Maureen Driedger's List: OPACS & Databases

Comprehensive database suitable for students in any class that requires research of a world culture,( esp. Cultural Anthropology students). It contains a wealth of information for over 200 countries in various formats including videos, slideshow galleries, recipes, interviews, etc. It also enables the researcher to create their own data tables for comparison between countries/cultures. With unlimited printing rights this could make class presentations easier to put together. It also could be helpful for those TESOL students doing their practicum who would like to gain an understanding of the culture of their students. (Using the recipes to share a food from their culture might be a great interactive way to make the students feel welcome & accepted!) Access via EBSCO subscription.

Downloadable slideshare presentation from EasyBib (an automatic bibliography & citation tool) that would be useful in "selling" this helpful resource to faculty. Permission is given to modify the presentation to suit a particular institution's needs. MLA is free, APA, Chicago/Turabian are available for a fee. A useful tool for helping to prevent plagiarism, improving critical thinking & website evaluation skills. Site includes includes lots of extras like an educator blog and various tutorials for site tools. Library staff could use this in an inservice setting or direct the Academic Dean/Academic Committee/faculty to view the slideshow at their leisure in preparation to discuss its implementation by the college.

The Association of Religion Data Archives. US-based but still useful for History of Christianity students. (esp. the Denominational profiles/family trees & national profiles) Originally developed for those interested in researching American religion, the scope of information & targeted audience has broadened considerably with information being submitted by the world's premier religion scholars & research centres worldwide. Contains materials for students & faculty alike with learning modules which interactively explore religion topics. Syllabi, assignments, and links for teaching religion in multiple disciplines are also freely available. Includes links to such topics as national profiles which give information on religious, demographic, & social profiles of various countries as well as a sociology of religion searchable bibliographic database. Incredible scope on this site making it a useful interdisciplinary research tool for a number of applications within the faith-based post-secondary educational institution.

Early Jewish Writings purports to be "the most complete collection of Jewish documents from antiquity with translations, introductions, and links." This is a handy online tool for those seeking to understand the culture & context of biblical figures/writers. Suitable for anyone doing research on Christian History as well as backgrounds material for any of the Biblical Studies course offerings or those preparing class presentations or sermons, whether it be faculty or students.

Like it's sister page, Early Christian Writings purports to be "the most complete collection of documents" only these are "from the first two centuries with translations and commentary." You can find the following on the site: New Testament, Apocrypha, Gnostics, and Church Fathers. Again, these are suitable for use in understanding the culture and context of early Christianity and as such, the Christian History student as well as the student in New Testament Biblical Studies courses will find it provides the background materials needed for writing various types of papers or composing class presentations /sermons. Useful for faculty & students alike.

Page containing an OPAC tutorial for the same Library Catalogue as Bethany College uses along with search tips & other catalogue help. Couldn't preview until my personal IT man has time to enable Adobe Flashplayer. If suitable could provide a template for developing our own tutorial or could simply use this one during Library Orientation for new students.