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By Katie Carsky / Assoc. Features Editor
Designed by Alex Farrell / Staff Designer
M
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Your
All-Access Pass
BC Gavel
to the
bc libraries
ost students hear the word “database�
Library Materials > Research Databases.
and cringe, because it usually
While these databases are definitely useful
signifies one thing: research paper.
for classes, many of them may actually be of
This brings to mind countless hours miserably
interest to students outside of academic work.
spent cooped up in the library, which is not
The BC library system has implemented this
a pleasant association. But perhaps writing a
system to help students learn more about a
paper is not the only function that a database
host of topics, such as fashion, stocks, nature,
can serve.
literature and current events, among many
The library system at Boston College offers
14
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others.
an array of online databases free of charge
One database, Factiva, provides access to
to students. Many of these databases would
newspapers, magazines and other publications.
be extremely expensive to subscribe to as an
It includes over 32,000 sources in a whopping
individual, but students have access to them
28 different languages from nearly any
year-round, and completely free of charge. To
country imaginable. Factiva was the product
access them, students must simply visit the BC
of collaboration between companies such as
University Libraries homepage and click Find
Microsoft, Oracle, IBM and Yahoo.
December 2014