APA's electronic databases greatly expanded

Gary R. VandenBos, PhD
Executive Director, Publications and Communications

APA, like other scholarly publishers, is walking a tightrope in a transitional period between the era of delivery of information solely on paper, and an era in which multiple delivery patterns will be the norm.

We need to preserve the infrastructure of peer review and copy-editing that results in the delivery of high-quality information about psychology. We want to ensure that our members and students will have affordable access to that information in whatever form is best for them.

A successful test run

Last year, we offered an APA member-only option that permitted you?for a small fee?to access from your home or office computer a database of full-text journal articles, PsycINFO abstracts or both these databases. We wanted to get some feedback on members? interest and to test the ability of our hardware and software to deliver the information to you. We are happy to report that the beta-test worked quite well. The system worked well enough to enable us to extend the offer to APA student affiliates this past spring, and to work on increasing and improving what we can offer APA members and affiliates for next year.

Options for 1999

On the fall journal order form mailed to all APA members and affiliates, you may have noted details about the increased options available to subscribers:

? For each paid subscription, you will have access to a minifile of full-text articles for that journal online?for no additional fee.

? For the most extensive 'current awareness' access to journal information (but only for newer material), members can purchase access to PsycINFO 'Lite' (1996?99) abstract service for $39. Full-text article access to only the most recently published material is available via Full-Text 'Lite' (1996?99) for $59.

? For more comprehensive abstract information on what has been published in psychology and the other behavioral sciences, PsycINFO 'Complete' (112 years of abstracts of the psychological literature from 1887 to date) can be accessed by members for $49.

? The expanded APA Full-Text Article Database?covering all articles in all APA and EPF journals from January 1990 to the most recent issue?is available to members for $99.

? And, various combinations of the above electronic products are available as well.

? Finally, if one wants access to everything that APA has available electronically, the 'Full-Electronic Package' gives members all 112 years of PsycINFO, 10 years of full-text APA journal articles from 1990 to the present, and electronic records describing book chapter and book information for $129.

Note these prices are for full members, fellows and associates. Student, international and high school teacher affiliates have different options and prices. Please refer to your annual renewal forms, or go to the APA Web Site page: members.apa.org/welcome.

Many contributors

Achieving APA's online electronic access objectives has involved the support and efforts of many individuals. APA President Martin E.P. Seligman, PhD, has been a champion of this initiative of digitalizing the APA journal material for easier access by those who need it, and the APA Board of Directors has supported the extra funding necessary to achieve these goals in the shortest time possible. The financial support of this initiative comes from subscription fees and electronic access fees from all of us. The Publications and Communications Board appreciates the support of the Board of Directors, the Finance Committee, and everyone in the association during this period of transition. And, I personally wish to thank the many APA staff members who contributed to this initiative. The Full-Text digitalization project represents a major investment by the association to advance scientific research, improve scholarship, and expand knowledge utilization in psychology as we approach the 21st century.

We have already begun working on other ways to improve and add to these resources for you. Among our efforts are negotiations with other national societies to include their journals in the full-text database. It is our goal to develop a full-text database of the '100 best journals in psychology' in the next three years.

Developing these electronic products and services is a collaborative effort involving APA editors, authors, staff, members and affiliates. Your interest in and use of these products and services, your comments on what we are offering, and your suggestions for improvement are very important?now and in the future. You may direct your questions, comments and suggestions to Developer.