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Individual Evaluations / Indexes and Abstracts
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Book Review Digest
The Columbia Granger’s Index to Poetry in Anthologies
Humanities Index
Media Review Digest
Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature
Article 1st
Children's Magazine Guide
Business Periodicals Index
Book Review Digest
Citations
Book Review Digest Plus. Accessed online at Buley Library. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
Purpose
Book Review Digest Plus provides reviews of current fiction and nonfiction books that are published in English.
Authority
H.W. Wilson Company, Bronx, New York is a well-respected database publisher.
Scope
Book Review Digest compiles reviews with citations from 154 sources. There are over 835,000 records dating from 1983 to the present. This database is current and up-to-date, covering only current reviews from periodicals published in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain. All entries must have appeared with the last year and a half of the book’s publication to ensure a modern perspective on the adult and children’s books being reviewed. New records are added weekly. The overview on OCLC states that Book Review Digest does not include reviews of government publications, technical books in law and the sciences or textbooks.
Format
Book Review Digest is available in three formats; print, online subscription, and on CD-ROM.
Arrangement & Entries
The online version of Book Review Digest can be accessed through FirstSearch at Buley Library. The interface is clean and simple, allowing ease in searching. There are 24 options for searches that may be combined in three different ways to narrow your search. These include abstract, named person phrase, subject, title series title or phrase to name just a few. You may also limit your search by year(s) and document type. You may also rank your results by relevance or date or no rank.
Special Features and overall evaluation
I believe the ability to narrow your search provides an invaluable reference to any reference, acquisitions, or general librarian, adult, children’s and young adult. This digest has applications for the professional librarian as well as the general public. Its clear interface and ease of use increases its value as patrons can easily access information themselves.
The Columbia Granger’s Index to Poetry in Anthologies
Citation
Katz, W. A., Katz, L. S., Crain, E., & Hazen, E. P. (1994). The Columbia Granger's
guide to poetry anthologies. New York: Columbia University Press.
Purpose
The purpose of Granger’s is to index anthologies that are likely to appear on library shelves. When preparing for a new edition, the editors collect all poetry anthologies published since the last edition and select them with the help of consultants.
Authority
Published by Columbia University Press, Granger’s is edited by William Katz, a renowned review and compiler of many library reference works. Also editing this edition are John Frederi Nims and Dana Gioia, two poets who are also anthologists. Mary Briggs, Dean of Libraries and James Shapiro, Assoc. Professor of English at Columbia
University help in deciding which 150 new anthologies will be included and which 150 will be dropped.
Scope
There are 79,000 poems in this 10th edition, including 21,00o new listings. Included are poems in general anthologies, including American and British poetry and poems translated into English, poetry by women, and by ethnic Americans.
Format
The Columbia Granger’s Index to Poetry in Anthologies is offered in print format.
Arrangement
In the first section, entries are listed by title, first line, and last line indexes. There is an author and subject index as well as a list of anthologies. All sections are listed in alphabetical order.
Entries
Entries include the title of the poem, the author, the anthology or anthologies in which it appears, the page numbers, dated of publication and edition if relevant, and the publisher.
Special Features
The unique feature of this index is that it is the only poetry anthology that has a genuine subject index. The staff at Columbia read every poem, give each at least one subject, and then index titles, first lines, last lines and authors. The two newest features in this edition are the inclusion of indexing by last lines and a listing of the 12,500 that have appeared in anthologies most often. This index has poems located over 120,000 times, which lead searchers to particular anthologies where they appear. There is extensive information in the preliminary pages that inform the reader how to use each section as well as a list of relevant abbreviations. There is also a list of the 40 anthologies that are a must for every library collection.
Overall use and evaluation
This index is a valuable tool for librarians to aid patrons in locating poems by author, title, first line, last line and even subject. This last feature may be the greatest help as patrons frequently are looking for poetry that is subject related. It is comprehensive in scope and includes world literature, contemporary literature as well as contemporary American, Native American, Asian American and African American poetry. This index is a must have reference for every library. Cost runs around $400.
Humanities Index
Citation
Humanities index. (19). [New York]: H.W. Wilson. March 2008 vol 34 no 4
Purpose
This Humanities Index provides a cumulative index to periodicals published in the English language.
Authority
Humanities Index is published by H.W. Wilson Company.
