ABC-CLIO Home  |  Schools  |  Public Libraries  |  International  |  About ABC-CLIO   
 
 

HA and AHL Site License Agreement

NSTC Site License Agreement
 
Frequently Asked Questions
What modifications have been recently made to this site?

Do the databases include access to electronic journals?

How many new records are added each year?

What is the scope of historical coverage for the America: History and Life and Historical Abstracts databases?

How frequently are the databases updated?

Can I be notified that articles on my favorite subjects have been added?

Can I pay for searching these databases on a per-search basis as opposed to a full subscription?

How can I subscribe to America: History and Life or Historical Abstracts on the Web?

Do I need a password to search this site?

I've carefully typed my student id/password on the ABC-CLIO login screen, but it's not letting me into the site. Why?

I use IP authentication for access, but selecting a database returns a request for User ID and Password. Why would this be happening?

Where can I find site-specific information such as scheduled maintenance notifications?

Are downloadable user's guides available for these databases?

How do I set up a CLIO Alert Profile?

How can I contact someone at ABC-CLIO about these databases?

I'm an abstracter for these databases and have been informed an informational site exists for us. Where is it located?

What is the privacy policy for this site?

What is the best browser configuration to use with these databases?

Is there anywhere on the site I can browse pre-made searches?

Where is the SEARCH button located?

Why is the Display Full Entry button greyed out for some entries in the Short Entry Display?

Why are some searches timing out or taking a long time to complete?

My search completed but the results won't display. Why would this be happening?

Where can I find the full text of a cited article? What about a cited or reviewed book?

I can't find the JSTOR or Project Muse links. Where are they?

Clicking on a link to full text returns an "access denied" type of message from the full text provider. Why is this happening?

Are filters for importing my search results into a citation manager available?

Sometimes a search including common terms will return zero results because one or more of these terms are stopped (unindexed). Is a list of these stopped terms available?

What modifications are being planned for this site?






What modifications have been recently made to this site?

On 25 November 2002, a twin of our new sb3 server (called sb4) was brought online.

On 24 October 2002, a replacement for our sb2 server (called sb3) was brought online. A new load balancing solution was also enabled at this time.

On 25 April 2002, links to full-text at Project Muse became available in the Short Entry and Full Entry record displays of America: History and Life and Historical Abstracts.

On 5 March 2002, a filter for importing tab-delimited results into EndNote became available. Click here to download this filter.

On 9 January 2002, Tab-Delimited Display was added to Output Options. This additional format will more easily permit the importing of search results into bibliographic citation managers such as EndNote, ProCite, and Reference Manager.

[ top of page ]

Do the databases include access to electronic journals?
Historical Abstracts and America: History and Life contain links to articles in the following electronic journals: Chronicon, Common-Place, Cromohs, Essays in History, Journal for Multimedia History, Journal of the Association for History and Computing, Mennonite Life, North Star, and Screening the Past. Additionally, Historical Abstracts includes access to Intermarium, and America: History and Life includes access to H-Net Reviews and Media History Monographs.

[ top of page ]

How many new records are added each year?
America: History and Life adds approximately 16,000 entries per year. Historical Abstracts adds approximately 22,000 entries per year.

[ top of page ]

What is the scope of historical coverage for the America: History and Life and Historical Abstracts databases?
The scope of coverage for Historical Abstracts is 1775-1945 for Volumes 1-16 and 1775-Present beginning with Volume 17. The coverage for this database expanded to 1450-Present beginning with Volume 19. For America: History and Life the coverage is Prehistory-Present with the exception of Volume 0. This volume consists of entries drawn from Historical Abstracts Volumes 1-15 and covers 1775-1945 only.

[ top of page ]

How frequently are the databases updated?
The Web versions of America: History and Life and Historical Abstracts are updated monthly with new in-process citation-only records and with new completed-but-not-yet-published records. Completed issues are added to the databases as soon as they become available.

[ top of page ]

Can I be notified that articles on my favorite subjects have been added?
Sure. Version 3 of this site includes a new service called CLIO Alert. With it you can create a profile containing up to 10 user-defined searches—to be performed for you on a monthly basis—and have the results e-mailed to you. This service can be accessed from either the Advanced or the Simple Search screens via the "CLIO Alert Profile" link. The Frequently Asked Question How do I set up a CLIO Alert Profile? provides additional information.

