A brief history of Periodicals Archive Online is presented, as well as the current status of this database. Then planned developments for Periodicals Archive Online are presented.

1. Periodicals Archive Online:
Past, present and future

2. Agenda
 Where are we and how did we get here?
 A brief history of the programme to date
 Current status
 Where are we going?
 Planned developments for Periodicals Archive Online

3. HELM, BERTRAND P., The Nature and Modes of Time, Monist, 63:3 (1980:July) p.375
(Periodicals Archive Online)

4. Periodicals Archive Online overview
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A major scholarly archive of retrospective, full runs of
periodicals used in humanities and social sciences
Multidisciplinary collections for greatest benefit
English and other major languages in full-text
Full-runs of full-text from first issue to 2000/2005 or date
when coverage ceased (earliest content is from 1802)
Archival solution - includes all pages of each issue with nonarticle content
Core titles plus hard-to-find title coverage
 Around 75% of each collection is peer-reviewed or older,
scholarly journals that did not have that designation when
published. The foreign language titles also do not normally have
that designation, but are scholarly.
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Permanently owned archive
No ongoing duplication of other backfile sources, including
JSTOR

5. Periodicals Archive Online: origins and history

6. Periodicals Archive Online: objectives
 Improve access to backfiles of periodicals across the
arts, humanities and social sciences
 Expose “submerged iceberg” of older journal content
 Non-duplicative policy – will not add any title that, for
example, JSTOR have already digitized
 Each journal included has substantial backfile preceding our
termination point (average title has around 40 years of
content)
 Maximise discoverability and utility of this content by making
it fully searchable and enabling the appropriate functionality
to navigate it effectively

7. Periodicals Archive Online: objectives
 Offer the most important content for a wide range of
researchers
 Select titles from across the spectrum of the arts, humanities and social
sciences – 37 subjects represented
 Focus on high-quality, scholarly, peer-reviewed journals
 Include some major non-scholarly titles that have become key primary
sources
 Consider breadth of a publication’s appeal, but scope to include more
specialised publications if they are of sufficient quality and repute
 Identify important titles through analysis of bibliographies, library holdings,
reviews, subject websites, and publisher catalogues. Review feedback
from librarians and researchers

8. Periodicals Archive Online: A brief history

9. Periodicals Archive Online: A brief history

10. Periodicals Archive Online: A brief history
2001
PCI Full Text Collections 1 & 2 are launched.
2002
The interface is again updated and improved
Work begins on PCI Full Text Collection 3.
2004
Year-long global research exercise to plan future
developments for PCI and PCI Full Text
Collection 4 launched.
2005
Collection 5 launched.
PCI and PCI FT re-launched as Periodicals Index
Online and Periodicals Archive Online.

11. Periodicals Archive Online: A brief history
2005
Commencement of work to add OCR retrospectively
for journals from early collections that did not
originally have this
2006
Collection 6 launched – end-date increased to 2000.
British Periodicals Collection I launched.
Periodicals Index Online passes 16 million articles.
2007
Collection 6 completed
British Periodicals Collection II launched
2008
Work begins on Collection 7

12. Periodicals Archive Online: A brief history
2009
Collection 7 completed, including the Spectator
archive (first full-colour title)
Collection 8 launched
Collection Extensions 1 & 2 released, adding content
for 1996-2000 for journals in Collections 1-2
2010
Collection 8 completed, including the New
Statesman archive
Collection Extensions 3-5 released
2011
Work begins on Collection 9

13. Periodicals Archive Online: A brief history
2012
Collection 9 complete. Collection 10 launches
Commencement of process of migrating Periodicals
Archive Online and Periodicals Index Online from
their standalone interfaces to the main ProQuest
platform
2013
Completion of migration to the ProQuest platform
Collection 10 approaches completion
New market research exercise undertaken to
determine future direction of the programme

14. Periodicals Archive Online: where are we now?

15. Periodicals Archive Online:
Available content
• Nine cross-disciplinary collections complete,
with a tenth in progress.
– Over 700 journals available in purchase
collections
– Coverage from 1802-2005
– More than 3.3m articles, and over 15M pages
– Over 1.8 linear miles of shelving saved

16. Value of Periodicals Archive Online for
libraries
 Increase access to core research materials for
humanities faculty
 Attract academics to institution
 Provide multi-language content
 Accessible interfaces and searching options
 Complete any partial print holdings of journals by
filling gaps
 Savings in preservation costs for journals (print not
designed to last 200+ years)
 Free valuable shelf-space in library (Periodicals
Archive Online saves up to 1.8 miles of shelf space)
and build holdings without increasing shelving burden

