*3&e^'v'snW8aal ^JbEsa PROPERTY OF THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE 73 RETURN TO NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE BEFORE LAST DATE SHOWN APR 7 *» MEDLARS 1963-1967 BY CHARLES J. AUSTIN U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE Public Health Service National Institutes of Health National Library of Medicine Bethesda, Maryland 20014 z. £>9S A33Sm C.3 National Utory Of Medicine gethesda. Md. Mr. Charles J. Austin is Director of Computer Services and Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine, University of Colorado Medical Center, Denver, Colorado. He was formerly Chief of the Information Systems Division at the National Library of Medicine. For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price 75 cents ii a FOREWORD ^ At the National Library of Medicine, we regard the sharing of information with other \. workers in the field of information retrieval, documentation, and library science as one of rk our most important responsibilities. In accordance with this philosophy, we are reporting here the experience gained from more than four years' operation of a large-scale reference storage and retrieval system, MEDLARS. I believe that Mr. Charles Austin's report describes our experiences, both good and bad, with objectivity. No attempt has been made to minimize the mistakes which were made during this experiment. There is a frank discussion of how well system objectives have been met. The Library is currently in the process of designing a new system to replace MEDLARS. We earnestly hope that this final description of our first computer-based system will be helpful to others entering this field. We hope also that the lessons we have learned from ac- tually operating MEDLARS will be valuable to us as we move ahead toward applying more advanced techniques of information processing. The documentation of the experiences of others, added to our own, should provide information of great value to the managers as well as the users of computer-based information storage and retrieval systems. Martin M. Cummings, M.D. Director National Library of Medicine iii CONTENTS CONTENTS _____________________________________ v LIST OF FIGURES______________________________________ vi LIST OF TABLES________________________________________ vii DEFINITION OF FLOW CHARTING SYMBOLS______________viii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION___________________________ 1 Background and History___________________ 1 System Objectives________________________ 3 Design Criteria_________________________ 4 II. SYSTEM DESCRIPTION_____________________ 5 Major Products of the System______________ 5 Overall Data Flow_______________________ 5 Equipment_____________________________ 7 Staff _________________________________ 9 III. INPUT SUBSYSTEM_______________________ 13 Coverage and Selection of Journals___________ 13 Medical Subject Headings_________________ 13 Indexing and Revision____________________ 16 Input Preparation and Verification__________ 20 Input Module___________________________ 22 IV. RETRIEVAL SUBSYSTEM__________________ 25 Request Analysis and Search Formulation_____ 25 Preparing the Search for Computer Input_____ 29 Searching the Computer Files (Demand Search Module) _______________________ 33 Printing the Retrieved Citations (Report Generator Module)_____________________ 34 V. PUBLICATION SUBSYSTEM________________ 37 Establishing and Testing Recurring Bibliographies_________________________ 37 Computer Programs for Producing MEDLARS Publications_________________ 37 The MEDLARS Photocomposer (GRACE)____________________________ 41 Final Processing_________________________ 41 VI. UTILITY PROGRAMS ______________________ 45 Updating the Subject Headings File (MeSH Generator Module)_______________ 45 Maintaining the CCF File (File Main- tenance Module)_______________________ 45 V Page Keeping Records of System Activity (Statistical Module)____________________ 48 Miscellaneous Utility Programs------------- 48 VII. OPERATING EXPERIENCE: 1963-1967--------- 51 Data Conversion Period------------------- 51 Problems with GRACE____________________ 51 Initial Production Period_________________ 54 Maintenance of the System; Changes Made________________________________ 54 MEDLARS Decentralization________________ 56 Formal Evaluation of MEDLARS___________ 58 Performance in Relation to Original Sys- tem Objectives_________________________ 59 VIII. THE CURRENT CATALOG—AN EXTEN- SION OF MEDLARS_______________________ 61 Background and History__________________ 61 Products of the System___________________ 61 Equipment Used_________________________ 64 Information Flow and Procedures___________ 64 Operating Experience ____________________ 68 IX. SUMMARY___________________________ 69 SELECTED REFERENCES _______________ 71 List of Figures Figure Page 1. Definition of Flow Charting Symbols__________________ vi 2. Specimen Page of 1879 Index Medicus__________________ 2 3. Demand Bibliographies______________________________ 8 4. MeSH Statistical Report_____________________________ 9 5. Flow Chart^MEDLARS System______________________ 10 6. NLM Staff Working on MEDLARS____________________ 12 7. Flow Chart—Input Subsystem ______________________ 14 8. Stamped MEDLARS Journal_________________________ 16 9. Specimen Pages from MeSH_________________________ 17 10. Specimen Page—MeSH Tree Structure Listing____________ 18 11. Indexer Data Form________________________________ 19 12. Paper Tape Strip and Flexowriter Hard Copy___________ 21 13. Paper Tape Reader________________________________ 22 14. CCF Magnetic Tape Record Layout____________________ 23 15. Specimen MEDLARS Search Request__________________ 26 16. Specimen Demand Search Formulation Record___________ 27 17. Specimen Report Generator Request Form_______________29 18. Flow Chart—Retrieval Subsystem_____________________ 30 19. Specimen Search Appraisal Form_____________________ 36 vi Figure p^ 20. Flow Chart—Publication Subsystem__________________ 38 21. Sample Index Medicus Page_________________________ 42 22. Schematic Diagram of GRACE Optical Unit_____________ 43 23. Flow Chart—MeSH Generator_______________________ 46 24. Flow Chart—File Maintenance Module________________ 47 25. Flow Chart—Statistical Module______________________ 49 26. Specimen Page—January 1964 Index Medicus___________ 52 27. Specimen Page—July 1964 Index Medicus_____________ 53 28. Demand Search—Average Processing Time____________ 55 29. Demand Searches Completed_________________________ 56 30. Specimen Page—NLM Current Catalog________________ 62 31. Specimen Catalog Cards Produced by Computer_________ 63 32. Flow Chart—Computer-Aided Catalog System___________ 65 33. Specimen Catalog Master (Input Data Sheet)___________ 67 List of Tables Table No. Page 1. MEDLARS Publications____________________________ 6 2. MEDLARS Data Processing Equipment________________ 11 3. Changes in the Medical Subject Headings File___________ 16 4. MEDLARS Search Elements_________________________ 28 5. Decision Table Logic_______________________________ 34 6. Statistical Module Reports___________________________ 48 7. Failure Analysis Table_____________________________ 59 8. Operating Statistics: 1966-1967_______________________ 68 vii Paper documents and reports of all varieties. A manual offline operation not re quiring mechanized aid. KEYING OPERATION An operation utilizing a key-driven device. COMPUTER OPERATION A major processing function ac- complished by computer. Magnetic Tape Punched Paper Tape 0 Punched Card(s) 9 Points in the system where differ- ent paths or branches are fol- lowed based upon the results of a yes-no decision. Offline storage of data—printed reports, cards, magnetic or paper tape. Switch. Path through system which is followed only when certain spe- cial conditions are met. Connectors. An entry from, or an exit to, another part of the flow chart. Figure 1.—Definition of Flow Charting Symbols. Vlll Chapter I INTRODUCTION In January 1964, after three years of de- tailed planning and system development, the National Library of Medicine initiated MED- LARS (Medical Literature Analysis and Re- trieval System). The original system design was described in detail in The MEDLARS Story* published in 1963. Various references to the system as it developed can be found in the bibliography of this report. The purpose of this document is to present a final description of the system as it has evolved through a period of four years of operation. This will add the final chapter to the present MEDLARS story at a time when the Library is on the threshold of developing an entirely new system, utilizing the latest techniques of documentation and informa- tion science coupled with modern, "third- generation" computer equipment. The reader interested in a complete chron- icle of the Library's experience with MED- LARS is advised to combine the reading of this report with a re-reading of the original MEDLARS story. Thus he will be able to develop a complete picture that answers the questions: (1) What did the Library set out to do? (2) What was actually accomplished? and (3) What changes were made in the original system design and why ? MEDLARS is a dynamic system which is constantly changing; therefore, any system description must necessarily reflect only a snapshot view of a rapid motion picture. This report describes the system as it was functioning on January 1, 1968. Although some additional changes will be made before *The MEDLARS Story at the National Library of Medicine, U.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, Bethesda, Maryland, 1963. the new "third-generation" system goes into production, this point in time is adequate to describe, at least in general terms, the "final-" version of the original MEDLARS. In addition to describing the final picture of MEDLARS as it evolved over the years, this report emphasizes the changes made during the evolutionary process. Problems encountered and unmet objectives are frankly discussed in recounting the MEDLARS ex- perience. The formal evaluation of MED- LARS conducted during 1966 and 1967 adds to the reservoir of data collected on system performance. It is hoped that this detailed reporting on the Library's experience will as- sist others involved in the design and opera- tion of information retrieval systems. Background and History The information which MEDLARS pro- cesses and disseminates consists of references to published medical literature. Effective utilization of published literature requires bibliographic control through descriptive and subject indexing of individual books and journal articles. The Library initiated its program of bib- liographic control of the medical literature in 1879 with publication of the first issue of Index Medicus, which continued until 1927 (see Figure 2). Replaced from 1927 to 1956 by the Quarterly Cumulative Index Medicus, published by the American Medical Associa- tion, Index Medicus reappeared as a Library publication in 1960, replacing the monthly Current List of Medical Literature. From 1960 to 1963, Index Medicus was produced by a partially mechanized system that utilized paper tape typewriters, punched 1 Index Medicus. [No. i. Jan. 31", '79- angulo internodelos p&rpados y queratitit »up- uraiiva en el ojo derecho de un reoien nacido; actidentes siflliticos generates ronsecutivas ; ruracion. Rev. dc med. v tir. pratt., Madrid, 1878, ii, 241-24K. — Chambaid {¥..) (J.mimo du foie. Note additionnelle a In presentation de M. Gillc. Progres med., Par., 1878, vi, 764- 765. —Cheaper (D. W.) Syphilitic constriction of the pharynx. Boston M. & S. J., 1878, xcix, 649. —Coyne (P.) Contribution a 1' etude de la typhilii cerebrate. J. d. conn. med. prat., Par., It78, 2 a., ii, S02-30C; 821-325. — De- paul. Pemphigus ayphilitique. J. d. sages- femmei, Par., 1878, vi, 138. — Dowm (T. S.) Syphilitic epilepsy. Practitioner, Lond., 1878. xxi, 270-282. — Grunfeld (J.) Die Harte des Schankers ala Charakteristicum dor Initialform von Syphilis. Allg. Wien. med. Ztg., 1878, xxiii, vl7. —Hyde (J. N.) The nurse-maid and the mother of the syphilitic child. Chicago M. J. & Exam., 1878, xxxvii, 45:;-463. — Jullien (L.) Etude sur les varietea et les formes anormales du chancre simple. Progres med., Par., 1878, Ti, 657 ; 733-735; 759; 782-784; 797. — Keyes, (E. L.) Multiple chancre of the nipple. Arch. Dermat., N. Y., 1878, iv, 126-127. — Klebs (E.) Ueber Syphilis-Impfung bei Thieren und die Natur des «vphilitischen Contagiuma. Allg. Wien. med. Ztg., 1878, xxiii, 418, also Prag. med. Wchnschr., 1878, Hi, 409-411.—L. (J. R.) Syphilitic notes. North Car. M. J., Wilmington, 1878, ii, 241-244. — Le Pileux. Blennorrhagie urethrale ayant pour origine I'inocuUtion de pus d'unc glande de Bar- tholin abced6c. Traitement par le santal jaune; guerison complete le 28* jour. Ann. de dermat. et ay ph., Par., 1878, ix, 374-379. —Miner (J.F.) Iodide of potassium in syphilis. Buffalo M. & S. J., 1878, xviii, 173-177. — Obtulowics (F.) Przyczynek do leczenia ostrego zapaleniawiewio- rowego cewki moczowej. Przegl. lek., Krakow, 1878, xvii, 605-507; 617^519. — Poaeelt (K.) Syphiloma cerebri. Ann. d. stadt. allg. Kran- kenh.zuMiinchen, 1878, i, 299.—Potain. Fievre syphilitique. Gaz. d. hop., Par., 1878, li, 961. — Profeta (G.) Sifllide cerebrate. In his " Clin. dermo-sifllit. di Palermo," 1878, 116-130. I'rognosi di previsione della sifllide. Ibid., 131 — 149. ------ Ancora della cura mercuriale ipo- dermicadella sifllide. Ibid., 150-166. -de Santd (L.) Etude sur le retrecissement syphilitique du rectum. Rev. med. dc Toulouse, 1878, xii, 193- 210; 244-264; 282-303. —von Bigmund. Die Reklame fiir Tayuya gegen Syphilis. Wien. med. Wchnschr., 1878, xxviii, 979-980. — "Van Buren (W. H.) On nervous syphilis. Med. News & Libr., Phila., 1878, xxxvi, 189-194.— Whistler (W. M.) Lectures on syphilis of the larvnx. Med. Times & Gaz., Lond., 1878, ii, 343; 372; 405; 535; C50. PARASITES Stt, also. Diseases of the Skin. Oonbert (E.) Des vers chez les enfants, et des maladies vermineuses. Paris, 1878, Dion. 163 pp. 18«. Atkinson (I. E.) The botanical relations of trichophyton tonsurans. N. York M. J., 1878, xxviii, 662-575. — Bourel-Ronolere. De l'h6- 1 matoioaire ncmatoidc de l'homme et de son im- portance pathogeniquc d'upres les travaux ang- 1 lais et hresiliens dc tea dcrnieres anne.es. Arch. dc med. nav., Par., 1878, xxx, 113-134; 192- 1 214. - HLxon (C.) Slippery elm hark for tape I worm. Ohio M. Recorder, Columbus, 1878, iii, 256.—Mitchell 1). Trichiniasis in Otsego Town- j »hip, Allegan Co. Rep. Bd. Health, Mich., Lansing, 1878, Ixxii-lxxiii. — Normand. Du role etiologique dc 1'anguillule dans la diarrhec de Cochinchine. Arch, de med. nav., Par., 1878, xxx, 214-224. —BanaalU, Perforation dc I'intestin grele intact par des sscarides durant la vie du malade. Cong, period, internat. d. *c. med. Compte-rendu, Geneve, 1878, 247-250.— Schenthauer (G) Kasig zerfallendc Herdc in der Leber cines 4 jahrigen Knabcn, bewirkt durcli Spulwiirmer der Lebcrgallengange. Jahrb. f. Kinderh., Leipz., 1878, n. F., xiii, 03-69. — Silva .Axanjo (A. J. P.) La fllaria immitis ct la fllariu vanguinolenta au Br6sil. Lyon med., 1878, xxix, 319-327; 363-369. — Sonslno. Nouvclles re- cherches sur les hematozoaires de l'homme en Egypte. Cong, period. Internat. d. so. med. Compte-rendu, Geneve, 1878. 651-663.—Turn- bull (C. S.) Filaria in the eye. Med. & Surg. Reporter, Phils., 1878, xxxix, 861-355.—Vogt, C. La provenance des cntozoaires de l'homme. Cong, period, internat. d. sc. med. Compte-ren- du, Geneve, 1878, 106-141. MEDICAL GEOGRAPHY, STATISTICS AND CLIMATOLOGY. Analea de la oflcina meteorologica Argentina. Por su direction Benjamin A. Gould. Tomo 1, Clima dc Buenos Aires. Buenos Aires, 1878, E. Coni. 522 pp. 17 pi. 4°. Astronomlsche, magnetische und meteorolo- gische Beobachtungcn an der k. k. Sternwartc zu Prag. Auf offentlichc Kosten herausgege- ben von Carl Hornstcin. 88 Jahrgang (1877). Prag, 1878. 66 pp. 4°. Bird (S. D.) On the influence of the Austra- lasian climates on imported phthisis. Austral. M. J., Melbourne, 1878,. xxiii, 84-40. —Day (H.) On ozone in relation to health. Med. Press & Circ, Lond., 1878, n. a., xxri, 285-286. — Lebert Die Curortc der Riviera di ponente in ihrem therapcutischen Werthe in Bezug auf Kli- matologie und Seebsder. Berl. klin. Wchnschr, 1878, xv, 499; 630; 617-620.—Lenta, F. D. The constitution of climate, with special refer- ence to the climate of Florida. Richmond & Lou- isville M. J., Louisville, 1878, xxvi, 861-370.— McParlin (T. A.) Notes on the history and cli- mate of New Mexico. Rep. Smithson. Inst., 1878. 321-348. — White (C. B.) Some effects of alti- tude and dryness upon disease. Ohio M. Re- corder, Columbus, 1878, iii, 241-249. HOSPITAL REPORTS AND CLINICAL MEDICINE. Stt, also. Military and Naval Medicine. Annalen der stiidtischen allgcmcincn Krankrn- hauser zu Miinchcn. Im Verein mit den Aerz- ten dieser Anstaltcn herausgegeben von Ziems- sen. Bd. i. MUnchen, 1878, G. Himmcr. 659 pp. 9 pi. 8°. Figure 2.—Specimen page of 1879 Index Medicus produced by Dr. John Shaw Billings. card equipment, and a Listomatic Camera.* Operation of the Listomatic System greatly aided in the subsequent development of MEDLARS, since: (1) the earlier system provided much background data used in the design of MEDLARS; (2) it offered a valu- able operating experience on which to base the system design; and (3) it assisted in the data conversion task for MEDLARS, since some bibliographic data had already been put in machine-readable form for the Listo- matic process. Although the Listomatic Camera System worked effectively in the publication of Index Medicus and related publications, it had lim- itations. Perhaps the most serious of these was the very limited information retrieval capability. The large number of punched cards accumulated for only one year's publi- cation precluded any effective information retrieval using punched card equipment (about V2 million new cards each year). Primarily because of these limitations of the Listomatic System, and also because of the rapidly growing size of Index Medicus, the Library decided to begin planning a new and more highly mechanized system. Using both outside consultants and members of the staff, a set of overall system requirements was prepared in early 1961. Because of lim- ited technical capability of the staff, a deci- sion was made to use an outside contractor for the detailed design and implementation of the new system. Bidding and evaluation of contractors' submissions occurred during the first six months of 1961, and a contract was awarded to the General Electric Com- pany, Information Systems Operation, Be- thesda, Maryland. Phase I of the contract (from mid-August to December 1961) resulted in a set of pre- liminary system specifications including an overall system plan, computer programming requirements, and evaluation and selection of major equipment required for the system.