[ top of page ]

Can I pay for searching these databases on a per-search basis as opposed to a full subscription?
Annual subscriptions are the only option at this time, but other transaction-based pricing may be available in the future. For subscription information, return to the Front Page and select the Subscription Information button.

[ top of page ]

How can I subscribe to America: History and Life or Historical Abstracts on the Web?
Return to the Front Page and select the Subscription Information button. These databases are currently available only on a subscription basis.

[ top of page ]

Do I need a password to search this site?
Subscribing institutions may choose to use IP addressing, Referring URL, or UserID/Password for site authentication. We encourage institutions to supply block IP addresses. For further information, return to the Front Page and select the Subscription Information button.

[ top of page ]

I've carefully typed my student id/password on the ABC-CLIO login screen, but it's not letting me into the site. Why?
ABC-CLIO does not provide remote access to users (students, patrons of a library). The university or library with which a user is affiliated should provide these services and setup instructions. Check your library web pages or speak with a local reference librarian for more information.

[ top of page ]

I use IP authentication for access, but selecting a database returns a request for User ID and Password. Why would this be happening?
It's possible that your machine IP is not within the address block(s) authorized to access the databases.  Forward your IP address information along with your name, e-mail address, and institution to technical support if you require any IP authentication assistance.

[ top of page ]

Where can I find site-specific information such as scheduled maintenance notifications?
Our site status page (located at http://www.silcom.com/~abcstats) includes server- and database-specific information. Bookmark this page for future reference.

[ top of page ]

Are downloadable user's guides available for these databases?
Database-specific user's guides are available in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. If the Acrobat Reader is not installed on your system, it may be obtained from Adobe.

[ top of page ]

How do I set up a CLIO Alert Profile?
First select the "CLIO Alert Profile" link located on either the Simple or Advanced Search screens. If you've already established a profile, enter your profile username/password at the prompt and select the "Login to Your Profile" button. If you've not yet set up a profile, click on the "Create a New Profile" link, enter a profile username of your choice at the prompt, and select the "Create Profile" button. Within the CLIO Alert Profile Editor, step-by-step instructions for establishing a profile can be found by selecting the "How do I set up a CLIO Alert Profile?" link (these instructions can also be found here).

[ top of page ]

How can I contact someone at ABC-CLIO about these databases?
For subscription or preview information, return to the Front Page and select the Subscription Information button. Technical assistance is available by telephone (800-368-6868 ext 127 or 129), fax (805-685-9685), or by e-mail. For e-mail assistance on searching strategies and database content.

[ top of page ]

I'm an abstracter for these databases and have been informed an informational site exists for us. Where is it located?
This site, called the Abstracter's Corner, contains monthly abstracting essays, FAQs, and mailforms permitting you to contact ABC-CLIO editorial and library staff directly. You can access this site by clicking here.

[ top of page ]

What is the privacy policy for this site?
ABC-CLIO supports the ICOLC Privacy Guidelines for Electronic Resources Vendors. ABC-CLIO is committed to protecting user privacy online. We believe that strong electronic privacy is crucial for the ongoing success of the Internet. We also believe it is critical for us to adhere to the American Library Association's Code of Ethics. We pledge to give you as much control as possible over your personal information. We will not disclose individually identifiable information about you to any third party without your consent. We will not sell or rent any personally identifiable information to a third party. This information will only be used by ABC-CLIO internally or to send you information you have requested. Click here to view the entire ABC-CLIO privacy policy.

[ top of page ]

What is the best browser configuration to use with these databases?
This site has been optimized for a screen resolution of 640x480, and is best viewed (on the PC) with either Netscape (version 4.7x, 6.2, or 7.0 — note that we do not support version 6.0 and also that version 6.2 has a minor problem rendering graphics which has been corrected in version 7.0), or Internet Explorer (version 5.5 or higher). This site is best viewed on the Mac with Netscape version 4.7x or Internet Explorer version 5.0 (newer versions of both browsers have not yet been tested). We recommend that this site's default font, Arial , be installed on your system if it is not already present, and that your browser font point size be set to "10" (for Netscape version 4.7x), to "16" (for Netscape version 6.2 and 7.0), or to "medium" or "smaller" (for Internet Explorer). To avoid excessive scrolling, your browser should be run full screen. In order to establish and maintain a session, this site requires your browser be configured to accept Cookies. Certain site elements make extensive use of Javascript and Cascading Style Sheets; your browser should have Javascript enabled and be capable of interpreting style sheets.

