A Comparison of HathiTrust and Google Books using Federal Publications * WINNER OF THE 2013 PRACTICAL ACADEMIC LIBRARIANSHIP AWARD *

Authors

  • Laura Sare Texas A&M University

Keywords:

Federal Documents, Database Functionality, Google Books, HathiTrust

Abstract

This study compares the functionality of the Google Books and HathiTrust online repositories using federal government publications. Record overlap between the two databases was examined. Functionality such as ease of finding specific titles, citation extraction, book bags, and other features such as metadata are covered. Also conducted was a look at the quality of records for these repositories in the WorldCat database. This study found that both Google Books and HathiTrust have benefits and flaws and that the needs of the user will help librarians determine which to recommend to patrons.

* WINNER OF THE 2013 PRACTICAL ACADEMIC LIBRARIANSHIP AWARD *

Author Biography

Laura Sare, Texas A&M University

Government Information Librarian

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Published

2012-03-26

Issue

Section

Articles