# UCLA Library-Licensed Databases:  Getting to and Selecting Databases to Search

The <span class="caps">UCLA</span> Library subscribes to hundreds of databases for fees of varying amounts, in order to license them for free use by <span class="caps">UCLA</span> students (fully enrolled), staff and faculty.

Answers to three questions can be helpful in selecting databases to search:

1. Which topics does it cover?
2. What types of materials does it index or provide?
3. What time period does it cover?

The following steps will help you find answers to these questions:

1. Go to the Library home page: [www.library.ucla.edu/](http://www.library.ucla.edu/)
2. Pull down the Search and Find menu
3. Select Article Databases
4. Enter the name of a database in the search box and press enter, or find a database using any of the following: 
    - Frequently Used Databases
    - Databases by Subject
    - A-Z Databases
5. Click on “more info” under the brief information about the database 
    - Example: Search and Find/Databases by Subject/Engineering/Computer Science
    - Database: <span class="caps">IEEE</span> Explore
    - more info: 
        - “Description:
        - Provides full-text access to more than 1.9 million <span class="caps">IEEE</span> documents   
             including <span class="caps">IEEE</span> transactions, <span class="caps">IEEE</span> and <span class="caps">IET</span> (formerly <span class="caps">IEE</span>) journals,   
             magazines, and conference proceedings published since 1988, and all   
             current <span class="caps">IEEE</span> standards. Subject coverage includes electrical and electronic   
             engineering, computer engineering, computing science, and related   
             disciplines.”