* *For an excellent description of the Listomatic System see: S. I. Taine, The National Library of Medicine Index Mechanization Project, Bulletin of the Medical Library Ass., 49: No. 1, Pt. 2, (Jan. 1961). fGeneral Electric Co., Final Report of Phase I: Preliminary Design, Bethesda, Maryland, 1962. Phase II and Phase III of the contract (Jan- uary 1962-December 1963) included detailed design and pre-production activities. The major tasks were: (1) computer program- ming and testing; (2) procedure writing; (3) ordering and installation of equipment; (4) recruiting and staffing of personnel to operate and maintain the system; (5) con- version and final system testing prior to pro- duction (scheduled for January 1964). The conversion period ran from April to December 1963. After installation of the computer in March 1963, approximately 45,000 journal article citations from the 1963 Index Medicus were converted to mag- netic tape. During this same period new per- sonnel were added to the Library staff, and an extensive system test was carried out. Cut-over to the new system was accomplished in January 1964, and it has been in opera- tion continuously since that date. System Objectives The major objectives for the MEDLARS system as stated by Library management in 1961 are listed below: (1) Improve the quality of and enlarge (broaden the scope of) Index Medi- cus and at the same time reduce the time required to prepare the monthly edition for printing from 22 to 5 working days. (2) Make possible the production of other compilations similar to Index Medicus in form and content (but in more specific medical subject areas and hence smaller in size). (3) Make possible, for Index Medicus and other compilations, the inclusion of citations derived from other sources, as well as from journal articles. (4) Make possible the prompt (a maxi- mum of two days) and efficient serv- icing of requests for special bibli- ographies, on both a demand and a recurring basis, regularly searching up to five years of stored computer files. (5) Increase the average depth of index- ing per article (number of descrip- 3 tive subject terms per article) by a factor of five, i.e., ten headings versus two. (6) Nearly double the number of articles that may be handled (indexed and entered into the computer) annually —from 140,000 now to 250,000 in 1969. (7) Reduce the need for duplicative total literature screening operations (at other libraries and information cen- ters). (8) Keep statistics and perform analyses of its own operations to provide the information needed to monitor and improve system effectiveness. (9) Permit future expansion to incorpor- ate new and as yet not completely defined—and hence secondary—ob- jectives. Some of these objectives were quite real- istic and have been effectively accomplished. Others turned out to be difficult or not feas- ible at the time, and have met with only limited success. A more complete discussion of how objectives have been accomplished is contained in Chapter VII, Operating Expe- rience. Design Criteria Although it is a generally accepted principle of systems design that the designer should operate with as few predetermined con- straints on his imagination as possible, none- theless, a large-scale, operational system such as MEDLARS usually requires that some "ground rules" be established in advance. Some of the major guiding principles on which the design of MEDLARS was based are discussed below. First, and perhaps most important, was a decision to continue to use human indexers for assigning subject descriptors to the liter- ature for subsequent retrieval and publica- tion of references. Library staff and the contractor both agreed that the state of the art of automatic indexing in 1961 was such that it was not feasible for MEDLARS. A second important and closely related decision was to continue to use a controlled vocabu- lary for indexing, rather than experiment with natural language or other "open-ended" indexing approaches, none of which had ever been used in a large production system. Another major decision was to index each article only once, and use a single computer input record both for publication in Index Medicus and for retrieval purposes. This pol- icy, which was adopted for economic rea- sons, has not been without its problems in requiring compromises in actual operation of the system. Other important design criteria included: (1) A decision to train search specialists for formulating retrieval requests for the computer, rather than allow customers of the system to attempt to formulate their own computer search statements. (2) A decision to use serial magnetic tape files for storing journal article ci- tations, rather than random access devices. This decision was reached after a careful analysis of compara- tive costs and retrieval efficiency based upon equipment available in 1961-62. (3) A decision to segment computer pro- grams into self-contained "modules" for ease of maintenance and system changes. (4) A requirement that the system employ a "high-quality" output device, su- perior to available computer print- ers, for preparation of copy for MEDLARS publications. This re- quirement led to an extensive study of possible output devices, and a subsequent decision that the Library must develop a high-speed, high- quality photocomposition device. The decision was a truly momentous one—both for its impact on MED- LARS and the photocomposition in- dustry in general! (5) A decision not to increase the amount of clerical work required of the pro- fessional indexer by using clerical personnel for preparation of the computer input record. It was de- cided also to design the system so as to use the computer for as much coding and editing of the input data as possible. 4 Chapter II SYSTEM DESCRIPTION Major Products of the System The products of MEDLARS can be di- vided into two major categories: (1) bibli- ographic publications designed for use by a large group of people working in related fields; and (2) individual demand searches of the literature tailored to the stated re- quirements of an individual or small group of people working on the same project. Publications produced by MEDLARS as of January 1, 1968 are listed in Table 1. The first six publications are general reference works used in medical libraries throughout the world. The last nine are more special- ized recurring bibliographies produced in a variety of formats in cooperation with pro- fessional societies and other government agencies working in the specialty fields. These cooperating organizations provide as- sistance and guidance in setting up the bib- liography, and take responsibility for print- ing and distribution to workers in the spe- cialty field. Demand searches are individually formu- lated to meet the specifications of the re- quester. The bibliographies produced as a re- sult of the search are printed either on 3" x 5" cards or on continuous computer tabulating paper. The content of these de- mand bibliographies ranges from a few arti- cles in a very specialized field, to a broad review of the literature for someone looking for a comprehensive listing of everything related to his field of interest. Some sample demand bibliographies are shown in Figure 3. Professional staff of the Library some- times formulate demand searches for an in- dividual which, they believe, may be of broader interest to others. These bibliogra- phies are reprinted in high-quality format as "Literature Searches" and copies are sent to anyone upon request. Updated lists of Literature Searches are regularly printed in Public Health Reports, Journal of the Amer- ican Medical Association, Journal of the American Dental Association, and Drug Re- search Reports; announcements are also pub- lished in other major journals and the bib- liographies are widely circulated at profes- sional meetings. (A complete list of current Literature Searches is available from the Library's Office of Public Information.) In addition to publications and demand searches, MEDLARS also produces internal reports used by operating and management personnel. These include such things as oper- ating statistics and print-outs of computer files. Figure 4 is a sample statistical report showing the frequency of usage of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). Overall Data Flow The data flow through MEDLARS can best be understood by referring to the flow chart in Figure 5. The system can be described functionally as consisting of three major parts: an Input Subsystem, a Retrieval Subsystem, and a Publication Subsystem. The Input Subsystem combines the intellec- tual talents of trained literature analysts with the processing and storage capabilities of the computer. New medical journals are checked in and forwarded to the Index Sec- tion, where the analysts classify the subject content of each article in the journals by as- signing appropriate descriptors from the Library's controlled list of terms (Medical Subject Headings). The indexers are respon- 5 Table 1.—MEDLARS Publications (as of January 1, 1968) Cooperating Name Description Frequency Organization Index Medicus Comprehensive listing of articles indexed— Monthly major library reference tool. Subject & author listings; separate section listing re- view articles Cumulated Cumulation of monthly issues—subject cross Annual Index M( dims references added; no review section; jour- nals indexed for Index Medicus are listed Medical Subject Alphabetic and categorized list of subject Annual Headings headings used in MEDLARS indexing. Pub- lished as Part II of January issue of Index Medicus List of Journals Journals indexed for Index Medicus listed Annual Indexed in by title abbreviation, full title, major sub- Index Medicus ject areas, & country of origin Monthly Listing of review articles in monthly Index Monthly Bibliography of Medicus; subject and author sections. Cum- Medical Reviews ulated annually in CIM. \JLM Current List of books, serials, and reports cata- Biweekly with Catalog loged; subject and author listings quarterly cumulations RECUR RISC BIBLIOGRAPHIES: Cerebrovascular Subject bibliography with separate subject Quarterly National Institute Bibliography and author indexes of Neurological Diseases & Blind- ness & Nat'l Heart Institute Fibrinolysis, Thrombolysis, and Blood Clotting Subject and author sections, reviews, sub-ject and author indexes Monthly National Heart Institute Index of Rheumatology Subject and author sections Monthly American Rheumatism Association Index to Dental Literature Subject & author sections; some additional journals not included in Index Medicus are indexed for this publication Quarterly American Dental Association International Xursing Index Subject & name sections; some additional journals not included in Index Medicus are indexed for this publication Quarterly American Journal of Nursing Company A rtificial Kidney Bibliography Articles listed by broad subject area; bib-liography is still being tested prior to gen-eral publication and release Quarterly National Institute of Arthritis & Metabolic Diseases Medical Education Bibliography Published as a regular seer on of the Jour-nal of Medical Education Monthly Amer. Association of Medical Colleges 6 (Continued) Table 1.—continued. Name Description Frequency Cooperating Organization Bibliography of Subdivided into major subject categories Endocrinology and author section with separate subject and author indexes Bimonthly Surgery of the Hand Subject and author sections Quarterly National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases Amer. Society for Surgery of the Hand sible also for translation of foreign titles, and a trained clerk transliterates titles of articles written in non-Latin alphabets. Journals with indexer data sheets attached are forwarded to the Input Section, where clerk-typists prepare punched paper tape in- put for the computer. The basic unit record consists of the article's title, author names, journal reference, and subject headings as- signed by the indexer. The punched paper tape is accompanied by typewritten copy that is sight-verified by a staff of proofreaders. Once a day, all corrected paper tapes are batched and spliced together for entry into the computer. The input computer programs accept the paper tape, edit the data extensively, and prepare the major data file—the Compressed Citation File (CCF). The Compressed Cita- tion File is a highly coded, time-sequential store of citations used for searching and re- trieval, both for individual demand searches and for MEDLARS publications. The Retrieval Subsystem begins with the receipt of a request for a demand bibliog- raphy. Such requests are forwarded to a staff of search specialists who have had extensive training in both indexing and the logic of a computer search. These specialists formu- late the request into a list of search param- eters linked in logical fashion by up to three search statements. The formulated search requests are punched into cards and batched for daily computer processing. The search and retrieval programs match a batch of search questions against every record in the Com- pressed Citation File. Citations retrieved are printed in any one of a variety of output formats by means of print programs. The resulting lists of citations are referred to as "demand bibliographies." The Publication Subsystem is concerned with preparation of periodic indexes to cur- rent biomedical literature. In accordance with a publication schedule, search specification cards are entered into the computer for bibliographies to be compiled. The search and retrieval programs retrieve the appro- priate citations from the CCF. The publi- cation format programs perform a rather complicated task of page composition and prepare a magnetic tape file of one-line print records for a computer phototypesetter.This tape is used to convert the digital informa- tion from magnetic tape to characters on photographic film or paper. The exposed film or paper is developed by an automatic processor, inspected, cut into page-size sheets, and packaged for mailing to the printer. The resulting typeset pages then can be used di- rectly for printing the final publication. Chapters III, IV, and V describe the three major subsystems in greater detail. In addition to the major data flow de- scribed above, the system also employs var- ious utility programs for updating of master files and preparation of statistical reports used for management control. These utility programs are described in Chapter VI. Equipment Table 2 shows the data processing and re- lated equipment used in MEDLARS. Input equipment includes paper tape type- writers for punching indexed citations, and punched card equipment for preparing cards used for demand searches, updating of mas- ter files, and initial entry of computer pro- grams. Current computer equipment includes a Honeywell-800 computer used for main pro- 7 Li PLACA M C708'J C% THE "FO-iNJSK rF THE CvTCPAThTC ChAnGEs PRCTLCEC IN •*•■«»» »ua,<-aj rei I ri i t, r.er Qw ThE MOLLUSC BFFCRT). »RCh GE5 VIC AmMCN. »C> Mi*«K (4), KAYE JW PROBLEMS IN THEHAPy CF MOLLuSClM CCntAc-iCSL". CASE REPORT. ARCH DERM (CHICAGI •ALCChOL, PROPYL/ HUMAN (4), MALE CONTAGIOSA/ DRUG CCNTAGICSUM/ SURGI THERAPEUTIC USE LEV 1^ HL SACtERICSTASIS AND VIROLOGY OF HERPETIC LEStCks CF THE FACE AND CRAL MUCOUS MEMBRANES. ORAL SURG 20:726-42. DEC 65 CAT-SCR*TCH DISEASE/ PATHOLOGY. •CHICKENPOX/ PATH0L06Y, *DERMATITIS HERPETIFORMIS/ PATHOLOGY, *EC2EMA/ Tabulating Paper NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE IMEDLARSI EFFECT OF CRL6S CN HANDWRITING. BARCLIN GS. RUPPRECHT A (ACUTE REVERSIBLE PARKINSCNtS SyNOROME IN ENCEPHALITIS) (GEO MEN Z NERVENHEILK 25.76-84, 1967 * ADULT, eiPERIDEN/ THERAPELTIC uSF (3), BRAIN, DOPAMINE, ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY, ELECTROMYOGRAPHY, FEMALE (4>, HANDWRITING, HUMAN (4), MENINGOENCEPHALITIS/ COMPLICATIONS. •MENINGOENCEPHALITIS/ ETIOLOGY, PARKINSONISM/ CEREBROSPINAL FLUID, PARKINSONISM/ COMPLICATIONS, #PARK INSOMSI*/ DRUG EFFECTS. •PHENYLACETATES/ CEREBROS"IfAL FLUID CHALLAS G, CHAPEL JL, JENKINS RL TCURETTE'S DISEASE: CONTROL CF SVpTcMS AND ITS CLINICAL COURSE. INT J NEURCPSYCHIAT 3.SUPPL i:95-lC9. AUG 67 VL1^ L ^URSt. A0>C!:!:5CENCF» ChILC, CHILD, PRFSChOcL, FEMALE (4), *GILLE5 DE LA TCuRETTE.S ClSEASE/ DRuG EFFECTS, ^LCPERlDCL/ THERAPfltiC i,SB HAND.PITIN6, HUMAN (4,. M*LE ,4). • W^NT 0 ISoSKiw 5{S.U ' CCLUCCI CtAMATC F (THERAPEUTIC ACTION CF GAM>A-AMi.NC-EETA-HYtROXYfcUTYRIC ACrr ,r.AAnm CSPED PSICHIAT 331122-31, wAN-jt> 65 1IT> ADOLESCENCE, CHILD, "CHOREA/ DRUG T-E"APY. FEMALF <4». •HANDWRITING. HUMAN (4), *HYCPCXYBuTYRATES/ THERAPEUTic USB. OWNING Rh, E?E5T JN, ECRUCHC* JK TEMPORAL CHANGES IN HANDWRITING SIZE, LEvEL OF PREMORBID *nr,ai SCMmSJK,^ INTELLECT^AL LPVEf ^rSXgS^A^SI^AC^e*1 J ^PV MEM CIS 142.326-33, jln 66 ADOLESCENCE, ADULT, »CHLCRPROMAZ INEZ THERAPEUTIC r«. •SCHIZOPHRENIC PSYCHCLCG^ .t'SK^lh!«\%$S?V»SlhwC OSE Figure ^.—Demand Bibliographies. 195 'N'TCMY ¥, hISTC! OGY f>*'G EFFECTS EMPRYCLCC-Y METABOLISM PHvsiolCGY SURGERY wESENCt-YMC*'A DIAGNOSIS DPI r- THERAPY MESENTERIC ARTERIES DPLG EFFECTS p*vsiCLOGY PHvSICPtTHCLCGY °ArICGPAPHY SURGERY MESENTERIC CYST DIAGNOSIS CATHOLC^Y SL^ERY "ESE'TERTC VASCULAR OCCLUSION CO" PLICATIONS DArlOGRAPHY fESE'TERIC VEIN'S DR G EFFECTS fESE' TERY AN'TCMY * HISTOLOGY CYTOLOGY MICROBICLCGY "ATrCLCGY MESOCOLON ANATOMY % HISTOLOGY MF«CCERM DPI. G EFFECTS CN7YMCLCGY G»r',Th X DEVELOPMENT PHYSIOLOGY TRANSPLANTATION "ESWFPHRO^A crmc therapy mesothelioma HpGNCSIS OPl'G THEPAPY ^STP.