Consumer Health Complete

This week we are again going to look at a database instead of a book. Consumer Health Complete is an Ebsco database with a special, more colorful, user friendly interface. The cost of the database is $2500. It is not included in the regular Ebsco suite of databases which are provided to us free of cost, so we must bear the entire cost ourselves. Previous to last year we used Bristol Myers Squibb funds for this. We no longer have this grant.

I had chosen this database as the one to be axed to make funds available for Academic Search Premier ($5000 per year) because of it's low usage statistics. In the first six months of this year it was accessed 34 times. At that rate it's nearly $37 per access.

Then I decided to use Serialssolutions' (our journal management system) new overlap analysis tool. I discovered that Consumer Health Complete has only 28 unique titles! All the rest are included in other health related Ebsco products already in the suite we get free, such as Health Source Consumer Edition, Biological Reference Collection and Nursing and Allied Health Collection! So basically we are paying for the special interface, which I actually don't like as much as something like the Mayo Clinic site and WebMD freely available on the web.

So, low user stats, few unique titles, funds needed for another more highly used database--that spells three strikes to me. You'll have a hard time convincing me otherwise (but you can try).

Plus YA has gotten a new Teen Health and Wellness database with grant funds, which we will also put on our database pages.

Directory of Obsolete Securities

This 2082 page tome is exactly what the title says--it is completely devoted to listings of all known obsolete securities. We had actually cancelled this as a standing order several years ago, but then got requests for it, and also questions through Statewide Reference asking for this type of information.

The price for the 2008 edition is $695. However, last year I got a 2006 edition (one year old at the time) for $495. This year I discovered that I could get a 2007 edition through Amazon used books for $365.

The entries are arranged alphabetically by the security name and include the name and such informtion as mergers, acquisitions, name changes, reorganization, liquidation, recapitalization, etc. (where appropriate), all with dates.

Several companies such as Orbis and Bloomberg offer this information online, but, of course, not for free. Newark Public does not have this directory, so we cannot call them for answers to these questions.

So, here are the options: new 2008, used 2007 for a little over half the price, or skip it entirely. Do we get enough call for this type of information to warrant either price?

African American Biographical Database

This week we are looking at a database rather than a reference book. African American Biographical Database is up for renewal at $1120 for a year. It's main purpose is to provide biographical information on lesser known African Americans from lesser known sources. There is little comparison or overlap with African American History Online section of Facts on File, which has far fewer entries from much more widely available sources (but which is much easier to use).

The database can be searched for profiles of specific persons (a nice feature here is to use the occupation limiter to generate a list of, say, all African American artists or athletes). The full text of each (or all) publications can be searched as well. It can be tricky, and it is best to do a broader search (for example, using only last name) when there are no results for a particular search.

So far in 2008 (Jan-June) it has been accessed 32 times or an average of 5.3 times per month. That means each search costs $35.

That is low for our databases. For example, in the same time period JSTOR was accessed an average of 177 times per month and Academic Search Premier 111. However, looking at it from another angle, if a reference book was used 32 times in six months, we would probably consider it heavily used. Hmmm... Check it out and let me know what you think.