Year in Review: NewsBank Edition

We have a TON of great resources available in the Library, but one of the coolest may be the NewsBank database, which archives current and historical newspapers from around the world.

NewsBank’s "Year in Review - 2017" succinctly captures what enraptured and enraged American college students—the main users of the database—last year. According to their review, the most popular search topics on the databses included

• Catalonia
• Hurricane Irma
• Judge Roy Moore
• sexual harassment
• Hurricane Maria
• North Korea AND nuclear
• Tom Brady
• Golden State Warriors
• NFL AND protest
• opioid AND addiction
• Cassini AND Saturn
• exoplanets
• Ken Burns AND Vietnam

These search terms largely focus on the political and the humanitarian: it is clear that students were searching for the facts in controversial topics. Reading many sources and opposing points of view, of course, are the best ways to combat fake news and confirmation bias. And can we just take a moment to notice the use of Boolean operators in those search terms? Go college students!

The review also includes a round-up of important images from the year. They range from the tragic…

People visit a makeshift memorial for victims of the mass shooting in Las Vegas, Monday, Oct. 16, 2017, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

People lay flowers after a vigil in Albert Square, Manchester, England, Tuesday May 23, 2017, the day after the suicide attack at an Ariana Grande concert that left 22 people dead as it ended on Monday night. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Howard University students pray near the site where Heather Heyer was killed when a driver rammed a car into a crowd of demonstrators in Charlottesville, Va., Friday, Aug. 18, 2017. About fifty Howard University students visited the site where Heyer died while protesting a white nationalist rally on Saturday Aug. 12. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

To the political…

In this Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017, file photo, Buffalo Bills players take a knee during the playing of the national anthem prior to an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos in Orchard Park, N.Y. What began more than a year ago with a lone NFL quarterback protesting police brutality against minorities by kneeling silently during the national anthem before games has grown into a roar with hundreds of players sitting, kneeling, locking arms or remaining in locker rooms, their reasons for demonstrating as varied as their methods. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes, File)

Supreme Court Justice nominee Neil Gorsuch smiles as he testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 21, 2017, during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

To infinity and beyond.

Engineer Mar Vaquero monitors the status of NASA's Cassini spacecraft as it enters the atmosphere of Saturn in mission control at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Friday, Sept. 15, 2017, in Pasadena, Calif. Cassini disintegrated in the skies above Saturn early Friday, following a remarkable journey of 20 years. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, Pool)

Consider using the NewsBank database as the starting-block in your research for your next class project. The quick information you find in a newspaper article can lead you to precise keywords and phrases that will help you find the in-depth research sources you need. Contact the TVCC librarians for the database login information or for tips on how to begin your research.

All images in this blog post have been used according to fair use.