What are databases?
Answer
A database is a comprehensive collection of related information, gathered together for easy access, usually on a computer. There are many types of databases, as there are many subjects taught at Barry, as well as many forms the data can take: journal articles, indices, streaming video, and ebooks, to name a few.
Once a user has mastered searching in one database, she is often prepared for the basics of searching in many others. Nevertheless, each database has it's intricacies (PubMed requires creating an account with a host site; the EBSCO databases allow simultaneous searches between them; and Lexis-Nexis has an interface that is much different from virtually every other database, causing much confusion).