| Abstract: | Using data from Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory, and the extent of coverage by abstract information resources and indices, the worldwide output of periodicals and proceedings (including those represented in electronic form) is studied. A quantitative characterization of the entire output of worldwide editions, as well as its abstracted portion is given. To provide complete reception of needed subject information and cover a maximum number of periodicals using an information system, a method for selecting several databases, which makes it possible to get a maximum coverage of primary sources with a certain amount of duplication, is proposed. Data on abstracting are obtained as the result of analyzing the input stream of approximately 700 databases and indices. Basic statistics for the abstracted stream are given for a number of companies: VINITI (All-Russia Institute for Scientific and Technical Information, Russian Academy of Sciences), CSA (Chemical Abstracts Service), Thomson Corporation, Elsevier, CABI Publishing, CAS (Cambridge Scientific Abstracts), and several others. A list of 25 of the largest abstract journals and referral databases, with respect to the number of periodicals represented in them, is given. |