17. Value of Periodicals Archive Online for
researchers
 Assemble broad base of sources, querying two
centuries of scholarship
 Perform literature review in a fraction of the time taken to
browse print copies
 Access publications not held in print or microfilm by
the library
 Benefit from the serendipity effect of searching
across disciplines and publications that may not
seem natural
 Perform research remotely
 Compare treatment of events in scholarly and
general interest periodicals

18. Periodicals Archive Online: Primary
source value
Spectator, 7010
(1962:Nov. 2) p.667
HOUSE, JONATHAN M., Joint
Operational Problems in the Cuban
Missile Crisis, Parameters, 21:1
(1991:Spring) p.92

19. Periodicals Archive Online: Primary
source value

20. Sight & Sound (1932-2000) –
Collection 4
 Eminent monthly title published under the auspices of the
British Film Institute
 Renowned for the depth and quality of its reviews and the
comprehensiveness of its credit listings
 Detailed articles and interviews with directors of
independent and international – as well as popular – film
 Sight & Sound’s decennial greatest film accolade is the
most respected poll of this type
 Scanned throughout in full colour

21. RUSI Journal (1857-2000) –
Collection 2
 The flagship publication of the influential British
defence and security think tank, the Royal United
Services Institute.
 The world’s oldest unified military and defence
periodical
 Valuable material pertaining to national and
international defence and security issues
 Contributors include military officers, government
ministers, academics and defence insiders.

22. Sloan Management Review (1914-2000) –
Collection 1
 Major business title oriented to the interests of
managers
 Provides platform for business management
innovators to publish their research
 Aims to bridge the gap between the academic and
business worlds
 Covers full range of management topics and issues
of contemporary interest to the business community

23. Harper’s (1850-2000) – Collection 3
 Long-established, venerable title – the second oldest
continuously published American monthly
 Spans literature, politics, culture, finance, and the
arts
 Many notable contributors including, for example,
Mark Twain, Winston Churchill, Noam Chomsky,
Sylvia Plath and John Updike
 151 years of backfile available in Periodicals Archive
Online

24. Journal of Individual Psychology
(1940-1981) - Collection 5
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Long-running journal devoted to the school of individual psychology
founded by Alfred Adler, as well as its successor movements
Offers a forum for high-quality studies of Adlerian practices, principles
and theoretical development.
Periodicals Archive Online makes available 42 years of backfile
The successor title of the same name, formed in 1982 by a merger, is
also present in Collection 5 (1982-2000).

25. Europe (1923-2000) – Collection 6
 A leading literary review covering not only European,
but also world literature.
 Criticism accompanied by short stories, poems, and
reviews.
 Has featured original contributions (or translations of
fiction and criticism) from eminent figures including
Virginia Woolf, William Faulkner, Hélène Cixous,
Rabindranath Tagore, and Maxim Gorki.
 78 years of backfile are available through Periodicals
Archive Online.

26. The Spectator (1828-2000) –
Collection 7
 The oldest continuously published magazine in the
English language, established in 1828
 Major, prestigious weekly title with content spanning
politics, current affairs, business, the arts, style and travel
 173 years of coverage in Periodicals Archive Online, from
its inception in 1828, through to 2000
 15 times the average Periodicals Archive Online journal
size
 650,000+ articles
 Scanned throughout in full colour and greyscale

27. The Spectator: 173 years of content
First issue (5 July 1828)
From the Russo-Turkish War . . .
Last issue in Periodicals
Archive Online (30
December 2000)
. . . to the dangers of rap music

28. New Statesman (1913-2000) –
Collection 8
 Long-established weekly current affairs magazine,
founded in 1913
 Influential, prestigious title that, along with the
Spectator, has formed the vanguard of the British
news/politics weeklies.
 Spans current affairs, politics, business and the arts
 Offers left-wing counterpoint to the Spectator,
promoting progressive ideas, modern societies and
political democracy
 Eight times the average PAO journal size – almost
150,000 articles
 Available as part of 68-title Collection 8

29. New Statesman: content types
Range of content mirrors that of The Spectator
 Contemporary comment on major events in Britain and
around the world spanning 88 years
 Campaigns, opinion pieces and investigations
 Arts and culture
 Economics
 Style and fashion
 Science and technology

30. Diogène (1952-2000) – Collection 8
 A leading journal published by the largest French
university publishing house, Presses Universitaires de
France
 Founded by eminent French thinker Roger Caillois
 Influential in the development of a transdisciplinary
approach to intellectual innovation, spanning the
humanities and social sciences
 Supported by UNESCO and fully international in scope;
encourages collaboration of researchers worldwide
 Periodicals Archive Online makes available 49 years of
backfile