^N'OL ADMINISTRATION * DOSAGE ADVERSE EFFECTS PHARMACODYNAMICS TH^PAPPUTIC USP METAacLIC niSEASES DIAGNOSIS ET'CLCGY '" 1 J - - Used for atudlea e- genetic baaia of disease; atudlea of disease G - BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES occurring in family groups due to Infection, common family dietary habits or environmental Gl - General Biological and Preclinical Sciences factors; also Indicates hereditary dlseaae. Growth k Development (A, B) - Used for growth snd development of microorganisms and plants. ANATOMY BIOCHEMISTRY (H) BIOLOGY and for the postnatal development of animals. BIOPHYSICS (H) History (C through N) - Used for the Maiorlcal BOTANY aspects of any subject; includes brief hletorical CYTOLOGY notes. Excludea case histories. ECOLOGY Immunology (A, B, C) - Used for immunologic GENETICS IMMUNITY studies of tissues, organs, bacteria, viruses and fungi and their constituents; includes im- MARINE BIOLOGY munologic aspects of specific diseases but not MICROBIOLOGY immunologic procedures used for diagnostic, PHARMACOLOGY preventive, or therapeutic purposes. PHYSIOLOGY ZOOLOGY Injuries (A) - Used for traumatic wounds and Injuries or parts of the body. ACCLIMATIZATION ANATOMY {Continued) BIOCHEMISTRY (H) Alphabetic List Innervation Ncu*Tm*nON r.MP. m. um. fauon. . i CONSTIPATION CONFLICT (PSYCHOLOGY) (F) CONTRACEPTIVES. ORAL (OH. IIIJ) CONGO RED (DID CONTRACTURE (C3) CONGRESSES (N3) CONTRAST MEDIA (DI3) CONJUGATION. GENETIC (Gl) i.zzr,r xmc«OMm.oi»«nc,i.> CONTUSIONS (CM) CONJUNCTIVA (A») CONVALESCENCE (CI7. NI) CONJUNCTIVITIS (CII) CONVALURIA (BC. DS) 42 CMr.VL.AMTI h. ANA LKPTICA Figure 9.—Specimen MeSH Pages. 17 N2 - HEALTH FACILITIES. MANPOWER VND SERVICES FACILITIES MANPOWER SERVICKS (NON MESH) N2. HEALTH FACILITIES N2.I8. AMBULANCES N 2.18.3. BLOOD HANKS N2.18.6. DENTAL CLINICS N2.18.8. HOSPITAL DENTAL SERVICE N2.18.8.I N2 18.15.1 EXTENDED CARE FACILITIES N2.18.9. HEALTH FACILITY SIZE N2.18.12. HOSPITAL DEPARTMENTS N2.18.15. N2.18.24.1 HOSPITAL CENTRAL SUPPLY N2.18.15.1 HOSPITAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS N2.18.15.I HOSPITAL DENTAL SERVICE N2.18.15.1 N2 18.8.1 HOSPITAL EMERGENCY SERVICE N2.18.15.1 N2.72.23.1 HOSPITAL FOOD SERVICE N2.18.15.1 N2.72.18.1 HOSPITAL HOUSEKEEPING N2.18.15.1 HOSPITAL MAINTENANCE N2.18.15.1 HOSPITAL MEDICATION SYSTEMS N2.18.15.1 HOSPITAL NURSING SERVICE N2.18.15.1 HOSPITAL OUTPATIENT CLINICS N2.18.15.1 HOSPITAL PHARMACY SERVICE N2.18.15.1 N2.72.S1.1 HOSPITAL PSYCHIATRIC DEPARTMENTS N2.18.15.1 HOSPITAL PURCHASING N2.18.15.1 INTENSIVE CARE UNITS N2.18.15.1 LIBRARIES. HOSPITAL N2.18.15.1 L. 72.37.1 OPERATING ROOMS N2.18.15.1 HOSPITAL PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION N2.18.21. NS.39.45. HOSPITALS N2.18.24. HOSPITAL DEPARTMENTS N2.18.24.I N2.18.15. HOSPITALS, CONVALESCENT N2.18.24.1 HOSPITALS. GENERAL N2.18.24.1 HOSPITALS, PSYCHIATRIC N2.18.24.1 HOSPITALS, SPECIAL N2.18.24.1 HOSPITALS. TEACHING N2.18.24.1 HOSPITALS, VETERANS N2.18.24.1 LABORATORIES N2.18.27. LEPER COLONIES N2.18.30. NURSING HOMES N2.18.33. PHARMACIES N2.18.36. POISON CONTROL CENTERS N2.18.39. REHABILITATION CENTERS N2.18.45. RESIDENTIAL FACILITIES N2.18.48. HALFWAY HOUSES N2.18.48.1 HOMES FOR THE AGED N2.18.48.1 SHELTERED WORKSHOPS N2.18.51. TISSUE BANKS N2.18.54. HEALTH MANPOWER N2.36. DENTISTS. WOMEN N2.36.1.1 M.25.32. M. 109.21. ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL N2.36.3. Ml. • INDICATES PROVISIONAL HEADING N2-1 FIGURE 10.—Specimen Page, MeSH Tree Structure Listing. 18 A—anonymous PAGINATION OPT. PAGINATION D_non-std date P-non-std pagination AUTHOR OATA (Print) AUTHOR DATA (Sort) TITLE (English or English Translation) TITLE (Vernacular or Transliterated Vernacular) IM NIM SV.AIN HEADING 'subheading IM nim j CHECK TAGS REVIEW— References INFANT, NEWBORN (to 1 mo.) PREGNANCY INFANT (1-23 mos.) CHILD, PRESCHOOL (2-5 yrs.) CHILD'(6-12 yrs.) ADOLESCENCE (13-18 yrs.) ADULT (19-44 yrs.) MIDDLE AGE (45-64 yrs.) AGED (65- yrs.) CATS CATTLE DOGS GUINEA PIGS MICE RABBITS RATS HISTORY OF MEDICINE ANCIENT MEDIEVAL MODERN 15TH CENT. UTH CENT. RACIAL AND ETHNIC GROUPS 17TH CENT. 18TH CENT. 19TH CENT. 20TH CENT. '.....■ , GEOGRAPHIC HEADINGS | i HISTORICAL ARTICLE i j ' HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHY 4 \ CURRENT BIOG-OBIT 1 ANIMAL EXPERIMENTS i HUMAN PROVISIONAL HEADINGS 1 ' IN VITRO ! FEMALE 1 MALE 1 CASE REPORT --A CLINICAL RESEARCH till— COMPARATIVE STUDY phs-3266 DATA FORM-INDEX MEDICUS REV. 10-65 Figure 11.—Indexer Data Form 19 are the most important points to be cov- ered. Subject headings and subheadings are assigned from MeSH. The Indexer Data Form includes several check tags which serve as reminders to the indexer of concepts which always are to be covered (e.g., age groups, clinical report, etc.). In handling a depth journal, the indexer may use as many subject headings as are needed to describe fully the content of the articles. When in- dexing a non-depth journal, the indexer is limited to subject headings that describe the primary concepts only. As of January 1968, depth journal articles were assigned an aver- age of about 10 subject headings and non- depth journals were assigned an average of about 4. The indexer also assigns subhead- ings and must insure that he uses a valid main heading/subheading combination in each case that a subheading is used. In addition to assigning MeSH terms, the indexer decides whether each term is to be "print" or "non-print"; that is, to be printed in Index Medicus or to be used only in the retrieval process. Descriptive indexing by the professional indexer includes establishment of pagination, establishment of author name format (if necessary), and translation of titles of all foreign-language articles. After indexing, the journals with data forms attached are sent to the revisers (se- nior professionals who check and revise the work of the indexers). All new and trainee indexers receive 100% revision; the more experienced personnel are revised on a spot check basis. After completion of work by the profes- sional indexers and revisers, the journals go to a final clerical work station, where "sort authors" are established. Sort authors are required in cases where the computer is not able to follow its normal collating sequence in preparing alphabetic author lists (e.g., St. Lawrence to sort as Saint Lawrence). In addition to performing regular produc- tion indexing functions, the Index Section carries a heavy training load, both for its own new staff members and for personnel working at Decentralized MEDLARS Sta- tions and others outside NLM. The original MEDLARS philosophy was to perform all indexing centrally with NLM staff. However, the massive volume of work to be done, coupled with rapidly increasing backlogs, caused Library management to re- consider this policy and begin to use outside contracts for some of the indexing work. Decentralized indexing is now underway at such places as Keio University in Japan; the MEDLARS Stations at Harvard, the Uni- versity of Alabama, and the University of Colorado; and in Israel, using PL 480 counterpart funds. Private contractors have also been used. This decentralized indexing has proven quite effective. In order to insure standardization of index- ing and to facilitate the training described above, a MEDLARS Indexing Manual was prepared. All decentralized indexing is sub- ject to revision. After completion of all Index Section tasks, batches of journals and data sheets are for- warded to the Office of Computer and Engi- neering Services for data punching and com- puter processing. Input Preparation and Verification Punched paper tape was selected as the input medium for indexed citations enter- ing the computer system because of its ver- satility in handling variable-length records and its ability to input 88 different charac- ters (an important consideration for MED- LARS publications). Punched cards and optical scanning of citations prepared by a typist (not scanning of the original journal article) were also considered, but, after a careful analysis, paper tape seemed to pro- vide the best approach. As seen from the flow chart, Figure 7, the clerk-typists in the Input Unit receive jour- nals with Indexer Data Forms attached for initial processing. For each journal received, the typist first punches a Journal Identifica- tion Record which contains the Journal Title Code, publication date, volume and issue num- ber, Indexer Identification Code, and Typist Identification Code. The typist then punches one tape record for each indexed article in the journal. This record includes the title of the article in the vernacular or transliter- ated vernacular (except for oriental articles, which include only a title translation); the 20 ~ ••••• • •• - • • ••• • • ••• • • ••• • • • ••• • A A • •• •• • ••• • • A A A w WW • •• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• •• • • • w • • • • • • • • • • A A A a a m mm • • • • • • ••• •••• • •• ••• • •••• • • Paper Tape Strip Y/ «?----?-°?!-N,???berger P*+NURNBERQER P: [Necrosis lipoidica] (Oer) V 7Q6 4312 225-2 C/ • 113.-22 f, Nxirnb Necrosis lipoidica T/ NECROBIOSIS LIPOIDICA+PATH0L00Y SKIN+PATHOLOOY NECROSIS+PATHOLOOY LEO MIDDLE AQE HUMAN FEMALE CASE REPORT V V •13 Jun 66 V C/ ♦123-35 * A/ Simon N, Berencsi 0: [Contributions on the biological properties of Mycobacterium tuberculosis on the basis of the sensitivity of lupus strains] (Oer) V/ Beitrage zu den biologischen Eigenschaften auf Orund der Empfindlichkeit der Lupus-Stamme T/ LUPUS+MICR0BI0LOQY TUBERCULOSIS, CUTANE0US+MICR0BI0L00Y MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS+DRUQ EFFECTS STREPT0MYCIN+PHARMAC0 Flexowriter ISONIAZID+PHARMAC0 ISONIAZID+THERAPEUTIC USE STREPTOMYCIN+THERAPEUTIC USE LUPUS+DRUQ therapy Hard Copy TUBERCULOSIS, CUTANE0US+DRU0 THERAPY DRUO RESISTANCE, MICROBIA Figure 12.—Paper Tape Strip and Flexowriter Hard Copy. translated title of foreign works; names of all authors or editors; the abbreviation for the language in which the article is written if it is a foreign work; the name of the subject(s) of a biography; the pagination of the article within the journal; and the descriptive tags assigned by the indexer, in- cluding main subject headings, subheadings, geographical tags, and provisional headings. Those subject headings to "print" in Index Medicus (headings under which the article will be cited in the published index) are punched in red-shift code and non-Index Medicus headings are punched in black-shift code. The paper tape typewriters (Friden Flexo- writers) operate under the control of a pro- gram tape which assists the operator in properly sequencing and identifying the data fields for the computer. The Flexowriters simultaneously produce a proof copy on con- tinuous paper, along with the punched tape (see Figure 12). The typist normally treats one journal issue as a batch of work for further process- ing, except for those journals with a very few articles, in which case several issues may be combined into one batch. The entire pack- age (journal issue[s], Indexer Data Forms, paper tape, and Flexowriter hard copy) is then forwarded to the proofreaders. 21 The proofreaders sight-verify all descrip- tive elements of each citation on the hard copy (the subject headings are validated later during computer processing). Errors detected by the proofreaders are noted, with appropriate corrections on the hard copy, which is then returned for correction typing. The proofreaders detect one or more errors in approximately 20% of the articles punched. Paper tape creates some problems in mak- ing corrections. Rather than attempt to cor- rect the original tape itself by duplication or splicing, correction record(s) are punched which identify the journal article, specify the data field in error, and give the correc- tion data. The correction record(s) are sub- sequently matched and applied to the original records during computer input processing. All original input tapes and correction tapes are : pliced together at the end of the day and batched for the daily input computer run. Note that correction tapes must be en- tered into the same computer run as the original data tapes to which they apply. As of January 1, 1968, the average num- ber of articles indexed and entered into the computer per day was approximately 700, or about 15,000 new items each month. It is obvious from these figures that MEDLARS must operate as an organized production sys- tem in order to maintain level workloads. Input Module Those computer programs which input the new journal articles and update the master magnetic tape file of citations are referred to as the Input Module. The Input Module consists of four major segments or sub- modules (see flow chart, Figure 7). The first submodule reads in the paper tape (original and correction records), checks to see that only valid paper tape codes are present, and copies the records onto magnetic tape. The magnetic tape rec- ords are then sorted so that corrections are matched to the original typed citation. The correction data is then applied to produce a "clean" record on magnetic tape. Any errors detected by the computer (invalid codes or correction records which do not match) are Figure 13.—Paper Tape Being Loaded onto Tape Reader. printed on an error listing and these records are rejected. The second submodule validates the Jour- nal Identification Record for each journal issue in the batch. The Journal Title Codes are matched to a master Journal Record File (JRF) on magnetic tape. Note that if this code is in error, all articles from that issue must be rejected and printed on the error list. The subsequent correction, retyp- ing, and re-entry of the material into the computer is a costly process. The JRF pro- vides the Journal Title Abbreviation which is added to the citation record at this point. This submodule also is used for updating of the Journal Record File. Changes to the file (additions, changes, deletions) are en- tered via punched cards and the file is up- dated during input processing. The JRF also includes the full title and place of publica- tion, which are used in printing the annual List of Journals Indexed in Index Medicus. The third major submodule provides vali- dation of all subject tags in the citations. The computer splits each citation into several 99 Honeywell h zte^v^v^^ ^^ pon|| _ |teatB Design Title Compressed Citation Data Record FORMAT MAP B.3 Prepared by............................................................For Program............................................................ By Programmer.......................................................Checked by............................................................... Date Remarks * indicates a variable number of entries numbers in parentheses following field names indicate number of bits for that field. Modification Page of. 10 t—'—r + t—■—r i—|—■—p T H—i—•—i—•—r Tear of Publication (12) -,---1---1----1---1---,----r Item Word "ount (16) Place of Publication (17) ~"'—i—'—i—•—r Citation Number (20) Open (3) Form (7) + Subform (5) Indexer ID No.(6) Main Heading Code (17) ^----1----1----1- r Author(s) Open (U) Typist ID No.(6) —r-^nr Subheadingm Code (6) i) H---r—r-^ t---j---r- Journal Title Code (18) -i-----1-----1-----r— T Date of Entry (13) H---1---1— OF en (2) Tag 1$ TA (2)1 Language Code (6) ---I----'--- No. of Tag Wds.(6 --1--'-- MeSH Classification No. (21) 76. Publication + End of Item (32) +—r— —■—r 0RTH0 1 -r—r—T-T 0RTH0 2 —,----1---1---r END OF RECORD -r-T-+-| t—r -» I ' i ■ » i ' I J___i---L 4- I ' I----r ]---'---1---•---1---'---1---'---1 ' | ' I ^ 1 ' I ' 77fl Title 37fl Journal Title Abbreviation 56g Volume No. 57s Pagination \---1---1---1---1—I---'---1---'---1---•----1---'---1----'— Date 36„ Vernacular Title 53« No. of References 520 8 o o T + -,---1---1----1— Issue No. (12) T Open (U) 1—'—I—r i—'—r~r T---»---1----r :-—l—i J—1—r i i _—|—r I----!----r -r i » T-*-T 1 ' I ■ -i------1------1------r i—r~nr i ' i j____i. Figure 14.—CCF Magnetic Tape Record Layout. 23 small records containing: one alphabetic sub- ject heading and the related subheading (if any), and a Citation Identification Code. These records then are sorted into alpha- betic sequence by subject heading and matched against the Master Subject Head- ings File on magnetic tape. Those headings which do not match the computer master file are printed on the error list and rejected; however, the citation is not rejected unless all Index Medicus print headings attached to it are rejected. Main heading/subheading combinations also are checked for validity. Each time a match occurs, the master MeSH list on tape is updated by adding one to a tally of the frequency of term usage. This tally becomes important later in the Retrieval Subsystem. The alphabetic subject headings are replaced by code numbers pro- vided by the master file. The coded subject records then are sorted back into citation number order, matched to the original cita- tions, and complete citation records are re- built. The fourth and final submodule builds the completed MEDLARS citation record on magnetic tape. The record is referred to as the MEDLARS Unit Record and the tape file itself is called the Compressed Citation File (CCF). A record layout of the data elements on the CCF is shown in Figure 14. The CCF is a highly compact tape file which serves as the major store of informa- tion in MEDLARS, for both retrieval of individual demand bibliographies and prep- aration of published indexes. The file is se- rial, with records in sequence by computer entry date. On January 1, 1968, the CCF contained 645,751 citations on 25 reels of magnetic tape. All errors detected by the computer editing routines are printed on an error listing which is returned to the Head of the Index Section who initiates correction action. (Note that an error could have been made by either the indexer or input typist.) Approximately 10% of the records entering the Input Module contain errors which are detected by the computer editing routines. The various checks built into the Input Subsystems (revision of indexing, proofread- ing, computer edits) provide a good measure of control over the accuracy of data in the MEDLARS file. Nonetheless, some errors do get through, and these are usually picked up later when they appear in a publication or a demand search. The Input Subsystem provides the raw material used for retrieval and publication, described in the next two chapters. 