1. Information Search
in Databases.
Adminstrative and
Legal Information
Veronika Rogalevich, veronik@tlu.ee
Tallinn University Institute of Information Studies
2. Database
• a collection of data/information that is organized so
that it can be easily accessed, managed, and
updated
• Is a phone directory on paper or dictioanry a
database?
• Database can be presented/created on different
medias
• Electronic database consists of digital records and
usually works in dialog-form – user sends query using
computer device and database presents results
(information records relevant to users’ query)
Tallinn University, Institute of
8.05.2012 2
Information Studies
3. Databases’ classification
• According to publication type: patents, legal
documents, standards, scientific journals etc.
• According to access possibilities: open access and
licensed databases;
• According to content type: bibliographic, full-text,
numeric, images;
• Online and offline: most of them are online
nowdays, but You can still find databases on
compact disks or hard disks of computers for local
use.
Tallinn University, Institute of
8.05.2012 3
Information Studies
4. Classification by
Carol Tenopir
10 types of databases by content:
1. Primary legal documents (laws, treaties, court
regulations)
2. Adminstrative and governmental
information, regulations, patents and other ofiicial
publications;
3. News and press-releases for journalists or other
press-specialists;
4. Newspapers’ news
5. News Agencies’ services
6. Information bulletans, broschures, papers
Tallinn University, Institute of
8.05.2012 4
Information Studies
5. Continues...
7. Encyclopedias, dictionaries, reference
guides, travel guides, lexicons;
8. Books (bibilographic descriptions) and e-books;
9. Scientific articles;
10. General non-specified articles;
Tallinn University, Institute of
8.05.2012 5
Information Studies
6. Database industry
• Electronic databases exist from early 1960-s
• Online databases’ production industry developed
in 1980-ies.
• There are many different institutions , who are
producing and developing databases: scientific
centres, universities, commercial organisations
• But also publishers, who are publishing scientific
journals and books;
• News agencies;
• Database distributors;
Tallinn University, Institute of
8.05.2012 6
Information Studies
7. Publishers:
electronic journals
• Most publishers have electronic versions of their
journals and many are publishing only electronical
journals and articles;
• Electronic journals are available only through
internet (online);
• How to search them:
o Browsing by titles of the journals
o Browsing in thematic catalogs or online catalogs
o Searching in search engines using Advanced search
• Example: Journals, avaiable in Tallinn University
Library:
http://atoz.ebsco.com/Titles/4161?lang=en&lang.menu=en&l
ang.subject=en
Tallinn University, Institute of
8.05.2012 7
Information Studies
8. Main publishers
• Wiley: http://eu.wiley.com/
• Elsevier, http://www.elsevier.com/
• Springer, http://www.springer.com
• SAGE: http://www.uk.sagepub.com
• Karger: http://www.karger.com/ (biomedical
science)
• Pearson: http://www.pearsonhighered.com/
• Academic journals are mostly expensive and
educational institutions buy an access to full texts
Tallinn University, Institute of
8.05.2012 8
Information Studies
9. Electronic books or e-books
• A book-length publication in digital
form, consisting of text, images, or both,
• Produced, published and readable on
computers or other electronic devices
• Many academic publishers produce
electronic versions of their textbooks and
study literature
• Some e-book publishers: Harper
Collins, Barnes & Noble, Academic
Press, Cambridge University
Press, O’Reilly, Palgrave
McMillan, Routledge etc.
Tallinn University, Institute of
8.05.2012 9
Information Studies
10. Ebrary
• Ebrary: http://www.ebrary.com/ e-books distributor
to libraries
• more than 4,500 library customers around the world
serving more than 19.2 million end-users
• Mostly static PDF-files with metadata
• Part of ProQuest, available through databases,
• It is possible to borrow e-books for short time through
ebrary
• Tallinn University Library has access to Academic
Complete database on eBrary – an e-book
collection spanning all academic subject areas.
Tallinn University, Institute of
8.05.2012 10
Information Studies
14. And more...
• Borrow an e-book using ELLIBS Library
• ESTER pin-code is needed!
• List of publications (e-books) available for
borrowing:
http://www.tlulib.ee/files/arts/200/Ellib03306c8e0a9
95f0c749b4c3c5bba6d94.pdf
• Different loan periods: from 1 day to 14 days.
• For borrowing you need to download and install
Adobe Digital Editions.
Tallinn University, Institute of
8.05.2012 14
Information Studies
15. Free e-books
• Questia (www.questia.com),
• Project Gutenberg
(http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page) ,
• Google Books: http://books.google.com/ – digitized
(skanned) e-books, not allowed to copy or print
• http://www.e-book.com.au/freebooks.htm
• Amazon textbook rental (20% of book cost, 30
days):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8
&docId=1000702481
• free Kindle reading apps for mobile devices
Tallinn University, Institute of
8.05.2012 15
Information Studies
16. Database manufacturers
or publishers
• Produce databases for libraries and other
information institutions
• Emerald, ISI, EBSCOHost, Bowker-Saur, Lexis-
Nexis, OCLC, Ingenta
• Development:
• Bibliographic index databases (only short
bibliographic records);
• Bibliographic databases with annotations;
• Full text articles’ databases
Tallinn University, Institute of
8.05.2012 16
Information Studies
17. Database distributors
• Companies that distribute databases from
producers to end-users.
• Usually they provide database using
environments, web-based interfaces for searching
in one or several databases.
