ProQuest, K-12

Peach’s Picks Rating


Title:
ProQuest, K-12

Author:
Various

Illustrator:
Various

ISBN:
Not applicable

Publisher:
Ann Arbor, MI: ProQuest

Copyright:
2010, and remains current

Length:
Not applicable

Description:
ProQuest company packages a selection of online subscription databases for school and public library use. The database contains various resources depending upon the package chosen. The “About Us” page states that the database contains information “spanning 500 years of scholarship”. ProQuest company has agreements with over 9,000 publishers internationally making it possible to provide information from periodicals, newspapers, videos, graphics, out-of-print books, dissertations, and other sources. The information archived is reviewed and updated as necessary. It is an excellent source for primary sources. ProQuest K-12 reviewed here contains: CutureGrams; elibrary Curriculum Edition; History Study Center; ProQuest Learning: Literature; ProQuest Historical Newspapers (Graphical); ProQuest Historical Newspapers (Traditional). Many other resources may be purchased including: SIRS® Issues Researcher; SIRS Discoverer®; SIRS Decades®; World Conflicts Today®; eLibrary®; eLibrary® Elementary; eLibrary® Science; ProQuest Platinum. All tools are powerful search engines. Librarians must consider their population when choosing a package that best suits their community. School subscriptions can be accessed by students at home with passwords. Public library subscriptions can be accessed at the library or at home with a valid library card.

Critical Evaluation:
A user may utilize this product effectively without training, but guidance by a librarian or following the “Training & Support” instructions found on a tab at the database’s homepage will increase results and give greater depth to research. Unfortunately, most users will not access a librarian to train them or use the “Training and Support” function. They will use the ProQuest database in the same manner as “Google” or “Wikipedia” and only search using key words. Much information is presented, but if the user does not have the skills to use this site it can be overwhelming. Each resource has an “add to my list” feature when searching. However, the lists are not integrated. It would be more useful to the user to be able to create one list across resources than have to retrieve each list separately when conducting a search. Users have the option of printing an article, saving it in a personal workspace created within an individual database, or emailing. ProQuest is a powerful and excellent database to use with high school students when introducing them to college level research.

User Annotation:
ProQuest is a subscription database that includes several databases within one package. It is an excellent resource for primary sources and up-to-date information about countries around the world.

Genre:
Online subscription database – multiple resources

Curriculum Ties:
Every area of the curriculum, especially useful for research projects

User Ideas:
You are studying an event in your history class and need a primary source immediately; then ProQuest Historical Newspapers (Traditional) is the place for you. The citation is even provided.

Your AP Human Geography teacher wants information about infant mortality rates. You will quickly find accurate information at ProQuest’s CultureGrams.

Reading Level/Interest Age:
Secondary school

Challenge Issues:
None apparent, but if challenged, deal with challenge by having a challenge policy in place, selection policy in place (ALA policies). Meet with library administration if necessary. Provide positive review(s) from professional publications.

Why this work is included in Peach’s Picks:
ProQuest, K-12 is a well-known, respected source of accurate information that is easy to navigate and is user friendly. Five peaches are awarded for the database’s breadth and depth.

Amazon link:
Not applicable

References:
None used other than the database itself.