24 Chapter IV RETRIEVAL SUBSYSTEM The Retrieval Subsystem of MEDLARS is concerned with matching requests for in- dividual bibliographies to the citations on the Compressed Citation File. This subsys- tem combines the search formulation talents of trained search specialists with the rapid matching and retrieval capabilities of the computer to produce demand bibliographies. Request Analysis and Search Formulation The demand search cycle begins with re- ceipt of requests for MEDLARS searches from medical educators, practitioners, and researchers. The searches are requested for a variety of purposes (e.g., to determine the state of research in a particular field, to as- sist in the preparation of review articles, to help solve a clinical problem). Most search requests processed at NLM and the U.S. MEDLARS Stations (at UCLA, Harvard, Ohio State University, and the universities of Colorado, Alabama, and Michigan) are received from research workers and edu- cators, with about 95% originating in the United States. A clear, concise statement of the search request is important for effective retrieval in MEDLARS (as in any other reference or retrieval system). Requests are made on MEDLARS Search Request Forms (see Fig- ure 15) and may be submitted through local medical libraries or directly to NLM. In order to improve search requests and opti- mize use of the service, a booklet has been prepared to assist users in understanding the capabilities, limitations, and conditions un- der which searches are accomplished.* In submitting his search request, the user is asked to present a detailed, specific state- ment of requirements, to cite pertinent cita- tions that he may know of, to estimate the number of citations he would expect to re- ceive, and to state any restrictions to be placed on the search. He also indicates which languages he wishes included in the search and whether he wants his final bibliography printed on 8V2" x 11" paper or on 3" x 5" cards. The search specialist (or "searcher") is a highly trained intermediary who must inter- act with both the requester and the computer. This requester-searcher interaction can oc- cur at several different levels, including: (1) request form or letter received in the mail, with no direct contact; (2) request form received in the mail after requester has had discussion and advice from his local librar- ian; (3) request received by telephone call; (4) request received during direct inter- view with the requester. Searchers are en- couraged to clarify requests and make lib- eral use of the telephone before beginning to formulate the search. After the searcher has analyzed and clari- fied the request, he begins building his search formulation, which is used as the basis for computer matching and retrieval. Figure 16 is a sample search formulation. The formu- lation consists of two major parts: a list of the search elements to be used, and from one to three search equations showing the logical relationship between elements in the search. The main elements used in searching are *A Guide to MEDLARS Services, U.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Serv- ice, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, Mary- land, 1967. 25 070852 MEDLARS SEARCH REQUEST U. S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH. EDUCATION, AND WELFARE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE AJAk • ib68 '. INDIVIDUAL WHO WILL ACTUALLY USE THE BIBLIOGRAPHY Captain William *'ann TAarch 1968 TITLE Dermatologist ORG ANI ZATION Womack Army Hospital • ODRU 5 Fort Bragg, N.C. 28307 2. REQUEST SUBMITTED BY (II dlllerent Irom above): Mrs. C. Edwards Medical Librarian 3. DETAILED STATEMENT OF REQUIREMENTS (Please be as specific as possible as to purpose, scope, definitions, limitations, etc.) Dr. Mann is interested in all of the articles on Molluscum Contagiosum particularly those concerning innoculation studies and clinical studies of the naturally acquired infection in man. Any references under venereal disease and Molluscum acquired as a venereal disease would be pertinent. i** ,A* -^ ^ «. TITLE OF PROJECT FOR WHICH SEARCH IS REQUESTED (Omit il not applicable): 5. MEDICAL TERMS PERTINENT TO REQUEST (Optional). DESCRIPTIONS CURRENTLY USED IN MEDLARS ARE PUBLISHED IN Medical Subject Heading*, Port 2 of the JANUARY Issue of INDEX MEDICUS. M0LL0SCUM CONTAGIOSUM 6. _IMIT 7X ACCEPT ALL 7. PRINT SPECIFICATIONS: LANGUAGES j ENGLISH |~X| 3"x s" CARDS TO J FOREIGN (Specify): I 1 PAP ER PHS - 4667-1 iREV. S-66) Figure 15.—Specimen MEDLARS Search Request. 26 REQUEST NO. 070852 DEMAND SEARCH FORMULATION RECORD MAR 1 7 1968 DATE March 15, 1968 Molluscum Contagiosum. 11-14 Ml M2 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 SI S2 S3 S4 19-31 UJ>S Httffl iiua ELEMENTS Molluscum Contagiosum Molluscum Contagiosum Virus Clinical Research Epidemiology Immunity Immunology Venereal Diseases etiology immunology occurrence pathogenicity *■ W>-lii r-CCO ) and LESS THAN OR EQUAL TO (<) op- erators are used with the computer entry date and year of publication search ele- ments. The searcher has the option of for- mulating subsearches to provide the simul- taneous expression of as many as three levels of increasing specificity (referred to as Sections 4, 5, and 6). The first statement may be a broad expression of needs; the second may introduce limitations; and the third may impose the greatest specificity for the query. After completing all work on the search formulation itself, the searcher next deter- mines the format for printing each citation in the final bibliography and the sequence of citations (e.g., alphabetic by author names; alphabetic by Journal Title Abbreviation; expanded under subject headings). He chooses from a number of format and sequence op- tions, and records his choices on a Report Generator Request Form (see Figure 17). He may also assign a title to the search by adding this data to the form. The Search Formulation Record and Re- port Generator Forms are then sent to the Head of the Search Section for review, prior to conversion to machine-readable input for the computer. In examining the role of the search special- ist, it should be noted that these highly trained and experienced subject specialists serve in an interpretive role between scien- tist users, indexers, MeSH, and computer facilities. They must develop "hedges" to cope with rigidities of MeSH, develop strategies to compensate for possible inconsistencies or inadequacies of indexing, and develop rou- tines to cope with machine-processing prob- lems which occur. In the original system planning, inadequate consideration was given 28 REPORT GENERATOR REQUEST FORM RCF Tape No. ____________ Batch No. Request Form No. of Output Trac- Sort Keys Headings No. Citation Column Page Name Number Iden- citations media ings of Arrangement Widths Number Section tifier M G H F Y cols. NJ NJ Page T Col 1 Col 2 Col 3 Col 1 Col 2 Col 3 Number RJ RJ LJ 7, LR LR 1-6 7-8 10-14 15 16 17-24 25 26 27 28 29 40 41-44 45-47 48-49 51-52 53-54 55-56 58-62 65-69 070852 F 1 ALL C X SA Request Number 1-6 Card Identifier 7-8 First Page Title - First Line 9-80 070852 HI Molluscum contagiosum. 6-Venereal disease. 5-Etiology. 4-0ther Request Number 1-6 Card Identifier 7-8 First Page Title - Second Line 9-80 070852 H2 aspects. Request Number 1-6 Card Identifier 7-8 First Page Title - Third Line 9-80 H3 Request Number Card Identifier Column 1 Heading/Column 2 Heading/Column 3 Heading S Figure 17.—Specimen Report Generator Request Form. card for each subject heading used in the search. The purpose of this step is to cut down on the amount of keypunching required for each search, and—what is perhaps more important—to reduce the possibility of cler- ical input errors and limit the number of searches rejected by the computer. The pre- punched MeSH cards, Demand Search For- mulation, and Report Generator Request Forms are then forwarded to the Office of Computer and Engineering Services. The keypunch operators prepare two decks of cards for each search: a search deck and a report generator deck. In creating the search deck, the keypuncher completes punch- ing of the prepunched subject heading cards, punches new cards for other search elements, and punches new cards for each search state- ment. The report generator deck includes one format card and up to three header cards with title information for the final bibliog- raphy. Both decks are batched with other 29 to the requirement for training these spe- cialized personnel, and training has occu- pied a major portion of the time of the supervisors in the Search Section. The intel- lectual interface between the user and MED- LARS has developed into one of the more challenging and exciting aspects of the total system. Preparing the Search for Computer Input Figure 18 depicts the flow of informa- tion through the Retrieval Subsystem. The creation of the Demand Search Formula- tion and Report Generator Request Forms has already been described. The next step is to prepare this information for computer processing. A clerk in the Search Section matches the Demand Search Formulation to a tub file of prepunched MeSH cards and pulls one MKDLARS RETRIEVAL SUBSYSTEM FLOW CHART PRE-PUNCHED MESH CARDS REPORT GENERATOR SPECIFICATIONS FURTHER INTERACTION WITH REQUESTER BIBLIOGRAPHIC SERVICES DIVISION KEYPUNCH & VERIFY ADDITIONAL DATA OFFICE OF COMPUTERS ENGINEERING SERVICES KEYPUNCH & VERIFY SEARCH DECK REPORT GENERATOR DECK BATCH FOR NEXT COMPUTER RUN 0 BATCH FOR NEXT COMPUTER RUN 30 Figure 18. MEDLARS RETRIEVAL SUBSYSTEM FLOW CHART DEMAND SEARCH MODULE FINAL TAPE PREPARATION Figure 18a. 31 MEDLARS RETRIEVAL SUBSYSTEM FLOW CHART REPORT GENERATOR CARDS EXPANDS FORMAT CITATIONS REPORT GENERATOR MODULE SORT INTO FINAL BIBLIOGRAPHY SEQUENCE EXTRACTS SORT MeSH RECORDS FOR SEARCHES TO BE PRINTED ON GRACE t LOOKUP MeSH NAMES FROM CODES &SORT INTO FINAL SEQUENCE FINAL BIBLIOGRAPHY PREPARATION DEMAND BIBLIOGRA- PHIES RETURN TO SEARCHERS Figure 18b. 32 searches and forwarded to the computer room for processing. Searching the Computer Files (Demand Search Module) Programs for searching the computer files of citations are referred to as the Demand Search Module. This module has four major segments or submodules (see Figures 18, 18a, 18b). The first submodule reads into the com- puter all search decks in the batch being processed and performs a comprehensive edit of each search. All search element sym- bols are validated, and the search statements are checked to insure that only valid oper- ators have been used and that the search equations follow the established rules for linking elements and operators. Each subject heading is then split into a separate record along with the search request number. These records are sorted into alphabetic order and matched to the MeSH file on magnetic tape; alphabetic MeSH names are converted to their equivalent code numbers; and the fre- quency tallies of MeSH term usage are added to the records. The MeSH records are then sorted back into original search number se- quence and re-matched to the search records. An average of about 7% to 10% of the searches are rejected by the computer edits. The next major task performed by this first submodule is the creation of a table of significant elements. A significant element is defined as that element (or elements) in a search which must be present in order for the search to be satisfied and which has a lower frequency of usage than other ele- ments "and'ed" with it in the search state- ment. An example will help to illustrate the selection of significant elements: Search Equation: (A and B) or (C and D and E) Frequency Tallies: A —629 B —1016 C —543 D —816 E — 439 Significant Elements: A and E (i.e., if neither A nor E is present in a citation, the citation cannot qualify for the search). Significant elements are selected for all searches in the batch. Duplicate terms are eliminated and the resulting table of signifi- cant elements is stored in internal memory of the computer for use in the next sub- module, High Speed Search. The significant element table also includes a code for each search in the batch to which this element applies. The final task of the edit submodule is to formulate each search in the batch into a logical, decision-table format. These records are written onto magnetic tape for later use in the Logical Search Submodule. The use of the decision table will be explained later. The High Speed Search Submodule is the only Demand Search Program which re- quires passing the entire CCF File. The MEDLARS computer system has overlap processing capability; that is, simultaneous reading of one magnetic tape, internal pro- cessing, and writing of another tape. In or- der to minimize the amount of tape-reading time, it is desirable to have tape-read time exceed internal processing time so that no starting and stopping of the tape is required (since some time is lost in acceleration and deceleration of the tape unit). The use of the significant element table in High Speed Search allows this program to process the entire MEDLARS CCF File in a minimum amount of time. The actual tape-processing time for any given search run is a function of the batch size of the searches being processed. The significant element table is searched for each citation record on the CCF, with citations which match recorded on an inter- mediate output tape, along with the codes from the significant element table. These codes indicate which of the searches in the batch this citation could satisfy. The next submodule is the Logical Search. This program reads in the decision tables from magnetic tape and matches the cita- tions retrieved from High Speed Search against these tables. Note that each citation being searched in the Logical Search Submodule carries a code indicating which search (es) in the batch it could possibly satisfy, and only the appro- priate decision tables for each search are 33 Table 5 k Decision Table Logic Example: Ml * (M2 + M3 + M4) * = "and" • = "or" Retrieval Element No Match Code Match Code Ml 5 0 M2 0 3 M3 0 3 M4 5 3 Match & No Match Codes 0 = Examine next element in table 3 = Retrieve this citation 5 = Reject this citation No Match on Ml Reject citation Match on Ml Jump to look at M2 No Match on M2 Look at M3 Match on M2 Retrieve citation No Match on M3 Look at M4 Match on M3 Retrieve citation No Match on M4 Reject citation Match on M4 Retrieve citation examined. Those citations which satisfy the complete logical search criteria are written onto a tape of retrieved citations. Citations satisfying more than one search in the batch are written a multiple number of times on the retrieved file, with each citation identi- fied by a search request number. The Logical Search Submodule also produces a printed listing of each search (and subsearch), show- ing the number of citations retrieved. This listing is returned to the search specialists. The fourth submodule prepares the final tape format for the retrieved citation file, sorting the citations into order by search number. If the computer operator notices an unusually large number of citations re- trieved, he may check with the searcher be- fore printing this search, since the searcher may choose to print only a few citations and possibly reformulate the search. The MEDLARS two-phase search logic optimizes the passing of a very large serial magnetic tape file. Printing the Retrieved Citations (Report Generator Module) The function of the Report Generator Module is to print demand bibliographies in a variety of formats and sequences (see Fig- ure 18). The module is called "Report Gen- erator" because the computer generates a number of different possible report formats based upon the specifications given to it by the report generator cards (specified by the searcher). The first program of this module edits the report generator cards for errors and matches these cards to the retrieved cita- tions for each search in the batch. Those searches requiring printing of citations by subject heading are expanded; that is, the citations are copied once for each subject heading to be used in the expansion. The resulting intermediate work tape next is sorted into final sequence, using the sort keys provided by the report generator cards. If any of the searches in the batch re- quires printing of "tracings" (a listing of each subject heading with the printed cita- tions), a third submodule sorts the subject headings into numeric sequence and looks up the alphabetic names on the MeSH file. These are then re-sorted back into search request sequence. The final submodule creates a magnetic tape for printing of the demand bibliogra- phies on the Honeywell-200 computer. These bibliographies are returned to the Search Sec- tion for screening and preliminary evalua- tion, prior to mailing to the requester. The searchers employ several form letters to ex- plain the results to the requester. In addition, each search is accompanied by an appraisal form requesting a formal evaluation of the search by the user (see Figure 19). As of January 1, 1968, the average turn- around time for searches (receipt in the Li- brary to mailing of results) was about two weeks. Throughput time varies substantially with the workload, however. It is also possible to print a demand search on GRACE in those few cases where the demand bibliography is to be widely dis- tributed to a large number of people. In such a case, the Report Generator Module pro- duces a tape which is processed by the Output Module, described in the next chapter. 