About Library Databases

Overview

What are library databases?

Wright Library purchases subscriptions to many electronic research resources, often called databases.

This Guide to Reference Resources spotlights a few of them.

How do I access them?

*A number of open access resources, such as the Theological Commons, are also included in the A-Z list and in Summon.

Princeton Seminary Alumni

Alumni may request access to a select number of databases purchased on their behalf.

Visit Princeton Seminary Alumni for details.

Visitors

Guests visiting the library in person, please go to Technology for information about visitor access to subscription-based e-resources.

Guests visiting the library online are encouraged to check out these resources for everyone.

Connect to full text from the library while you're elsewhere online with free browser extensions. Learn more about Lean Library and LibKey Nomad.

Shared Access

The Princeton University Library has successfully negotiated shared access for the Seminary community to the following databases. (Login with your Princeton Seminary email and password)

  1. Humanities Source Ultimate
  2. Sociology Source Ultimate
  3. Twentieth Century Religious Thought: Volume II, Islam
  4. Brill Encyclopedia of Early Christianity Online

Wright Library thanks the Princeton University Library for its ongoing commitment to library collaboration and to shared access where possible.

Search Tips

Looking for a book?

Searching a specific database

To search a single database, use the Databases A-Z List.

Searching specific fields:

  • All: Searches all the fields available
  • Keyword: All Fields (the default)
  • Title: Searches the title field
  • Author: Searches the author field
  • Abstract: Searches the abstract field
  • Subject: Searches the subject field

Boolean searching:

  • Narrow your search using AND to connect separate concepts.
    Example:
    barth AND dogmatics
  • Broaden your search using OR to connect similar terms.
    Example:
    muslim OR moslem
  • Narrow your search using NOT to eliminate separate terms.
    Example:
    barth NOT karl

Searching exact phrases:

Using "quotation marks" around your search term may be effective in some searches.

For advanced searching, it is recommended that you use the "native interface" of a database.

Searching for full text only:

Each database is unique and not all databases provide full-text.

Additional search strategies:

Truncation: Use * to find all words that begin with the same root.
Example: theolog* finds theology, theologian, theological