ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 430 / C &RL News livery of state agricultural publications by the Na­ tional Agricultural Library and the state land- grant university libraries, such access is now a reality. Author’s note: No copyright is claimed on this article, which the author wrote as a part of her offi­ cial duties as an employee of the United States Gov­ ernment. The author would like to thank Idalia Acosta, Martha Hood, and Karl Schneider of NAL for their assistance in providing statistical data as background for this paper. Magazine Index Plus or Academic Index? By Christine H. Guyonneau Reference Librarian University o f Indianapolis A comparison of two major INFOTRAC databases. F or small university and college libraries with limited budgets, innovative technology is often prohibitively expensive, and choosing the best available database to fill the needs of the commu­ nity often brings a dilemma. Aware of this prob­ lem, Information Access Company (IAC) offered an attractive alternative to institutions that could not afford the purchase of its INFOTRAC data­ base: it marketed a smaller database, INFOTRAC II, which indexed about one-third of the journals contained in INFOTRAC and which IAC named Magazine Index Plus. Like its parent counterpart, Magazine Index Plus operates on a CD-ROM. The laser disk is updated monthly, and the journals are indexed as far back as 1983. It also covers the last 90 days of the New York Times. However, one of the major drawbacks of this IAC product for any aca­ demic library is the lack of scholarly titles. The ma­ jority of the journals indexed can be found in Read­ e r ’s Guide to Periodical Literature. If this type of information can be useful to the first-year student getting acquainted with the research process, it was its limitations for the senior, the honors student and even more so for graduates who will not find bibliographic citations to People Weekly, Audio or Ms appreciated by their thesis advisers. To address this need, the manufacturer is now offering a new database, Academic Index. A twelve-month subscription to Academic Index or Magazine Index Plus costs $4,000 a year. This study is an attempt to examine both data­ bases and determine which one is the better in an academic environment. Methodology First, the coverage of the journals included in Magazine Index Plus and A cadem ic Index was closely examined. Then, using a list of topics most frequently re­ searched at the University of Indianapolis Library, 25 subjects were selected and searched in the Feb­ ruary 1988 update of each database. The selection was done in such a way as to represent broad classi- July /August 1988 / 431 TABLE 1. Number of citations fo und in each database for a particular topic, and the amount common to both. MAGAZINE INDEX ACADEMIC INDEX CITATIONS CITATIONS CITATIONS NOT IN NOT IN COMMON TOTAL ACADEMIC TOTAL MAGAZINE TO BOTH TOPICS CITATIONS INDEX CITATIONS INDEX INDEXES Acid Rain (All Sub-headings) 213 51 179 17 162 AIDS (Disease)—Care and T reatm ent 62 6 61 5 56 —History 4 — 8 4 4 —Politics and Government 10 2 14 6 8 A partheid—Economic Conditions 22 3 24 5 19 —Foreign and Public Opinions 31 6 31 6 25 —History 5 1 5 1 4 —International Aspects 7 — 11 4 7 —Moral and Religious Aspects 7 2 7 2 5 —Political Aspects 28 1 29 2 27 Divorce (All Sub-headings) 33 19 16 2 14 Feminism and L iteratu re—History and Criticism 8 2 10 4 6 Fiction—Technique 99 94 6 1 5 Gifted C hildren—Education 26 10 25 9 16 —Psychology 6 3 8 5 3 —Research 1 — 4 3 1 M arket Surveys (All Sub-headings) 36 30 31 25 6 National Socialism (All Sub-headings) 43 6 54 17 37 O rganizational Behavior (All Sub-headings) 36 23 50 37 13 O rganizational Change (All Sub-headings) 19 17 13 11 2 O rganizational Effectiveness—Analysis 8 5 7 4 3 —Technique 9 7 2 — 2 School Discipline (All Sub-headings) 28 7 30 9 21 W omen in Advertising (All Sub-headings) 8 4 24 20 4 W omen in the Advertising Industry (All Sub-headings) 2 1 6 5 1 TOTAL 751 300 655 204 451 432 / C&RL News fications likely to be indexed in the new journals. Some topics—such as acid rain, divorce, school dis­ cipline, and market surveys— were searched in their entirety. Others were only searched under certain subclassifications. The main objective of the search was to find out 1) the amount of overlap and 2) the reason for certain large imbalances. In a third phase the bibliographic