The library databases in this list are helpful for finding topic overviews - general introductions with background information about a topic. Topic overviews can help give you perspective on the history of the issue and generate keywords and subtopics.
(Credo) Includes materials from over 650 full-text reference books on a variety of topics in higher education, including art, business, history, languages, literature, science, criminal justice, and political science.
Magazine and journal articles usually provide more details about a topic. Journal articles are written by experts or specialists in a field and may report the findings of new studies on a topic.
Use the ADVANCED SEARCH option and follow this example:
(EBSCO) Offers the highest quality collection of popular full-text magazines, reference books, videos and other sources covering virtually every subject area. Helping patrons find relevant content has never been easier. (High school/pre-college).
(EBSCO) A scholarly multi-disciplinary database that provides full text, indexing, and abstracts, videos and images from journals, magazines and newspapers. Full text of articles from 6500+ journals, magazines and newspapers, plus image collections.
(GALE) Gale Academic OneFile, provides millions of articles from over 17,000 scholarly journals and other authoritative sources and covers everything from art and literature to economics and the sciences. Also included are thousands of podcasts and videos.
(Ithaka Harbors) Includes full-text back issues of selected peer-reviewed journals in such areas as history, statistics, sociology, literature, and economics.
(Johns Hopkins University Press) Full-text articles from "over 300 high quality humanities, arts, and social sciences journals."
Books can be great sources of in-depth information and details about a topic. You can read eBooks 24/7 and take advantage of the automatic citation and download features in these databases.
Use the ADVANCED SEARCH option and follow this example:
(ProQuest) Over 100,000 ebook titles covering a full range of academic topics. General reference works are also included. Read on your mobile device using Adobe Digital Editions.
(EBSCO) Search complete electronic books. Set up a free account to download to your device. Visit EBSCO's instructions on how to read on a mobile device using Adobe Digital Editions.
(GALE) Gale eBooks offers broad cross-curricular collection of non-fiction titles, supporting science, geography, history, language arts, business and other subjects. Optimized for search and discovery, the Gale eBooks platform enables you to search through multiple nonfiction eBooks within a single search.
The library databases in this list are helpful for finding both current and historical newspaper articles.
Use the ADVANCED SEARCH option and follow this example:
(EBSCO) Selected full-text from 30 US national and international newspapers and 200 regional papers, plus TV & radio news transcripts.
(ProQuest) Over 30 million digital pages of seventeen American newspapers dating back to the 18th century.
(ProQuest) Full text from the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, and the New York Times.
(GALE) Gale OneFile: News is a full-text newspaper resource providing access to major U.S. regional, local, and national newspapers, as well as leading titles from around the world. It also includes thousands of images, radio and TV broadcasts and transcripts.
Streaming video databases often contain video clips and full documentaries with in-depth investigations or alternate perspectives on current events topics.
(Alexander Street Press) Full-length videos on various topics, documentaries, instructional materials and limited historical news reports.
(Films Media Group) High-quality, educational streaming video from companies such as Films for the Humanities, BBC, and PBS. Browse a selection of Business & Economics videos.
(Kanopy) Classic cinema, independent films, and top documentaries in streaming video. Includes Media Education Foundation Collection. App available from Apple, Google, and Roku.
For off-campus access to the library databases, you will need to sign in with your MyLoneStar email address and password or enter your 14-digit library barcode from the back of your LSC student ID card.
Don't have a 14-digit library barcode? Request one online. Your library barcode will be emailed to your LSC email address within 48 hours.