University Libraries Participate in Access World News Beta Test

The University Libraries were recently chosen as a free beta test site for content enhancements to Access World News, a subscription database available through the Libraries from Newsbank, Inc. that presently includes over 1,500 newspaper sources from around the globe.

According to Susan Bokern, a Senior Vice President at Newsbank, the beta test entails the inclusion of approximately 3,000 new sources to Access World News. In addition to the electronic newspapers already available in the database, Newsbank will be offering newswires, television news transcripts, economic and stock market news, and vetted blogs.

Sources include over 20 broadcast companies and services like CBS, NBC, and NPR. Military, government, and defense news and journals including Air Force Times and Federal Times will also be available. Additionally, the enhancement will include 50 Spanish language domestic and international newspapers.

During beta testing, added sources are available to Ball State students and faculty. The Access World News search interface remains unchanged, but results will be categorized by source type. Also, analysts at Newsbank will be monitoring usage statistics for the added content and will also track search session patterns to determine if additional source types are attractive to users. At the end of the testing period, Newsbank will share a final report with the University Libraries.

While the experiment will help product developers at Newsbank, it also affords Ball State students and faculty an opportunity to take advantage of the vastly expanded availability of alternative sources for global news and analysis.

Access World News is available on the University Libraries’ databases page at www.bsu.edu/libraries/electronicresources/databases.asp.

For more information, contact Matthew C. Shaw, Ball State University Libraries’ Electronic Resources Librarian, MCShaw2@bsu.edu, 765-285-1302.