30 REFERENCE SOURCES
issue and page numbers on which it will be found. This is a very useful feature
when you are faced with a long list of articles to go through, and want to select
only the most relevant.
One caveat about online newspaper indexes: for many titles, full retrospec-
tive indexing (say, before the 1960s) is not yet available. However, with the
advent of digitization, online access to historical collections of newspapers is
becoming more widely available.
Just as there are criteria for evaluating websites and print reference tools,
there are some factors to keep in mind when choosing or using an index. In
Reference and Information Services: An Introduction, Linda C. Smith lists several
points to consider when evaluating an index. They are format, scope, author-
ity, accuracy, arrangement, and special features.^3 Format can include such
elements as the size of print, either on the page or on the screen, and the use
of abbreviations and symbols (and their explanation). Scope refers to the time
period and the kinds of publications indexed. Authority demonstrates the
publisher’s reputation for a product of high quality. Accuracy is reflected in
entries that are complete, consistent, and correct. Arrangement refers to how
entries are presented and how many different ways (i.e., author, title, subject,
keyword) their contents may be accessed. Special features may include links
to the full texts of articles and lists of subject terms used and publications
indexed.
This chapter will discuss three kinds of indexes: general periodical
indexes, newspaper indexes, and specialized indexes, and list some examples
of each type.general Periodical Indexes
The Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature, published by H. W. Wilson since
1900, is one of the most familiar reference tools to be found in just about any
type of library. Always an indispensable part of the reference collection, it is
now available in an online version as well as its familiar green monthly paper-
back issues and quarterly cumulations and annual hardcover volumes. Read-
ers’ Guide provides an author and subject index to nearly 400 general-interest
periodicals. Online there are the Readers’ Guide Retrospective 1890–1982, cov-
ering some 375 popular magazines; Readers’ Guide Full Text, Selection Edition,
providing full-text articles and indexing and abstracting for a wide selectionhttp://www.ebook3000.com