Students have long had access to thousands of scholarly articles through the OCCC Library database, said Reference Librarian Rachel Butler.

The library has added to that number with a subscription to World Religions Online, a collection of articles, essays, films and images students can use for class assignments, Butler said.

With most online article databases, material from several authors is organized into one space but, she said, World Religions Online is its own publication.

To access World Religions Online, Butler said, students can select the “More” link under the “More Resources” tab on the OCCC Library homepage at www.occc.edu/library.

“You can get to [World Religions Online] from wherever you’re working,” Butler said.

“It’s an excellent example of some scholarly information.

“It’s got scholarly articles, it’s got videos … all the stuff that keeps your professor happy.”

Butler said any information accessed from World Religions Online can be cited for classroom use.

“OCCC has a lot of classes that could conceivably use this for an assignment … ,” she said.

She cited mythology, philosophy and comparative religion classes as examples.

Butler said World Religions Online is user-friendly and easy to navigate since it is an Internet publication.

She said typically, when printed material is converted to an online article, some information is lost, but said World Religions Online is extremely reliable in that manner.

The website organizes information in big categories so as to have more accessibility to students, Butler said.

“You can click on these things and be nose-to-nose with some really good information,” she said.

In addition, the OCCC Library has access to the Online Encyclopedia of Religion, an online article database, Butler said.

To access the Online Encyclopedia of Religion, Butler said, students can search the title through the OCCC Library Catalog.

Students can access scholarly articles by searching specific topics when using the Online Encyclopedia of Religion, Butler said.

She said it is just as beneficial for class assignments; however, it is not as interesting to look at as World Religions Online.

Butler said if students need help accessing the online databases, the OCCC Library staff is available to help.

For more information about the databases, call 405-682-7564, or visit the library website at www.occc.edu/library.