34 BOB No. 68R 891 App. Exp. 6/30/68 No. of Search Name of Requester Date o£ Request The National Library of Medicine APPRAISAL OF MEDLARS SEARCH Your frank appraisal will greatly assist us in evaluating and improving MEDLARS (MedicaJ. Literature Analysis and Retrieval System). Thus we hope that you will complete this form at your earliest convenience and return it to NLM for our review. ^Joseph Leiter, Ph.D., Associate Director for Intramural Programs Relevance How many citations received were relevant to your request? ___________________ In your opinion, what may have caused retrieval of the non-relevant citations? a) indexing /__/ b) search formulation /__/ c) subject headings in Medical Subject Headings /__/ d) statement of request ___/ e) other /__/ Explain____________________________________________ Completeness In many cases it will not be possible to determine the completeness of the search for periodical articles. However, it would be helpful to know how many pertinent citations known to you were not included. _____________________________________ Would you please list at least the more important ones? Timeliness Did you receive the citations in time to be of use?' Do you have comments on timeliness? - Figure 19.—Specimen Form, Appraisal of MEDLARS Search. (Continued on Page S6) 35 Ccncrnl Comments General comments not covered above may also be valuable In improving this new ex- perimental service. These comments may be grouped aa follows: a) In your opinion, are Medical Subject Headings (found in Part 2 of Vol. 8, No. January 1967, Index Medicus) adequate? ___/ Inadequate? £__/ If Inadequate, do you have comments as co how they may be improved? b) In your opinion, is the list of Journals covered for Index Medicus (There is a list in the January 1967 issue of Index Medicus) adequate? ___/ inadequate? ___/ [f inadequate, do you have suggestions as to improved coverage? c) Other Figure 19.—Continued. Chapter V PUBLICATION SUBSYSTEM The Publication Subsystem consists of pro- grams and procedures for producing MED- LARS bibliographic publications. A complete list of these publications was given in Chap- ter II, Table 1. This chapter will .discuss the methods followed in preparation of recurring bibliographies and other MEDLARS publi- cations. Figures 20, 20a, and 20b are flow charts for the Publication Subsystem which is ref- erenced throughout this chapter. Establishing and Testing Recurring Bibliographies A recurring bibliography is a periodic se- lection of citations from current input, struc- tured by a predetermined pattern according to the interest profile of a group. After being contacted by a professional organization with a request for a new recurring bibliography, Library management reviews the request in relation to available resources and makes a decision whether or not to proceed with the new publication. If a decision is made to pro- ceed, several meetings are held with repre- sentatives of the cooperating organization to select tentative subject and format parame- ters for the new bibliography. This selection work is coordinated by a senior staff mem- ber of the Search Section, Bibliographic Services Division. The tentative parameters are tested by running several computer searches to pro- duce "test" copies of the new publication. The results are reviewed jointly by NLM and the cooperating organization, modifications are made, and the search repeated. This testing may require several months' time, depending upon the complexity of the subject. In some cases, the test bibliographies are mailed to a select group of outside experts for review before the final parameters are selected. After the test search has been approved, the final specifications are forwarded to the Input Unit, where recurring bibliography search and format specification cards are keypunched and verified. The search specifi- cation cards, which are punched in the for- mat required for the Demand Search Module, are filed and held until time to run the recur- ring bibliography. The format specifications are added to the recurring bibliography for- mat parameter file. Computer Programs for Producing MEDLARS Publications The recurring bibliography search cards are pulled from the file when the publication is scheduled to be run. (Note that the fre- quency of publication varies from monthly to annual, depending upon the recurring bib- liography in question.) The search cards are run through the De- mand Search Module (see Chapter IV) and the citations which satisfy the search are written onto tape—the Retrieved Citation File (RCF). Note that in running the De- mand Search Module, only the "current" CCF tapes are searched; that is, those new cita- tions added to the file since the last run of the publication. This is controlled by the date card input as part of the search. The next computer job is running the Re- curring Bibliography Submodule (see Figure 20). This submodule processes the RCF tape for the recurring bibliographies and formats each citation on the RCF into standard print formats. Each character of the citation is converted to a special code required for GRACE, and the citation elements are ar- ranged in the correct format for printing. A 37 MFDIVKS PUBLICATION SI BSYSTFM FLOW CII AKT (USED ONLY WHEN INDEX MEDICUS IS BEING RUN -ALL CITATIONS FOR CURRENT MONTH ARE USED) Figure 20. MEDLARS PUBLICATION SUBSYSTEM FLOW CHART EXPAND BY MEDICAL SUBJECT HEADINGS OFFICE OF COMPUTER & ENGINEERING SERVICES SORT INTO PUBLICATION SEQUENCE SORTED EPCF ©■ GRACE ELECTRONIC UNIT GRACE OPTICAL UNIT AUTOMATIC FILM PAPER PROCESSOR REFERENCE SERVICES DIVISION FILM PAPER MASTERS MAIL TO PRINTER (OR SPONSORING ORGANIZATION FOR PLATE-MAKING, PRINTING AND BINDING f PRINTED RECURRING BIBLIOGRAPHY Figure 20a. 39 MIDI AKS PUBLICATION SUJSYSTFM FLOW CHART BIBLIOGRAPHY OF VIEDICAL REVIEWS. CUyULATED INDEX MEDICUS SUBMODULE LIST OF JOURNALS INDEXED SUBMODULE "From Medlars Dictionary Tape PUBLISHED MEDICAL SUBJECT HEADINGS SUBMODULE Figure 20b. 40 partial right-margin justification is also per- formed by varying the amount of blank space between words of the citation. The resulting formatted citations are written onto another magnetic tape called the Processed Citation File or PCF. The Recurring Bibliography Submodule also is used to create a PCF tape for the monthly Index Medicus. Since almost all new citations entering the system go into Index Medicus, it is not necessary to run the De- mand Search Module for this publication. Rather, the new CCF file for the month is input directly into this submodule with the appropriate date cards. The programs which process the PCF and produce the final tapes for printing are called the Output Module (see Figure 20). A submodule expands each citation by sub- ject heading, creating an Expanded Pro- cessed Citation File (EPCF). The EPCF is then sorted into final bibliography sequence, and a Format Submodule produces a tape for the Photocomposer—GRACE. Note that in the case of Index Medicus, the twelve monthly EPCF tapes are saved for the annual cumu- lation. The formatting programs are quite com- plex, since they must deal with various for- mats (1, 2, or 3 columns per page, etc.). In addition, the programs handle such things as page headings, intermediate headings within columns, and continuous page numbers (see Figure 21). The Output Module includes three other submodules for producing four special MED- LARS publications. The BMR/CIM Sub- module takes the twelve monthly EPCF files (which have been collated by subject and au- thor) and produces two sets of tapes—one for the Cumulated Index Medicus and an- other for the annual Bibliography of Medical Reviews. These tapes are processed by the Format Submodule to create tapes for GRACE. The LJI (List of Journals Indexed) Submodule uses the Journal Record File (JRF), created by the Input Module (see Chapter III), and creates a tape for GRACE. Similarly, the MeSH Submodule creates a GRACE tape for the annual printed list of subject headings, working from the master MeSH file. The MEDLARS Photocomposer (GRACE) Tapes produced by the Output Module are processed by the Photon 900 computer pho- totypesetter—GRACE. GRACE consists of three components. Print lines are delivered from a standard Honeywell magnetic tape drive. The elec- tronic control unit of GRACE includes an op- erator control panel, an input converter, a small amount of core storage, and special- purpose logical circuitry which computes timing signals for driving the optical unit. The optical unit has five major subassem- blies: flash tubes, a matrix of characters etched onto glass plates, a reciprocating lens, a mirror block assembly, and film handling unit. The lens makes one complete horizontal sweep for each print line, during which time the control unit sends a signal to each of the flash tubes at the exact instant required to expose the appropriate character at its prop- er position on the film. As the lens sweep is completed, the film is advanced, a new record is read, and the cycle is repeated (see Sche- matic Diagram, Figure 22). The final product produced by the optical unit of GRACE is a roll of exposed film or paper, full size, 9" wide by approximately 120' long. Each roll holds about 120 pages for publication.* Final Processing After the tapes have been run through GRACE, the exposed film or paper is devel- oped by an automatic processer—a Kodak Versamat. The developed film or paper then is sent to a quality control station where it is in- spected, cut into page-size sheets, and pack- aged for delivery to a commercial printer. Offset printing and binding completes the publication cycle. For a MEDLARS recurring bibliography, the above cycle is run twice. A galley proof *For a more complete description of GRACE see: Paul C. Redmer, Publication by GRACE, Methods of Information in Medicine, 4:145-50, September 1965. 41 Page Heading Y- INDEX MEDICUS ARACHNOID A ftiatoloancel ttudy of tha appendli vermlfon poealblo alternative to r*rUI Mopat le eeurol Develop Med CelM Nranl IK-IO! Peb tNXYMOLOGY I tut 4T 4JB-U. May I ) I»S-401. Sep M uaed to modify performance In sport Beck a ■ I J Pharm Pharmacol it: 279-94. May APPETITE DISORDERS (C4. F) THERAPY dbuo irnrn Tb« uee of aceclydlae In APPETITE (Fl > rectal Mope? in neurological Debn f liquid diet. «il«. and a ■ ppeUte loaa In children ] paraiei tisjtrn. Aug fT ■ aaoroala in a cold eavlreemeat Sleveaeoi CiulJ PlrtMl Plamuil 45 5M-4. May I reea medial uid laUii areolhalamua concerned with fou> ) I nappe ten ee Ib plga APRAXIA (CIO. F) [tyephaala I and Ferf ormai t Dane 7I:«M4. . APTITUDE (F) > children evaluated for learning potential Harlot JT. et al Amrr J Mm D*flc 71 t90-4. May 17 A tentative ecreenlni procedure for ae lectin* bright and alow children In kindergarten Kirk WD Biceptleeal Child 11UMI, Doc M JO>bthal«4:46»-1>. Sop «7 Ocular teaalon and electrolyte chaagea after llycerol Aatudy of blood ai ] tboae In wh wd artificial!; •erf M «J « METABOLISM uanor In eiperlmoalal tectorial Irltla) Hapuerfaaal FJ. ot al KUa Ocmn 3d: 917-30 eontd, lilt (poll PHYSIOLOGY Mydrtealaaad tha Incraaao la out/low of aquooua humor Btocbem Pharmacol li:777-Sl. May a? ■uboerv Phlebo-goalootomy a new turcica! procedure StrampelU B. at al Amor i Owhih*l »4 971 3. Sop «7 ARAB1N0SE (DU) ealgenlc agaal l-beta'D-arablnofuranooyl-e-methylcytoelBe. Doorr t-fbeU-D-arablnofuranoeyDadenlne PHVIIOPATHOLOGV , APPETITE DEPRESSANTS Mad Cbcm 10:190. Jan 97 aalf -percoivod abllltlaa and vocational choice Korman Nucleoaldea V. 2-thlopyrlmldIno AK t AppJ paychol S]:iS.T. Feb IT beLa-D-arablnofuranoaldea. Ruyle WV, et al Vocational In Urea U of computer prof ram man. Perry DK. at al J Appl Paychol SltS-M. fob 17 I Mad Cham lOJJi-4, May «7 Charactarlatlca of raeponaea to teata of creativity METABOLISM Mackler B. at al J Clin Paychol 13 73-90, Jan 97 Concept learning In relation to open- and Mobility of the free and of the loaded moaoeaccharlde doeed-mlndednoea and academic aptitude Lndd FE. carrier Is Saccharomycaa cerevielae Kotyk A. Paychol Rap 20 193-42, Feb 97 Biochim Blophya Acta us ill t. 1 Peb |7 Aptitude, anxiety and academic performance a Carbohydrate mataboUam IB Hydrodanomonaa moderator variable anaiyela Pervln LA auiropha Cook DW, et a I. Paychol Bap 20:213-11. Peb 97 Cased 1 MleroMol 11:701-9, Juo «7 [Studlea on the relatlonahlpo among 3 performance Further evidence for poattlva control of the factoraandanaweratoqueatlonaalreltema) Purntratt L-arablnoae lyatem by gene araC. Sbappard DE, et al i Moke Biol 25:443-34. 14 May if I. et al paychol Porech 19-211-40, ]9t4 R. ET A' . J AHER VET MED ASS 143:259-62, 1 AUG 63 ACRODERMATITIS (CI, CI 21 (INTERNATIONAL INCIDENCE OF ACRODERMATITIS CHRONICA ATROPHICANS) DANDA J. HAUTARZT 14 I 337-40. AUG 63 (GER1 ACROMEGALT (C7) ACROMEGALY. AN ACCOUNT OF TEN CASES. SINGH H, ET AL. J INDIAN MfD ASS 41:109-14, 1 AUG 63 ACRYLIC RESINS (DS) A PLASTIC EMBEDDING HEDIUM FOR THIN SECTIONING IN LIGHT MICROSCOPY. CATHEY NJ. STAIN TECHN 38<213-6, JUL 63 IRIGOLAC-METHACRYLATE EMBEDDING FOR ULTRASTRUCTURE RESEARCH) FUJITA T, ET AL. ACTA DERM (KYOTO) 30■41-6. JAN 63 (JAP) ACTINOMYCES (831 UNH1NERALIZED FOSSIL BACTERIA. BRADLEY WH. SCIENCE 1411919-21, 6 SEP 63 ACUNOMYCETES IB3) ANTIMICROBIAL ACTION OF NITROGEN-CONTA INING STEROIDS. SMITH RF, ET AL. J BACT 85U295-9, JUN 63 ACTINOMYCIN (D3) CLINICAL EXPERIENCE WITH "ACTINOMYCIN D" ON WILMS' TUMOR. MOMOSE S, ET AL. KYUSHU J MED SCI 14161-6, APR 63 ACTINOMYCIN D EFFECTS IN FROG EMBRYOSi EVIDENCE FOR SEQUENTIAL SYNTHESIS OF DNA-DEPENDENT RNA. FLICR INGER RA. SCIENCE 141U063-4, 13 SEP 63 ACTINOMYCOSIS (CD A CRITICAL SURVEY OF MEDICAL MYCOLOGY FOR THE YEARS 1946--L956 IN JAPAN. TAKAHA5HI Y. MYCOPATHOLOGIA 19U05-24. 20 MAY 63 ACUTE RENAL rAlLURE (C6I RECOVERY FROM ACUTE RENAL FAILURE AFTER 23 DAYS OF ANURIA. DOUGHERTY JC, ET AL. JAMA 166:68-9, 3 OCT 63 HIGH CARBOHYDRATE INTAKE FOR ORAL USE IN ACUTE RENAL FAILURE. PARSONS FM, ET AL. LANCET 2:386-8, 24 AUG 63 ACUTE RENAL FAILURE. MUIR RD. PROC MINE MED OFFICERS ASS 42:89-95. JAN-APR 63 HEMOLYTIC TRANSFUSION REACTIONS AND ACUTE RENAL FAILURE. BLUEHLE LW JR. TRANS AMER CLIN CLIMAT ASS 741201-10, 1962 IVASCULAR DAMAGE IN THE BRAIN IN UREMIA) SZEGEDY L. PSYCHIAT NEUROL (BASEL) 146:116-27, 1963 (GER) (RAPID LABORATORY DIAGNOSIS OF RENAL INSUFFICIENCY TN CLINICAL PRACTICE AND IN THE HOSPITAL) BONITZ K, ET AL. THER GEGENW 102:810-5. JUL 63* (GER) ADAPTATION, OCULAR (Gl) NEURAL AND PHOTOCHEMICAL MECHANISMS OF VISUAL ADAPTATION IN THE RAT. DOWLING JE. J GEN PHYSIOL 46:1287-301. JUL 63 ADAPTATION, PHYSIOLOGICAL (Gl) THE EFFECTS OF PREANESTHETIC MEDICATION, ANESTHESIA AND HYPOTHERMIA ON THE ENDOCRINE RESPONSE TO INJURY. VAN BRUNT EE, ET AL. ANESTHESIOLOGY 24:500-14, JUL-AUG 63 (7 REF.) ON THE MECHANISM OF SOME TEMPERATURE EFFECTS ON DROSOPHILA. MILKMAN R. J GEN PHYSIOL 46:1151-70. JUL 63 (STUDIES ON CHANGE IN THE ENERGY STEADY STATE IN PHYSI0L06ICAL ADAPTATION PROCESSES. II. PRINCIPLES FOR QUANTITATIVE EVALUATION OF THE PROCESSES IN TEMPERATURE ADAPTATION USING AN ELECTRICAL ANALOG COMPUTER METHOD) ZERBST E. PFLUEGER ARCH GES PHYSIOL 277:446-57. 9 AUG 63 IGER) (STUDIES ON CHANGES IN THE ENERGY STEADY STATE IN PHYSIOLOGICAL ADAPTATION PROCESSES. I. DEDUCTION OF AN ELECTRICAL ANALOG COMPUTER METHOD FOR ANALYSIS OF THE PROCESS OF TEMPERATURE ADAPTATION) ZERBST E. PFLUEGER ARCH GES PHYSIOL 277:434-45, 9 AUG 63 (GER) ADAPTATION, PSYCHOLOGICAL (F. Gl) SELF-ESTEEM AND ADAPTATION. GRINKER RR JR. ARCH GEN PSYCHIAT (CHICAGO) 9:414-8. OCT 63 EMOTIONAL SYMPTOMS IN EXTREMELY ISOLATED GROUPS. GUNDERSON EK. ARCH GEN PSYCHIAT (CHICAGO) 9:362-8. OCT 63 SEX DIFFERENCES IN RESPONSE TO SHORT-TERM SENSORY DEPRIVATION AND ISOLATION. ARNHOFF FN. ET AL. PERCEPT MOTOR SKILLS 17:81-2. AUG 63 NAMATJIRAi FAMOUS AUSTRALIAN ARTIST. PORTEUS 5D. PERCEPT MOTOR SKILLS 1TU3-4. AUG 63 ORDER, SEQUENCE, AND RETEST EFFECTS WITH THE S-I-0 PROCEDURE. WILLIAMS JE. PERCEPT MOTOR SKILLS 1713-11. AUG 63 ADDISON'S DISEASE (C7) THE POLYURIC SYNDROMES. BERMAN LB. GP 28:103-7, SEP 63 ADENINE (D2) FREE NUCLEOTIDES OF THE NERVOUS TISSUE. II 'REE NUCLEOTIDES IN THE BRAIN AND LIVER OF GUII * PIGS. PECHAN I, ET AL. BIOLOG1A (BRATISL) 18i37"-8«t 1963 IDENTIFICATION OF STIMULATORY FACTOR INVOLVED IN SYMBIOTIC GROWTH OF STREPTOCOCCUS LACTIS A<0 STREPTOCOCCUS CREMORIS. DAHIYA RS, ET AL. J BACT 85:585-9, MAR 63 IDENTIFICATION OF GROWTH STIMULANTS FOR ST..I.PTOCOCCU5 LACTIS. KOBURGER JA, ET AL. J BACT 89:1051-5. MAY 63 CONFIGURATION AND BASE COMPOSITION OF DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID FROM SPORES OF BACILLUS SUBTILIS VAR. NIGER. MANDEL M. ET AL. J BACT 85U445-6, JUN 63 BASE COMPOSITION OF THE DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID OF 5ULFATE-REDUCING BACTERIA. SIGAL N. ET '' J BACT 85:1315-8. JUN 63 ADENINE NUCLEOTIDES (DS, D6) ROLE OF ATP-ADP E PHOSPHORYLATION. FED PROC 22:1092 NUTRITION AND MET ACTIVATION OF AD OF MARINE BACTER J BACT 85:1413-9 CHROMATOGRAPHY ON GLASS FIBER, PAR PAPER. EDWARDS C J CHROMATOGR 11: (REACTION RATE OF RAT BRAIN WITH 3-ACETYLPYRIDINE COPER H, ET AL. (CLINICAL AND EXP ASPECTS) KORC I. ARCH PEDIAT URUG XCHANGE REACTION IN OXIDATIVE WADKINS CL, ET AL. •6. JUL-AUG 63 ABOLISH OF MARINE BACTERIA. XII. ION ENOSINE TRIPHOSPHATASE IN MEMBRANES IAL CELLS. DRAPEAU GR. ET AL. • JUN 63 COMPOUNDS OF BIOLOGICAL INTEREST OF AFFIN.COATED. AND UNTREATED CELLULOSE H, ET AL. 349-54. JUL 63 NADP-DEPENDENT OXIDOREDUCTASES IN -ADENINE-DI NUCLEOTIDE.PHOSPHATE) J NEUROCHEM 10:513-22, JUL 63 (GER) ERIMENTAL GALACTOSEMIA. BIOCHEMICAL 34:397-408 CONTD. JUL 63 (SP) \DENOCARCINOMA (C2) OBSTRUCTING CARCINOMA COLITIS. ADDLEMAN W. AMER J GASTROENT 40:1 PRIMARY MALIGNANT NEOP OF TWELVE CASES. SPIN AMER SURG 29:405-12, VASCULAR TREE OF INTRA ADENOCARCINOMA. WARNE ANGIOLOGY 14:116-20, PERCUTANEOUS TRANSHEPT DIAGNOSTIC AID IN DIS A VON. ANN CHIR GYNAE SPONTANEOUS REGRESSION SECONDARY TO CARCINOM BRIT J DIS CHEST 57:1 POSTMASTECTOMY LYMPHOS STEWART AND TREVES IN BRIT J SURG 50:736-43 WITH ACUTE PROXIMAL ULCERATIVE 74-8, AUG 63 LASMS OF THE DUODENUM: REPORT AZZOLA AJ, ET AL. JUN 63 OCULAR TRANSPLANTS OF FROG RENAL R L. MAR 63 IC CHOLANGIOGRAPHY AS A EASES OF THE BILIARY TRACT. HELLENS C FENN 52ISUPPL121U-18. 1963 OF PULMONARY METASTASES » OF KIDNEY. SAKULA A. 47-52, JUL 63 TATIC ENDOTHELIOMA OF * MALE. OETTLE AG, ET AL. • JUL 63 ,0I>ITK1ML INFORMATION ON SUBJECT HEADINGS, INCLUDING CROSS REFERENCES, WILL BE FOUND IN PART II OF THE JANUARY ISSUE THE NUMBERS IS PARENTHESES FOLLOWING THE SUBJECT HEADINGS REFER TO THEIR LOCATION IN THE CATEGORIZED LISTINo' Figure 26.