September 13, 2005
Purdue libraries make business data easier to find
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – An online database at Purdue University is helping students and faculty wade through a sea of information to get the business data and research they need.
"We have so many databases in the business, economics and management fields that students don't know how to select the correct one," said Judith Nixon, interim management and economics librarian. "This online library will guide them to the best database or Web site for a specific question."
The new "expert" system can be searched by keyword and browsed by a specific topic or frequently asked questions. For example, a student might want to know how to find a list of companies in a specific industry. The system would present the student an array of databases, along with instructions on how to access those databases.
"We've had a Web page that guided users to appropriate databases by broad subject but never a database of questions and answers," Nixon said. "This database has very specific business questions and the sources for the answers."
Purdue business librarians spent more than 300 hours developing the database, and it remains a work in progress. Librarians change and maintain the database daily.
"It can always be modified to better serve our users," Nixon said. "We can see what questions are asked and write answers for new questions our users are asking."
Purdue librarians adapted the software developed at the University of Pennsylvania to meet the needs of students and faculty at Purdue's Krannert School of Management and the colleges of Consumer and Family Sciences and Technology. Business schools at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University and New York University use similar systems. Other schools will soon follow suit, Nixon said.
Purdue librarians are soliciting suggested names for the new system. Votes can be cast or name suggestions made online.
Writer: Jim Schenke, (765) 494-6262, jschenke@purdue.edu
Source: Judith Nixon (765) 494-2922, jnixon@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
Related Web site:
Management & Economics Library Database
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