Think of databases as huge electronic filing systems. They must be highly organized for people to easily find the information they need.

There are many kinds of databases. The most common type you will encounter in the library is an online periodical index, which points you to articles published in magazines, journals, and newspapers.

Each year millions of articles are published in periodicals. An Index helps identify the articles by listing them by topic, author, date, or with other information.

When you search a periodical index you will always get a citation, which includes the article author, article title, magazine or journal title, and date. Sometimes you will also find abstracts or the full text of articles.