citations were analyzed for discrepancies. It should be noted that since A cadem ic Index includes some journals be­ ginning with 1985 and others beginning with 1987, only the references dating from 1985 and found in M agazine Index Plus have been accounted for. Coverage M agazine Index Plus covers 405 journals begin­ ning in January 1983 as well as the last 90 days of the New York Times. A cadem ic Index covers 388 journals: 192 (49.5% ) start coverage in 1987, and 196 (50.5 %) start coverage in 1985. The New York Tiînes is covered for the past six months. However, it is interesting to note that 171 jour­ nals (44.1% ) overlap with M agazine Index Plus (although the coverage is not as retrospective). Among the 219 new journals, only 10 were not cov­ ered by any major paper indexes. All the others are indexed in at least one of the following sources: 70 (3 2 .0 % ) are indexed in H um anities In d ex , 67 (30.6% ) in Social Sciences Index, 31 (14.2% ) in Education Index, 17 (7.8% ) in Business Periodicals In dex, 17 (7.8 %) in Current Contents, 5 in PAIS, 3 in Historical Abstracts, 3 in B ook Review Digest, 2 in Biology and Agriculture Index, 2 in Psychologi­ cal Abstracts, 1 in CINAHL, 1 in Consumer Index, and 1 in W ork R elated Abstracts. From a closer analysis of the bibliographic cita­ tions, three points are noteworthy: the amount of citations in each database, their sources, and the reliability of the indexing. From the table below, the search of the 25 topics provided a total of 1,406 citations: 751 citations were found in M agazine Index Plus and 655 in A ca­ dem ic Index. A total of 35.5% were duplicates, which comes as no surprise since we already know that 44.1 % of the titles overlap in each database. Nearly 40 % of the citations in M agazine Index Plus were not in A cadem ic Index, and 31.1% of the ci­ tations in A cadem ic Index were not in Magazine Index Plus. A cadem ic Index seems to offer fewer ci­ tations. I f we exam ine the cita tio n s for F ic tio n — Technique, 99 were found in M agazine Index Plus, while only 6 were in A cadem ic Index. However, 94 of those references came from W riter’s Digest and Writer, which are not included in A cadem ic Index. A similar imbalance occurs for Acid Rain. Seven­ teen of the 51 original citations in M agazine Index Plus come from either Electrical W orld or A m eri­ can Forests, which have also been excluded from A cadem ic Index. A last example concerns the topic of Divorce. Most of the references come from Red- b ook, H arper’s, C hatelaine, and U.S. C atholic, all of which have been excluded from A cadem ic In­ dex. So we can see that some highly specialized journals have been dropped in A cadem ic Index in favor of others not so relevant to the topic searched. However, besides those exceptions, A cadem ic In­ dex contains more original references for 13 topics, fewer references for five and the same number for three, which is not so bad if one takes into consider­ ation the fact that many journals in A cadem ic In­ dex are covered only since 1987. Finally, a comparison between the references in­ cluded in the databases and the advertised cover­ age of the journals exposes a weakness inherent to all indexing services: lack of reliability. Under many topics, some citations appear in one data­ base, but not in both as should be the case accord­ ing to the list of journals to be included in both databases. Take for example the topic of National Social­ ism. Two citations appeared in A cadem ic Index but not in Magazine Index Plus, although one had been led to assume coverage of these journals in both databases. The first one referred to an article in Time (May 26, 1986) under the “Collectibles” sub-heading, and the second one to an article from L ife (November 1986) under the “Conferences and Congresses” sub-heading. The reverse is also true. Under the same topic, two citations were included in M agazine Index Plus but not in A cadem ic Index. The first article was by M ichael R. Marcus in American Scholar, vol.57 (Winter 1988). The sec­ ond one, on “Village Life in Nazi Germany” in His­ tory Today, vol.35 (November 1985), is even more puzzling since another article from the same issue has been included. In summary, four citations un­ der National Socialism which should have been du­ plicated were not. A last instance relates to the topic of Acid Rain. Although Environment should be