Regardless of the ProQuest interface, the ASTP database has some basic features that set it apart from versions of AST offered by other vendors. AST even have abstracts. However, it lacks the archival depth of AST on other hosts since it begins with January 1994. Other electronic versions of AST begin coverage with 1983. ASTP on CD-ROM is delivered as a set of discs.
Subscribers receive an updated index disc each month, along with additional image discs.
This can add up to quite a few discs, requiring specific hardware configurations. For instance, there were 59 image discs accompanying ASTP volume 97-2, covering January 1994 through February 1997. As you search the index disc, you are prompted to insert image discs when you want to view or print article images. Images are in black and white and vary in quality, depending upon the publication. UMI does offer a range of solutions that can make this multidisc setup much less cumbersome, from a wooden caddy for storing the discs next to the computer to recommendations for hardware such as CD-ROM jukeboxes.