First off, NILS has ceased producing the annual print volumes as of 1995,
so for all citations after 1995, you have to seek alternative sources for
the IPI.
I have the print, the CDROM and have used it extensively on Lexis. The
CDROM is issued twice a year on an annual subscription and we just
received our second disc. The disc contains all the contents of all the
paper IPIs as well as all the citations since 1995. It also contains
abstracts of the articles (like Lexis) that were not found in the paper
product. Thus, you get more in the CD than you do on paper.
One thing I don't know is how frequently the Lexis database is updated.
It may just mirror the CD or it may have more frequent updating. NILS
produces the index, but librarian from the SLA produce the contents, so
there is no commercial enterprise cracking the whip on their editorial
lackeys, and so speed may never be of the essence in the IPI. The CDROM's
semi annual production may be the best you can hope for.
I like the IPI on CDROM. The addition of the abstracts is a valuable
improvement over the paper and the cost is much less than we were
spending in a year searching it on Lexis. NILS uses their own proprietary
software, not Folio, and it takes a little getting used to. You have to
mess around with it because there is no paper manual, though there is an
on-disc help facility. I can't help thinking Lexis searches easier, but
the cost of the two more than makes up for the learning curve on the IPI.
Of course, the major downside to the IPI in any format is finding the
articles once you locate them in the database, unless, that is, you are
an insurance company library.
Hope this helps.
------------------------
According to Suzanne Bailey:
..
.. I am doing a comparison of the Insurance Periodicals Index on Dialog,
.. Lexis & Westlaw, CD-Rom and Print and wonder if anyone can offer any
.. insight. I have found a little information on the internet, and bits of
.. information in a few articles. Several calls to NILS publishing have
.. gone unanswered, therefore I am calling on the MOST reliable source I
.. know of-my library colleagues!
.. If you can share any unique aspects or information of interest I would
.. greatly appreciate it.
.. I need to obtain this information as soon as possible.
..
.. Thank You
.. Suzanne Bailey
.. sbailey@rdmlaw.com
.. (202)662-2911
..
-----------------------------
William Grady
USF&G Co., Law Library
6225 Smith Avenue
Baltimore, Md. 21209
410-205-6325,fax 410-205-6366
wgrady@capcon.net
-----------------------------
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