1. What are licensed databases?
Databases can be divided into two groups: licensed and open access databases. Access to licensed databases requires authorization, which is either IP-address-based or a username and password is required. Open access databases are accessible to everyone on the Internet.
2. Can I use the licensed databases available to Tallinn University?
Anyone can access these resources by using a computer at the Library or a computer on the TLU campus that is connected to the University’s network.
3. Can I access the TLU licensed databases only on University campus or at the Library?
Tallinn University students, lecturers and other staff can use the licensed databases outside the University and Library as well, for example from a personal computer at home. To access the databases remotely, you must log in with the username and password of your Tallinn University user account. The login link can be found on the Library’s website www.tlulib.ee under the Databases menu. You can see the link Log in to databases on the right-hand side of the page. More detailed information about accessing the databases can be found in the remote access guide. Most databases offer the option of setting up a personal account. Please note that you need to be logged in with your TLU user account before accessing your personal account.
Registered library users, who do not have a TLU user account, can access the EBSCOhost databases outside the University and Library. Send an email to erialainfo@tlulib.ee to get the User ID and password.
4. What kind of information can I find from licensed databases?
The licensed databases contain mostly English-language full texts and reviews of scientific (peer-reviewed) articles and books which can be used for research.
5. How do I know which licensed databases are accessible to TLU?
The licensed databases open to TLU can be found under the Databases section of the Library’s website, where they are listed in alphabetical order.
6. How do I know which full-text academic/scientific journals are accessible to TLU?
All full-text journals are listed in the catalogue of e-journals and e-books – Publication Finder. A specific journal may be accessible through different databases and the availability of volumes may differ between databases. Publication Finder allows you to check if a journal is available, which databases provide access to it and which volumes of the journal are accessible in full text. Please note that it is not possible to search by author or article title in the catalogue.
7. Where can I find e-books?
Publication Finder can also be used for finding e-books. TLU has access to several databases containing e-books. The largest collection of e-books available to us can be found in Ebook Central.
8. Do I have to search all the databases separately to find materials?
You do not need to search every database separately (over 50 licensed databases are open to TLU). The Discovery Service allows you to search multiple databases at once, covering almost all of our library-subscribed databases. You can use different search options – subject terms, author, title, etc. To sort out full text materials, you need to limit your search by selecting the Full Text limiter.
9. Do I need to search individual databases at all, if I can use Discovery?
It is recommended to search a specific field of study from a subject-related database, because the Discovery Service may not give you all the relevant results. Discovery is a great tool for a first and more general search, but it is better to explore single databases as well, which may give more accurate results.
Translation by Piret Remmelgas
AL TLU subject librarians
E-mail: erialainfo@tlulib.ee
Phone +372 640 9184