When was the last time you went to the library to do research? There was a time when you had to go to the library to access business books, journals, and even the catalogs of material contained in those publications.
Have you ever searched on a topic in Google, found an abstract that looked like exactly what you wanted, only to find out the full article would cost you $10 just to view?
Moving all of that information from the library to the Internet was only a matter of time, with the emergence of digital everything over the last 20 years. But access to all that information has been restricted to academic institutions and paying organizations. ASTD has removed that barrier for its members, by including EBSCOhost as a part of its membership benefits.
There are a couple of other research resources worth mentioning as well. Follow me, and we’ll take a brief tour of the ASTD Knowledge Center.
ASTD Knowledge Center
http://www.astd.org/content/research/doYourOwn/doYourOwn.htm
The starting point for research sources at ASTD. If you can get to this page, you can find all the rest I discuss.
Learning Communities
http://www.astd.org/communities/networks/
Sites found from this page may direct you to free T&D articles available through the ASTD store, to discussion boards, or other types of information that fall into a named topic. Browse through the topics on the left to see the range of available content.
ASTD Discussion Boards
http://community.astd.org/eve/forums
I found it easier to access the discussion boards from here than from the learning communities. Don’t overlook the discussion boards as a resource. Here you have access to ASTD members from all over the globe with a vast scope of expertise.
Digital Content
http://www.astd.org/digital-content/
There is a wealth of information here! T+D podcasts since November 2007, YouTube videos, conference video, and more. Some of the material is for-pay content, but much of it is free . Don’t forget to check out the T+D Webcasts.
The ASTD Online Library
http://www.astd.org/content/research/PROTECTED/online-library.htm
This is a resource that stands alone and well above all the rest. Here you have access to a huge collection of full-text management, human resource and training-specific journals, business books, newspaper content, and book summaries. Through EBSCOhost, you can organize and save articles under your account, and even make and store notes. Personally, I think this one benefit justifies the entire cost of national membership.
Tags: ASTD, ASTD Nebraska, CPLP Study