[ top of page ]

Is there anywhere on the site I can browse pre-made searches?
Yes. CLIO Notes provides chronologies and hundreds of brief summaries of significant historical events and themes. Learn more about CLIO Notes for Historical Abstracts here, or America: History & Life here.

[ top of page ]

Where is the SEARCH button located?
The SEARCH button is located directly to the right of the search fields. It might not be visible if you're running your browser in a window. Running the browser full screen should take care of this problem.

[ top of page ]

Why is the Display Full Entry button greyed out for some entries in the Short Entry Display?
Our Web databases now include in-process English-language article entries prior to their completion and inclusion in the print and CD-ROM versions of America: History and Life and Historical Abstracts. These entries consist of Document Type (currently always Article), Author/Editor, Title, Title Translation, Bibliographic Citation, and ISSN. For these in-process entries, the remaining elements (abstract, subject terms, chronologies) are not yet available and, as a result, Full Entry display access is disabled.

[ top of page ]

Why are some searches timing out or taking a long time to complete?
There are a number of factors that could affect response time: search complexity, the presence and configuration of a proxy server and/or firewall on your network, traffic shaping (port throttling) on your network, and both site and general Internet traffic. To enhance search response time (and to avoid the possibility of your university network timing out a search), we recommend that common terms (such as civil war) not be enclosed in quotes, and that wildcarding be applied to partial words of not less than five characters. Additionally, we suggest that criteria which can return very large interim results (such as Language: English and Document Type: Article) be omitted. As an aid in troubleshooting slow searches we suggest that you enable the Search Progress Window in User Options. This window provides feedback—elapsed time, number of hits, index being searched, terms rejected, etc.—during the execution of a search, and will help identify terms or strategies that might be causing problems.

[ top of page ]

My search completed but the results won't display. Why would this be happening?
If text in the format "x matches, 0 tagged; beginning with number 1" appears twice, but no results are displayed, it is due to having selected (and made default) Tagged Results when displaying your previous results set. Since no results from the current search have been tagged, none will display. To display current search results, select the Complete Results button.

[ top of page ]

Where can I find the full text of a cited article? What about a cited or reviewed book?
If your institution subscribes to JSTOR's Arts & Sciences I and/or II Collections or Project Muse, links to the full text (for journals which correspond to coverage in our databases) can be accessed from either the Short Entry or Full Entry record display. For book review entries in America: History and Life, access to H-Net Reviews can also be accessed from the Short Entry and Full Entry record display. For other articles (and books), it is best to first check for availability in your institution's local library holdings or through their interlibrary loan. Fee-based document delivery services such as ingenta and the British Library Public Catalogue can be useful resources if journal articles are unavailable locally. Search services for out-of-print books include Bibliofind and Advanced Book Exchange.

[ top of page ]

I can't find the JSTOR or Project Muse links. Where are they?
Links to JSTOR and Project Muse can be found in the citation of both Short and Full Entry record displays. Because of moving walls and other coverage issues, a particular record might not include a full text link even though the journal is part of a JSTOR or Project Muse collection. To limit your results to entries with full text include "jstor" (no quotes) or "project muse" (again, no quotes) in the Keyword field.

[ top of page ]

Clicking on a link to full text returns an "access denied" type of message from the full text provider. Why is this happening?
If your university does not subscribe to the particular full text provider this provider will return — as a result of their authentication process — a message denying access. Currently, full text links display for all institutions but we plan on implementing institutional-level enable/disable functionality in the near future.

[ top of page ]

Are filters for importing my search results into a citation manager available?
A filter for importing tab-delimited search results into EndNote is available and may be downloaded by right-clicking here (the file should be saved to your EndNote Filters folder). A filter for importing tab-delimited search results into ProCite is also available and may be downloaded by right-clicking here (the file should be saved to your ProCite Config folder). A filter for Reference Manager is in development.

[ top of page ]

Sometimes a search including common terms will return zero results because one or more of these terms are stopped (unindexed). Is a list of these stopped terms available?
The following common terms are unindexed (and unsearchable) in the America: History and Life and Historical Abstracts databases:

about may
after might
among onto
and over
are san
around should
before some
behind the
beside through
beyond under
during was
into were
its you

[ top of page ]

What modifications are being planned for this site?
The following modifications/enhancements to the America: History and Life and Historical Abstracts databases on the Web are in development or being planned:

Additional links to full-text providers.

Reference Manager import filter.

OpenURL implementation.

Enable/disable functionality for display of full-text links.


[ top of page ]