In addition to physical resources SUSLA University Library provides students, faculty, and staff access to electronic resources in a variety of formats, including ebooks, ejournals, images, video and audio media, and practice tests.
These resources can be accessed in a variety of ways. Click each tab to explore our different search options and jump right into a search!
The video below walks you through how to find and use these tools.
You may need to sign-in to access these resources if working from off campus. View the second video to the bottom right for more information about remote authentication.
EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS) is an interface that searches all the databases SUSLA University Library has access to, as well as the online catalog. It is the first search box on the Library web page and can also be found at the bottom of each page of this LibGuide.
Pros:
Single search box
Large number of results
Cons:
Results may be less relevant than if you select a specific subject database
The library catalog, also known as the OPAC, allows students, faculty, and staff to search for items in the physical library collection, as well as some ebooks that the library has licensed. The library catalog search box is the second search box on the library web page.
Pros:
Easy to locate physical items
Cons:
Not all journals and electronic resources are included in the catalog
The journal search box is the third search box on the library web page. It allows you to check if we have access to a specific journal of interest or search for journals by subject.
Pros:
Find out if we have access to certain journals
Cons:
Hard to determine if we have hard copies of the journals too
The Database List, or A-Z List, lists and describes each database SUSLA has access to. Currently there are over 115 databases covering over 25 subject areas.
Pros:
Sort databases by title, subject, vendor, or content type
Highly specific results
Cons:
May be difficult to narrow down database options
Have to search using different interfaces
"A large, regularly updated file of [...] information [...] related to a specific subject or field, consisting of records of uniform format organized for ease and speed of search and retrieval" (Reitz 2014, s.v. "database"). SUSLA offers access to over 100 individual databases, which can be found in our Database List.
"A single interface, providing integrated access to the multiple information resources [...] to which a library has rights. Discovery systems use consolidated subject indexing and metadata" (Reitz 2014, s.v. "discovery service"). SUSLA uses the EBSCO Discovery Service, or EDS.
"Publicly accessible information available via the World Wide Web but not retrievable using search engines that rely on crawlers or spiders, for example, data in file formats such as PDF, database content accessible only by query, information contained in frames, etc." (Reitz 2014, s.v. "deep web").
An information resource available online in any of the following formats: ebooks, ejournals, videos, images, audio content (such as podcasts or audiobooks), digitized primary documents (such as newspapers, manuscripts, or artifacts), practice tests, training materials, web pages, or data sets.
"An acronym for online public access catalog, a database composed of bibliographic records describing the books and other materials owned by a library or library system" (Reitz 2014, s.v. "OPAC").
"Information content made freely and universally available via the Internet in easy to read format" (Reitz 2014, s.v. "open access").
"computer software designed to help the user locate information available at sites on the World Wide Web by selecting categories from a hierarchical directory of subjects (example: Yahoo!) or by entering appropriate keywords or phrases (Google, Hotbot, etc.)" (Reitz 2014, s.v. "search engine").
Reference:
Reitz, Joan M. 2014. Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science (ODLIS), accessed April 14, 2020, https://products.abc-clio.com/ODLIS/odlis_about.aspx.
