Acquisition Time: International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS) Added to ProQuest Roster
We've just learned the news from ProQuest. The news release is at the bottom of the post.
IBSS comes from the London School of Economics.
Here are three fast facts about the database from the London School IBSS Web Site. Obviously, a ProQuest web site will follow in the future.
1) 2.5 million bibliographic records for journal articles, reviews, books and book chapters many of which are not indexed fully on internet search engines
2) Unique international coverage with over 50 per cent of titles published outside the US or UK, including substantial French, German and Spanish content
3) Access to the latest research: IBSS is updated weekly and coverage goes back to 1951
For immediate release
PROQUEST ACQUIRES IBSS
London School of Economics’ classic social sciences database joins ProQuest family
January 14, 2010 (ANN ARBOR, Mich.) – ProQuest, an information technology firm supporting global research, has acquired the London School of Economics’ classic International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS). Established in 1951, IBSS is the foremost Abstracting and Indexing database for social science and interdisciplinary research, currently holding more than 2.5 million bibliographic references to journal articles as well as to books, reviews and chapters. IBSS also expands by more than 120,000 new additions each year.
“As the information world becomes more complex, the role of accurate, comprehensive A&I – the guideposts to content - becomes more essential,” said Marty Kahn, ProQuest CEO. “IBSS is a natural fit for ProQuest because of its authoritative A&I that directs researchers to the best, most credible content in their field.”
ProQuest has a well established relationship with IBSS, distributing its content as part of ProQuest’s vast support of academic research in social studies. IBSS is valued by researchers for its broad coverage of international material, with records in more than 100 languages from as many countries. As part of the ProQuest family, IBSS will continue its aggressive growth and expand full-text links, making it even more efficient for researchers. Further, as ProQuest migrates its content to a groundbreaking, unified platform, IBSS will be cross-searchable with the breadth of the library’s ProQuest content.
IBSS was compiled until 1989 at the Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques, under the auspices of the International Committee for Social Science Information and Documentation (ICSSD), a UNESCO-affiliated NGO. In 1989 it moved to the Library of the London School of Economics and Political Science and for several years it has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. In addition, print volumes are published annually and will continue to be available from Routledge.
“As our funding for IBSS is coming to an end, the acquisition by ProQuest assures a secure future for this essential research tool,” said Jean Sykes, Chief Information Officer at LSE. “We’re delighted that IBSS has found a home in a company that understands both the content and its users. We feel absolutely confident that this step will increase the access to and usefulness of IBSS.”
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