Bibliographic index

For the print index published 1937–2011, see Bibliographic Index.

A bibliographic index is a bibliography, an aid to search the literature of, for example, an academic field or discipline (example: Philosopher's Index), to works of a specific literary form (Biography Index) or published in a specific format (Newspaper Abstracts), or to the analyzed contents of a serial publication (New York Times Index). Indexes of this kind are issued in print periodical form (issued in monthly or quarterly paperback supplements, cumulated annually), online, or both. Since the 1970s they are typically generated as output from bibliographic databases (whereas earlier they were manually compiled using index cards). Citations are usually listed by author and subject in separate sections, or in a single alphabetical sequence under a system of authorized headings collectively known as controlled vocabulary, developed over time by the indexing service.

"From many points of view an index is synonymous with a catalogue, the principles of analysis used being identical, but whereas an index entry merely locates a subject, a catalogue entry includes descriptive specification of a document concerned with the subject".

See also

Main category: Bibliographic indexes

• Bibliographic database
• Bibliography
• Citation index
• Guide to information sources
• Indexing and abstracting service
• List of academic databases and search engines
• Metabibliography