Travel Databases

We at the Metropolitan Library System do our best to keep good travel information on as many countries as possible. But the sad fact is that there are around 196 countries in the world, and even maintaining decent coverage of the 171 that the British have invaded would strain our shelves considerably.

So where can you find information when planning to travel to places that are off the beaten track? We happen to have two entire databases of travel information, both of which contain more data than anyone requires.

A to Z World Travel

Designed with the short-term tourist in mind, A to Z World Travel is broken down into cities rather than countries. While this does require a little extra effort on the part of the user (quick, name the major cities of Bulgaria!) it also results in a more targeted information package. The database currently contains travel guides for 202 world cities, and we are confident they intend for Oklahoma City to be the 203rd.

Once a city is selected, the database provides a brief overview of the city's geography, history and tourist attractions. Collapsible menus along the edge of the page provide access to a wide range of travel-related information, including climate and weather data, the addresses and phone numbers of local embassies, disease risks and recommended immunizations, and brief guides to local communications and currency.

Oddly enough, the "Hotels" section of the website is a booking tool powered by Expedia.com, although it's designed to blend in with the rest of the site. To date, this marks the first price match guarantee we’ve come across in any of our databases.

Probably our favorite feature of the database is the "Excursions" tab, which lists various walking and driving tours designed to take in multiple points of interest over the course of a day. It can be a handy way to build a mental map of a foreign city, and to prioritize the attractions you want to see. Once you figure out that Versailles is about an hour out of Paris by bus, you might decide to choose a museum or monument that's within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower.

The database also includes a dictionary of essential travel terms in the local language. It's a pretty basic list, tending toward single vocabulary words rather than useful phrases, and is most likely to come in handy for puzzling out key words on signs and menus.

There is a very helpful link at the bottom of the navigation pane: "Custom PDF Reports." This brings up a simple page of checkboxes that allows you to select any combination of pages and automatically compile them into a single PDF. The result is a printable custom travel guide that can easily fold into a carry-on or be transferred to a tablet.

All in all, A to Z World Travel is a convenient source of touristy travel information for specific cities.

Global Road Warrior

The Global Road Warrior database is divided into countries rather than cities, and contains far more in-depth information than A to Z World Travel. While it contains much of the same tourist-centered information as A to Z, Global Road Warrior disperses this information through an encyclopedia of data that no tourist really needs to know. If, on the other hand, you are writing a research paper about a country, planning to move there, or conducting business there, Global Road Warrior is a much better fit than A to Z.

Some of the notable sections of the database include the Business Culture section, which contains such vital tidbits on how business is conducted in the country. For example, in some countries failing to bring a small gift to a business meeting would be an unforgivably rude snub, while attempting to give any gifts in a business context might be construed as bribery in other parts of the world. This section contains a great deal of information on what sort of behavior and attire is expected of an American professional in a specific country, and what they can expect from locals in return.

The Health & Medical section of the database includes A to Z's advice on local diseases and immunizations, but also outlines the state of the country's medical system. This can tell you how likely a country's hospitals are to take your insurance, whether or not you can expect an ambulance, and how likely you are to die horribly from easily prevented complications in their care.

It is in the Society and Culture section that Global Road Warrior really shines. There is a wealth of information on both professional and personal ettiquette, local superstitions and folklore, the roles played by various age groups in society, and local philosophies regarding time and punctuality. Our absolute favorite part of this database can be found under Society and Culture: the Stereotypes tab. It breaks down common conceptions of a country, divided between stereotypes as commonly believed by foreigners and those commonly believed by the country's own inhabitants. It also briefly explains how these preconceptions arose and whether there is any truth to them. If you do nothing else, read the Stereotypes section for the United States.

Like A to Z, Global Road Warrior provides PDF collections of the information presented by the database. However, they are much more curated and polished products, with several thematically related subheadings being collected and reformatted into a compact and readable booklet.

Bottom Line

A to Z World travel is an excellent resource for those taking vacation-length trips to major urban centers. Global Road Warrior can be used to cover broader geographical areas, and is ideal for those travelling abroad on business or as medium to long-range residents. It would also be perfect for a student who has been assigned a research project on a country that is not well-represented in our collection. Given the depth and range of information available, both databases should be consulted by anyone who isn’t finding exactly what they need in our print travel and geography sections.

@metrolibrary.org.