ProQuest To Begin Publishing “Statistical Abstract of the United States” (Print & Electronic Versions)
Submitted by garyprice on Thu, 2012-03-22 06:34.
via INFOdocket.com
ProQuest will rescue one of researchers’ most valued reference tools when it takes on publication of the Statistical Abstract of the United States beginning with the 2013 edition. The move ensures continuation of this premier guide to an extraordinary array of statistics, which has been published since 1878. The U.S. Census Bureau, responsible for publishing the work, announced in March 2011 that it would cease production of the Statistical Abstract after the 2012 edition, prompting widespread concern among librarians, journalists, and researchers about the disappearance of this essential research tool.
“I’m thrilled that ProQuest will continue aggregating this important content,” said Wright State University librarian Sue Polanka, author of the widely read No Shelf Required blog. Polanka was part of a Reference User Services Association committee who organized a discussion at the American Library Association’s Midwinter conference about how to save the Statistical Abstract from extinction. “Even in our increasingly digital world, the Statistical Abstract remains one of the best reference sources for libraries.”
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The ProQuest Statistical Abstract will be available in both print and digital formats. The digital version will include monthly updates to tables, deep searching at the line-item level, powerful facets for narrowing search results, image and spreadsheet versions of all current and historical tables, along with links to provider sites. The digital Statistical Abstract will be available as a stand-alone service or as a fully integrated part of ProQuest Statistical Insight, a comprehensive collection of statistical publications, including a million plus tables, covering subjects in economics, business, market research and the social sciences.
The print edition will continue much like its previous incarnations, with roughly the same number of tables as in past editions. The ProQuest statistical editorial team will also include detailed bibliographic documentation, an updated back-of-the-book index, and updated introductory sections. ProQuest will co-publish the book with Bernan Press, an imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc, which will print, market and distribute the book.
Both are available for pre-sale beginning in April 2012.
Note: We've also asked ProQuest for answers to a few questions about pricing, access, etc. We will we report back on INFOdocket when we here back.
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Will ProQuest continue
Will ProQuest continue supplying links to the sources of its tables as well as the citations? That was an invaluable addition to the Stat Abs in the years before it tanked.
According to ProQuest ...
According to the ProQuest press release, the ProQuest statistical editorial team will "include detailed bibliographic documentation."
According to Library Journal, "Content will come, according to ProQuest, from the same hundreds of public and private sources that the Census Bureau’s disbanded Statistical Compendia division used. In a small number of instances, the company explains, the same data may not be available, and in those cases the Abstract will provide other, similar data from similar sources."
According to a letter sent by Dan Coyle, a Product Manager for ProQuest Statistical Services, "We have added new staff, begun a deep analysis of content sources table by table, and begun contacting the providers of copyright tables." Also: "As for the print, we will be guided by three principles: Our version must have all the parts and features of its predecessors; We must obtain rights to all or most of the content from nonpublic sources; and There can be no errors. Before the [Census Bureau] Compendia Branch disbanded, we met with them for half a day and learned what editorial policies and procedures they followed."
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