The university library is a tragically underutilized resource in academia. There is an unbelievable amount of free (read: FREE!) information and content waiting both in the stacks and on the library website. Yet, many students fail to take advantage. Movies, ebooks, and even a digital trip to the museum are readily available through your web browser, and all of it is a NetID and password away.

But where, exactly, does one start? A quick look at Stony Brook Library’s list of 682 databases can be a little intimidating: that’s a lot to take in for someone unsure of what exactly he or she should be looking for. Luckily, thanks to some particularly helpful Stony Brook University librarians, I’ve amassed a handful of the most useful and/or interesting online databases available through the Frank Melville Jr. Memorial Library.  

 

EBSCO Ebooks Collection

EBSCO is one of the most handy databases for any English major, undergraduate and graduate students alike. A common complaint from students is the astronomical price of the required texts. Although English majors – who often only need to purchase a few paperback novels for each class – have it easy compared to Math or Science majors, any expenditure for a college student can be a burden. Unbeknownst to many students, spending money on books is sometimes not required: the library provides EBSCO’s database of free ebooks as long as students provide a valid NetID and password. For example, a quick search for Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky shows all of his classic novels, free to use at your leisure.

The availability of novels varies, of course, but make sure to throw the required texts from your syllabus into this search before you shell another $20 out to Jeff Bezos.

 

EBSCO’s Historical Abstracts

For an English student, complete familiarity with a text doesn’t stop at merely the words on a page. To understand a piece of literature fully, there are many other factors to take into account, and one of the most important of these is the historical context in which the novel was written. Historical context provides a backdrop to the novel, and helps the reader understand things like the possible reception of the novel or the author’s motivation for writing it. EBSCO’s Historical Abstracts pulls articles from over 1700 academic journals, providing the student or researcher with ample information for nearly any historical period. This not only provides context in order to better understand a novel, but it can also be used as a secondary source for those long papers in your upper-division courses. The search function is admittedly a bit difficult to grasp for new users, but tooling around for a bit with the various options will lead to a decent understanding of its nuances, and you’ll find the perfect historical backdrops in no time.

Kanopy Streaming Service

SBU’s library doesn’t strictly offer reading and research material to students. In addition to fulfilling your academic needs, a Stony Brook login also provides access to the Kanopy Streaming Service, a repository for documentaries, Indie films, and a plethora of can’t-miss classics. Every film is available to stream for free using your computer, Apple TV, Roku, and other devices, giving you the chance to relax anywhere with a film after a long day of classes and studying. Kanopy’s collection includes a great deal of films that are difficult to find on other streaming devices, such as Indie classic Donnie Darko (2001) starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Akira Kurosawa’s masterpiece Yojimbo (1961), and Academy Award-winning director Guillermo del Toro’s Cronos (1993). With titles rotating in and out on a frequent basis, Kanopy offers all Stony Brook students nearly-endless amounts of entertainment for the length of their tenure with the school.

Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center

One of the most difficult aspects of writing an argumentative paper is developing an opinion on something you may not have felt passionately about one way or another. Failure to take a stance in your writing has the potential to lead to a weak essay, but have no fear, Opposing Viewpoints has all the information you need to develop a strong opinion and strengthen your writing. This database gathers articles from academic journals on hundreds of contemporary topics and, when applicable, divides them into a pro/con format for easy browsing. Unsure where you stand on gun control, universal healthcare, or any other controversial contemporary topic? Opposing Viewpoints will help you fully understand the most important issues of our time, and ultimately strengthen your writing.

American Memory (Library of Congress)

This database has an incredibly vast collection of anything and everything related to the American Experience. Photo galleries, digital recordings, and historical maps are just a tiny bit of what’s available to students through American Memory, a rabbit hole I’ve personally fallen into more than once. There are hundreds of collections in these archives, each providing a snapshot of United States history. One of my personal favorites is the digital collection of baseball cards, some dating all the way back to the mid-to-late 19th Century. Here’s Boston Beaneaters legend Ezra Sutton, showing off his telepathic powers by levitating a baseball with his mind (telepathy was outlawed in baseball in 1892).

Fun fact: Sutton had his career year at the age of 34, ancient in baseball terms, where he amassed 6.2 Wins Above Replacement, carrying the Beaneaters to a 2nd place finish in the National League. So keep at it, non-traditional students; your career year is still ahead of you, too. This, and so much more, awaits your clicks at the American Memory exhibit at the Library of Congress.

Links included in this blog post: 

EBSCO Ebooks Collection

EBSCO’s Historical Abstracts

Kanopy Streaming Service

Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center

American Memory (Library of Congress)