Bridge to TexShare for Small/Rural Libraries
Bridge to TexShare for Small/Rural Libraries
TexShare Databases | Subject Pathfinders | Search Tips | TexShare FAQ | Resources

Resources for K-12 Students

TexShare offers databases that students can use as a resource to help them complete homework assignments and research personal interests.

What is a Database?

It can be difficult trying to explain to a young student what exactly a database is. Perhaps it would help to describe the TexShare databases as just another branch of their library. Rather than walking through physical doors to browse the shelves for materials, they will visit this library on the internet. Most young students understand that to find what they are looking for in the library they need to head to the right section. As an example, a visitor wouldn't automatically head for the magazine rack if what they want is a DVD. You can convey that the same principle applies with the various TexShare databases. This will help them understand how their assignment or specific interests dictate which database they need to search.

Why should students use TexShare and the databases it offers for their school work?

TexShare databases can help them find articles, biographies, pictures and more from a large collection of sources. It searches through magazines, books, news articles and more, depending on which database you're using. The databases that Texshare offers are usually focused on a theme and include information that is much more trustworthy, complete, and up-to-date than the information found using a search engine on the Internet. The articles and information in the databases can be read online, printed out, or sometimes emailed.

So how can we guide them to the right place? To help get you started we've created a list of groups divided by grade level. For each group you will find some suggestions for age-appropriate databases. This list is followed by a brief explanation of the contents found in these databases.

For Students in Elementary School

For Students in Middle School

For Students in High School

About the Databases:

eLibrary Curriculum Edition

eLibrary CE offers a broad range of full-text and multimedia content that supports student research. The easy-to-use interface helps users find answers from more than 2,000 full-text magazines, newspapers, reference books, and transcripts. Also included are thousands of pictures, maps, audio/video content, and educator-approved websites from Homework Central™. The database includes the following two special collections: ProQuest Learning: Literature (which offers a comprehensive integrated literary reference resource for original full-text works, author biographies, literary criticism, and more), and History Study Center (which includes thousands of primary and secondary sources covering ancient to modern U.S. and world history).

Kids Search

This database contains information that spans most every discipline (Animals, Arts & Music, Geography, Health, In the News, Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies and even Sports). The interface is laid out using mostly graphics and is extremely user friendly for young audiences.

Literature Resources from Gale

This databse provides information on authors and their works, biographies, bibliographies, and critical analyses from every time period and literary subject. It includes novelists, poets, essayists, journalists, and other writers such as philosophers, filmmakers, and anthropologists. When accessing this database with a student, be sure to change your "target audience" in the limiters section to achieve the best possible search results.

MasterFILE Premier

MasterFILE Premier provides full text for more than 1,950 general reference, business, consumer, health, general science, and multi-cultural periodicals. It also contains full text for nearly 500 reference books, 84,500 biographies, 100,500 primary source documents, and an image collection of 202,000 photos, maps, and flags.

NetLibrary eBooks

NetLibrary is a comprehensive collection of online books (eBooks) and resource materials. When using NetLibrary, you can search every word in the entire collection, as well as search within a particular eBook.

Searchasaurus

Searchasaurus is designed for elementary school students. Databases included in Searchasaurus are: Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, Ebsco Animals, Primary Search, and The American Heritage Children's Dictionary. The database also includes a nonfiction book collection as well as pictures.

Student Research Center

Designed especially for youth in grades 6-12, the Student Research Center can be searched by keyword or by topic. The subject areas covered are history, literature, science, and social studies. For example, is there a writer, scientist, or president, you need to write a report or learn more about? This database has 85,000 biographies, essays, and overviews (summaries) that will provide you with relevant information for this type of project. Online access is available to other materials like newspapers, journals, photographs, and even primary documents such as original speeches, letters, interviews, and diaries. This database even includes multimedia materials such as graphics, animation, audio and video clips.

RESOURCES

To cite information found on these databases:

Visit the University of Maryland's Virtual Academic Laboratory at http://www.umuc.edu/distance/odell/cip/vail/students/citation/examples.html

Terms:

database- A structured set of data held in a computer; online collections of journals and other information sources that may be searched at the same time. Each database has its own information, usually having a subject or focus.

Adapted from The Oxford American Dictionary of Current English. Oxford University Press, 1999.

search engine- A program that lets you search the Internet using keywords. It tries to index or file web sites of information and finds web sites based on the words that match the words that a person typed into the search box. Examples: AltaVista and Google.

The Concise Oxford English Dictionary. Ed. Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson. Oxford University Press, 2004.

For further information on TexShare databases send questions and comments to texshare@tsl.state.tx.us.

This page was written by Ana C. Loya in Spring 2006.
This page was revised by Lianne Valerio in Spring 2009.
INF 382S: Library Instruction and Information Literacy, taught by Dr. Loriene Roy
School of Information, The University of Texas at Austin

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