The two databases I suggested for my middle school (6th Grade-8th Grade) are ProQuest SIRS Discoverer and ProQuest Culture Grams.
Summary for ProQuest Sirs Discoverer: I first heard about ProQuest SIRS Discoverer through a guest speaker in my Reference and Information class through this program. After listening to representative explain the features and accessibility of information, I knew it would be a good addition to the library. Using the Try It Illinois login information for ProQuest, I was able to explore the features it offers. My first instinct was that it was a great resource because it is extremely accessible to all students. On the home screen, it provides pictures along with text for the subject headings. Students are also able to alter the lexile of the information to accommodate their reading level. When students search for a topic, there are a variety of sources that come up: reference sites, newspaper articles, magazine articles, etc. Students can narrow their search to specific types of sources (magazine articles for a research paper, for example). They won’t need to worry about “getting lost” because all of the information they find can be saved to their Google Drive which is available through their school e-mail addresses. Students are able to search either using a keyword or by subject headings. If they use a keyword search, as soon as the students start typing, suggestions pop up, similar to using Google. If they spell a word wrong, the database prompts, “Did you mean ____?” and allows the student to choose that word. If students use the subject headings, they are can narrow their search by topics within that heading. Both of these search options are available through the main page. This resource can be used by any student for any subject in any grade level.
Summary for ProQuest Culture Grams: Coming up with a second database was a little more difficult. This was another one that was discussed briefly in the Ref & Info class, but to be honest, I had forgotten about it. I decided to use my Facebook groups and search for an answer. In the Future Ready Librarians group, I searched “middle school databases.” A woman had asked an identical question, “What were the best/favorite databases for middle school?” When I saw Culture Grams in one of the comments, I decided to use Try It Illinois to explore the resource. Culture Grams does NOT offer a keyword search. It is limited to easily navigable subject headings: World Edition, States Edition, Kids Edition, and Provinces Edition (Canadian provinces). I used the world edition, because I thought my students would be able to use it to do research for their social studies classes when discussing different aspects of world history. Unlike SIRS Discoverer, this database does not offer adjustable Lexile. It more closely resembles an online encyclopedia with expanded options. Students can search the geography, climate, and economy of their state/country/province, along with other information like “Sports Teams” and “Recipes.” It’s a great way for students to look up quick facts with a reliable source. Need to know what the state bird of Indiana is? Just look at “State Symbols” under the Indiana heading. Need to know a timeline of events for Australia? Just click “Timeline” under the Australia heading. ProQuest Culture Grams would be a great edition to our databases.
Rating: I would rate this database search a 4. It was made easier by the ERAC Database Evaluation information and it helped me identify key features I should be looking for in a database.
Rachel Amadio 