[Original posting on this subject appeared in COLLDV-L no. 1399 and was
reproduced with responses #1-2 in COLLDV-L no. 1408. Response #3 appeared
in COLLDV-L no. 1431.]
(4)------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "AHUNT.UMI.COM" <AHUNT_at_umi.com>
Here are a few articles that may help you with your research.
You may also want to ask UMI and Ebsco what they charge for you to
have the database in CD-ROM and on the Web at the same time, many times it is
not much more to have the same database in both formats.
Title: The data dealers
Source: Library Journal
Date: May 15, 1997
Author: Carol Tenopir?
Author: Jeff Barry
Volume: 122
Issue: 9
Start Page: 28
Title: Text and graphics on UMI's ProQuest Direct: The best (yet) of both
worlds
Source: Online
Date: Mar/Apr 1997
Author: Berinstein, Paula
Volume: 21
Issue: 2
Start Page: 73
Title: Investigating a full-text journal database: A case of detection
Source: Database
Date: Dec 1996
Author: Grzeszkiewicz, Anna
Author: Hawbaker, A Craig
Volume: 19
Issue: 6
Start Page: 59
Title: Are CD-ROM LANs a thing of the past?
Source: Computers in Libraries
Date: Sep 1996
Author: Mehta, Apurva
Volume: 16
Issue: 8
Start Page: 64
Hope this helps.
Andrew E. Hunt
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From: starckm_at_milwaukee.tec.wi.us (Martha Starck)
At MATC, we are using Infotrac online and have looked at Proquest Direct. We
have decided to stay with Infotrac for another year and then look at
Proquest to see if they have made some enhancements they promised.
Infotrac does a subject search by default, taking the user into the list of
subject terms and subdivisions, and only pulls up articles by keyword when
there is no match in the subject list. We find that our community college
level students need that because so many of them come with a broad topic and
have no idea how to proceed or the number of citations they will get. The
subject list helps them narrow and define the topic. Proquest has promised
this for the near future,
We found the Proquest screen for retrieving the full articles to be
confusing beause it lists all the options, which will probably only confuse
our users. We also much preferred the Windows version rather than the Web
version because anything coming over the Internet (including Infotrac) has
been abysmally slow for us at times. We were told this was due to some
network and phone company problems in Wisconsin that have now been resolved.
Also, the Proquest Web version need Adobe Acrobat Reader to access full
image, but at least you can view and print out full image at any
workstation. Infotac needs a separate article print station to print out
full image and users have to go to the library to retrieve the article at
the print station.
Finally, our campus is greatly in need of full-text nursing and allied
health journals. Infotrac recently came out with the Health Reference Center
Academic with 40 full text nursing journals. I have submitted input as to
what I would like in journals in other allied health subjects. Proquest is
also working on a medical database and I have submitted input to them also.
(6)--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: lyons <102706.2501_at_CompuServe.COM>
The two libraries at whcih I work both use EBSCOhost online.
Very powerful (about 3500 periodicals indexed) but not very deep (1994 is about
as early as you get).
Good search aids and full text availablilty, selectively. E-mail and
downloadable as part of the print option. The interface is GUI and intuitve -
easy to get patrons up and running on it.
Difficult to access in the middle of the working day (EST), and the tech support
staff while accessable are a tad surly.
Joe Lyons
Received on Thu Jun 19 1997 - 13:26:11 EDT