1 Wasserman, T Evaluation Set 2 Grp 4 Spr 09 ILS 504 Okobi

Terry Wasserman

Group 4 Evaluation Set 2

ILS 504/Spr 09

Prof. Okobi

21 March 2009

Indexes and Abstracts

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Book Review Digest

Citations

Book Review Digest Plus. Accessed online at New York Public Library for the

Performing Arts. Retrieved 19 March 2009.

Format

Book Review Digest is available both in print, online and in WilsonDisc CD-ROM.

Purpose

Book Review Digest Plus brings together book reviews from all of Wilson’s online

sources and links to full text reviews or long abstracts where available.

Scope

There are currently 1.3 million reviews covering 660,000 books from 8000 periodicals.

More than 115,000 reviews are full text. Both fiction and non-fiction reviews are

indexed and each book entry contains all of its reviews; online the reviews date back to

1983. The print version has been in publication since 1905. Both versions cover

English-language reviews from publications in the U.S., Canada and England.

Authority

H.W. Wilson is a well-regarded publisher of indicies. As well as staff editors, the

publication also get assistance from an advisory board.

Accuracy

The online publication is very accurate and any error could be quickly and easily fixed.

Arrangement & Entry

The online version allows keyword search and within each entry as little as one citation

of a review or as much as several full text reviews can be found. The variable is really
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what kind of press the book received when released. Only reviews published within 18

months of the book’s publication are cited. Each entry includes title, author, publisher,

year of publication, pagination, language, ISBN, abstract, subject, Dewey classification,

LC control number, accession number and reviews.

Frequency of Publication

The online version is updated daily. The print version as well as the CD-ROM are

published monthly with the exceptions of February and July.

Special Features

In addition to an easy-to-use interface and library holdings indicator, the broad coverage

of Book Review Digest Plus makes it extremely valuable to libraries. It covers not only

fiction and non-fiction, but also children’s literature and reference works.

Cost

The cost is minimally $410 annually, but more depending upon format type.

Columbia Granger’s Index to Poetry in Anthologies

Citation

Frankovich, N. (Ed.). The Columbia Granger’s Index to Poetry in Anthologies. 11th

ed. (1997). New York: Columbia University Press.

Format

This anthology is available in both print and online.

Purpose

Granger’s supplies the best index to poems available, allowing poets, students and

instructors to find nearly any poem.

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Scope

The afore-mentioned volume is particularly the index of poetry in anthologies. Another

volume was published the year before indexing poetry in collected and selected works.

This volume contains more than 75,000 poems, by 11,000 poets from 379 anthologies.

The poems are on 4000 subjects, from antiquity to the present: the editors also provide

the best 10 anthologies of the years as well as 30 honourable mentions.

Authority

The Columbia Press with the assistance of members of the Board of Consultants put

together the anthology. Like all academic presses, this one has access to some of the best

minds in the field and so the only potential problem with authority would be bias, though

that is also unlikely with enough board members.

Accuracy

With its history of over a century in publication and its academic connection, the

anthology is likely to be highly accurate. However, the online source is likely to be even

more accurate as it is updated more frequently. It also reaches a larger audience and so

has more potential critics out there in cyberspace to email their corrections to Columbia

University Press.

Arrangement & Entry

The book is divided into three sections: 1. Title, First Line and Last Line Index; 2. Author

Index and 3. Subject Index. Each section is arranged alphabetically—each poem is found

in every section, assuming the information is available. Entries include all of the basic

citation information that would be necessary to find a source, however brackets and
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parentheses are used in special ways: brackets are used to show variant spellings and

parentheses are used to show variant titles.

Frequency of Publication

Editions are published approximately every four years—the online version is updated

regularly.

Special Features

The print edition has first lines and last lines listed in the index to assist researchers who

don’t know the title or poet of the work they are searching for. The online version has

keyword search for poems, poets, first lines and last lines allowing for much quicker

searching.

Cost

$295 for the print version; to purchase the online version contact Columbia University

Press for information.

