Indexing & Abstracting Services
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Definitions
Index:
An ordered list of terms or keys that guides a user in locating
recorded information.
A systematic guide to items contained in or concepts derived
from a collection of information entities.
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Index also refers to-
An open-end finding guide to the literature of an academic field or
discipline
e.g. Philosopher's Index
Works of a specific literary form
e.g. Biography Index
Published in a specific format
e.g. Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature
Analyzed contents of a serial publication
e.g. New York Times Index
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Related Terms
Indexing:
The operation of creating an index for information retrieval.
Indexer:
A person who does indexing.
Indexing language:
Any vocabulary, including uncontrolled vocabulary, used
for indexing and the rules of syntax for its application.
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Purpose of Indexing
Minimize the time and effort in finding information and maximize the searching success
of users
Identify potentially relevant information in the document or collection being indexed
Analyze concepts treated in a document to produce appropriate index headings based on
the indexing language assigned
Indicate relationship among terms
Group together related topics scattered due to the arrangement used in a document or
collection
Direct the users seeking information under terms not chosen as index headings to headings
that have been chosen, by means of See reference
Suggest related topics by means of see also reference
Tools for current awareness services 5
Types of Indexes and Indexing Services
There are different types of Indexes and Indexing services. These have been grouped into four man categories.
1. General
e.g. Guide to Indian Periodical Literature, New Delhi (1964), Readers Guide to Periodical Literature, New
York (1900), Indian Library Literature, New Delhi (1971), Library Literature, New York (1934) etc.
2. Science and Technology
e.g. Index to Scientific and Technological Proceedings, Philadelphia (1974), Indian Science Index, New
Delhi (1975), Science Citation Index, Philadelphia (1963), Current Physics Index, New York (1975), Index
Medicus Washington (1960) etc.
3. Social Sciences and
e.g. British Education Index, London (1955), Business Periodical Index, New York (1958), Social Science
Citation Index, Philadelphia (1973) etc.
4. Humanities
e.g. Art Index, New York (1929), British Humanities Index, London (1962) etc.
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Some Important Indexing Services
1. Guide to Indian Periodical: It is an alphabetical author index to articles in social sciences
and Humanities. It is being published Quarterly since 1964 from New Delhi by Indian
Documentation services.
2. Readers Guide to Periodical Literature: It was first published in 1900 by H.W. Wilson from
New York. It Indexes about 175 periodicals of general interest from USA. The entries of
authors, titles and subject are arranged in one alphabetical arrangement.
3. Library Literature: is bimonthly author and subject index cumulated yearly and every two
yearly from New York since 1934. It indexes about 225 periodicals in Library and
Information Science published all over the world.
4. Indian Press Index: is published Monthly by Delhi Library Association from 1968. It
Indexes all the signed and unsigned articles, special writes, editorials and important letters to
the editor published in important newspapers of India.
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9. Arts & Humanities Citation Index (A&HCI): is a citation index with abstracting and
indexing for more than 1,700 arts and humanities journals. It covers subjects like Arts,
Humanities, Language (including Linguistics), Poetry, Music, Classical works, History,
Oriental Studies, Philosophy, Archaeology, Architecture, History, Religion, Television,
Theater, and Radio.
10. Index Medicus: was started in 1960 by National Library of Medicine, Washington. The last
issue of this was published in 2004. Presently it is being served to the medical research
community in online form as MEDLARS, contains more than 26 million records from 5,639
selected publications covering biomedicine and health.
11. Current Technology Index: started in 1962 by Library Association, London. It is a current
subject guide to the British technical journals in the field of applied science, engineering and
manufacturing technology. It covers more than 325 periodicals.
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Online Indexing and Abstracting Services
Web of Science: is an online subscription-based scientific citation indexing service, it
consists of seven online indexing and abstracting databases.
Scopus: is an abstract and citation database covers disciplines like Life Sciences,
Social Sciences, Physical Sciences and Health Sciences.
SciFinder: produced by Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), it provides access to the
world's largest and most reliable collection of chemistry and related science
information.
Indian Citation Index: is an abstracting and citation database covering scientific,
technical, medical, and social sciences fields of India.
Library Literature & Information Science Index: this database provides cover-to-
cover indexing of key library and information science journals and periodicals.
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