GaleNet is a collection of online databases available by subscription only. In most cases, these databases represent electronic versions of popular paper reference volumes and some of them are online versions of CD‐ROM products. This review will touch on aspects of many of the databases; but, because of their number and complexity, they will be grouped into two categories: directories and longer full‐text. Each database will not be reviewed nearly to the depth that a single‐database source can be reviewed. A bibliographic database (BGMI) is also represented here; and it will be touched on separately.
I will try to compare the usefulness of the electronic products to their paper counterparts whenever possible and will review search capabilities available across a wide number of databases. Databases currently available in GaleNet are: Associations Unlimited; Biography and Genealogy Master Index (BGMI); Brands and Their Companies; Contemporary Authors; Canadian Periodical Index; DISCovering Authors; DISCovering Multicultural America; Exploring Poetry; DISCovering Science; Exploring Shakespeare; Encyclopedia of Associations; Encyclopedia of Associations National Edition; Gale Business Resources; Gale Directory of Databases; Database of Publications and Broadcast Media; Gale Ready Reference Shelf; Peterson’s GradSearch; and Research Centers and Services Directory.
Databases to be added soon include: American Decades; Dictionary of Literary Biography Online; DISCovering Biography; DISCovering Nations, States and Cultures; DISCovering U.S. History; DISCovering World History; Exploring Law and Legal issues; Exploring Novels; and Exploring Short Stories.
Databases providing short entries (Directories) are very easy to use and tend to result in relevant hits more often than the databases containing longer articles. Free text keyword searching in these databases allows easier searching than many paper counterparts, as a user can search many years at once (BGMI) and does not have to learn how the paper edition works (Encyclopedia of Associations). Because GaleNet is a web product, users can download and print the articles or entries they find with ease.
Searching
Overall, searching GaleNet could be daunting for a novice user until he or she learns to navigate through the site with the unlabeled buttons. A user often has to go three or four clicks deep before seeing a screen that allows data entry. Though this can be an annoyance for users who prefer the web’s usual sort of instant information gratification, this feature demonstrates the care with which those at Gale Research put together this service. Not serving the data entry page immediately forces the user to look around a bit, to find the pages that will be the most useful for his or her type of searching. Most databases feature multiple search pages, varying in difficulty or subject. Instead of displaying twenty different text boxes on the initial screen of DISCovering Science, for example, there are five search types to choose from in addition to a keyword search box. GaleNet is truly a site for any level user. There is a keyword search box on some initial pages, as well as an Extended or Custom Search screen that allows for multi‐field searches and an Expert Search screen on most that allow for command‐line searching. The Expert Search modes are fully documented, including, where appropriate, field tags, search examples, and tips on constructing a search.
Searching many categories in DISCovering Multicultural America often brought disappointment. Many of the categories do not seem ready to be made available to the public in this new form as they result in strange hits with little relevant information or no further links.
I was pleased to see that Gale offers multimedia files other than images in its online versions of the DISCovering series; but I was disappointed when my browser told me I lacked the appropriate plug‐in to listen, and even more disappointed to find that the link provided (“Get the Plug‐in”) required more wading through. Then I had to quit my browser, install the plug‐in, restart, log in to Galenet again, find the file I wanted to listen to... By then, I didn’t care what Maya Angelou had said at Clinton’s Inaugural. I had heard it the first time, anyway.
Searching DISCovering Multicultural America, the suggested list entries for occupation lead to a long list of occupations that are linked. Clicking on one of these links executes a search with that occupation as the only search criterion, ignoring any search criteria entered on the search screen before linking to the occupation list. If a user goes back and enters the occupation into the search screen as it appears in the list, it can result in an error if there is any punctuation in the occupation (example: author/poet).
Clicking on an event from the event list can lead to an entry that makes no sense. For example, clicking on the list entry: “Act Suggests End to Treaty Making” yields only the text: “March 3, 1871 / A section of this act appropriating funding to fulfill treaties with Indians called for the end of the treaty‐making process. U.S. STATUTES AT LARGE, 16:566.” There is no explanation for what the Act in question is, nor are there links to the date or the referenced statute that would allow a user to find out.
Users familiar with the CD‐ROM versions of Gale’s DISCovering Series will be disappointed with the timeline feature of the online version. Due to limitations of web browsers only recently overcome with the advent of Java, much of the functionality of this feature is lost. There is no applet that allows the user to choose an event by sliding a date marker; the timeline events are displayed not as easily dismissed pop‐up boxes but as whole web pages that then must be navigated from. Once again, entering a list item in the search page exactly as it appears in the suggested list usually results in a server error and zero hits. Once again, entering a list item in the search page exactly as it appears in the suggested list usually results in a server error and zero hits.
Another limitation of the web technology, which makes it no less irritating, is the lack of keyboard navigation functionality within web forms. Entering search criteria and pressing enter always results in a beep!
I once again question the wisdom and usefulness of the timeline feature in Gale’s DISCovering Series, both online and CD‐ROM. Searching for an event brings up a one‐sentence blurb containing little more than a date and the name of the event. Presenting the data on the web in the form of clickable search results is a waste of bandwidth and user time, since clicking on the timeline event link takes the user to a page where the same few words are presented in a larger font.
Documentation
There is a help file for every database, specific to that database. Because of the complexity required to provide context‐sensitive help via the web, the help link always takes the user to the table of contents page for the help files for the relevant database. The help files are often short and do not contain tables of contents themselves, but very often include examples.
Also useful is the About feature, located on every database’s initial page, which gives pertinent scope and coverage information, along with number of entries, and the names of the database’s paper equivalent, if applicable. Copyright of the material contained in the databases is noted where it differs from the overall copyright statement and license agreement that users must agree to before getting to any database.