Humanities Index

Citation

Humanities Index. (2008). New York: H. W. Wilson Company.

Format

Print and online versions are available.

Purpose

The Humanities Index is much like the Social Sciences Index in that it indexes all English

language periodical articles within its spectrum, in this case humanities.

Scope
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The afore-cited Humanities Index provides cover-to-cover indexing of over 450 key

international English-language periodicals and spans all of the humanities. Beginning in

1984, the index indexes all feature articles, review articles, scholarly replies, interviews,

obituaries, operas, ballets, musicals, motion pictures, video recordings, television and

radio programs, works of fiction/drama/poetry and biographies. The online version

covers 500+ publications, with 640,000 records and annually adds 36,000 more.

Authority

The Committee on Wilson Indexes run by ALA’s RUSA advises the publisher and

conducts in-depth studies of the Humanities Index, no journals are added outside of their

recommendations.

Accuracy

H.W. Wilson is a highly respected publisher in the world of indicies and with ALA over-

sight, it is unlikely that the index would be error-prone.

Arrangement & Entry

Humanities Index is an alphabetically arranged author and subject index (there is no title

entry). There are three subdivisions of subject headings: 1. historical period, 2. form and

topic and 3. geographic divisions—the latter two are categorized alphabetically, but the

former is categorized chronologically. Subject entries are done via the Humanities Index

own categorization. Book reviews are arranged separately in their own alphabetic listing

after the main body of listings.

Frequency of Publication

Online it is updated weekly, the print version comes out quarterly with annual

cumulations.
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Special Features

The subject entries are very useful as the subdivisions include things like choreographic

works, motion pictures, Shakespeare, etc… It is a comprehensive listing and so for that is

helpful, but Wilson’s new Humanities Full Text index is a good complement and possibly

more useful for generalists.

Cost

A price quote can be obtained from H. W. Wilson online.

Media Review Digest

Citation

Media Review Digest, 36. 2006. Ann Arbor, MI: The Pierian Press.

Format

In print, but discontinued in 2007, after nearly 20 years of publication. Supplements to

the 2006 edition were available on the web.

Purpose

Media Review Digest (MRD) allowed students, researchers and film buffs access to

citations for evaluations, reviews, descriptions and awards for sound and film recordings.

Scope

MRD was an index of reviews, evaluations and descriptions of all forms of non-book

media that appeared in periodicals—it was also a guide to software. This edition covered

over 8000 citations to reviews and descriptions of films, videos and dvds, spoken word

tapes, CD-ROMs, slides, transparencies, illustrations, globes, charts, games and other

media forms. Over 60 periodicals and services are indexed in MRD.

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Authority

Pierian Press as the publishers of two other indicies is a reliable source of information.

Accuracy

It is likely to be a very accurate source of information as Pierian Press employed an entire

editorial board as well as having an advisory committee. In a cursory use, no errors were

detected.

Arrangement & Entry

The volume is arranged into several distinct sections: Film and Video, Audio, CD-ROM

and Miscellaneous. Each section has an alphabetic listing by title or other main entry as

well as a cross-reference section for foreign-language titles and series titles. Each entry

usually contains the following information: title, series title, description, producer or

distributor, release date, video format, total running time, sound/silent/dubbed/subtitled,

black & white/color/sepia/colorized by computer and pricing information.

Frequency of Publication

This was published annually.

Special Features

MRD includes audience level indications (pre-k through adult) as well as the Motion

Picture Association’s ratings (G through NC-17). It was really the best guide to things

like slides and transparencies which are rarely cited or reviewed elsewhere.

Cost

It costs $310 on amazon.com.

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Play Index

Citation

Yaakov, J. & Greenfieldt, J. (Eds.). Play Index. (1998). New York: H.W. Wilson Co.

Format

The Play Index (PI) is available in print or online.

Purpose

Whether published separately or in a collection, the PI provides the full publication

details for plays, allowing theatre groups, drama coaches, students and performers to

quickly and easily locate the play they are searching for.

