Discus: South Carolina's Virtual Library

Anyone who has recently been involved in a school library as a student, teacher or librarian will be familiar with Discus (scdiscus.org). Discus (an acronym for Digital Information for South Carolina Users) is available through all public and school libraries in the state. Links to Discus can be found on most public libraries' database lists as well as through some school library websites. However, one of the simplest ways to access this resource is to simply go to scdiscus.org. As long as you access the website from a computer that is located in and connected to the internet in South Carolina, you will not need login credentials. If you do need login credentials, a public or school librarian should be able to provide them.

The South Carolina State Library manages Discus, and this resource is free to the public. Through its collection of subscription databases, Discus allows students to search for credible sources without worrying about advertisements and untrustworthy sources. It also provides curated lists and groups of resources to help students and teachers navigate the many databases that are available.

Discus allows users to search for databases by grade level. These resources are divided into "Early Childhood & Elementary," "Middle School," and "High School." This division can help teachers and students to immediately find resources that are suited to their grade level and content matter. Discus offers resources that align with the standards for each grade level, helping teachers to plan lessons and guide student learning. This format also ensures that students will not have to sift through an A-Z list of databases every time they conduct research. For example, Discus provides databases containing information on South Carolina history. These databases can be useful in third and eighth-grade curricula. If a third grade teacher assigns a project on famous South Carolinians, students can use Discus to locate biographical information for their projects. The following video from the South Carolina State Library further explains how to use Discus to locate these resources:

Students can also browse Discus databases by subject. This allows students to look outside of their grade's standards and preferred databases when conducting research. Discus Kids further simplifies the search process by highlighting databases designed specifically for the youngest Discus users. The "SmartSearch" option, on the other hand, provides a user experience similar to that of JSTOR. This format is important for high school researchers because it introduces them to the type of scholarly research databases they will use in a university setting. Discus has something to offer for South Carolina students and teachers in every grade level and content area.