Mark --
I've done this a few times over for other publications. At least SEM only goes back 360-odd issues .......
Proved to myself time after time that the best way way to build the content is as a simple database, so that I could run decent searches with ease. I'm continually amazed how many times I want to look for combinations --"Blackstone + 1921"; "paint" & "lining" etc etc. Can be done crudely with text search tools, but decent extracts, reports etc all much easier with a little .xls table.
Designing in flexibility at the start is very much easier than force fit later! For example, an .xls file allows you to list all contents of a particular issue, or list all occurrences of Lister D by date of publication -- or many other combinations.
The other key trick I learned was "trust nothing" -- especially publishers. Their indices are often skimpy, containing crossword- level article titles that give no real clue on content, don't include data such as year, engine model, engine number etc etc that you may want later. Also no scope to add notes etc.
You can scan published indices to fill a database table. Plenty of text2xls type tools about, or .csv convertors. Doesn't get past the issues in the previous paras.
I've found the only truly comprehensive method is to go back to source. Her indoors gets agitated if I have 50 years worth of the WormBreeders Gazette or some such all over the floor, so I generally do them in batches ...6 SEM a night would only need
2 months!
I have found the publishers indices can sometimes be scanned to populate the .xls shell, eg listing every publication date & issue number, plus rudimentary contents. I then whizz 'thu each issue, & enter data such as cover info, photos, article detail, letters & even ads that I might want to retrace. (Contemporary ads can be a godsend for car & motorcycle restoration -- in the SE field, such ads are mainly in early agricultural magazines
-- first find the mags (outside of academia).....)
Most serious problems are:
- RSI / boredom
- Incessant calls of "When are getting off that machine"
- Continual distraction of reading magazines, rather than cataloguing them.
Unfortunately, I only subscribed to SE from issue 35 up to 2001. I stopped getting it then, so can't complete the task you have set yourself......
Good luck,
Colin