Scope

The cited volume includes 4617 plays that were published between 1993-1997 and

written in or translated into English. The scope of the publication is broad enough to

include everything from classical drams to puppet plays making it useful for every

dramatic need. The online version includes 31,000 plays published between 1949 and the

present.

Authority

H. W. Wilson has been producing the Play Index for over 50 years.

Accuracy

Due to the professionalism of H.W. Wilson’s staff, the afore-mentioned volume is likely

to be very accurate. The online version, which contains materials from 1900 onwards is

likely to be the most accurate as it is updated so regularly.

Arrangement & Entry

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Part 1 is the Author, Title and Subject Index; part 2 is the Cast Analysis, part 3 is the List

of Collections indexed and part 4 is the Directory of Publisher and Distributors. Part 1 is

organized under author title or subject in a single alphabetic list. The author entry is the

most inclusive and lists the author, title, descriptive note, number of acts and scenes, size

and composition of cast and number of sets.

Frequency of Publication

The print version is updated every 4-7 years; the online version is updated weekly.

Special Features

The online version includes all sorts of special features: keyword search, links to full text

plays, 600+ monologues, the ability to search for roles by gender and the ability to search

for plays by age (under 6th grade, 7th-12th, adult).

Cost

The print version is $285 and the online cost can be obtained by contacting H.W. Wilson.

Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature

Citation

Cannon, D. (Ed.). Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature. (2007). New York: H.W.

Wilson.

Format

It is available in print and a full text edition is available online.

Purpose

It is a guide to recently published articles in magazines in journals—it has been an

essential research tool for students, librarians and patrons for more than a century.
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Scope

The Reader’s Guide indexes over 300 magazines and journals. It covers such diverse

topics as choreographic works, operettas, product reviews and video recording reviews.

Authority

It is published by H.W. Wilson, the well-respected publisher of so many other indicies.

Accuracy

Because it is released so often, there are probably mistakes in the monthly volumes,

though probably not in the annual cumulations. However, the online version is likely to

be very accurate as it is updated so frequently and it is easy to correct.

Arrangement & Entry

Author and subject are arranged in a single alphabetic list. Subdivisions of a subject are

arranged alphabetically under the subject, but geographical subdivisions follow the other

subdivisions in a separate alphabetic list. A description of how the arrangement of each

category works is given in the preliminary pages. Each entry includes as many of the

following as possible: author, title, magazine, pages, date and notes.

Frequency of Publication

The print version comes out in annual cumulations as well as monthly editions whereas

the online edition is updated daily.

Special Features

The online edition has searchable full text articles which make it extraordinarily useful.

It also has links to relevant sources, library holdings and up-to-date subject headings

which make research even easier.

Cost
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The price for retrospective print editions is $440; to find out the price for the online

version, contact H.W. Wilson.

Short Story Index

Citation

Greenfieldt, J. & Yaakov, J. (Eds.). Short Story Index. (1999). New York: H. W.

Wilson Company.

Format

This index is available in print and online.

Purpose

The Short Story Index indexes short stories that are written in or translated into English;

the index is used by readers, students and teachers.

Scope

The cumulative volume cited above included short stories published in collections and

selected periodicals between 1994-1998. This index contained 23,397 stories: of these

19,320 appeared in 1,143 collections and 2,933 appeared in 97 periodicals. Short Story

Index printed volumes go back to 1900; the online version covers 1984 to the present.

Authority

H. W. Wilson publishes the volume—the publisher is probably the best known in the field

and highly respected.

Accuracy
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Due to the professionalism of H.W. Wilson’s staff, the afore-mentioned volume is likely

to be very accurate. The online version, which contains materials from 1984 onwards is

likely to be the most accurate as it is updated so regularly.

Arrangement & Entry

Part 1 is the index it is arranged in alphabetical order in a single list consisting of author,

title and subject entries. Part 2 is a List of Collections Indexed. Part 3 is a Directory of

Publishers and Distributors and part 4 is a directory of periodicals. Each entry in part 1

includes basic citation information.