—Specimen Page of Jan. 196A Index Medicus, Produced on Honeywell Computer Printer Index Medicus -(Herediatry diseases of lipid metabolism) Cohen AL. Sem Med (B Air) 123:1576-85, 14 Nov 63 (Sp) -(A case of xanthomatosis in a 4 1/2 year-old child) Shteinberg TA. Pediat AKush Ginek 6:33-4, 1963 (Uk) XANTHOPHYLL ( D6) -A rapid method for the identification of small quantities of 1ipid-soluble vitamins and quinones in biological material. Lichtenthaler HK. J Chromatogr 13:166-72, Jan 64 -(The action of thioctic acid and helenien on visual acuity in reduced lighting in normal subjects) Cilotti P. Ann Ottal 89:1000-4, Dec 63 (It) XENON (DI) -Effects of xenon at elevated pressures in the dog. Domino EF, et al. Anesthesiology 25:43-53, Jan-Feb 64 -Interactions of lipids and proteins with anesthetic gases. Muehlbaecher C, et al. Int Anesth Clin 1:937-52, Aug 63 -The provocative role of xenon anesthesia. Pittinger CB. Int Anesth Clin 1:963-8, Aug 63 -General biological significance of metabolica1ly inert gases. Schreiner HR. Int Anesth Clin 1:919-26, Aug 63 -Measurement of blood-flow through skeletal muscle by intramuscular injection of xenon-133. Lassen NA, et al. Lancet 1:686-9, 28 Mar 64 -Modification of radiosensitivity of mice by inert gases and nitrous oxide. Evans JC, et al. Radiat Res 21:243-55, Feb 64 XEROPHTHALMIA ( Cll) -(Bitot s spots) Med Periskop 13:165-6, Dec 63 (14 ref. ) (GerJ XYLENE (D2) -Gas-solid adsorption chromatography of some aromatic hydrocarbons and nitrogen heterocycles on alumina. Klemm LH, et al. J Chromatogr 13:40-7, Jan 64 XYLOSE (D6) -Specificity of sugar transport by the small intestine of the bullfrog. Rana catesbeiana. Lawrence AL. Comp Biochem Physiol 9:69-73, May 63 -Insulin action and protein synthesis in diaphragm muscle. Carlin H, et al. Proc Soc Exp Bio) Med 115:127-9, Jan 64 -(The fat xylose test as a combined function diagnosis of pancreatic and small intestinal diseases) Bosseckert H, et al. Deutsch Z Verdau Stoffwechselkr 23:127-37, Oct 63 (Ger) -(The fat xylose test as a combined function diagnosis of pancreatic ans small intestinal diseases) Bosseckert H, et al. Deutsch Z Verdau Stoffwechselkr 23:127-37, Oct 63 (Ger) YAWS (CI 1 -Skin disease in school children in St. Lucia. Lees RE, et al. U Indian Med J 12:265-7, Dec 63 YEAST, DRIED ( D5) -Hypertensive crisis associated with monoamine-oxidase inhibitors. Blackwell B, et al. Lancet 1:722-3, 28 Mar 64 YEASTS (B5) -New melibiose-uti1izing yeasts, isolated from alpechin • Santa Maria J. Antonie Leeuwenhoek 29:329-43, 1963 -The activation of yeast uridinediphosphogalactose-4-epimerase by spermine and other cations. Darrow RA, et al. J Biol Chem 239:362-3, Jan 64 -Species specificity of amino acid acceptor ribonucleic acid and aminoacyl soluble ribonucleic acid synthetases. Doctor BP, et al. J Biol Chem 238:3677-81, Nov 63 -Physiological studies in the black yeasts. Cooke WB, et al. Mycopathologia 21:225-/1, 30 Dec 63 -Electron microscopical studies of frozen-dried yeast. IV. Schizosaccharomyces, Nadsonia and Saccharomycodes. Mundkur B. Z Naturforsch (B) 18:1073-82, Dec 63 -(On the occurrence of yeasts in the gastrointestinal tract with special reference to qualitative differences) Ott E. Mykosen 6:7-11, 1 Apr 63 (Ger) -(The effect of gamma radiation (Co 60) and vitaain K5 on yeast cultures) Gaisch H, et al. Z Naturforsch (B) 18:1070-2, Dec 63 [Ger) -(The effect of sodium nitrite on nucleic acid bases and its relation to the inactivation of yeast cells. 1. The deamination of nucleic acid bases in vitro and in vivo) Lochmann ER, et al. Z Naturforsch (B) 18:809-16, Oct 63 (Ger) -(On the creatin-creatinine assimilation in yeast — fungus diagnosis) Staib F. Zbl Bakt (Orig) 191:429-32, Dec 63 (Ger) YELLOW FEVER (CI) -Black men and malignant fevers. Berry LH. J Nat Med Ass 56:43-7, Jan 64 -Yellow fever. Burke-Gaffney HJ. Trop Dis Bull 61:113-8, Feb 64 YOHIMBINE (D4) -(Research on the action of yohimbine in the guinea pig) Hazard R, et al. C R Soc Biol (Paris) 157:1915-7, 1963 (Fr) -(Impotentia coeundi as an injury due to chemical warfare agents) Schirren C. Z Haut Geschlechtskr 34:189-95, 1 Apr 63 (Ger) -(Cortical responses to the stimulation of the caudate nucleus. II. Modifications of the response to a single impulse induced by the administration of substances with synchronizing and desynchronizing action) Tartara A, et al• Boll Soc Ital Biol Sper 39:1137-40, 15 Oct 63 (It) YTTRIUM (DI) -Sr90 + Y90 bremesstrah 1ung efficiency in bone. Lloyd RD, et al. Int J Radiat Biol 7:339-51, Oct 63 YTTRIUM ISOTOPES ( DI ) -Autologous bone marrow transplantation studies in dogs irradiated by Y90-DTPA urine-recycling technic. Winchell HS, et al. Blood 23:44-52, Jan 64 -The new chelating agent Ca-DTPA in the treatment of primary haemochromatosis. Kemble JV. Guy Hosp Rep 113:68-73, >1964 -A method for maintenance of Curie quantities of Y90-DTPA in the human body for defined time periods: Technique and dosimetry. Winchell HS, et al. J Nucl Med 5:16-26, Jan 64 -Radioactive isotopes in medicine. Therapeutic uses of radioactive isotopes. Dickson RJ. London Clin Med J 5:67-77 concl, Jan 64 -(Hypophyseal tumors after bilateral adrenalectomy in hyperfunction Cushing s syndrome) Bayer JM, et al. Deutsch Med Wschr 89:464-74, 6 Mar 64 (Ger) -(Treatment with radioisotopes) Maeda T. Fukuoka Acta Med 54:1167-79, Nov 63 (Jap) ZINC (DI) -Zinc deficiency in man. Halsted JA, et al. Israel Med J 22:307-15, Sep-Oct 63 -Zinc deficiency syndrome in the young lamb. Ott EA, et al. J Nutr 82:41-50, Jan 64 -Analysis of August rat liver for calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, potassium, sodium and zinc. Everett JL, et al. J Pharm Pharmacol 16:85-90, Feb 64 -Treatment of multiple cutaneous carcinomas of the face by Mohs s chemosurgery method. Phelan JT, et al. New York J Med 64:410-3, 1 Feb 64 -The application of laser spectroscopy for the qualitative and quantitative analyses of the inorganic components of calcified tissues. Goldman HM, et al. Oral Surg 17:102-3, Jan 64 -Metabolic interrelationships in the utilization of trace elements. Mills CF. Proc Nutr Soc 23:38-45, 1964 (53 ref.) -(Our experiences with the zinc sulfate reaction in cerebrospinal fluid) Vymazal J. Cesk Neurol 26:394-8, Nov 63 ( Cz) -(Simultaneous determination of cobalt, zinc, nickel and ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON SUBJECT HEADINGS, INCLUDING CROSS REFERENCES, WILL BE FOUND IN PART II OF THE JANUARY ISSUE. THE NUMBERS IN PARENTHESES FOLLOWING THE SUBJECT HEADINGS REFER TO THEIR LOCATION IN THE CATEGORIZED LISTING. FIGURE 27.—Specimen Page of July 196A Index Medicus, Produced on IBM 1A03 Printer. 53 face a major decision: delay the inauguration of MEDLARS or find an alternate way to print Index Medicus. A decision was made to follow the original production schedule, and a crash program- ming effort resulted in a set of programs to print Index Medicus on the standard com- puter printer with a very limited character set of uppercase symbols only, using the same tapes (EPCF) for input that would have been used to produce GRACE copy. This procedure was used for six issues, January to June 1964 (see Figure 26). During the first part of 1964, these print programs were modified to create a tape for printing on an IBM-1403 Chain Printer at a private company in Washington, D.C. This printer was capable of producing both upper- and lowercase letters and the July 1964 issue was produced by this method (see Fig- ure 27). One year late, GRACE finally arrived at NLM in May 1964 and, after careful check- c_ut, was used for production of Index Medi- cus beginning with the August 1964 issue. The decision to begin production in January 1964 proved to be a good one, since the EPCF's for the first seven issues produced by the computer printer were available for use in producing the Cumulated Index Medi- cus for 1964 by GRACE. Note: Refer back to Figure 21 to compare GRACE page with Honeywell and IBM printout. Initial Production Period As described above, MEDLARS became op- erational in January 1964. Transition to the new system was effected without great diffi- culty, a testimony to the joint efforts of the contractor and NLM staff in system testing and training of personnel. Contractor person- nel (except those working on GRACE) were able to leave the Library in February 1964 and no system maintenance contracts were required. Computer programs of the Input and Pub- lication Subsystems seemed to work much more effectively during the initial year of production than did the Demand Search Pro- grams. Many program "bugs" continued to appear in the search routines. These prob- lems, coupled with problems in the conver- sion CCF file described earlier, resulted in poor demand search production in 1964. Some of the major deficiencies in the MeSH vocabulary were discovered in 1964. The Library began to realize that outside expert advice was needed for improving the vocabulary, and major revisions were made for 1965. Other problems were encountered in smoothing out operating procedures; such things as error and rejection rates of input citations were found to have been underesti- mated. Maintenance of the System; Changes Made No system design is ever perfect; and no good manager will be content to have a sys- tem remain static without constant improve- ments and changes being made. MEDLARS is no exception to this rule. Many problems encountered during operation have resulted in changes from the original design. Some of the more important changes are listed below: (1) Input Errors. The high number of er- rors in citations entering the system pointed up the need for additional in- put editing. As a result, a new proce- dure was installed to print all new citations added to the CCF each day and have these proofread by an expe- rienced editor. (2) Change of Recurring Bibliography Procedures. The original input pro- grams created both a CCF and PCF (Processed Citation File). Selection and formatting of citations for recur- ring bibliographies was done by the Input Module, and the PCF was used directly in the Publication Subsystem. This approach was believed to be effi- cient in that it leveled out the output workload by doing it every day. How- ever, in actual practice, this method turned out to be very inefficient be- cause of the long Input Module runs that resulted. In 1966 the Library con- verted to a single file system (CCF) and used the Demand Search Pro- grams to select citations for recurring bibliographies. The result was a net saving of over fifty hours per month of computer time. 54 AVERAGE PROCESSING TIME PER SEARCH Minutes 50 40 30 20 10 17 APR-JUN FY'67 SEP DEC MAR JUN Figure 28. FY'68 SEP DEC MAR JUN (3) Demand Search Problems. High rejec- tion rates for demand searches along with slow turnaround times caused many changes to be made in the Re- trieval Subsystem. Conversion from complete paper tape punching of all search formulations to use of pre- punched MeSH cards (see Chapter IV) improved the error and rejection prob- lem. Major changes in the Demand Search Programs resulted in an in- crease of average batch size from about ten searches per batch to as many as 60, with the average between 25 and 30. The computer processing time for a search was reduced to about 30% of its previous length. Fig- ure 28 is a chart showing the improve- ments in search processing time over the years. Procedural changes have also helped to improve turnaround time somewhat. (4) File Maintenance. Many inefficiencies were discovered in the File Mainte- nance Module. Perhaps the most se- rious was the inability of these pro- grams to handle mass changes in the tree structures (hierarchy of terms) of MeSH. Modification of the module to add this feature resulted in a 9-to-l improvement in computer time, and, perhaps more important, a reduction of months of clerical effort previously required to change individual ci- tations. 55 HUNDREDS DEMAND SEARCHES COMPLETED—1st QUARTER, FY 1968 25 —i 20 — 15 — 10 — 5 — 0 —' RECEIVED BY 1000 NLM 500 MEDLARS STATIONS 100 NIH 100 OHIO FORMULATED & REVIEWED BY 600 NLM 900 MEDLARS STATIONS 100 NIH 100 OHIO 250 SWEDEN Figure 29. COMPUTER WORK BY 1500 NLM 100 COL. 100 OHIO 250 SWEDEN '.iimiMi"-»" »m';"""" ^350 u.k: (5) MeSH Revision. The original system design for MEDLARS grossly under- estimated the size and number of changes to MeSH that would be re- quired for the annual revision. New procedures had to be developed, with utility programs written to aid the staff of the MeSH Section. Over 500 new terms have been added for the 1968 revision. Other changes are still required and system maintenance will be an on-going process. The NLM programming staff must constantly plan on system maintenance as a major fac- tor in estimating workloads. MEDLARS Decentralization Decentralization of the MEDLARS Re- trieval Subsystem was planned during the original systems design period. The major ob- jectives of the decentralization program were: (1) improve demand search service by providing regional service closer to users throughout the country; and (2) increase the total number of searches processed each year by the use of multiple search stations. Consideration was given to several alter- nate approaches to decentralization, includ- ing: (1) decentralize the search formulation activities, but continue centralized computer processing at NLM, and submit searches via data communication equipment; (2) estab- lish regional offices of NLM with both search- ers and their own computer equipment for search processing; and (3) contract with existing centers to provide search services on a regional basis. After much study, the last was selected, since it would bring the service closer to the user, and, at the same time, bolster local medical library resources. The original plans thus developed called for contracts to be awarded to from six to ten 56 universities or other nonprofit organizations with a combination of good medical library and computer resources. Two contracts were awarded in 1965— one with the University of Colorado to serve the Mountain Time Zone, and another with the University of California at Los An- geles to serve the Far West. The Colorado MEDLARS staff contracted for time on a Honeywell-800 computer at the Denver Fed- eral Center, and, since no major reprogram- ming was needed, was able to become opera- tional in short order. The Colorado Station has been running searches since February 1965. The UCLA contract was more complex. Computer processing was to be done on an IBM 7094-7040 direct coupled computer system. Since complete reprogramming of the Demand Search and Report Generator Modules was required, the Library directed that these programs be rewritten in COBOL, a machine-independent language which could be used on other makes and models of com- puters. This decision turned out to be a mis- take, at least in part. Since the COBOL lan- guage is necessarily generalized, it does not generate the most efficient operating* pro- grams. The combined high-speed logical search program took so much computer time that it had to be rewritten in a machine- oriented language. Unfortunately, the MED- LARS computer system at UCLA has never become operational. Delays encountered in reprogramming and the replacement of the 7094 computer by an IBM-360/75 before the project was completed caused NLM staff to change plans and process UCLA MED- LARS searches on the central computer in Bethesda. Contracts were awarded in 1966 to Har- vard University, the University of Alabama, and the University of Michigan for develop- ment of additional MEDLARS Stations, bringing the total to five. The Stations have sent personnel to NLM for six months of in- tensive training in indexing, MeSH, and search formulation. All five Stations are now formulating searches. However, because of reprogramming problems, only the Colorado Station was actually processing searches as of January 1, 1968—the other Stations mail- ing formulated searches to Bethesda. Some of the reasons for this are discussed below. In addition to the five regional MEDLARS Stations, Ohio State University and the Texas Medical Center in Houston asked for access to the MEDLARS tapes in order to establish stations with their own resources. Ohio State, which has two IBM-7094 systems, completed debugging of the UCLA MEDLARS Pro- gram, made some modifications, and now has the system operational. Ohio State was re- cently designated as MEDLARS Search Sta- tion for the State of Ohio, and the Texas Medical Center is now operating privately without financial support from NLM. MEDLARS decentralization has also taken place internationally. The United Kingdom is now operating a MEDLARS Station for all of Great Britain. Searches are formulated at the National Lending Library for Science and Technology, and computer processing is handled at the University of Newcastle- upon-Tyne. Complete reprogramming of the search routines was successfully accom- plished for the English Electric KDF-9 computer.* A second international MED- LARS Station is in successful operation at the Karolinska Institut in Stockholm, Sweden. Searches at this Station are pro- cessed on a system utilizing an IBM-1401 and IBM-7094 computer. Figure 29 is a graph showing searches pro- duced during one three-month period through the MEDLARS Decentralization Program. Plans have also been made to include MED- LARS Search Stations at all Regional Medi- cal Libraries to be established under the pro- visions of the Medical Library Assistance Act of 1965. It is obvious from the above discus- sion that the MEDLARS Decentralization Program has had many problems. Some of these are summarized below: (1) Reprogramming Problems. The time and effort involved was badly under- estimated by NLM staff. (2) Tape Conversion Problems. The prob- *A. J. Harley and E. D. Barraclough, MEDLARS Information Retrieval in Britain, The Postgraduate Medical Journal, London, Feb. 1966. 