Black Studies on Disc contains the catalog of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and G. K. Hall & Co.’s annual Index to Black Periodicals, 1988 through 1998. The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is “a research unit of The New York Public Library. Established in 1925 as a non‐circulating reference collection, it has evolved into a state‐of‐the‐art research center.”
Black Studies on Disc is the first cumulative catalog of the Schomburg Center’s holdings in electronic form. This electronic catalog includes material in all formats ‐ “books, serials, microforms, audio and audio‐visual resources, photographs, manuscript collections, art, artifacts and ephemera. The combined database of some 148,000 records provides bibliographic access to over 90 percent of the more than 5 million items in the Center’s collections.” The database houses information “by and about people of African descent worldwide. Concentrating on the humanities, the social sciences and the arts, its geographic scope emphasizes the Americas, the Caribbean and Sub‐Saharan Africa.”
The depth of this collection is impressive. Materials are referenced from as far back as the “8th Century ad, but are strongest for the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. English is the predominant language, supplemented by materials in French, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Dutch, Russian and other European languages. Works in over 200 indigenous African languages and Creole dialects, as well as translations of materials in Asian languages, are also included.” The G.K. Hall & Co.’s annual Index to Black Periodicals increases the scope of this CD, providing access to a “wide range of scholarly and popular journals.”
Installation and navigation
The installation of Black Studies on Disc is simple and user‐friendly. Steps for the installation are outlined in a printed Technical Reference, which accompanies each CD. This reference not only provides system requirements and installation procedures but also contains everything from the electronic help section of the application. I found myself referring to this printed guide consistently because of its inherent convenience. Topics in the Technical Reference also include:
how to perform a search;
advanced search options;
displaying search result;
printing and exporting;
working with multiple databases;
keyboard shortcuts.
The navigation and interface are organized and logical. The user is usually just one click away from the window or command needed. Also, the application window is adjustable to fit any screen size. This is useful if you have a lot of search results and would like to view more per page. Another valuable feature, for those of us that like to view several search results simultaneously, is the application display feature. This feature provides the option to display various views, such as the tile, cascading, horizontal, or vertical window.
Search features
The search capabilities for Black Studies on Disc are simple and powerful ‐ a wonderful combination. A user has several means to search, catalog, organize, and save information. The Search command window is the default window and contains the text input area that formulates a query. The bottom half of the window is shared by the Indexes Window and the Search History Window. The Search History Window displays a search history which is an excellent feature that not only catalogs searches, but also allows comparing search results. A user just clicks to highlight the desired search record and then clicks the Display button.
The Indexes Window provides browsing of the Indexes and the following fields:
name;
title;
source;
subject;
form/genre;
material type;
contents;
country;
date;
description;
imprint;
language;
LC card number;
call number;
notes;
record number;
related works;
series title;
series keyword;
standard number;
uniform title;
anyword.
Once you have chosen an Index, the window displays everything alphabetically. This feature is one of the most valuable, providing flexibility and ease of use. For instance, I couldn’t remember the exact spelling of an author, but I knew the last name started “Nu.” I searched under name in the index, then went to the “N’s” and found the individual. This option saved a lot of time and was fun to use. The index also provides a GoTo field where you enter any letter or number, which advances you through the database. This is an excellent feature, as it limits the amount of scrolling and searching for that specific letter. Function buttons (AND/OR) are also available when either the Indexes or Search History Windows are active.
Display Window
The Display Window refers to the window that shows the results of a search. The Display Window has several high‐end and useful features. With your search results, you can print, mark/unmark, sort, brief view/full view, custom display as well as use several menu options.
The different views ‐ brief, full, and custom ‐ provide an excellent means of prioritizing and organizing the subject.
The brief view contains the following headings:
material type;
language;
date;
author;
title;
description;
call no.
Full View can contain any of the following, irrespective of the source:
record ID;
material type;
language;
country;
date;
LC card no.;
ISBN;
ISSN;
St. rec. no.;
coden;
GPO item no.;
gov. doc. no.;
system no.;
call no.;
reviewer;
uniform title;
title;
edition;
imprint;
description;
series;
source;
notes;
contents;
subjects;
added names;
added titles;
added subjects;
related works;
abstract;
form/genre;
funding source.
Views
The Custom View allows adding specific fields to the search results, as well as removing those fields at any time. Users can also save a new default that will be applied any time they click on the custom view button. If I set a custom selection for a specific search, I found a frustrating bug that prevented me from clicking Custom again to alter it. Once the custom view is set, the only way to change the view for the same search is to use the menu command. For each new search, users will need to specify a custom view if they do not save it as a default.
The sort feature fortunately allows the user to continue altering priorities within the same search. One just clicks on sort to enter new priorities. I was impressed with the sorting tools available:
add;
remove;
move up;
move down;
remove all;
previous sort.
Help features
Help is just a mouse click away. Once in the display window, there is a help button available in sort, customize, and print. Using the help menu, you can find the following options:
contents;
how to use help;
search window;
display window;
keyboard shortcuts.
In addition to these help options, two phone numbers and an e‐mail address are listed. Between the printed Technical Reference and the accessibility of the electronic help, the user will find answers to questions efficiently and effortlessly.
Special menu commands
One of my favorite menu options was the export, which exports search results into a text file or database file. This feature provides flexibility for the researcher. One is able to export the data, then organize and mold that information to meet specific needs. A user can also save searches, and then open them at any point in the research.
Another useful menu option is the GoTo. A user can GoTo specific items in the search result, by page, number, etc. This is a time‐saving feature because one does not have to scroll through each page to find information again.
The eclectic database of Black Studies on Disc is significant and provides a tremendous resource for scholars, researchers, and students interested in locating materials on black culture. The disc is current, easy to use, and a valuable source on the humanities, social sciences, and the arts of black culture. All libraries should be equipped with access to this database. I highly recommend Black Studies on Disc for public, private, and educational libraries.