Frequency of Publication

The print version is indexed annually and a cumulation is published ever 5 years. The

online version is updated daily.

Special Features

Short stories are also indexed in two of Wilson’s other publications, Reader’s Guide to

Periodical Literature and Humanities Index. The online website includes links to full

text stories, a library holdings indicator and up-to-date subject headings to keep up with

modern interests.

Cost

The price for the print version is $260 per annum and WilsonWeb should be contacted to

find out the price of the online version.

Social Sciences Citation Index

Citation

Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI). Accessed via Web of Science at New York
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Public Library for the Performing Arts. Retrieved 19 March 2009.

Format

SSCI is available in print and web-based formats.

Purpose

The SSCI is a multi-disciplinary index to the journal literature of the social sciences—it

provides full reference citation for each article. SSCI is a research tool to be used by

scientists, students, researchers and information professionals.

Scope

SSCI covers all of the social sciences from anthropology to library science to social work

to women’s studies—the index ranges from 1956 to the present. It indexes 1950 journals

in 50 social science disciplines and indexes individually selected, relevant items from

3300 of the world’s leading science and technology journals.

Authority

SSCI is available via Web of Science which is a product of Thomson (Reuters). Accuracy

Thomson Reuters is a business service, created and maintained for both researchers and

potential investors and is run by educated professionals—because of the possible

financial implications of incorrect information, it is a reliable source of scientific

information.

Arrangement & Entry

The index is arranged by subject and citations can be found via a keyword, title or author

search. Each entry contains title, author, source, pagination, publication date, times cited

on index, references, abstracts, document type, language, reprint address, publication

information, e-mail, IDS number, ISSN and DOI.

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Frequency of Publication

The online database is updated weekly. The print version is published three times per

year with annual and five year cumulations.

Special Features

Web of Science is a fantastic resource, gathering seven databases together and dispensing

citations from thousands of scholarly journals, books, reports, conferences, etc…

However, when searching a term, there is no way to know which index database it was

found on. The Related Records and Additional Information sections on the right of the

screen for each citation are very useful as is the “times cited” part of the entry that tells

the researcher when/where the article was cited elsewhere in Web of Science. It is also

interesting to note that the SSCI was one of the first databases to become computerized.

Cost

No cost was listed, but cost can be obtained by contacting Thomson Reuters.

Social Sciences Index

Citation

Social Sciences Index. (2008). New York: The H.W. Wilson Company.

Format

Social Sciences Index (SSI) is available both in print and online.

Purpose

This is an English language index for articles written on topics within the social science

spectrum for use by librarians, researchers and students.

Scope
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SSI provides cover-to-cover indexing of over 500 key international English-language

periodicals and spans all of social science. Beginning in 1974, the index indexes all

feature articles, review articles, scholarly replies, interviews, obituaries and biographies.

Authority

The publisher, H.W. Wilson is responsible for all editorial decisions, however the

publisher is advised by the Committee on Wilson Indexes of ALA’s RUSA. RUSA

conducts in-depth studies of the content of SSI and attempts to build a selective and well-

balanced list that allows coverage of all subject areas in the index.

Accuracy

H.W. Wilson is a highly respected publisher in the world of indicies and with ALA over-

sight, it’s hard to envision too many inaccuracies making their way into SSI.

Arrangement & Entry

SSI is arranged in alphabetical order in one author/subject index. Under author or subject

headings, titles are arranged alphabetically. Subdivisions within subject headings are

arranged alphabetically except in the case of historical period subdivisions, which are

listed chronologically. Subject headings are based on Wilson’s own categorization,

which itself is based on LOC, other reference works and the literature itself. Each entry

includes basic citation information.

Frequency of Publication

The print edition is published quarterly with additional annual cumulations. The online

edition is updated daily.

Special Features
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Though the online version of SSI is available and updated daily, Wilson also puts out an

online Social Sciences Full Text database that would be additionally useful to students,

scholars and researchers.

Cost

Though the cost depends on a variety of factors, the print version is minimally $650 and

H.W. Wilson should be contacted for price quotes for the online version.