57 lem of converting from one magnetic tape format to another was thought to be trivial, but this was not so. Many problems were encountered; for example, a missing designator indicat- ing the end of a data field on a tape generated by NLM causes havoc with the Tape Conversion Program at a MEDLARS Station. (3) Difficulties Encountered at University Computer Stations. Most university centers have not had experience with the operation of large-file data pro- cessing systems. They are more accus- tomed to running short computational problems. One Station didn't even realize that it had a defective mag- netic tape drive which was stretch- ing tapes until it started MEDLARS processing. Similar problems were encountered in programming and software development. (4) Communications Problems. Because of the remote location of the MEDLARS Stations, communications between NLM and regional personnel were not always as good as they should have been. The coordination and training of searchers turned out quite well, how- ever. (5) Because of the above, developmental time and costs for the Stations were higher than originally anticipated. Formal Evaluation of MEDLARS A comprehensive project to evaluate the demand search performance of MEDLARS was initiated in January 1966—two years after operation began. A preliminary test was conducted early that year to establish the feasibility of approach, and the full test program became operational in August 1966. The evaluation was completed in December 1967, and the final report will be published in 1968. An advisory committee of six experts in the fields of documentation, statistics, in- formation retrieval, and computer science provided a critical review of the study as "it progressed.* Twenty organizations, representing the principal types of medical groups (academic, clinical, research, pharmaceutical, regula- tory) making use of MEDLARS, cooperated in the study. The majority of the demand search requests made by members of these organizations within a 12-month period were treated as test requests. These were all "real- life" requests, representing actual informa- tion needs. While the organizations agreed in advance to cooperate in the study, the individual requester knew nothing of the evaluation until his request had been made to the system. The test program was conducted to deter- mine how well MEDLARS retrievals are satisfying the demands of users and, in addi- tion, what factors are the principal contribu- tors to system failures. Data derived from the test program are of two types: (1) per- formance figures and (2) case studies. Performance figures include recall ratios (the proportion of the total of relevant arti- cles, contained in the data base, that is re- trieved in a search), precision ratios (the proportion of all articles returned in a search that are judged relevant), and novelty ratios (the proportion of the relevant articles re- trieved that are brought to the requester's attention for the first time by the MEDLARS search). Recall and precision ratios are used to compare the performance of the system in various modes and conditions of operation. For example, they allow a comparison of per- formance for various kinds of user groups, for various kinds of requests (across broad subject fields), and for requests handled with varying levels of user-system interaction. Case studies are analyses of system fail- ures (i.e., failures to retrieve known rele- vant articles, or instances in which large numbers of irrelevant citations were re- trieved). An analysis is conducted to deter- mine at what point the system failed. *F. W. Lancaster, Evaluating the Performance of a Large Operating Retrieval System, Proceed- ings of the Second Electronic Information Handling Conference, Thompson Book Co., Washington, D.C., 1967. 58 The evaluation program is diagnostic, in- tended to identify major problem areas, and thus allows appropriate corrective action in system design and operating procedures. The study revealed that MEDLARS is op- erating, on the average, at about 58% recall and 50% precision. Thus, the system re- trieves about 58% of all the references in the system which would be of value to the requester, and one out of every two docu- ments retrieved is judged to be of value by the requester. The study further showed con- siderable scatter of results, indicating wide variation of performance among the test searches. Of considerably more importance than these figures are the reasons for system fail- ures. Each system failure was extensively analyzed and attributed to the indexing, in- dexing language, user-system interaction, searching strategies employed, computer processing, or a combination of the above. The results of this analysis, based on the results from 300 test searches, are listed in Table 7. Further discussion of this analysis can be found in the final report of the MEDLARS evaluation project.* Table 7 Failure Analysis Table Failure Attributed To: Number of Recall Failures Number of Precision Failures Indexing 298 393 Indexing Language 81 1094 Inadequate User-System Interaction 199 503 Searching Strategies 279 983 Computer Processing 11 3 Performance in Relation to Original System Objectives To summarize this chapter on operating experience, the original system objectives of MEDLARS (as listed in Chapter I) are re- examined to see how well they have been met and what changes in goals were re- quired : Objective No. 1: Improve the quality of and enlarge (broad- en the scope of) Index Medicus and at the same time reduce the time required to pre- pare the monthly editions for printing from 22 to 5 workdays. Comment: For the most part, this objec- tive has been met. The quality of Index Medicus has been improved through im- provements to MeSH, improvements in the journal selection process, and constant at- tention to indexing accuracy. The scope has been broadened considerably from 129,808 articles from 2,275 journal titles in 1963 to 163,077 articles from 2300 journal ti- tles in 1967. Processing time has been cut to about five days. Objective No. 2: Make possible the production of other com- pilations similar to Index Medicus in form and content (but in more specific medical subject areas and hence smaller in size). Comment: This objective has been accom- plished through the production of recurring bibliographies (see Table 1, Chapter II). However, the original estimate of 50 re- curring bibliographies was too high and only nine were in production on January 1, 1968, with some others in the planning stage. Because of the difficulties in the intellectual effort required, the develop- ment of recurring bibliographies turned out to be a much larger job than was originally estimated. Objective No. 3: Make it possible to include in Index Medi- cus and other compilations citations de- rived, not only from, journal articles, but from other sources as well. Comment: The system capability to in- clude citations to monographs in MED- LARS was provided through reprogram- ming for the Current Catalog (see Chap- ter VIII). *F. W. Lancaster, Evaluation of the MEDLARS Demand Search Service, National Library of Medi- cine, Bethesda, Maryland, 1968. 59 Objective Vo. J,: Make possible the prompt (a maximum of two days) and efficient servicing of re- quests for special bibliographies, on both a demand and a recurring basis, regularly searching up to five years of stored com- puter files. Comment: It has not been possible to ac- complish a two-day search turnaround time with the present batch processing system. Also, because of computer time limi- tation, demand searches beginning in early 1968 include only references from January 1966 on, instead of references from the entire file. Objective No. 5: Increase the average depth of indexing per article (number of descriptive subject terms per article) by a factor of five, i.e., ten headings versus two. Comment: This objective has been accom- plished for depth journals to which an av- erage of about ten subject headings per article are assigned (see Chapter III). However, non-depth journals are indexed to an average depth of only about four terms. Objective No. 6: Nearly double the number of articles that may be handled (indexed and entered into the computer) annually—from 1U0,000 now to 250,000 in 1969. Comment: Production has increased with MEDLARS to 165,000 articles input in 1967. Library management hopes to meet the goal of 250,000 articles by 1969, but the attainment of this goal remains un- certain. Objective No. 7: Reduce the need for duplicative total lit- erature screening operations (at other li- braries and information centers). Comment: This objective is difficult to eval- uate. However, all indications point to its being met. Index Medicus and other MED- LARS bibliographies are used extensively in libraries and information centers as lit- erature screening tools. No other medical indexing operation comparable in size to MEDLARS has come into existence. Hence, it can reasonably be assumed that a good deal of expensive, duplicative indexing has been avoided. Objective No. 8: Keep statistics and perform analyses of its own operations to provide the informa- tion needed to monitor and improve sys- tem effectiveness. Comment: This objective has been par- tially accomplished through the Statistical Module Reports described in Chapter VI. Other reports have been identified that could be derived from the system and could be very useful (e.g., statistical data on demand searches). However, for the most part, NLM programmers have been too busy to work on these reports. Objective No. 9: Permit future expansion to incorporate new and as yet not completely defined— hence, secondary—objectives. Comment: This objective has been accom- plished. Installation of MEDLARS has provided a base of data processing equip- ment and experienced system personnel at the Library for work on new systems and extensions of MEDLARS. Chapter VIII describes a major new system, derived from MEDLARS, which has been in pro- duction since January 1966. Of the nine original objectives of MED- LARS, three have been completely accom- plished, six partly accomplished. 60 Chapter VIII THE CURRENT CATALOG-AN EXTENSION OF MEDLARS Background and History* The original plan for MEDLARS called for entry of cataloging data for all new monographs, theses, and serial titles into the computer files. Citations representing this cataloging were to appear in Index Medicus, which would constitute the only book-form record of the NLM catalog. This plan was subsequently abandoned for several reasons. First, systems limitations in MEDLARS would not permit the publishing of citations in acceptable form without extensive modi- fications. Second, the books and serial titles are not assigned subject headings in suffi- cient depth to be effectively mixed with the more detailed indexing of journal articles. Third, a re-examination of the potential uses of a book-form catalog pointed up possible advantages to other medical libraries in a separate book-form catalog printed at fre- quent intervals. For these reasons, the original plan was dropped, and, in February 1964, a systems analyst began work on a new computer-aided catalog processing system. This system rep- resents the first major extension of MED- LARS, taking further advantage of the ex- perienced data processing staff and equip- ment acquired to operate MEDLARS. No outside contract help was used in the design or implementation of the cataloging system. Design work lasted for about one year and programming began early in 1965. Rather than writing all new programs, the new sys- tem relied heavily on modifications to the *For a more detailed description of this system see: I. J. Weiss and E. V. Wiggins, Computer- Aided Centralized Cataloging at the National Li- brary of Medicine, Library Resources and Technical Services, Vol. 11, No. 1, Winter 1967. MEDLARS Input and Output Modules to in- corporate new requirements. System tests were run during November and December of 1965, and the new system went into pro- duction, on schedule, in January 1966. The major objectives of this system are (1) to make NLM cataloging available to other medical libraries on a current and fre- quent basis for use as an acquisitions and cataloging tool, and (2) to improve the in- ternal production of cards for the central NLM card catalog. Products of the System The cataloging system produces two major products: the NLM Current Catalog and catalog cards. The NLM Current Catalog (see Figure 30) is computer-produced and published biweekly and quarterly. The biweekly issues contain citations to publications cataloged by the Library which have recent imprint dates. The quarterly issues are cumulative and con- tain all citations cataloged from January of the current year, regardless of imprint date. The final quarterly cumulation of the year is hardbound and serves as the permanent record of that year's cataloging. Both biweekly and quarterly issues con- tain a Subject Section, with citations listed alphabetically by main entry under subject headings. Subheadings are used in the quar- terly issues only. All issues also contain a Name Section, an alphabetic author/title listing of citations. Citations appear in full only under the main entry and cross-refer- ences appear only in the quarterly issues. Library of Congress card numbers, when available, are included with the citation. The second product of the system is the catalog card. Complete 3" x 5" catalog card 61 NLM CURRENT CATALOG THORACIC DISEASES 11 lot. Frdor Grlfor'rvlrh Oslozhnenlla prl vnutrtgrudnykb opcral&llakh [Leningrad] Medium. 1966. 442 p Illus At head of title: F G. Uglov [I dr ] WF 980 U16o 1966 (It No 41377 TOMOGRAPHY Katrz. Grrard. L'exploratlon radlologlque du poumun et du medlaslln A I'alde de la tomographic oblique posterleure a SS [degres] Radiological examination of the lung and mediastinum with the aid of posterior oblique tomography at an angle of 55 [degrees, par) Gerard Favez [et] Omar Sollman Basel, Karger, 1966. 187 p. Illus. Text in French. English, and German. WF 141 F273e 1966 Clt. No. 41126 TOOTH Drum. Walter. Imagines demonstrandae. Berlin. Verlag Die Qulntessen [1965] 31 p.. 58 [I e. 69] plates. Text and part of Illustrative matter In pocket. Text tn German. WU 17 D7951 1965 Clt. No. 41651 TOOTH DISEASES Rybakov. Anatoli! Ivanovlch. ed. Spravochnlk po stomatologic pod red. A. I. Rybakova [1 dr.] Moskva, Medltstna, 1966. 318 p. Illus. WU 100 R989s 1966 Clt. No. 41400 TRACE ELEMENTS Viesolu/nyl slmpozlum "Mlkroelementy 1 nervnala slstema." Baku. 1963. Materlaly. [Red. A. I Karaev] Baku, Izd-vo Akademll nauk Azerbaldzhanskof SSR. 1966 131 p. Illus. At head of title: Akademlla nauk Soiuza SSR. Vsesoluznoe ftzlologlcheskoe obshchestvo lm. I. P. Pavlova. Akademlla nauk Azerbaldzhanskol SSR Sektor flzlologll. QU 130 V985m 1963 Clt. No. 36443 training; scpport l s. National Institute of Mental Health. Public Information Section. Training programs of the National Institute of Mental Health. [Rev. ed. Bethesda. Md.. 1966] 21 p. (Public Health Service publication, no 1283) \VM 18 U582t 1966 Clt. No. 42350 TRAVEL Aggerbeck. Iver. Laegens rejserad (Kflbenhavn. Europaelske vare- og rcjsigodsforslkrlng. 1966] 43 p. Illus. \VS P3 Clt. No. 41211 TROPICAL MEDICINE Medltsinskala geograflla tropichesklkh stran. [Otv. red. sbornika, M. B. Gornung, A. D. Lebedev] Moskva, Mysl', 1965. 221 p. Illus. (Voprosy geografll, sb. 68) Some articles have summary In English. WC 680 M491 1965 Clt No 41643 TUBERCULOSIS Brvzgalova, Ol'ga Konstantinovna. Tuberkulez Izlechtm. Moskva, Izd-vo Medltstna, 1966. 22 p. Illus. (Nauchno-popullarnaia medltsinskala llteratura) W6 P3 Clt. No. 41421 Dvofrtn. Mikhail Semenovlch. Tuberkulez v eru antlblotlkov; epidemlologila 1 statlstlka. Kiev, Zdorov'la. 1966. 253 p. WF 200 D988t 1966 Clt. No. 41403 Nursing Advisor\ Service on TB and Other Respiratory Diseases. Exchange of Ideas nation-wide 1963-1965. New York, National League for Nursing. 1965. lv, 203 leaves. WY 163 N977e 1965 Clt. No. 41773 Todorov. Stefan. Tuberkuloza; prlchtnl za razvllleto 1, predpazvane 1 prolavl. Soflla, Medltsina I flzkultura, 1966. 27 p. illus. iBIblloteka "Zdravnl besedl za seloto," 1966, 5) WF 200 T6391 1966 Clt. No. 42336 ULNA Knustmann Ralner. Humerus, Ulna und Radius der Slmlae: verglelchend-morphologlsche Untersuchungen mlt Beruckslchtlgung der Funktlon. Basel, New York. Karger, 1967 Ix, 399 p Illus (Blbllotheca prlmatologlca. fasc. 5) Wl BI428T fasc. 5 1967 Clt. No. 41352 UNIVERSITIES Klilan. Hermann Frledrich. 1800-1863. Die Unlversltaeten Deutschlands In medlclnlsch-naturwlssenschaftllcher Hlnslcht. Amsterdam, Israel. 1966 facslm.: v. 404 p port. Enlarged reprint from the edition Heidelberg und Leipzig 1828. W 19 K49u 1828F Clt. No. 41662 LROLOGIC DISEASES Beltslkov. Josep. Urolooglllsed halgused; nende valtlmlne ja ravl. Tallinn, Klrjastus Valgus, 1966. 51 p. (Teadus Ja tervls) W6 P3 Clt. No. 41533 VASCULAR DISEASES Whelan, Thomas J. Non-atherosclerotic arterial lesions and their management [by] Thomas J. Whelan [and] Joseph H. Baugh. [Chicago, 1967] nos. Illus. (Current problems in surgery, February, 1967, etc.) Wl CU804S Feb. 1967 etc. Clt No. 42351 VENA CAVA. SUPERIOR Howard. Norman. Mediastinal obstruction In lung cancer. Edinburgh, Livingstone, 1967. vll, 100 p. illus. WF 500 H851m 1967 Clt. No. 41744 VETERINARY MEDICINE Strong. Charles L. Horses' Injuries; common-sense therapy of muscles and Joints for the layman. London, Faber and Faber [1967] 118 p Illus. SF 901 S923h 1967 Clt. No. 41747 V. S. Agricultural Research Service. Health requirements and regulations governing the Interstate and International movement of livestock and poultry, State [and] Federal. Revision Dec. 1965. [Hyattsville, Md., 1965] 1 v. (loose-leaf) (Its ARS 91-17-3) SF 623 U58h 1965 Clt. No. 42066 Veterlnarnye Instrumenty, apparaty. pribory I oborudovanie; katalog. Moskva, V/O Medeksport [1966?] 259 p. illus. Added title pages In German, English, and French; contents In all four languages. SF 913 V586 1966 Clt. No. 41517 VIBRATION Angelova, Marila. Vlbratslonna bolest. Soflla, Medltsina 1 flzkultura, 1966. 28 p. (Blblioteka "Zdravnl besedl za rabotnlka," 1906, 6) WA 400 A58v 1966 Clt. No. 42355 Malinskaia, Nadezhda Nikolaevna. Profilaktika vtbratslonnykh zabolevanli. Moskva, Medltsina, 1966. 