• Database producers can also be distributors
• OCLC, WilsonWeb, EBSCOhost
• Distributors offer different types of databases from
different producers
• Sometimes it is better to co-operate with distributors
and sometimes with producers (if You are looking
for certain quality)
Tallinn University, Institute of
8.05.2012 17
Information Studies
18. Licenced databased in
Estonia
• Estonian Libraries Network Consortium (ELNET
Consortium): is purchasing many licenced
databases of e-resources for Estonian academic
libraries;
• The list: http://www.elnet.ee/projektid/yhishange/
• Money for purchasing: consortium membership fees
+ subsidies from governement
• Every University or institution can order additional
databases and e-resources
• Tallinn University Academic Library list of e-resources
and databases:
http://www.tlulib.ee/?LangID=2&CatID=267
Tallinn University, Institute of
8.05.2012 18
Information Studies
19. EHIS- databases
integrated search
• Login, select necessary databases (they are
grouped by discipline) and click Continue-button.
Tallinn University, Institute of
8.05.2012 19
Information Studies
21. Integrated search
possibilities
• Quick and Advanced search
• Refine search;
• Sorting the results (by date, by relevance);
• Limitation of the results;
• Saving the results to personal Folder;
• Subject’s keywords list (thesaurus term);
• List of found publications (by title);
• Download/save full texts;
• Sharing
• Permalink
• Articles in audio-form (in English only)
Tallinn University, Institute of
8.05.2012 21
Information Studies
23. E-newspapers
• PressDisplay database:
http://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/viewer.a
spx;
• provides access to over 1700 newspapers and
magazines from more than 90 countries in 48
languages.
• Access to up to 60 days of back issues for each title.
Limited to 5 concurrent users.
• Advanced search: boolean operators, newspaper
title, language, date,
• Browsing possibilites on main page of database
Tallinn University, Institute of
8.05.2012 23
Information Studies
24. News agencies
• News agencies create and sell news in real time
• News databases, archives, portals
• Possibilities: to read/listen/watch news, search by
different parameters and sort the results
• BNS: http://www.bns.ee/en/
• BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/
• Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/
• Associated Press: http://www.ap.org/
• Interfax: http://www.interfax.ru/
• STT (Finland): http://www.stt.fi/en
Tallinn University, Institute of
8.05.2012 24
Information Studies
25. Open Access databases of
scholar publications: DOAJ
• Directory of Open Access Journals www.doaj.org:
7314 journals, 3428 journals searchable at article
level, 685 945 articles
• Browsing by Journals or topics (disciplines)
• Search by keywords (from articles)
Tallinn University, Institute of
8.05.2012 25
Information Studies
26. Open access databases
• Open Science Directory: (journals mostly for
developing countries, but also for other research
institutions) http://www.opensciencedirectory.net/
• Resource Library: http://findarticles.com/ (Business
specific articles, dated from 1950-ies)
• Google Scholar: http://scholar.google.com/:
articles, theses, books, abstracts and court
opinions, from academic publishers, professional
societies, online repositories, universities etc.
• Advanced Search and Search Preferences, sorting
results, refine search
• InfoMine (Scholarly internet Resource Collection)
http://infomine.ucr.edu/
Tallinn University, Institute of
8.05.2012 26
Information Studies
27. State and administrative
information
• eGovernment: use of information and
communication technology to provide and
improve government services, transactions and
interactions with citizens, businesses, and other arms
of government.
• All European countries show eGovernment
initiatives, mainly related to the improvement of
governance at the national level.
• Significant eGovernment activities also take place
at the European Commission level
• Read more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EGovernment_in_Europe
Tallinn University, Institute of
8.05.2012 27
Information Studies
28. eGovernment services in
Estonia
• In Estonia: http://www.eesti.ee/eng
• information and e-solutions for
citizens, entrepreneurs and officials
• Requires login (with ID-card, through internet-bank
or through foreign citizen’s login)
• General state information
• X-road: e-services, official forms
Tallinn University, Institute of
8.05.2012 28
Information Studies
32. Sources of legal/law
information
• Bibliography of estonian legal information:
http://bie.nlib.ee/ (BIE database);
• Riigi Teataja (State Gazette):
https://www.riigiteataja.ee/ (official online
publication of Estonia, all the legislation texts in
electronic form)
• Introduction in English:
https://www.riigiteataja.ee/tutvustus.html?m=1
• Free of charge
• Complex advanced search in database
Tallinn University, Institute of
8.05.2012 32
Information Studies
33. European legal information
• EUR-Lex: http://eur-
lex.europa.eu/en/index.htm
(European Union Law)
• Pre-Lex:
http://ec.europa.eu/prelex/apc
net.cfm?CL=en (database on
inter-institutional procedures
follows the major stages of the
decision-making process
between the Commission and
the other institutions)
Tallinn University, Institute of
8.05.2012 33
Information Studies
34. International law
databases
• http://www.law.nyu.edu/library/research/foreign_intl/ind
ex.htm (Guide to legal databases around the world)
Tallinn University, Institute of
8.05.2012 34
Information Studies
35. Databases of legal
information by country
Tallinn University, Institute of
8.05.2012 35
Information Studies
36. Literature
• Sharing of good eGovernment practices:
http://www.epractice.eu/
• eGovernemnt in Europe:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EGovernment_in_Europe (Article
in Wikipedia)
Tallinn University, Institute of
8.05.2012 36
Information Studies