Fee-Based Online Searching
Reference Department, Thomas Cooper Library

Thomas Cooper Library Reference Staff can conduct librarian-mediated searching of various fee based database systems. These services are available primarily to current University of South Carolina students, faculty, and staff.

If the databases available through the Electronic Indexes do not meet your needs, you may want to talk to a librarian about an additional database system.

Reference Department librarians can search hundreds of bibliographic databases for complex or timely topics in all subject areas.  The costs for these searches vary based on database, type of search and the amount of information retrieved.  Users of this service will be expected to reimburse the University Libraries for vendor costs incurred in using commercial databases.

Search Express
To sample the online waters briefly and economically, consider "Search Express".  For a maximum $5 fee, a Reference Librarian will search one or more of the Access databases and retrieve a maximum of 20 citations for you within two working days.  For example, "Search Express" can be used to identify records in DIALOG, one of the largest and oldest online search services.  DIALOG contains over 600 databases, which are updated daily and cover content as far back as the 1800s depending on the database.  Other databases available include RLIN's bibliographic database and numerous OCLC FirstSearch databases.

Who should I contact for more information?
For more information or to schedule a mediated search, please contact Rebecca Gettys at the Thomas Cooper Library Reference Department gettysr@mailbox.sc.edu or (803) 777-7168.