Scope
This index is published quarterly and is bound in a cumulative edition each year. More than 450 periodicals are indexed cover-to-cover including reviews of plays, music, and radio programs, obituaries, and interviews to name a few. Ephemeral items and advertisements are not included in the indexing.
Format
Humanities Index is available in print, CD-ROM, and online.
Arrangement and Entries
Humanities Index is a combined author and subject index with subject headings subdivided first by chronologically order, then by the form of the entry, followed by geographical divisions. Author entries are listed by the last name of the author. It should be noted though, that there are no author entries for obituaries, or reviewers of movies, operas, music, etc. For subject entries, Humanities Index uses its unique subject authority file with terms gleaned from literature, other Wilson indexes, the Library of Congress subject headings, and reference works.
Special Features
RUSA’s Committee on Wilson Indexes gives advice to H. W. Wilson on indexing and editorials. The Committee regularly studies the Humanities Index in-depth to develop a list of the most important journals relevant to the fields of study included in the index.
Overall use and evaluation
This index is the industry standard for periodical publication in the humanities. Its scope and breadth of coverage encompasses important journals in the field as established by RUSA. It is a necessary edition for all academic and mid-to-large size public libraries. It is an invaluable reference tool for reference librarians and researchers. Annual subscription rates are based on the subscriber’s periodical holdings and start at $630.
Media Review Digest
Citation
Media review digest. (1989). Ann Arbor: Pierian Press.
Purpose
Media Review Digest is a core medial reference digest of reviews of non-book media. It is a comprehensive guide to software, in addition to other formats of media. It is intended to provide useful information for previewing media and aiding in acquisitions.
Scope
The 1989 version reviewed contained 40,000 citations and cross-references to reviews as well as descriptions of media . Due to the dated volume referenced in this evaluation, it states that media covered include includes films, videocassettes, videodiscs, and filmstrips, educational and audio tapes, slides, transparencies, globes, games, and more. There is also a list of sources indexing sources used.
Format
Online, print was discontinued in 2002 although back copies are available online.
Arrangement
The Digest is divided into four sections; film and video, filmstrips, audio, and miscellaneous. Information in each section is listed alphabetically and cross-referenced to foreign-language titles, series titles, and titles in sets. There are also indexes for videos, general subjects, alphabetical subject, reviewer, geographical, and by codes.
Entries
Entries include the name of the media, country of origin, the name of the journal the review is from, length of play, media, and format.
Special Features
In the preliminary pages of the digest, there is a wealth of valuable information as to how the information is formatted. There are explanations to the unique challenge of cataloging media, definitions of what is meant by reviews, film ratings, audience level indications, to name a few. Also included are listings of media awards as well as mediagraphies, articles about films that are not reviews in the strictest sense of the definition.
Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature
Citation
Readers' guide to periodical literature. (2002). New York, NY: H.W. Wilson.
Purpose
This cumulative guide indexes English language periodicals that are of general interest.
Authority
The H. W. Wilson Company, a leading publisher of reference materials.
Scope
The Reader’s Guide indexes articles from over 400 periodicals.
Format
Available in print and full-text online.
Arrangement and entries
The guide is organized with authors and subjects alphabetized together. Titles are arranged alphabetically under authors and subject listings. Articles are listed under the author’s last name and appear as part of the citation in the subject entry. There are cross-references for variants of subject headings as well as similar subjects. Fiction is listed under the author’s name as well as the title listed under the subject heading ‘Fiction-Single Works’. Movies are indexed under the name of the film and the director. Operas are indexed under the name of the composer and the title of the work. The unique arrangement specifics are explained in the ‘Suggestions for the Use of the Reader’s Guide’, which will be found in the preliminary pages. A convenient listing of abbreviations is also in the preliminary pages. Entries include the name of the periodical, if there are illustrations, the date, volume, number, and page(s) where the article may be found.
Overall use and evaluation
This is one of those indispensable reference tools for academic as well as research, special and public libraries. It aids in acquisitions, ready reference, and research. The thoroughness of the listings and the inclusion of multi-languages make this a valuable guide to anyone interested in serials.
Article 1st
Citation
Ohio Library and Information Network. (1990). Article first. Dublin, Ohio: OCLC.
Purpose
Provides accurate, up-to-date information about accessing journal articles, including full-text with links to local libraries. It is designed for academic, research and public libraries that need to meet the research needs of their patrons.
