FirstSearch, a collection of databases from the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC), provides references from books, journal articles, business directories, etc., in subjects ranging from the arts to science and technology.
It is provided online by the MIT Libraries for use of MIT community members, and is available 23 hours per day, seven days per week (down hour is 2-3am).
To connect to FirstSearch, use the following commands:
athena% add library
athena% tfirst
exit command bye
The symbol for MIT is MYG
These are the databases available on FirstSearch effective September 1, 1994:
ABI/INFORM-Covers busines, including company histories and new product development. Citations include abstracts and indexes of significant articles from nearly 1,000 current business and management periodicals, 1971 to present.
Applied Science & Technology Index (ApplSciIndex)-Indexes more than 350 of the international English-language periodicals in the applied sciences and technology, 1983 to present.
ArtIndex-Leading publications in the arts, 1984 to present.
ArticleFirst-Indexes articles listed on the contents page for more than 11,000 journals in science, technology, medicine, social science, business, humanities and popular culture. Search by subject or author, 1990 to present.. You can make interlibrary borrowing requests directly from this database. When you have found the item you need and determined that MIT does not own it, use the Order command, and choose Interlibrary Loan.
BIOSIS/FS-Information on recent developments in biological and biomedical sciences, derived from journals portion of BIOSIS Previews, current year and three previous years.
ERIC-700,000 annotated references to non-journal articles issued in Resources in Education (RIE) and to journal articles issued in Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE), 1966 to present.
GenSciIndex-Leading general science periodicals, 1984 to present.
GPO-335,000 records for US government documents, July 1976 to present.
Humanities Index-Citations to articles in important humanities journals, 1984 to present.
INSPEC-Produced by the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE), it is the world's largest and most comprehensive source of published reference literature in physics, electrical and control engineering, electronics, and computing, 1987 to present.
MEDLINE-Indexes more than 3,500 medical journals published internationally; most records include abstracts, 1986 to present.
MLA-Modern Language Association of America index on literature, languages, linguistics, and folklore, 1963 to present.
NewsAbs-Records describing significant items from 25 newspapers, including the New York Times, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, and Wall Street Journal, 1989 to present.
PAIS Decade-Represents the most recent 10 years of the PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service) database. Topics include business, government, international relations, banking, environment, health, social sciences, demographics, law and legislation, political science, public administration, finance, education and statistics, covers most recent ten years
ReadersGuide-Citations to articles in popular periodicals, 1983 to present.
ReadGuideAbs-Same as above with summaries, 1983 to present.
Social Sciences Index-Citations cover business, politics, foreign affairs, anthropology, community health and medical care, economics, geography, international relations, law and criminology, political science, psychiatry and psychology, social work, public welfare and sociology, 1983 to present.
WorldCat-More than 30 million bibliographic records from the year 1000 to present..
You can make interlibrary borrowing requests directly from this database. When you have found the item you need and determined that MIT does not own it, use the Order command, and choose Interlibrary Loan. Commercial document delivery is available in many databases.
Look for Order command in the action line.
For questions about Athena accounts, contact x3-1325, ; for other questions about Athena, call the Athena Consultants, x3-4435, or use olc; for questions about Athena documentation, contact x3-5150, .
For questions about FirstSearch, call Mary Pensyl, x3 7754, .
Athena accounts are available to all MIT students, faculty and on-campus staff. Students and faculty may register at any Athena workstation by selecting Register for an Account on the login screen. Staff must first contact Athena User Accounts Office, Rm 11-124H, x3-1325, .
A version of this article appeared in the August 31, 1994 issue of MIT Tech Talk (Volume 39, Number 3).
