Free Databases
Below is a list of freely available databases selected by the library staff as potentially useful for a seminary audience. If you know of any useful free databases not listed here, let us know.
On this page: Religion & Theology · Ancient Texts · Books · Book Reviews · E-Books · Ethics · General · Hymnody · Library Science
| Database | Description | Info |
|---|---|---|
| Religion & Theology | ||
| Calvinism Resources Database |
Topics: John Calvin and Calvinism. Sources: Journal articles, essays, and lectures. Indexing: 1960–present. Full-text: None. |
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| Christian Classics Ethereal Library |
Digital library of hundreds of classic Christian books selected for edification and education. Collection is fully searchable and can also be browsed by author, title, or subject. Also includes Scripture search. All texts are produced from works in the public domain. |
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| CRC Periodical Index |
Index of periodicals published by the Christian Reformed Church and its subsidiary institutions (e.g. Banner). Indexing: 20 titles. Many titles are completely indexed. Full-text: None. |
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| Research in Ministry (RIM) |
Topics: Theological doctoral projects. Sources: D.Min. and D.Miss. projects from schools of theology accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada. Indexing: 1981–present. Full-Text: Abstracts only. |
|
| Works of Jonathan Edwards Online |
Large collection of Edwards' works produced by the Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University. Collection is fully searchable and can also be browsed by date, theme, title, or Scripture. 1,700+ documents. Access requires registering for a free account. |
|
| Ancient Texts | ||
| Searchable Greek Inscriptions |
Database of Greek inscriptions from Greece, Crete, Cyprus, Thrace, the north coast of the Black Sea, Syria, Egypt, North Africa, and Germany. Inscriptions can be searched in Greek, or browsed by region. |
|
| Books | ||
| WorldCat |
Catalog of books in nearly every library in the United States and many libraries around the world. |
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| Book Reviews | ||
| Review of Biblical Literature (RBL) |
The Review of Biblical Literature, founded by the Society of Biblical Literature, presents reviews of books in biblical studies and related fields. Contains over 4,100 full-text reviews. |
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| The Bryn Mawr Classical Review |
An archive from 1990 to present of book reviews for classical resources. The site also can be searched across the years by keyword. Religion is just part of this collection of reviews. |
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| H-Net Reviews in the Humanities and Social Sciences |
An online scholarly review resource, religion is just one part of this review collection. The reviews archive is separated into annual volumes. You can browse through the volumes or use the search feature to assist in finding reviews. |
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| The Medieval Review (previously The Bryn Mawr Medieval Review) |
Provides an archive of reviews from 1993 to present in the field of Medieval Studies. |
|
| E-Books | ||
| HathiTrust Digital Library |
A collection of digitized material from several large research universities.
Full view available for public domain materials, uncopyrightable works, and works where permission has been granted. Limited preview available for others. |
|
| National Academies Press |
Reports issued by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council. Topics include Behavioral and Social Sciences, Education, Health and Medicine, and Policy for Science and Technology. 3,000+ titles. Most (but not all) are free. |
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| Project Gutenberg |
Collection of over 19,000 books on a multitude of subjects. The collection is strongest in literature. All texts are produced from works in the public domain. |
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| Ethics | ||
| ETHXWeb & GenETHX |
Topics: Bioethics and professional ethics. (GenETHX is a subset of ETHXWeb focusing on genetics.) Sources: Journal articles, book chapters, bills, laws, court decisions, reports, books, audiovisuals, and news articles. Indexing: 251,100 records. 1988–present. Full-Text: Some links to the full-text providers. Check results against Covenant Seminary's periodical holdings. |
|
| GreenFILE |
Topics: The environment and environmental perspectives on agriculture, education, law, health, technology, etc. Global climate change, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, alternative fuel sources, etc. Sources: Academic journals, trade publications, books, and research reports. Indexing: 759 titles (294 peer-reviewed). 1913–present. Full-Text: Links to open access journals. |
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| General | ||
| Google Scholar |
Topics: Scholarly materials posted on the open web from a variety of disciplines. Sources: Articles, theses, books, abstracts, and court opinions from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities, and other web sites. Full-Text: Hit or miss. Some materials freely available; others require payment or subscription. |
|
| Hymnody | ||
| Hymnary |
Database of hymn texts, hymn tunes, hymn writers, and hymnals. Includes biographical information from sources such as the Psalter Hymnal Handbook and Julian's Dictionary of Hymnology. Indexing: 43 hymnals, 11,129 texts, and 7,426 tunes. Full-Text: 6,570 hymn texts, 1,511 full scores, and 8,595 media files. |
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| Hymn Tune Index |
Index of hymn tunes from English-language hymns printed anywhere in the world before 1820. Searchable by tune name, text contents, composer, or source. Full-Text: None. |
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| Dictionary of North American Hymnology |
Index of over 1 million hymns from 4,876 hymnals published in North America between 1640 and 1978. Hymns can be searched by first line or author. Hymnals can be searched by title, publisher, date, denomination, etc. Full-Text: None. |
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| Library Science | ||
| Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts (LISTA) |
Topics: Librarianship, classification, cataloging, bibliometrics, online information retrieval, information management. Sources: Periodicals, books, research reports, and proceedings. Indexing: 900+ titles (490 peer-reviewed). 1964–present. Includes abstracts. Full-Text: None. |
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"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God."
Matthew 4:4


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