Melisa Martinez LIS 704 Index Evaluation November 5th, 2012 John Hopkins University Press. (2012).

Project Muse. Retrieved from http://muse.jhu.edu.ezproxy1.lib.depaul.edu Project Muse is a subscription based subject specific index that provides users with access to digitized journals and books in the humanities, social sciences, and arts. The index is a recent project compiled by John Hopkins University with the support of their library staff started in 1995. This particular index is intended for a primarily academic audience, but the editors do point out that school libraries might also benefit from the index. In addition to the various articles and book information, Project Muse provides a simple and easy to use search interface and resources for the users. To search the index, the index gives users the opportunity to click on a browse tab and a basic search blank that allows the users to type something in on the top of the web page. There is also a drop down menu that gives the user the ability to search within books and journals, journals, or books. To the far right of the web page, there is a research areas menu with a variety of subjects. On the web page itself, there are a variety of sections with newly added journals and other intriguing links. In addition to these search capabilities, there are also user and librarian resources that include a search plugin for web browsers, a citations saved tab, a newsletter, blog, an RSS feed, email updates about newly added journals and collections, and a list of recently added journals/issues. In their frequently asked questions section, there is commentary about a Project Muse mobile interface in the works that will allow users to find articles and other information easily. Project Muse is a very extensive index that provides users with a variety of current issues of journal articles; they provide both PDFs and full text. Their abstracts, however, are not that useful and in some cases, the articles do not have any.

As for the arrangement of the searches, there is a list of items related to a specific search. There is an option to control the items per page, a sort by option, a content type, an access, a research area, author, and language options. An interesting bit about the arrangement of the searches is the mini key that tells users what information they have access to. The arrangement of the actual journal web pages shows the title of the journal, a picture of the front cover of the journal, a small summary of the journal, a list of the issues available, publisher name, the title of the current issue, and the ability to search within the journal, and additional information on the journal. Off to the right side of the web page, there is a recommend tab and a frequently downloaded list. Interestingly, the index also has social networking integration so if the users want to recommend an article or issue.

Authority of publisher: The compilers of the index are the editors of the John Hopkins University Press. They also have support from The Milton S. Eisenhower Library. These editors all work in collaboration with publishers, including university presses and scholarly institutions, to offer digitized access to journal articles and related resources. Scope/subjects covered: The index covers journals and books on the humanities, social sciences, and the arts. Interestingly, they also provide access to some journals related to science and mathematics. From my evaluation of the journals they cover, there is a diverse collection of journals pertaining to specific topics and general ones. Some journals include American Literary History, Civil War History, Ethics & the Environment, and others. Number and quality of periodicals/newspapers indexed: The index provides access to a comprehensive amount of journals from quality university press and scholarly institutions; according to the editors, the index works with over 120

publishers to provide full text digitized versions of journal articles. They provide over 200 different journals, both current issues and archived issues. Project Muse continuously adds new journals to their selection. As mentioned above, Project Muse also provides books called UPCC books. They offer a number of UPCC books from a variety of university presses and scholarly institutions. As defined by Project Muse, a UPCC is essentially a university press-based e-book; they were first created under a project called The University Press e-book Consortium (UPeC), which included a number of universities. Project Muses selection of UPCC books is a recent addition to the index. Number of titles with full-text coverage: All of the titles provided by the index are full-text; it depends largely on whether or not the institution that gave you access to the index included access to some or all resources. The editors at Project Muse, luckily, are nice enough to indicate the resources that the user has access to. Currency and frequency of updating (updating policy): Project Muse releases new journals and UPCC books regularly throughout the month; the index does note that certain journals might not contribute regularly or give up adding to the index all together. The index also provides users with a list of selected journals expected for addition to collection in the coming year. Although Project Muse provides a list of journal additions and expected additions, I could not find a specific updating policy on their policy. Despite this, Project Muse does take currency and updating seriously and takes the necessary steps in order to notify users of new and expected editions through email subscriptions and RSS feeds. Accuracy of citations (and of information provided): The citations and information provided are accurate and consistent. One thing that is of notice is that a number of journals do not provide citations for journal articles and books. From I understand, academic institutions need to add an OpenURL feature to their package that gives

the user the ability to retrieve article citations. Unfortunately, the institution that I got access through did not subscribe to the feature. A second section I checked for inaccuracies was full text articles. In full text articles that have PDFs as supplements, I checked to make sure that the text was all the same and it was free of errors. Another point that was free of errors was their general frequently asked questions section that provided consistent and factual information for users. Subject headings/controlled vocabulary and access points: Interestingly, Project Muse provides librarians with record sets for cataloging and they include LC subject headings. They are available on a request basis like the instructional material. They also provide records for new journals. In addition to the record sets, Project Muse provides a variety of access points and it is fairly easy to search for articles and books. Statistics and training for staff: Project Muse does not provide usability statistics to users directly, however, they do provide them for libraries and other institutions that are interested in purchasing or have purchased a subscription to Project Muse. They also provide instructional PDFs for librarians and other instructors that need help navigating and using Project Muse. Like the statistics, access to these materials requires an institution login and password. Cost: Project Muse is available for access for a subscription fee. It is noted in the frequently asked questions section that Project Muse is apart of a packaged deal, meaning that it is available alongside other indexes. From what I understand, the subscription fee for this particular package is expensive, but I am not sure the exact cost.