EXPLORING ONLINE DATABASES IN ACADEMIC LIBRARIES – AN OVERVIEW OF NIGERIAN SITUATION

A library database is a searchable electronic index of published, reliable resources. Online Databases provide access to a wealth of useful research materials from academic journals, newspapers, and magazines. Some databases also include e-books, relevant Web resources, and various multimedia. This paper explored library online databases available in academic libraries, discussed the types of databases in academic libraries such as free databases and fee-based (Subscription-based); category of databases in academic libraries such as scholarly article databases, e-book databases, subject-specific databases, statistical and data databases, multimedia and image databases and theses and dissertations databases. Also discussed were significance of databases in academic libraries, criteria for selecting databases, database subscription, database subscription management, Nigerian academic libraries’ situation as well as challenges and future directions.