Philosophy & Religion E-Reference Ratings

ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials. American Theological Library Association. www.atla.com
This major index for the academic fields of religious studies and theology, as well as for religious practitioners such as pastors and priests, contains over 1.5 million citations dating as far back as the 19th century. Although all major world religions receive coverage, the emphasis is on Christianity. The product's scripture index is a helpful feature that allows a searcher to find citations relating to a particular scriptural reference, though most first-time users would require some instruction for effective use. [The ratings are based on the EBSCOhost platform.] 

Encyclopaedia of Islam. Brill. www.brillonline.nl
Two editions of this standard reference work are available on the Brill Online platform: the second edition (12 volumes), completed in 2005, and the new third edition, which will take 15 years to complete (only some articles starting with “A” and “B” are now available). Both are cross-searchable with the other titles available on the platform, such as New Pauly. The search function is straightforward, but the power of hypertext remains unexploited, as cross-references are not linked to their respective articles. 

Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an. Brill. www.brillonline.nl
This five-volume print work is available on the Brill Online platform. Unlike the Encyclopaedia of Islam (EI, above), this links cross-references back to the articles. But as is the case with the EI, the overall strength of the product lies in the scholarship behind the writing, not the multimedia promise of a platform like Oxford Islamic Studies Online (below). The image reproductions, however, do add greatly to the overall appeal. Another nice feature is the Qur'anic Citation search. 

Index Islamicus. Brill Academic. www.indexislamicus.com
Compiled by experts at London's School of Oriental and African Studies, this classic bibliography covers all aspects of the Muslim world. Both a strength and weakness is its large and international scope, which would be appreciated by scholars but may be overwhelming for lower-division students who want locally available content in English and for whom Oxford Islamic Studies Online (below) would be a better option. [The ratings are based on the EBSCOhost platform.] 

Index to Jewish Periodicals. Index to JewishPeriodicals. www.jewishperiodicals.com
This index is “intended for students of Jewish thought and…contemporary Jewish and Middle Eastern affairs.” International in scope, it covers more than 160 journals with citations dating back to 1988. As noted in a 2005 LJ review, there is not much overlap here with other periodical indexes, making it stand out. The inclusion of abstracts would be helpful for laypersons and students. Lacking depth and breadth of an index like ATLA Religion (above), this would nevertheless be important for some academic programs or public libraries. [The ratings are based on the EBSCOhost platform.] 

InfoTrac Religion & Philosophy. Gale Cengage. www.gale.cengage.com
This file indexes over 250 magazines and journals in the areas of religion, philosophy, and related disciplines. There is some full text available and a good balance of popular and scholarly material. The search functions are straightforward, and the interface is basic in design. Like its competitors, this works well with other library resources, including link resolvers and citation managers. Not the most compelling tool but certainly of high quality. 

iPreach. Cokesbury. www.cokesbury.com
A large digital library of reference texts for students, pastors and priests, theologians, and the curious layperson, iPreach comprises well-known works like the Handbook of Denominations in the United States and the 12-volume New Interpreter's Bible; several translations of the Bible; and content from respected publishers like Westminster John Knox and Augsburg Fortress. With Google-style search the norm, iPreach's unfriendly search functionality and clunky folder-style navigation need an overhaul. 

Oxford Islamic Studies Online. Oxford Univ. www.oxfordislamicstudies.com
Named one of LJ's Best Reference 2007 products, this affordable database is packed with the quality and readable content you expect from Oxford. It consists, among other titles, of the four-volume Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World, two translations of the Qur'an, and 300 maps and images. No other e-product in the religion field is as beautiful and as easy to use. The browsing functionality is perfect for those simply wanting to explore the breadth and depth of Islam. 

Oxford Scholarship Online: Philosophy. Oxford Univ. www.oxfordscholarshiponline.com
Containing over 500 titles for upper-division undergraduates and faculty, this is another subject collection available through Oxford Scholarship Online, each one for a one-time purchase or by annual subscription. Frequently updated (over 45 titles have been added in 2008), the platform is compliant with several standards: OpenURL, COUNTER, and WCAG (web accessibility). Unfortunately, Oxford only grants users permission to print the equivalent of one chapter per title. 

Oxford Scholarship Online: Religion. Oxford Univ. www.oxfordscholarshiponline.com
This subject collection available through Oxford Scholarship Online contains over 400 Oxford titles for upper-division undergraduates and faculty. Coverage includes biblical studies, theology, church history, and world religions. The platform's Quick Search function wisely limits its scope to titles, authors, abstracts, and keywords, instead of full text. Five pages are displayed at a time—a comfortable amount. Note that these are not reference works: libraries interested in those should consider Oxford Reference Online (above, general reference). 

The Philosopher's Index. Philosopher's Information Center. www.philinfo.org
This standard index covers a wide range of areas of philosophy: citations date back to 1940, and journals from over 40 countries are indexed. The Illumina platform displays search results organized into tabs by publication type, helpful if you want to see results appearing only in peer-reviewed publications, for example. Easy export to RefWorks, RSS search alert feeds, OpenURL compliance, and cross-searchability with other databases make this a pleasure to browse. [The ratings are based on the ProQuest Illumina platform.] 

POIESIS. Philosophy Documentation Ctr. www.poiesis.nlx.com
This is a bundled collection of philosophy journals, nearly all of which are unavailable through other full-text sources such as JSTOR or Project MUSE. The interface is clean and simple to use, but the basic search defaults to a search term anywhere, which is problematic in full-text collections. POIESIS is OpenURL-compliant and exports to citation managers but not seamlessly (at least not yet). Pricing is based on the number of philosophers at an institution, and access to content may depend on an institution's existing subscriptions to some of these titles. 

ProQuest Religion. ProQuest. www.proquest.com
ProQuest Religion indexes over 140 journals and magazines in the area of religious studies. Neither this database nor its competitor, EBSCO's Religion and Philosophy Collection (below), includes the core title, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, but many core and international titles are included, and nearly all are available in full text. Searchers most comfortable with Google will like the Topic Guide search, if only they are pointed to it. The cleanness and elegance of the interface set ProQuest Religion apart. 

Religion and Philosophy Collection. EBSCO. www.ebscohost.com
This database includes nearly 300 full-text journals (more than 250 of which are peer-reviewed). As in the comparable ProQuest product (above), the core title Journal of the American Academy of Religion is missing. Available on EBSCO's attractive new 2.0 platform, the product enables searchers to limit results easily by full text, publication type, and date, as well as create RSS search alerts and export references to citation managers. Some users may like the alternative, fast-loading “Visual Search” interface. 

Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy Online. Taylor & Francis. www.rep.routledge.com
This award-winning file features readable content, a clean interface, and helpful search refinement options. The search results, however, can be a bit cluttered, e.g., the top three search results for the term “love” are all parts of the same article. While regular additions of new articles are promised, the latest update appears to have occurred in 2006. Thus, this file warrants another look in the near future, especially since the publisher plans to add three fully cross-searchable titles on aesthetics, modern science, and Asian philosophy, as well as a time line of the history of philosophical thought.