Another key factor is that Web databases are available from all three of the major platforms used at MIT - UNIX, Windows, and Macintosh. Just like their print predecessors, electronic databases provide access to publications - but with much more powerful searching capabilities. As with the paper versions, you can search online bibliographic databases for a particular subject, author, or article title. All of the databases licensed by the MIT Libraries cover some body of knowledge. However, a database may also focus on a type of publication - for example, ProceedingsFirst provides citations to conference proceedings in all subject areas.
Some databases cover large bodies of material across all subject lines.
WorldCat, the Libraries most popular database, includes over 36 million entries representing books and other materials catalogued by participating libraries. However, there is no universal database that covers all publications in all subjects. MIT reference librarians can recommend the best databases for any given search. The MIT Libraries have provided online access to a small group of bibliographic databases for some time, originally through the FirstSearch service. When searching databases that are limited to bibliographic citations or abstracts, getting the articles themselves can be a bit complicated.