As part of the process of expanding its collection of online texts and resources, the AU library added new databases, including an 18th century works collection and a Congressional database, and is using new technology to link all its online materials.
The "18th century collections online" contains 150,000 printed works that appeared in the United Kingdom and the United States during the 18th century. The database is printable and is available to any AU student.
The library also added a Major Acts of Congress database that is also searchable by keyword. Clement Ho, reference and instruction librarian, said that in addition to this database, the library has several law databases that are easily searchable.
As of 2005, the AU Library had over 200,000 e-books and e-resource materials, according to Bender Library's annual report.
Most students don't realize how much easier it has become with the technology used in the library.
"For me, as a student 30 years ago, I looked up things in an index, in a volume, in a specific year," said Diana Vogelsong, acting AU librarian. "It's just amazing how much access there is for students at any hour."
"The best part about the database is that it's searchable by keyword," said Ho. "It's great if you need to find a specific quote."
The library uses a revolutionary piece of software, "SFX," that ties together all its databases. It exists as the small "find-it" button that appears on most searches done through the ALADIN database, said Claire Dygert of Bender Library.
If a person has a search hit in an online database such as Proquest but doesn't have the full journal article, the SFX software will search through all the library's journal subscriptions to see if access to the journal can be granted or if a hard copy can be located, Dygert said.
Despite all the advances to the library, Vogelsong said she does not believe that the modern library will become completely electronic and exist only in cyberspace. Since she came to the library in 1975 as a reference librarian, Vogelsong said she has seen the library become more of a 24-hour accessible data center. Students can check out books online and research journals and articles online at any hour from their dorm room, she said.
However, she said she does not see this as the downfall of the modern library, but as part of the changing face of libraries everywhere.
"There is too much out there to be digitized," Vogelsong said. "People see libraries as a community center, and some people like the feeling of being tucked away in a stack of books."
Vogelsong said she believes technology is the complement to the library, not the competition. She points to the remaining card catalog in the back of the library, which has been handwritten over the years by many different librarians.
Vogelsong said that the library plans to continue adding e-resources for students. This summer the library plans to have a large meeting to decide how it will pursue e-resources and e-resource platforms for the future, she said.
