Anne,

Since you have used both spreadsheet and database program you should
consider using Excel and Access in conjunction. The types of data
manipulation and report generating you have in mind could be handled
effectively in Access. For some work on final tables, e.g. producing more
detailed graphs, I prefer Excel.
The great advantage of having both on your PC is the ability to move
tables easily between these two applications. However, I'd use Access as
a primary application for the data you want to monitor or analyze.
Importing is straightforward and should not pose any problems if your
EBSCO data is in some type of delimited format(comma or tab-delimited).
I use MS Access for many purposes, several of which require merging data
of tables from a variety of sources (vendor, integrated library system etc.

If you don't already have one, I would suggest investing $30 in one of
the Access manuals. Even if you have experience with Dbase, some things
in Access are different enough to stump a Dbase experienced Access novice.

By the way, I assume your computer hardware is powerful enough to run
Access effectively.

                                Alfred B. Kraemer
                                Head of Technical Services
                                Medical College of Wisconsin Libraries
                                8701 Watertown Plank Road
                                Milwaukee, WI 53226
                                (414) 456-4273
                                E-Mail: akraemer@post.its.mcw.edu