What’s happening in the library?

Ever do any research? Have any students who ever do any research? Then you should be interested in knowing what’s available free via the National Library of Singapore — for anyone with a FIN [foreign identification number, i.e., an expat] or NRIC [national registration identification card, i.e., a citizen] number (NB: you don’t have to sign up for a library card to get access).

I always promote the National Library Board (NLB) (http://www.nlb.gov.sg) to parents and students as it’s an amazing resource (especially if you’ve been in countries with no English-language libraries or bookstores for several years). It gives you access to millions of books with high-tech convenience. You can search their catalog online (http://vistaweb.nlb.gov.sg/), have books delivered to your local branch for pick-up, etc. The price for foreigners is just S$ 21 a year (Regular Membership, borrowing up to four books) or $42 a year (Premium Membership, up to eight books at a time).

There’s also an extensive Digital Library available online, and until recently, I assumed I only had access to that because I had paid for Premium Membership. I was wrong — and now I feel the need to spread the news.

Anyone with a FIN or NRIC number can register online for the Digital Library and get instant access to 145 databases – many of them full-text ones — and the list includes many of the major databases you would find in a university library.

For example:
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EBSCOHost Academic Search Premiere:
Provides full-text for over 4,500 publications, including full-text for more than 3,600 peer-reviewed journals in subject areas such as biology, chemistry, engineering, physics, religion, arts and sociology. Titles include American Journal of Political Science, American Libraries, British Journal of Sociology, Contemporary Literature, International Journal of Psychology, and Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.

EBSCOHost MAS Ultra – Public Library Edition:
Provides full-text from more than 350 periodicals covering general reference topics, including health, science, and other areas. Includes indexing and abstracts for nearly 500 periodicals and full-text for hundreds of important pamphlets. Titles include Advertising Age, American Economist, American Family Physician, American Fitness, Business Week, Computerworld, Discover, Economist, Forbes, Foreign Affairs, Good Housekeeping, and Guitar Player.

EBSCOHost NoveList: [ENGLISH TEACHERS -- take note!]
Provides subject heading access, reviews, annotations, and more for over 135,000 fiction titles. Includes other content of interest to fiction readers, such as Author Read-alikes, Book Discussion Guides, BookTalks, and Feature Articles.

Project MUSE:
Project MUSE is a unique collaboration between libraries and publishers providing 100% full-text, affordable and user-friendly online access to over 300 high quality humanities, arts, and social sciences journals from 60 scholarly publishers.

ProQuest Science Journals:
Search full text and images from over 400 leading periodicals in science and technology. Subject coverage includes computers, engineering, physics, telecommunications, and transportation.

ProQuest Social Science Journals:
Search over 480 full text periodicals covering the social sciences. Titles include Economic Development and Cultural Change, Gender Issues, Human Rights Quarterly, International Social Work, Journal of Aging & Social Policy, Journal of Asian and African Studies.
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I encourage you to check out the full list of databases available. Just go to: http://tinyurl.com/2amv4n

To register for this Digital Library service, go to: http://tinyurl.com/272kp4
[NB: For the input field "Library Membership", simply select 'None' if you don't have a National Library card.]

This should be an invaluable resource for Extended Essay students, in particular. All they need to do is sign up individually. (According to the National Library, we can’t give our students access via our own institutional membership.)

Note: one way to “sell” these kinds of databases to students is to compare them to cable TV, i.e., the Internet is like the free television channels, while subscription databases are like the cable channels — you get better, more specific information/programs by paying. And the beauty of the National Library’s service is that it’s the government who is paying.

Let me know if you have any questions or problems accessing any of the links above — or want suggestions of databases that would be relevant to your subject area and/or students.