35 p. illus. (Nauchno-popullarnaia medltsinskala llteratura) At head of title: N. N. Malinskaia, N. B. Metllna. W6 P3 Clt. No. 41427 VIRUSES Kharizanova. Tania. Na granltsata na zhlvota. Sofiia, Narodna mladezh, 1966. 137 p. Illus., ports. (Blblioteka za polltekhnlcheskl znanlla, no. 29) QW 160 K44n 1966 Clt. No. 41633 Kukalne, Rita, ed. Virus 1 kletka. [Redkolleglla: R. A. Kukaln, otv. red., 1 dr.] Riga, Izd-vo Zlnatne, 1966. 308 p. illus. QW 160 K98v 1966 Cit. No. 41354 VITAMINS Bersin, Tbeodor, 1902- Biochemle der Vltamlne. Frankfurt a. M., Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft, 1966. 296 p. Illus. QU 160 B535b 1966 Clt. No. 41506 Malinov, Todor. Kak da su nabavlame vitamlni prez vslchki sezonl. Plovdiv, Danov, 1966. 121 p. (Poredltsa Zdrave) QU 160 M251k 1966 Clt. No. 41614 VIVISECTION Dreyfus. Marie, comp. Crimesagainst creation Trowbridge. Eng.. Massey 11968] f"P HV 4915 D778c 1986 Clt. No. 41137 VOCATIONAL (U IDAN(E Vaurhan Paul. Work to be done; careers in mental'health. London. National Association for Mental Health [1966] 71 p. UluS( WM 21 V368W 1966 < " No 41574 WATER POLLUTION American Fisheries Society. A symposium on water quality criteria to protect aquatic life, presented at the 98th annual meeting. Kansas City Missouri. September 1986. Edwin L. Cooper, editor. [Lawrence, Kan.] 1987. vill, 37 p. Illus. (Its Special publication, no. 4) Supplement to vol. 96, no. 1 of Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. W8 p3 Cit. No. 41212 California. State Water Quality Control Board. An investigation on the fate of organic and Inorganic wastes discharged into the marine environment and their effects on biological productivity. [Sacramento] 1965. xl, 118 p. Illus. (Its Publication, no. 29) WA 778 C153I 1965 Clt. No. 37651 Colorado. Legislative Council. Water pollution In Colorado; Legislative Council report to the Colorado General Assembly. [Denver, 1985] xxix, 57 p. illus. (Its Research publication, no. 105) WA 689 C719w 1965 Clt. No. 41210 WATER SUPPLY Pan American Health Organization. Bombas para agua potable; apuntes del curso intenslvo. Washington, 1966. vii, 269 p. Illus. (Pan American Sanitary Bureau. Publlcaclones clentlflcas, no. 145) Wl PA443 no.145 1966 Clt. No. 41657 Simposlo sobre Agua Potable y Alcantarillado, Mexico, 1966. Memorla. [Mexico, Secretarla de Recursos Hldraullcos, 1966] 454 p. illus., ports. WA 670 S609m 1966 Clt. No. 42133 WOMEN TSaneva, Nikolina. Khlglena na zhenata v prolzvodstvoto. Sofiia, Medltsina i flzkultura, 1966. 26 p. (Blblioteka Zdravnl besedl za rabotnlka, 1966, 4) WA 491 T877k 1966 Cit. No. 41317 WORK Luk'ianov, Vladimir Sergeevich. Trud 1 zdorov'e. Moskva, Znanle, 1967. 44 p. (Narodnyl unlversltet. Fakul'tet zdorov'la, 1967, 1) W6 P3 Cit. No. 41647 WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION Braga, Mariglldo de Camargo. Molestias proflsslonals e doencas do trabalho. Sao Paulo, Edttora Aries [1966?]- v. W 925 B813m Clt. No. 41326 Work injury cases settled under the Workmen's compensation act of Wisconsin: violations of safety rules and the Child labor law. 1965- Madlson. v. Continues Injury cases settled under Workmen's compensation act of Wisconsin: violations of safety rules and the Child labor law. Issued by Industrial Commission of Wisconsin, Statistical Division as its Statistical release, 3804, etc. W2 AW6 I4wd Cit. No. 41750 WOUNDS AND INJURIES Jamieson, Kenneth G. Traffic injury in Brisbane; report of a general survey, by K. G. Jamleson and I. A. Talt. Canberra, 1966. xll, 353, lx p. Illus. (Australia. National Health and Medical Research Council. Special report series, no. 13) W2 KA8 N2s no.13 1966 Clt. No. 41375 Figure 30.—Specimen Page of Biweekly NLM Current Catalog. WT 120 E53u 1967 Emery, Ralph, 1920- Understanding old age. London, National Assn. for Mental Health, 1967. 40 p. Illus. ^,1MGef4tfJCS,* Popular works I. National Association tor Mental Health, London. II. Title National Llbrai Understanding old age. WT Emery, Ralph, 1920. 120 Understanding old age. London, National Assn. for E53u Mental Health, 1967. 1967 40 p. illus. 1. Geriatrics - popular works I. National Association for Mental Health, London. II. Title WT Emery, Ralph, 1920- 120 Under* anding old age. London, National Assn. for E53u Mental Health, 1967. 1967 40 p. illus. 1. Geriatrics - popular works I. National Association for Mental Health, London. II. Title 68-76066 National Llbrar National Association for Mental Health, London. WT Emery, Ralph, 1920- 120 Understanding old age. London, National Assn. for E53u Mental Health, 1967. 1967 40 p. illus. 1. Geriatrics • popular works I. National Association for Mental Health, London. II. Title National Library of Medicine 66-76066 Figure 31.—Specimen Computer-Produced Catalog Cards. 63 sets for each citation are produced by the computer for the central NLM file (see Figure 31). Cards are produced for the main entry and all added entries as well. Except for the omission of price, informa- tion on the card is approximately the same as that in the book catalog. The format is that of a traditional catalog card, with ap- propriate indentations and call number in the left corner. Equipment Used The same basic equipment used for pro- cessing journal article citations is also used in the cataloging system. This includes the Flexowriter paper tape typewriters for in- put preparation, the Honeywell 800 and 200 computers for processing, and GRACE for output printing of both the book catalog and catalog cards. In addition, the system also makes use of a microfilm camera and Copy- flo reproducer in the production of catalog cards, as described below. Information Flow and Procedures Figures 32 and 32a are charts showing the flow of information through the catalog- ing system. The production of catalog cards and book catalogs is the joint responsibility of the Technical Services Division and the Office of Computer and Engineering Services. The catalogers' contribution is much the same as it has been; only now, the record of the tra- ditional information is in machine-readable form. Entries for both the biweekly and quar- terly publications are in accordance with current American Library Association rules, with a few exceptions: only the Roman al- phabet is used; titles in Cyrillic alphabets are cited in transliterated form only; titles in Oriental languages are translated as well. Average depth of subject cataloging is 1.5 subject headings per item. Input data sheets (see Figure 33), pre- pared by the catalogers, are collected once a day, forwarded to the Office of Computer and Engineering Services, and typed in the form of hard copy and punched paper tape. The hard copies are visually proofread. The corrected hard copies are returned to the in- put typists for preparation of correction data. Original paper tapes and correction paper tapes are spliced together. The correction paper tapes must always accompany the original tapes in the same input run to be properly processed by the computer. The first six computer programs of the MEDLARS Input Module were modified to process cataloging data as well as journal article input data. The modified programs edit the citations and convert medical subject headings from English descriptors to their computer-coded equivalents. Citations are checked within the computer for certain types of errors. Fields (authors, titles, etc.) incompatible with the input pro- grams, with the exception of the subject headings field, cause the entire citation to be rejected. If subject headings are incorrect, the update program accepts the citation with the qualification that a "no-catalog card" flag is generated for that citation. This means that no catalog cards will be gener- ated for the citation until file maintenance is performed to correct the erroneous subject headings on the citation. All rejected cita- tions are listed with the reason for rejection. All citations on the daily transaction tape, divided into main and subrecords for editing purposes, are sorted and merged into a unit record. Each citation is assigned a sequential number by the computer and is then merged into the cumulated catalog file (history); thus, the cumulated catalog file is in order by citation number. As daily transactions are merged into the history file, each citation is checked for a "generate catalog card" flag. Those citations containing this flag are copied on the card print file. The Card Ex- pand Submodule is responsible for producing a complete set of cards. Each citation is ex- panded by as many index terms as are con- tained within the entry. GRACE catalog card records are for- matted on photographic paper for each card image, in 6-point upper- and lowercase font. The paper is then developed, inspected, and microfilmed. After developing the microfilm, the citations are enlarged to 8-point size and reproduced on the Xerox Copyflo machine. The cards are then cut to size, hole-punched, 64 COMPUTER-AIDED CATALOG SYSTEM FLOW CHART NEW BOOKS AND JOURNAL TITLES MEDLARS INPUT MODULE CATALOG CARD IMAGES ON GRACE PAPER! PHOTOGRAPH WITH MICROFILM CAMERA DAILY INPUT & CATALOG CARD PROCESSING Figure 32. < OMI'l TEH-AIDED CATALOG SYSTEM FLOW CHART O /cumulated^ i catalog BOOK CATALOG PROCESSING BOOK CATALOG PROCESSING (BIWEEKLY, QUARTERLY, ANNUAL) BOOK CATALOG (COMMERCIAL PRINTER] MAIL TO SUBSCRIBERS © CORRECTIONS TO CATALOG ENTRIES PUNCHi SIGHT VERIFY CORRECTION TAPES /cumulatedY \j catalog i ALZ, FILE MAINTENANCE PROGRAMS FILE MAINTENANCE 'CORRECTED^ CUMULATED CATALOG JAPE Figure 32a, 66 u MEDLARS QZZZ non-MEDLARS £] XXX 1 rj| HMD only 2D Cards Only 3d New Serial Title 4 □ Added Card Set OO Open Serial CDCIosed Serial MS Monograph Rn MEDLARS Retypes IMPRINT (Year Only) 1889 CATALOGER -_ ee 0 o DATE „ 260c67 5' C (V c/ Title Entry Da S E Q . •.; ; <-. . o , C A L Z 695 c°91r 1669 O 3 M 9? A/ Author and/or Translated or Eng. Title (MEDLARS & All Oriental) & Lang. Abbr. ^Cutter, Charles Aami, 1837-1903.1 Rules for a dictionary catalogue, 1 v/ Vernacular or Transliterated Title (for non-English Titles) T/ MeSH Subject Headings x/ Editions Statement 2d ed. with corrections and additions. *h Holdings Statement *P Imprint Washington,=Govt. Print. Off.,=1889. *s Collation 133 p.--- □ illus. □ports. □plates = Series Note U. S.—Bureau of Education.----Special report on public libraries, pt. 2 *d Drop Notes *t Added Entries (Title and Series Included) =T •e Price *x x-reference *6 Dashed on Entries "Have" Notes/Disposition copy 1 y.* phs-3im-i irev. s-65) CATALOG MASTER - COMPUTER Figure 33.—Sample Specimen Catalog Master (Input Data Sheet). 67 and returned to the Catalog Mainte- nance Section for manual card finishing and filing in the Library's card catalog. To produce a biweekly list, the coded equivalents for subject headings are con- verted back to natural language. The cita- tions are expanded by the number of added entries and subject headings in each record. Only those citations flagged for the desig- nated two-week period appear in any one bi- weekly NLM Current Catalog. The biweekly list is printed onto photographic film or paper which is developed, cut, inspected, and for- warded to a commercial printer, working under contract to the Government Printing Office. These biweekly issues of NLM Cur- rent Catalog are selective in coverage; that is, older, non-current materials are not in- cluded. To produce a quarterly cumulated catalog, the coded equivalents for subject headings are converted, as for the biweekly list, to English subject headings. Citations are ex- panded for added entries and for author cross-references, and by subject headings. The quarterly cumulated lists include all ma- terials cataloged by NLM regardless of im- print date, and are printed in the same man- ner as the biweekly issues. As the catalog cards, the biweekly list, or one of the cumulated catalogs are inspected, errors may be detected. Any corrections needed are noted on correction data sheets. Corrections are made on the cards them- selves, as was done in the past, or a new card set can be generated. In either case, the machine record in the cumulated catalog file is corrected. The Library is in the process of convert- ing part of the earlier catalog (pre-1966) to machine-readable form. Conversion of the 1965 catalog is underway, and consideration is being given to converting all material from 1960 (when MeSH was first used for cataloging) to 1964 as well. Availability of a machine-stored catalog will facilitate fu- ture systems for computer-aided acquisitions, searching, and reference activities. Operating Experience The computer-based cataloging system has been in operation since January 1966. Oper- ating statistics for the first 24 months are shown in Table 8. Throughput time for the catalog card is three days, measured from the time the cat- alog master is forwarded to the Input Section to the return of the catalog cards to the Catalog Maintenance Section. Throughput time for the biweekly is two work weeks, measured from the time when the NLM Cur- rent Catalog is produced by the computer, through the printing and mailing stages by the Government Printing Office. Throughput time for the cumulations varies from 17 workdays for the first quarterly to 43 work- days for the annual. Table 8 Operating Statistics Item Statistics 1966 1967 Number of books cataloged 12,472 15,744 Number of catalog cards produced 115,850 156,213 Some operating problems were encoun- tered. Probably the two most significant were (1) input errors occurring more frequently than estimated, requiring complete galley proofreading of each issue; and (2) great attention to detail required by the cataloger in preparing the input data sheet, which has increased cataloging time. 68 Chapter IX SUMMARY This report presents the final chapter on the current MEDLARS system at the point in time when the National Library of Medi- cine is on the verge of developing a new, more powerful approach to the problems of literature control and information retrieval in the biomedical sciences. This publication, together with the final report of the MED- LARS evaluation project* and the original MEDLARS story, presents a complete chron- icle of the design and operation of one of the world's largest information retrieval systems. MEDLARS was designed and operated according to conservative, well-established principles of documentation and informa- tion science. The most important of these were (1) the use of a controlled vocabulary for indexing and file searching; (2) the use of trained, professional indexers; and (3) serial organization of the search file on mag- netic tape. The Library did not attempt to experiment with untested theories in design- ing the system, because of the large volume of literature to be processed and the number of users to be served. The conservative ap- proach has resulted in four years of contin- ued successful operation. What is more, there is no evidence of the system breaking down as the volume of literature increases, as some in this field predicted. Many changes were made to MEDLARS during its four years of operation. The sys- tem was not static, and the major weak- nesses that were discovered required system *F. W. Lancaster, Evaluation of the MEDLARS Demand Search Service, National Library of Medi- cine, Bethesda, Maryland, 1968. modifications. Some of the more significant changes included: (1) Change of the basic information store from a two-file (one for publication, the other for demand search) to a single-file approach. (2) Incorporation of topical subheadings which originally were not thought to be useful for this computer-based sys- tem. (3) Change of the demand search input from punched paper tape to pre- punched cards. (4) Major revisions of the Demand Search and File Maintenance computer mod- ules to improve operating efficiency. MEDLARS is the only large-scale opera- ting information retrieval system that has subjected itself to a rigorous, formal evalua- tion. This evaluation showed that the system was generally working well at a middle-of- the-road performance level in terms of recall and precision. Many important recommenda- tions for improvement resulted from the evaluation. These included: (1) User/system interaction needs to be improved; particularly important is a new and better Search Request Form. (2) More use should be made of indexers and searchers in updating of MeSH, and less emphasis should be placed on outside experts. (3) A better entry vocabulary is needed to allow effective selection of the proper MeSH terms in indexing and searching. (4) Expanded use should be made of sub- headings. (5) Wherever applicable, use pre-estab- lished search strategies for concepts that re-occur in searching. 69 (6) The distinction between "depth" and "non-depth" journals for indexing should be eliminated. Some of the Library's original objectives were met completely; others were not. In general, however, NLM was able to design and implement a large-volume production system capable of meeting the multiple re- quirements of published indexes and indi- vidual literature searches. Some of the original plans proved to be unrealistic—for example, the desired ability to provide two- day turnaround for demand searches. The benefits of operating a system such as MEDLARS are many. Of particular impor- tance is the experience gained from actually facing day-to-day operating problems. The personnel involved learn more each day and are much better qualified to move ahead in the design of more powerful new systems employing advanced techniques. Such is the situation in the Library today. The valuable lessons learned in the operation of MED- LARS are being applied to the design of a new system whose capabilities should be even more dramatic than those presented above. This report, therefore, serves both as a finale for the present MEDLARS and an overture for the exciting days ahead. 70 SELECTED REFERENCES Adams, S. Bibliographic organiza- tion in the biomedical sciences. Wilson Libr Bull 40:714-8, April 1966. ------. Medical library resources and their development. / Med Educ 38:20-7, January 1963. Al- so in: Libr J 88: 2615-22, July 1963, as: Medical libraries are in trouble. MEDLARS: performance, problems, possibilities. 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