Four New Databases for the Humanities and Social Sciences

By George Paganelis, Curator, Tsakopoulos Hellenic Collection

Students and faculty working in the humanities and social sciences now have a host of new subscription databases to aid their study and research, thanks to the generous financial support of the Tsakopoulos Hellenic Foundation. These databases include coverage of many important facets of Hellenic history, literature, and culture, but more broadly encompass Slavic and East European studies (including the Balkans), the Middle East and the entire Muslim world.

The following databases are available at any Library computer. Off campus access is open to authorized users with your SacLink account.

American Bibliography of Slavic and East European Studies (ABSEES):

• Over 60,000 bibliographical entries from 1990 to the present, with some full-text links.
• Covers North American scholarship on Eastern Europe (including the Balkans) and the countries of the former Soviet Union.
• Includes books, journal articles, reviews and theses/dissertations primarily in the disciplines of the humanities and social sciences.
• The years 1956-1990 are covered in the print version of ABSEES, located in the Library at 2 SOUTH DKZ 2483 .A65.
• Sister publication of the European Bibliography of Slavic and East European Studies (EBSEES), covering European scholarship of the same areas from 1991 to the present, also available on-line through the Library.

L’Année philologique (APh):

• Most comprehensive critical bibliography covering all disciplines within the field of classics.
• Chronologically spans Mediterranean prehistory through Biblical times and into early Byzantium (ca. 7th century CE).
• Contains citations to books, articles, multi-authored works, conference proceedings, Festschriften, book reviews and more.
• On-line coverage includes vol. 30 (1959) to the present, with retrospective coverage being added regularly.
• Print volumes for vols. 1-29 (1924-1958) are located at 2 NORTH Reference and 3 NORTH Tsakopoulos Hellenic Collection PZ 7016 .A1 A5.

Index Islamicus:

• Over 300,000 entries from 1906 to the present, with some full-text linking.
• Indexes literature on Islam, the Middle East and the Muslim world, including other main Muslim areas of Asia and Africa, plus Muslim minorities elsewhere.
• Coverage includes books, journal articles, conference proceedings, multi-authored works and book reviews from over 3,000 journals.
• Journals and books are indexed down to the article and chapter level.

Thesaurus Linguae Graecae (TLG):

• Massive full-text corpus of Greek literary texts from Homer to the fall of Byzantium.
• Newer Greek text since 1453 being added regularly.
• Selected English translations of major authors available.
• Over 3,700 authors and 12,000 works accessible through TLG on-line.
• Help links available for more information on display and input of Greek fonts.

ABSEES and Index Islamicus offer a familiar interface used by many other databases provided by the same vendors. APh and TLG, on the other hand, use their own individual interfaces that are less intuitive for the novice user. Any librarian can provide assistance searching these databases; for APh and especially TLG, I am available to provide more detailed, specialized guidance to faculty and students. Take these databases for a test drive; they can save you and yours students valuable time.

8/26/2005