Library Journal / August 2003
Database & Disc Reviews

WORLD BANK E-LIBRARY
World Bank Pubns.
202-473-5149
www.worldbank.org/elibrary
Date reviewed: 06/30/03
Price: Negotiated by site.

The World Bank, always a leader in disseminating information on global economic and social development, is now providing the broadest possible access to its content, packaging its publications into one handy searchable interface. World Bank E-Library launched in June 2003 in partnership with Ingenta, which created a similar portal for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (SourceOECD) several years ago.

E-Library allows users to access World Bank Publication's entire 1200 reports, books, and documents. Everything that was in print as of April 2000, plus all new documents, is included in the collection. While there isn't an exact date range for the content, the oldest documents are circa the late 1980s.

Even statistical documents like the World Development Indicators and Global Development Finance are available as PDF files. But the great news is that these two publications have also morphed into powerful new databases, with flexible searching and exporting features. [Editor's note: Reviews of both products will appear in an upcoming column.] Each online product can be purchased separately or added onto the E-Library subscription.

E-Library content is broken down geographically (Africa, East Asia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Latin America, Middle East-North Africa, South Asia), with each collection having its own page and highlighted titles. Searching can be done for all titles or within collections.

Quick search will hunt down words in all fields except full text while allowing the user to search all titles or one collection at a time. Advanced searches allow the user to select collection(s) and search within specific fields: keywords, title, author, abstract, full text, and year. Browse Publications is an alphabetical listing of publications. World Bank plans to add an Excel file with a more complete publication list that includes older journal articles. Pre-2000 issues of the World Bank Research Observer and World Bank Economic Review are included in the E-Library, but since these are now published by Oxford, newer issues are not included. These journals are currently indexed at the issue level, although articles can be retrieved via full-text searches.

When first selecting a document, the user is presented with a bibliographic record containing the indexed fields along with a substantial abstract. Documents are delivered in PDF format, and a link to the PDF file appears beneath the abstract.

Both search types allow basic Boolean operators and bound-phrase searching. The World Bank E-Library interface is streamlined, and navigation is easy. For instance, at the top of each page-even while viewing a PDF-the quick search box and collections drop-down menu are visible as are advanced search and search tips links. At any point during a search, a hierarchical menu at the top of the screen lets the user return to previous menus. The only downside is that while viewing an abstract or document, the only way to return to the search results is via the browser's "back" button. Help features include search tips and FAQs. OpenURL syntax allows libraries to link to each document from their catalogs. MARC records for each document are also in the works.

The Bottom Line: With quality content and a well-conceived interface, World Bank E-Library is recommended for academic and special libraries with substantial economic development collections. --Carol Elsen, Andersen Lib., Univ. of Wisconsin-Whitewater