Database News for May/June, 2003

The Black Drama database from Alexander Street Press has expanded, well, dramatically! The collection now includes more than 900 plays by more than 170 authors. Some features of the new release include:

• For the first time with this release, Black Drama now includes plays by August Wilson, as well as additional (unpublished) plays by Derek Walcott
• The number of previously unpublished works has more than doubled to 297. These include manuscripts provided by the Schomburg and Hatch-Billops collections and also from author's private collections.
• The collection now provides representation of all periods of black drama from 1846 right up to 2003.
• Represented are 22 different nationalities, including 64 non-American playwrights. There are 32 African playwrights.

During June, check out Reference Universe, a continuously-updated database of back-of-the-book indexes and article titles to subject encyclopedias and reference works. Reference Universe permits librarians and patrons to search the contents of the world of reference titles more completely and accurately, down to volume and page number.

Currently, more than 1500 titles are indexed in Reference Universe, from publishers such as ABC-Clio, Academic, Gale, Blackwell, Garland, Greenwood, Wiley. Macmillan, and more.

During June and July, try out Europa World. Europa World is the online version of the Europa World Year Book, the indispensable source of information on world-wide affairs. First published in 1926, the year book is renowned as one of the world's leading reference works, covering political and economic information in over 250 countries and territories, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.

Search by country or international organization for statistics, government and political information, business and commerce information. The advanced search feature allows users to search for keywords in article text, by world region, or for personal names.

For more information and a link to the trial, visit our trials page.

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