An online database provides electronic access to organized collections of data through the use of a computer that is connected to the internet. Online databases usually use full text information that is available to libraries. Also, there are a variety of online databases that most libraries are familiar with and these databases are Thomas Gale, ProQuest, and EBSCO and many more.
Advantages
- Savings - Less hardware/storage devices required. So we can save a lot of money which had to be invested in storage or we can use that money to get faster computers.
- Global Accessible - Online data can be accessed from any part of the globe with just a computer and an internet connection.
- Safety - Since the data is OFFSITE, data is secured from theft, fire or any other damages that might happen to your local computer/business.
Disadvantages
· Less Control - Since the data is with a 3rd Party, you have less control over it than what you could have had if the data was onsite or locally on your computer.
· Closure of Online Company - There is a looming threat that an online company where your data is stored might just go out of business without any warning and with it all your data too would be GONE!
· Security - Since data is online, the accessibility for it is global so is the security threat. Any hacker will have access to the data as much as you have; the only thing that would stop them is an access code / password. If you haven’t chosen the encryption right or if you haven’t chosen a strong password, that’s all the security you have for your data!
Implications for Collection Development
Collection development is the critical function in a library (Carrigan, 1995). The main goal of collection development process is to meet the information needs of the community users through identification, selection, acquisition, and evaluation of a collection of library resources for a community of users. Therefore, the collection development process tries to assure the quality of the collection by maintaining its strength and correct its weaknesses.
Copyright considerations of the format
Journals license agreements usually define what the publisher considers to be fair use of the product. For journals, there are limitations which include the amount of information that users can download and the number of users who may access the service at the same time.
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