Authority
This online index is produced by OCLC, the Online Computer Library Center, Inc.
Scope
The Article 1st database has records of over 23 million articles in more than 16,000 sources. Subject areas that are covered are; business, humanities, medicine, popular culture, science, social science and technology.
Format
This index is available online only.
Arrangement
The Article 1st interface through First Search of this indexing database is clean and straightforward. You can search by 15 different terms, including keyword, author, first page, issue, source, publisher, standard # to name but a few. With advanced search options of all these terms you can get as specific as you want in locating an article.
Entries
Search results page lists the title of the article, the author, the source, how many libraries the article is in worldwide, if it is located at your local library, and more details on locating the item. The information on the specific article has a link to search the catalog at your local library, gives citation information, copyright information as well as full bibliographic information.
Special Features
You are able to limit your search to full text articles, to year, to availability of subscriptions held in your library or library consortia as well as rank your results by relevance, date, or no ranking. You can also browse by title, and search in eight different
languages. There are also options to email the article, print or export it to EndNote, RefWorks or a text file. Article 1st is updated daily.
Use and overall evaluation
For the academic library this would be an extremely valuable indexing database. The fact that Article 1st provides full text articles is a valuable resource for reference librarians in academic as well as mid to large public and special research libraries.
Children's Magazine Guide
Citation
Children's magazine guide. (YEAR). Madison, Wis: The Guide.
Purpose
The Children's Magazine Guide provides students, parents, teachers, and librarians with an easy-to-use, yet comprehensive tool that provides indexing information of children's magazines focused on meeting curriculum guidelines for elementary and middle school students. This guide is also an excellent tool for the children's collections in public libraries.
Authority
The Children's Magazine Guide is published by Libraries Unlimited, a well-respected imprint of ABC-CLIO. Libraries Unlimited provides high quality publications for librarians, teachers, and students of LIS programs.
Scope
This guide provides a subject guide to more than 60 children's magazines. Issues also include citations and annotations about quality websites relating to articles that are indexed. It also includes the Index of Professional Journals - School Library Edition in the back of the print edition of the following magazines: Knowledge Quest, Library Media Connection, LibrarySparks, School Library Journal, School Library Media Activities Monthly, Teacher Librarian.
Format
The guide is available in print format and online free with a print subscription.
Arrangement
The Children's Magazine Guide is printed nine times a year, and each guide lists individual magazines in alphabetical order under a subject heading. There are two types of cross-referencing: see and see also that makes it easier to find information.
Entries
Entries are listed in alphabetical order under alpha-ordered subject headings. The article title, author, magazine, page number and cross-referencing for each entry. If there are related websites, they are listed with the URL and an annotation of the site.
Special Features
Each issue includes a Site 2 See, annotations of a carefully screened website of educational value. They print a reproducible Whiz Quiz which helps students learn how to use the guide as well as strengthen their library skills.
Use and overall evaluation
This is a useful tool for librarians who work with elementary and middle school students. It is a terrific resource for finding information and for teaching young people literacy skills.
Business Periodicals Index
Citation
H.W. Wilson Company. (1959). Business periodicals index. New York: H.W. Wilson.
Purpose
This index provides valuable information for business professionals. It provides information that businesses need to stay on top of the business market. It helps them keep track of competitors, evaluate new products and follow trends in the industry.
Authority
Published by the H.W. Wilson Co. a leader in the publishing industry.
Scope
This database indexes 527 English language business periodicals. Big names such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Business Week are only a few of the ones covered. Information on topics as varied as interviews, corporate profiles, product reviews, conferences is included. The Business Periodicals Index covers a broad range of topics including accounting, insurance, government regulations, taxes and engineering to name a few. The database covers 1982 to the present. There are over one and a half million bibliographic records with citations only.
Format
The Business Periodicals Index is available in book and eBook format and in electronic format through Ovid online.
Arrangement
The Index is published monthly except in July with bimonthly, twice yearly and annual cumulations.
Entries
The online database has a simple interface and is searchable with simple and advanced search options.
Special Features
Business experts write 50 to 150 word abstracts in the Business Abstracts that is available through Ovid.
Use and overall evaluation
A well respected industry index, an essential reference for professionals in the field of business who need up-to-date information