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2023 Newspaper Database Review

A review of Libraries-subscribed newspaper databases has provided a recommendation to cease subscribing to the Nexis Uni database, effective July 2024.  The recommendation is based on low usage, duplicated content, and a difficult interface:

  • Between 2017 and 2022, full text retrievals in Nexis Uni have dropped over 90%.
  • Over 50% of all full text retrievals during this time period occurred in 2017 and 2018.
  • 67% of full text retrievals in 2021-June 2023 are from the New York Times alone.  The Libraries provides access to this resource via the New York Times Historical Newspaper and NYTimes.com databases.
  • A strong majority of Nexis Uni resources are not utilized.  34% of Nexis Uni resources accounted for all usage 2017-June 2023, and from 2021-June 2023, only 15% of Nexis Uni resources generated usage.
  • The top 26 titles used in Nexis Uni account for 74% of all full text retrievals since 2017.  The Libraries provides 96% coverage of these titles via other Libraries databases.
  • OU faculty, staff, students, and walk-in users, have all shared that the Nexis Uni interface is difficult to use and is not intuitive or user-friendly.

Monies from this cancellation will be used to offset the cost of the America's News database. 

 

As we transition away from Nexis Uni, please be aware that the Libraries provides access to a wealth of newspaper, business, media, legal, and government databases covering the content provided in Nexis Uni.

For current news:  America's News, Factiva, Newspapers Source Plus, Ethnic Newswatch, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and ProQuest Recent Newspapers

For business:  Factiva, ProQuest One Business/ABI, Mergent Online, GlobalData Explorer, Business Source Elite, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission EDGAR

For media transcripts:  Factiva, ProQuest One Business, America's News

For legal information:  HeinOnline, Fastcase, Juris Arbitration Law, Index to Legal Periodicals and Books, EBSCO's Legal Collection, the U.S. Supreme Court website, Congress/Legal Guide

For government documents:  HeinOnline, ProQuest Congressional, Legislative Insight, LLMC Digital, SimplyAnalytics, Government Documents Guide

To learn more about these databases, please contact your liaison librarian

As always, interlibrary loan is available to OU community members needing material not available through our current resources.