Experience History with New Article Databases

Hunter Library has several new article databases available for students and the public to peruse. These databases include national and local publications, specifically LIFE Magazine and The Atlantic Magazine, with issues ranging from 1857 to the 21st century.

I presented the same keyword to each database to see what results they each database. Today’s word of choice: Pie. When the seasons change, and Autumn is upon us, my mind turns to thoughts of pie, from pumpkin to chocolate. It’s pie season.

The Atlantic Magazine was a literary and cultural commentary magazine that originally featured such authors as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mark Twain, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, especially since the database spans more than a hundred and fifty years. My search for pie turned up several articles with pie as a keyword, including one from a contributor in 1921, called “Pies – An Essay,” a lovely creative non-fiction piece about the author’s mother making pies that was saturated with wonderful details that really brought the woman and her gingham apron to life, even from a century ago.

The LIFE magazine database provided an opportunity to peruse the pages of a magazine that is rich with gorgeous illustrations and beautiful photography. Owned by Time magazine, LIFE featured humor, photojournalism, and cultural commentary. A more lighthearted counterpart to Time, it featured articles that were reflective of the era of its publication in the 20th Century. My search returned articles with pie in the title. One article entitled “Lyrical Lime Pie” (from 1969) featured two pages of full color images of a lime under a tree, and one page of recipes for a three-course dinner for 8, including, of course, Key Lime pie.

Students will get great use out of the new databases, particularly if you are looking for information about daily life, culture, arts, politics, and literature of the past 150 years.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *