For anyone interested in general, non-current events topics Opposing ViewPoints in Context is not the best fit, while LexisNexis Academic, ProQuest Central, Academic Search Complete, and ABI Inform Collection often lead to highly specific articles, and the library web site’s Big Search Box (Discovery) may deliver a pile of not quite relevant offerings. Why not try the DotDash.com family of sites instead.

Until May of this year, DotDash.com was About.com, a huge collection of articles on a wide variety of subjects. The authors of these articles list their first and last names, and their backgrounds and credentials are still just a mouse click away. Some About.com/DotDash articles even include a small works cited or links to further reading or upstream sources.

With the change in name DotDash split About.com into six brands:

The Balance — for personal finance. LifeWire — for "untangling tech." The Spruce — for domestic arts, agriculture, animal husbandry, fashion, decorating and similar pursuits. Trip Savvy — for travel. Thought.co — for lifelong learning and intellectual curiosity. VeryWell — for personal and consumer health.

This six way split sometimes makes searching tricky. Topics can reside comfortably in one brand. Questions about investing have answers in The Balance. Animal husbandry and pet care subjects live at The Spruce. Trip Savvy is for travel planning, and to read a review of the latest gadget or gizmo, stop by LifeWire.

Most other topics spread across more than one DotDash brand. The Spruce includes some nutrition and recipes for special diets, but VeryWell has additionalnutrition articles. The Spruce offers an extensive collection of articles on beekeeping and biological control with beneficial insects, but insect biology is in Thought.co. Likewise, other countries cultures are in both TripSavvy as well as in Thought.co. Unlike the library’s databases, DotDash includes no Big Discover Box. You need to search each brand separately.

Then there are the topics that reside in unlikely places. Most sports articles live in Thought.co, while fitness articles make their home in VeryWell. Articles on the economy and economic-related current events are in The Balance nearly exclusively, and henna tattooing is nearly absent from The Spruce, but appears in Thought.co .

DotDash also has some curious omissions. Its audience appears to be Caucasian, American, and middle class. There are no articles on sneaker collecting, and Thought.co’s coverage of henna lacks the details a consumer might need. Savory recipes for ordinary peanut butter or canned sardines are absent from The Spruce.

Also, some DotDash articles lack both external links and works’ citeds. Most links found in DotDash articles lead to other articles in the same brand. Still articles do provide the words and background that makes searching library databases for specific articles easier and more fruitful.

Moreover, anyone planning on using DotDash material should check its authors’ backgrounds with care. Some writer profiles are carry overs from About.com that still await revision. Many authors are freelance journalists among the doctors and other subject experts. You can sometimes find authors’ other work, and even follow them on Twitter. Use your judgement or ask for advice if you are not sure whether an author is credible.

And lastly, DotDash’ s six brands are only a beginning. With luck the background they give, the links they provide, and the words and ideas they contain, lead to more fruitful searching in Academic Search Complete, LexisNexis Academic, the library’s Big (Discovery) Box, and other databases. You can also find more precise information at Cooks.com, Dummies.com, Cnet.com and company web sites. DotDash.com, though, is often a great place to begin with a general interest, non-current events topic.