Oxford Reference Online Premium Collection provides the Temple community with access to a first-class collection of reference sources. Reference sources–such as specialized dictionaries and encyclopedias– ideally serve as repositories for the most accepted facts and opinions about a topic, and also serve through references as springboards to further research. The best sources are written by experts and are very carefully edited. This is exactly what we get from the Oxford University Press, the publishers of the sources and this service.

The range of the collection is impressive. It contains over 100 dictionary, language reference, and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press. (See a list) It is a fully-indexed, cross-searchable database of these books, giving Temple unprecedented access to a comprehensive information resource.

The Collection contains titles from the Oxford Companions Series that provide coverage of specialized areas, for instance: The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization , The Oxford Companion to the Body, or The Oxford Companion to English Literature. The Collection also has a growing collection of Maps and Illustrations and subject Timelines beginning in the Twentieth Century, which links to entries and articles in the sources. All entries and articles include details about how to cite them.

Temple Libraries have long been buyers of almost all of these highly-regarded sources in print. Bringing them together online in a cross-searchable platform extends not only the physical range of the sources to anywhere a Temple person might have access to a computer–but also extends the range of the sources in print and online by suggesting, in response to searches on keywords, areas and titles one might not think of looking in.

Rick Lezenby
Paley Library Reference Librarian

The library has recently subscribed to the Biblical Archaeology Society (BAS) Archive.

This resource is aimed primarily at undergraduate students but also relevant for interested faculty and graduate students. It consists of the contents of the three popular magazines from the Biblical Archaeology Society (Biblical Archaeology Review; Bible Review; and Archaeology Odyssey), five online books (Ancient Israel; Aspects of Monotheism; Feminist Approaches to the Bible; The Rise of Ancient Israel; and The Search for Jesus), and over 10,000 downloadable images that can be freely used in slideshows and powerpoint presentations. Archaeology Odyssey, covering classical archaeology, is the only publication in this collection that does not address biblical themes. Currently, the coverage goes from the start of each magazine through December 2003. Subscription year 2004 will be added within a few months. The founder and editor-in-chief of the Biblical Archaeology Society, Hershel Shanks, is widely credited with bringing the biblical world to a popular audience. The magazines feature many scholars and authorities in their respective fields. This is a good place to go for overviews of current biblical and classical archaeological issues and discoveries and for articles on the ancient Near East and Mediterranean worlds. Check it out today.

–Fred Rowland

In order to encourage input from students, faculty, and staff, the library has just opened up a Trials page. This page will provide links and instructions for accessing databases that librarians are evaluating for possible purchase. Feedback from the Temple community is strongly encouraged. There is such a proliferation of databases and other electronic resources these days that it is important for us to get as many views and opinions as possible when considering purchases. The link to the Database Trials page can be found on the top of any of the database lists.

Once on the Database Trials page, make sure to check whether a special user name and passord is necessary, which you’ll find right under the link to the trial.

So go to the Database Trials page and take a look at the new electronic resources we’re considering. If you have strong feelings about any of these resources, click on the feedback link at the top of the page and tell us what you think.

–Fred Rowland

Writing a dissertation or a thesis? Need to find out who has published what in your area of interest? Got a brilliant idea and wondering whether someone has already stolen your thunder? Want to know a faculty member’s history as a dissertation advisor? You need Digital Dissertations! The Temple University Libraries has switched from Dissertation Abstracts to Digital Dissertations, a change in databases that will make your searching of the dissertation literature much faster and more efficient. Most importantly, in Digital Dissertations Temple dissertations from 1997 to present are available in full-text!! Here are some other important features:

• 24-page previews of thousands of recent non-Temple dissertations
• indexing back to 1861
• you can search for the faculty advisor to each dissertation
• lengthy, detailed abstracts that are searchable
• Temple full-text dissertations are a great source for current bibliographies.

Check it out. You might be one step closer to that vaunted PhD. Digital Dissertations is accessible from any of the database lists on the library homepage. By the way, you can borrow non-Temple dissertations using the Thesis Request Form. Also be aware that Digital Dissertations is soon changing its name to Digital Dissertations and Theses. –Fred Rowland

Temple has just purchased electronic access to seven excellent encyclopedias, mainly on religious topics, through The Gale Virtual Reference Library, which is accessible from TUL homepage on the A-Z database list, the eBooks list, and in the Library Catalog. These specialized encyclopedias are great places to start research on unfamiliar topics, providing nice overviews, bibliographies, and linked cross-references. In addition to the great content, The Gale Virtual Reference Library interface is much more user-friendly than those of other e-book vendors, and each encyclopedia can be searched or browsed. Check out the links below! 1) Contemporary American Religion 2 volumes, 1999

• Examples: Angels; Astral Planes; Book of Common Prayer; Born Again Christians; Confucianism, and hundreds more

2) Encyclopedia of Buddhism 2 volumes, 2004

• Examples:Ascetic Practices; Buddhahood and Buddha Bodies; Consciousness, Theories of; Confucianism and Buddhism, and hundreds more

3) Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World 2 volumes, 2004

• Examples:Abu Bakr (573-674); Caliphate; East Asian Culture and Islam; Hadith, and hundreds more

4) Encyclopedia of Religion 2nd ed., 15 VOLUMES, 2005

• Examples: Aegean Religions; Akhenaton; Alphabets; Christian Ethics; Canaanite Religion, The Literature; Conservative Judaism, and thousands more

5) Encyclopedia of Science and Religion 2 volumes, 2003

• Examples: Anthropic Principle; Avicenna; Causation; Creationism; Descartes, Rene, and hundreds more

6) New Catholic Encyclopedia 2nd ed., 15 VOLUMES, 2003

• Examples: Abelard, Peter; Alexandria; Boston College; Celtic Religion; Celibacy, Clerical, History of, and thousands more

7) New Dictionary of the History of Ideas 6 volumes, 2005

• Examples: Anarchism ;Aristotelianism; Black Consciousness; Evolution; Free Will, Determinism, and Predestination, and hundreds –Fred Rowland

Temple Libraries today acquired the electronic version of the Pennsylvania Gazette, 1728-1800. Published in Philadelphia, the Gazette is often called the New York Times of the 18th Century. For now, researchers should go directly to Accessible.com for access to this full-text resource. Once at the site, click on “Search” to begin. A second major acquisition is African-American Newspapers: The 19th Century, also available from Accessible.com. Representative titles include Freedom’s Journal, the North Star, Provincial Freeman and the Frederick Douglass Papers. –David C. Murray