What Happened to ProQuest?
Here’s the story: The State of Wisconsin’s contract with database vendors, which provided access to ProQuest and Ethnic NewsWatch, ended June 30.
But not to worry. The new contract provides an expanded version of EBSCOhost which will hopefully make your searching transition relatively seamless.
Just a few highlights of the new EBSCO: Besides the addition of copious full-text magazine and journal articles, there’s Newspaper Source Plus, (takes the place of most of the old Proquest newspaper search); Consumer Health Complete (includes news and reports on health issues); Auto Repair Reference Center (lots of info on over 33,000 vehicles from 1945-present); Coin Career Library (has easy-to-use resume builder and plenty of info for the college-bound, including a ”College Finder” and ACT/SAT quizzes); NovelistPlus (now includes non-fiction titles), Novelist K-8, (provides all the reading help you’ll need for the kids, including book descriptions, reviews, discussion guides, and articles).
Sadly, however, the current contract does not include online access to the Capital Times archive. The library is currently exploring options to rectify this matter.
Check out the long list of new EBSCOhost offerings and see what you can find. And, as always, ask a librarian if you need any help.
Entry Filed under: Ashman Branch, Central Library, General News, Hawthorne Branch, Lakeview Branch, Meadowridge Branch, Monroe Street Branch, New Materials, Pinney Branch, Research Resources, Sequoya Updates, South Madison Branch, Web Site Changes
4 Comments Add your own
1. researcher | July 7th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Please do whatever it takes to get online access to the Capital Times archive. It’s been a major influence in the city for years. Students and others doing research on Madison may find that the Wisconsin State Journal hasn’t covered the same stories as the Capital Times, and vice-versa.
In the meantime, could you please advise library users about the best way to access the Capital Times’ archives? Going to their own archive site isn’t always the answer.
2. Tana | July 10th, 2009 at 11:42 am
We certainly will. The state contract for databases is wonderful for us public libraries because the state pays the costly database fees, but also gives us less control over what we have access to. Losing ProQuest was a bit of a surprise. We’re currently investigating four other services that may provide the coverage of the Capital Times and Wisconsin State Journal that we need.
Archival access to the Capital TImes and other papers is very tricky in the online world. Licensing agreements mean that only some of the printed content is available through any digital service, including ProQuest. Madison.com archives also don’t carry full content of print versions, again due to licensing agreements with freelance reporters and photographers and the increasing practice of pulling stories off of newswire services like Associated Press. Furthermore, with the Capital Times’ transition to a web-based service, much online content will never be archived fully.
Madison Public Library has two ways to access the complete version of printed papers: Newspaper Archive, which has digitized versions of both local papers up to 1977, and microfiche, which is only available at the Central Library. We also have microfiche access to the Isthmus, which is not included in any digital newspaper service.
3. Nancy McClements | August 5th, 2009 at 10:44 am
The LexisNexis database provides access to the Capital Times (and the Wisconsin State Journal) from 1992 to the present (with certain exceptions, see below). It is available in all UW-Madison libraries (remote access is not available to the general public). For information on using the UW libraries, see:
http://www.library.wisc.edu/visitors/access.html#onsite
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
COVERAGE: From January 01, 1992 through current COVERAGE-TYPE: Full-text FREQUENCY: Daily; Monday - Saturday UPDATE-SCHEDULE: Within 1 day of publication; except holidays; Saturday and Monday are available within 72 hours LANGUAGE: English CONTENT-SUMMARY:
Certain freelance articles previously available have been removed by LexisNexis
pursuant to the publisher’s directions.
Access to certain freelance articles and other features within this publication
(i.e. photographs, classifieds, etc…) may not be available.
4. Tana | August 6th, 2009 at 10:42 pm
Thanks, Nancy, for the reminder that people can use the UW-Madison libraries for digital access to our local newspapers and many other library resources. Madison Public Library is in the process of evaluating LexisNexis (a newer version of the database for public libraries), Newsbank, and ProQuest to determine what gives us best coverage for a price we can afford. Stay tuned!
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