31. New Leader (1924-2000) –
Collection 9
• One of the most influential American political magazines of the
twentieth century
• Published weekly in newspaper format for most of its run, later
becoming a bimonthly magazine
• Major contributors
• Soviet dissidents: including Alexandr Solzhenitsyn and Josef Brodsky
• American civil rights campaigners, including Martin Luther King
• Leading authors, thinkers and critics, such as George Orwell, Albert
Camus, Arthur Miller, Bertrand Russell and Lionel Trilling
• Scanned throughout in high-resolution greyscale
• Contemporary accounts and analysis of key 20th-century events
• Post-revolutionary Russian politics
• The rise of Nazism
• Civil rights campaigns
• International labour movement

32. The Dickensian (1905-2000) –
Collection 9
 Periodicals Archive Online makes available 96 years of
backfile of this venerable title, devoted to the life, times
and works of Charles Dickens. This is a major resource
for scholars of Dickens, or of the period more generally.
As well as scholarship and news, it is notable for having
published newly discovered Dickens letters.

33. Foundation (1973-2000) – Collection 9
 One of the longest-running peer-reviewed scholarly
titles focussed on science fiction
 Features contributions from the major scholars in the
field as well as leading science fiction writers such as
Phillip K. Dick, Ursula Le Guin, Arthur C. Clarke, and
Stanlislaw Lem.

34. Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin
(1960-2000) – Collection 9
 Backfile of this title provides essential insights into four
decades of financial and economic policy in Britain and
beyond.
 A wealth of statistical information is accompanied by
commentary on topical developments, research and analysis.
 The archive will be a valuable primary source for studies of
economic history.

35. Recent and forthcoming developments

36. Periodicals Archive Online Foundation
Collection
215 top academic journals across the Arts and Humanities
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Selected from PAO Collection 1-4
Articles: 1,080,022
Years of journal content: 10,028
Non-English language journals: 54 (25%)
Minimal overlap with other electronic journals archives,
including JSTOR and ProjectMuse Archive

37. Periodicals Archive Online
Collection 10
• Large cross disciplinary collection of journal backfiles in the
humanities and social sciences
• 65 titles on completion (will include Maclean’s, approximately 10
times the average journal size)
• c. 15% - 20% of the collection to contain non-English language
titles
• Strives to avoid overlap with other backfile archives
• Expanded backfile through to 2005
• 37 titles currently available - completes 2013 or early 2014

38. Maclean’s (1911-2005) – Collection
10
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Forthcoming inclusion
Full backfile of this leading weekly publication 1911-2005
Canada’s national magazine
Influential coverage of international affairs, culture, business and
politics
Momentous investigative reports and campaigns (e.g.
controversial critical appraisals of politicians’ management of
WWI)
Contributions from major authors and humorists, such as Stephen
Leacock and Lucy Maud Montgomery
Also covers lifestyle, travel, sports, science and technology, and
fashion
Greyscale and full color scans

39. Signal (1970-2003) – Collection 10
 A leading scholarly publication devoted to children’s
literature
 34 years of backfile included
 Covers the myriad aspects of children’s literature,
including writing and illustrating; educational
theory/practice; literary criticism; bibliography, biography;
editing and publishing; translating; bookmaking/collecting;
social and literary history
 Inclusion is response to demand from researchers for
journals in this sub-discipline

40. Queen’s Quarterly (1893-2005) –
Collection 10
• Oldest Canadian academic quarterly
• Periodicals Archive Online makes available 113 years of backfile
• Has featured poetry and fiction by leading authors including
Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje and Carol Shields
• Major Canadian writers, such as Mavis Gallant and Michael
Ignatieff, have contributed articles on scholarly topics

41. New Left Review (1960-2005) –
Collection 10
• Described by The Guardian as “the flagship journal of the
Western intellectual left”
• Major bimonthly title devoted to politics and culture
• PAO Collection 10 makes available 46 years of backfile
• Has included contributions from leading authorities on history,
philosophy and social theory, such as Theodor Adorno,
Walter Benjamin, Jacques Lacan, Benedict Anderson,
Frederic Jameson, Raymond Williams among many others

42. Periodicals Archive Online on the
ProQuest platform

43. Periodicals Archive Online on the
ProQuest Platform – cross-search
Researchers using Periodicals Archive Online may now
benefit from cross-searching the 700+ deep journal backfiles
in this resource with:
 Primary source historical resources such as ProQuest
Historical Newspapers
 Historical periodical archives, including American
Periodicals and British Periodicals
 Arts databases, such as Entertainment Industry Magazine
Archive, Vogue, International Index to Music Periodicals
and International Index to Performing Arts
 Current front-file content in ProQuest aggregated
databases and Newspapers collections such as ProQuest
Newsstand
 A&I databases in the arts and humanities and social
sciences
11/13/2013

44. Periodicals Archive Online on the ProQuest
Platform – cross-search: all products
Basic and advanced search screens allow Periodicals Archive Online to
be cross-searched with all other subscribed products on the ProQuest
Platform
11/13/2013

