| The great contribution: Index Medicus, Index-Catalogue, and IndexCat. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 19404501 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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OBJECTIVE: The systematic indexing of medical literature by the Library of the Surgeon-General's Office (now the National Library of Medicine) has been called "America's greatest contribution to medical knowledge." In the 1870s, the library launched two indexes: the Index Medicus and the Index-Catalogue of the Library of the Surgeon-General's Office. Index Medicus is better remembered today as the forerunner of MEDLINE, but Index Medicus began as the junior partner of what the library saw as its major publication, the Index-Catalogue. However, the Index-Catalogue had been largely overlooked by many medical librarians until 2004, when the National Library of Medicine released IndexCat, the online version of Index-Catalogue. Access to this huge amount of material raised new questions: What was the coverage of the Index-Catalogue? How did it compare and overlap with the Index Medicus? METHOD: Over 1,000 randomly generated Index Medicus citations were cross-referenced in IndexCat. RESULTS: Inclusion, form, content, authority control, and subject headings were evaluated, revealing that the relationship between the two publications was neither simple nor static through time. In addition, the authors found interesting anomalies that shed light on how medical literature was selected and indexed in "America's greatest contribution to medical knowledge." |
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Authors:
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Stephen J Greenberg; Patricia E Gallagher |
Publication Detail:
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Type: Comparative Study; Historical Article; Journal Article |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA Volume: 97 ISSN: 1558-9439 ISO Abbreviation: J Med Libr Assoc Publication Date: 2009 Apr |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2009-04-30 Completed Date: 2009-07-16 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 101132728 Medline TA: J Med Libr Assoc Country: United States |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 108-13 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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History of Medicine Division, National Library of Medicine, 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20894, USA. greenbes@mail.nih.gov |
Export Citation:
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| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Abstracting and Indexing as Topic
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history* History, 19th Century History, 20th Century Humans Information Storage and Retrieval / history* Library Collection Development / history* MEDLINE / history National Library of Medicine (U.S.) / history* Periodicals as Topic / history United States |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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