carried by both databases, three citations dated 1987 are missing from A cadem ic Index. One can assume that the lack of inclusion of a very recent article might be corrected by the next update. However, what can one think of the less recent missing references? In view of the idiosyncrasies of each database, the question remains: which one is better for an ac­ ademic environment? It is obvious that Magazine Index Plus is the winner in quantity. Is it also a win­ ner in quality? The list of journals covered in A ca­ dem ic Index certainly proves it is the winner in that capacity. However, there is room for improvement in the selection of journals for A cadem ic Index. Should People W eekly, M cL ean ’s, Ms, Car and Driver, to cite only a few, be considered scholarly in content? Should Electrical W orld, Design News, American Forests, Business Horizons, Sales and Marketing News be excluded although they con­ tribute to the majority of citations for Acid Rain, Organizational Behavior, and Market Surveys in M agazine Index Plus? Since a major criterion of quality in research is peer review, should A cadem ic July /August 1988 / 433 Index expand its coverage of refereed journals and restrict its coverage of non-refereed journals? Does A cadem ic Index conform to Richard Carney’s ideal when, in his article on IN FO TRA C , he comments: “Whether a new product addresses a specific need and meets that need should be paramount in the evaluation process.”1 And since he believes that “no 1Richard D . C arney, “In fo trac vs. the C on­ founding of Technology and its Applications,” D atab ase, June 1986, p. 56. single tool is capable of fulfilling all the needs of a reference center” and that “the question becomes one of evaluating the available tools and the impact each might have on the overall demands placed upon the reference cen ter,”2 why not refine the coverage of A cadem ic Index and realize its poten­ tial as a better reference tool in an academic envi­ ronment? 2Carney, p. 58. Cincinnati’ 89 Here are two additional ways to see and enjoy Cincinnati while at the ACRL National Confer­ ence in April 1989: one is a short bus tour during the day, the other is a boat ride on the Ohio River in the evening. Detailed information for both trips will be mailed to you as part of your registration packet in the late fall, so you may sign up for one or both in advance of the actual conference. Both are planned for during the conference, so even if you can’t come early or stay over afterwards, you’ll still have an opportunity to experience Cincinnati be­ yond its lovely downtown hotels, fabulous restau­ rant variety and shopping, shopping, shopping! The bus trip is scheduled for Wednesday, April 5, from 9 :0 0 a.m . until 12:30 p.m . The cost is $20.00, which includes lunch. This will be an easy and convenient way to see some of the highlights of the C in cin n a ti and n orth ern Kentucky a r e a . ’ Boarding downtown near conference hotels, you’ll see and hear about Fountain Square and many other downtown buildings and landmarks, includ­ ing Music Hall and the Union Terminal. In pictur­ esque nearby Mt. Adams, see Rookwood Pottery, lovely Eden Park and a beautiful Ohio River over­ look. Across the historic Suspension Bridge into Covington, Kentucky, you’ll see the restored Main Strasse area, with its many little gift shops, and also several noteworthy churches. Finally, at the new O ldenberg B rew ery, you’ll enjoy a show and lunch. Following a short tour of this fascinating “Old W orld” brewery, you’ll return to the down­ town hotel area by 12:30. (Registration is limited to 100 people for this event.) The riverboat trip is planned for Thursday, April 6, from 6:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. The price of $21.00 includes dinner on the boat. Board a BB riverboat in Covington, Kentucky, just across the river from downtown Cincinnati. This leisurely cruise on the Ohio River includes a delicious buffet dinner, music and the lovely scenery of both the Kentucky and the Ohio shores. An evening to re­ member, especially if you plan to attend along with a group of your favorite ACRL friends! The A C R L L o cal Arrangements C om m ittee hopes that you’ll plan to enjoy one or both of these events as well as the other activities— both profes­ sional and purely for fun!— that will be available to you at ACRL in Cincinnati in ’89. See you in C incinnati!!