HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Bruer, J. T. Articles by Warren, K. S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Bruer, J. T. Articles by Warren, K. S.

Selective Medical Libraries and Library Networks for Developing Countries

The growth and rising cost of bibliographic materials require that attempts to make all medical libraries comprehensive and self-contained be replaced by the provision of selective collections devoted to the most used and useful materials, particularly in developing countries with limited resources. Journals constitute the most important and expensive component of a biomedical collection. While use data are important, a method is presented to guide selection in the absence of this information. The method identifies 35 nucleus journals and uses citation analysis to generate a list of 92 journals, partitioned into 31 medical specialty classes. Local expert consensus can guide selection of important local or regional literature not in the international archives. Careful selection results in efficient collections. Access to less used materials can be provided to individual libraries through resource sharing networks with affiliations to major comprehensive international libraries.

Accepted for publication February 21, 1981.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				Coping with the STM literature: the changing reader 1983 Journal of Information Science, January 1, 1984; 9(1): 33 - 36. [PDF]