45. Periodicals Archive Online on the ProQuest
Platform – cross-search: subject areas
For more focussed cross-searching, Periodicals Archive Online may
be searched alongside other products within specific subject areas
11/13/2013

46. Cross-search example – Periodicals Archive Online and
Historical Newspapers (New York Times)
Consult contemporary reporting of events alongside later scholarly analysis. Result
23 here, from the New York Times in 1960, reports the influence of Soviet
propaganda of the period, whilst result 24, from Journalism Quarterly in Periodicals
Archive Online highlights, retrospectively, the role of US propaganda.
11/13/2013

47. Cross-search example – Periodicals
Archive Online and ProQuest Central
Search results
for recent full
text in PQ
Central
Historical journal
results for early
20C and beyond
11/13/2013
Increased years
of coverage for
results

48. Periodicals Archive Online product
page: Advanced Search
Besides the cross-search options, there are product-specific basic and advanced search pages
for Periodicals Archive Online with search options tailored to this resource
Wide selection of drop-down and
fixed search fields
Option to limit to peerreviewed content
New lookup lists for author and
country of publication
11/13/2013

49. Periodicals Archive Online
results page
New filtering options
include restricting by
source type, peerreviewed status,
publication frequency,
and article
identifier/keyword
Preview layers offer
additional detail about
articles
Date slider for quick
focusing by date

50. ProQuest Platform – Flash viewer
New Flash view option
allows for easy
zooming and panning
11/13/2013

51. Other future initiatives
Exposure of indexing to open web search
engines
 Opportunity being actively investigated
 Aim to improve discoverability of Periodicals
Archive Online content and increase usage

52. Market research
 Year-long market research exercise undertaken in
2013, to inform future development of the programme
(content, functionality, sales model)
 Information sources include:
 Customer interviews, focus groups, site visits, surveys
 Qualitative and quantitative end user feedback (interviews
and online survey)
 Interviews with other ProQuest employees
 Analysis of usage data

53. Market research: some key findings
- usage
Formula for relative usage developed (adjusted for the
number of institutions accessing each journal, the
length of time in Periodicals Archive Online, etc).
 Highest relative usage is for journals in psychology
(as opposed to literature in the total usage count)
 Other areas that move up in terms of relative usage
include business/management and area studies –
Middle East

54. Market research: some key findings
- usage
Highest relative usage by individual title:
Title
Spectator
New Statesman
New Leader
Harper's
Academy and Literature
Humanist
Antiquity
RSA Journal
History Today
Modern Fiction Studies
Adolescence
Sight and Sound
Commentary
Modern Language Review
Philological Quarterly
Monthly Film Bulletin
Sex Roles
Contemporary Review
North American Review
Papers on Language and
Literature
Coverage in PAO
1828-2000
1913-1975, 1977-1988 only
1924-2000
1850-1995
1869-1916
1941-2000
1927-1947, 1949-2000 only
1852-1941, 1943-1970, 1973-1995 only
1951-1995
1955-1995
1966-1995
1932-2000
1938-1995
1905-1995
1922-1995
1934-1987, 1989-1991
1975-1995
1866-1995
1815-1939, 1964-1995
Primary journal subject
Humanities (General)
Political Science
Political Science
Humanities (General)
Literature
Philosophy
Archaeology
Fine Arts
History (General)
Literature
Psychology
Performing Arts
Jewish Studies
Linguistics/Philology
Linguistics/Philology
Performing Arts
Social Sciences (General)
Humanities (General)
Literature
1965-2000
Literature

55. Market research: some key findings
- content
 Only 11% of end user survey respondents (including
undergraduates) felt that non-peer-reviewed titles
were of no importance to them
 74% of librarians felt that non-scholarly titles are
either “important” or “very important”
 However, principal interest of PAO customers
remains peer-reviewed content

56. Market research: some key findings
- content
 Consistent demand for continued broad
interdisciplinary mix of content
 The top 5 journal subjects rated by librarians were
social sciences (general), education,
business/management, history (general), and
psychology
 Interest in new/growth subject areas (e.g. LGBT
studies, masculinity studies, and video game
research / design)
 Very few librarians requested new publication types

57. Market research: some key findings
– date range
 Over three quarters of librarians recommended
extending the coverage of future collections beyond
2005
 Most librarians requested add-on components for the
years 2001-2005 for collections currently terminating
at 2000

58. Market research: some key findings
– sales model
 43% of librarians suggested smaller collections
 71% recommended collections themed by subject
area

59. 2014 agenda
 No plans to release new collection in 2014
 Continuation of market research
 Synthesise research findings to determine the
appropriate content and format of the next collection
 License key titles serving the main customer needs

60. Thank you
chris.cotton@proquest.co.uk