Keesing's World News Archive provides access to a comprehensive archive of 95,000 articles concerning world events dating from 1931 to the present. Among the events covered are elections and changes of government; wars, treaties, appointments, and diplomacy; terrorism and issues of internal security; legislation, budgets, economic developments and international agreements; actions by the UN and other international organizations; natural disasters, environmental issues, and scientific discoveries. News reports are collected on a daily basis and the database is updated monthly
The initial screen for Keesing's World News Archive is basic but visually appealing and easy to use. A user can immediately use the database by typing a search term into the search box and clicking the Go button. An advanced search feature can be accessed by clicking on Advanced Search which is located directly beneath the Go button. Advanced search provides the searcher with a number of options to refine the search results. Articles can be sorted according to Closest Match, Newest First or Oldest First. Date ranges for articles can be established from January 1931 to the present month and year. Dates can be searched according to the article publication date and/or dates found in the article. Another helpful feature of is that each search also provides a list of Clusters which are groups of references linked together because they cover the same topic. Three types of clusters are provided: countries, persons, and user‐created tags. Since Keesing's World News Archive uses natural language, clusters can help by linking together the various spellings of a person's name. The Countries cluster tab sorts searches results according to how many times each result mentions the selected country. Countries that have changed their names are linked so that the cluster will include all references to that country. Countries that have been created out of existing countries, or have been divided, are listed according to their separate names.
Keesing's World News Archive also allows users to narrow search results through the use of search limiters. For example, double quotes can be used to specify a phrase. A hyphen can be used to signify “not” (e.g. budget‐provisional indicates articles that contain the word “budget” but not the word “provisional”). An asterisk can also be used to indicate any letters in a search. Users are provided with the opportunity to personalize their searches. A Portfolio section permits users to select and store articles for future use. Articles in the portfolio are listed in the order in which they were added along with the date on which each was added. Registered users have the option of adding their own “tags” to articles. By adding tags to articles users can mark subjects that are particularly relevant to them. Tags can also be used to filter items in the portfolio according to topic. Registered users can view tags that are created by all other users and users can delete the tags that they created. A My Notes section allows users to enter private notes that can only be viewed with their specific account.
The help section of Keesing's World News Archive provides of list of ten help topics; these can be accessed by clicking on the topic in the list. The topics covered are: articles, clusters, date range, my notes, my tags, my view, portfolio, results, searching, and topics. Researchers desiring further information can click on a link to Keesing's blog which contains more comprehensive articles concerning the features of World News Archives.E‐mailed questions were responded to within 48 hours.
Keesing's World News Archive is both easy to use and packed with information. Keesing's adheres to a rigorous six step editorial process thus insuring accuracy of results. This database would prove to be very useful in serving the needs of both high school and college students. Keesing's World News Archive is highly recommended.
