Access to LexisNexis Academic is now available to De Anza College students through any computer with Internet access using their student ID.

LexisNexis Academic is a collection of public records, unpublished opinions, forms, legal, news and business information. Furthermore it includes all current United States statutes, laws and published legal case opinions that date back to the 1770s.

“We have really good reasons for going for LexisNexis,” said Interim Dean of Library Services Judy Mowrey. “One is our large paralegal program, which will benefit from what is probably the strongest research database for legal issues around. We also have a great business program, and business students should be familiar with how to use LexisNexis in doing business and market research.”

Students need to use the library Web site www.deanza.edu/library/ to enter into the archive system.

The De Anza College Library was able to order a subscription to this archive due to falling prices in the marketplace and recent boosts in the library budget.

The cost of a LexisNexis Academic subscription for De Anza is $7,875.12 annually. De Anza pays less than the regular rate because of the membership it shares with a consortium of California community colleges.

The consortium receives discount rates because it is offered databases as a group. “What we used to get for $10,000 or $15,000 per year in terms of subscriptions, we’re now getting exponentially more,” said librarian Lena Chang.

“We’re trying to get a broad range of specialized programs, and we have ample funding this year. We expect to have ample funding next year,” Mowrey said.

After next year, however, access to the databases may be affected. De Anza is on a three year cycle for subscriptions and funding.

Mowrey said she expects subscriptions to diminish once funds run out. “I think we’re one of the few community colleges that have the full bundle of databases, including EBSCOhost, Info Trac, ProQuest and now LexisNexis. We may not have all of these forever. One of things we’re trying to get a feel for is which ones we’re really going to use, which ones are stronger so that when we reach the next time when we have to cut back, which will happen, we’ll be in good shape.”

Other subscriptions that have been added to De Anza’s inventory are Automotive Technology, Nursing databases and another database called “The Vault,” which has career information for students.

“We have had requests for MLA, which gives us access to the scholarly journal JSTOR, and that’s probably the next one down to get when that time comes,” said Mowrey. “PsychLit, which is a major player in the field of psychology, is the other database with information that students have wanted access to, but the company that owns it has everything locked up into their product, and it’s really expensive.”

The library is pursuing a format change in the way students can access archives of the New York Times. “We have just sent out the order to purchase rights for the New York Times historical database, which contains every issue [of the paper] digitally from 1850 onward,” Mowry said. “That’s something we’re doing as a legacy for the future. “We have the microfilm from 1950 on, which we spend $7,000 every year to expand, but nobody wants to come down to the library and look at that. This actually comes out more cost-efficient for De Anza in the long run.”

The New York Times database will be available in the winter quarter.