: Ebsco Host is a subscription online database provided via The Buena Park Library District.
Summary: The Buena Park Library District subscribes to an online database entitled Ebsco Host. Though everyone with a Buena Park Library card is able to access this feature, it is geared toward students of all ages for research purposes. Within this subscription of Ebsco Host, there are five different kinds of databases. Funk and Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia provides over 25,000 encyclopedic entries on a variety of subjects. MAS Ultra- School Edition is specifically aimed towards high school students as it provides more than 360 full text reference books, 85,670 biographies, over 107,000 primary source documents, and an Image Collection of over 510,000 photos, maps & flags, color PDFs and expanded full text backfiles (back to 1975) for key magazines. MasterFILE Premiere is specifically designed for public libraries as it provides full text for nearly 1,700 general reference publications with full text information dating as far back as 1975. Covering virtually every subject area of general interest, MasterFILE Premier also contains full text for nearly 500 reference books and over 164,400 primary source documents, as well as an Image Collection of over 502,000 photos, maps & flags. This database is updated daily via EBSCOhost. Middle Search Plus is aimed towards middle school students as it provides more than 140 popular, middle school magazines. All full text articles included in the database are assigned a reading level indicator (Lexiles). Full text is also available for thousands of biographies and historical essays. Middle Search Plus also contains 84,774 biographies, 105,786 primary source documents, and a School Image Collection of photos, maps and flags. And Primary Search is aimed towards elementary school students as it provides more than 70 popular, magazines for elementary school research. All full text articles included in the database are assigned a reading level indicator (Lexiles), and full text information dates as far back as 1990.
Critical Evaluation: This is a smart idea by the Buena Park Library District. The library saves some man power by providing this subscription database to those who need it twenty four hours a day. All you need is a library card, which is free, therefore access to the database is free as well. Ebsco Host is also very versatile providing a database to every age demographic. There is one for elementary, middle school, high school, college, and anyone else who want to use the database. The interface on each database is consistent and easy to use with a search bar that provides different options such as advanced search, visual search, and the different search options. The latter is of most importance where the user can search by different search mode, have the option of it being peer reviewed, full text, and so on. This is a win-win for both the library and its patrons. The library is able to provide information via a digital resource, making its website more interactive, keeping up with the times, and making a good impression on its patrons. Its patrons get to access the information they desire from the comfort of their own homes and all for free.
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