MEDVERSATION^®

Computer Databases

Computerized versions of these indexes were developed starting in the late 1960s. Computer tapes of the bibliographic information were first made to speed the publication of printed indexes. It was not long, however, until developers realized that the computer tapes used in typesetting could be harnessed to provide searching capabilities. The online versions were necessary because of the large numbers of new journals and scientific papers being produced. Early computerized retrieval searching systems were often batch mode processes that required long turnaround times. Teletype machines with paper tape output and acoustic couplers were one of the next advances Chapter 1 Introduction 7 in the early days of online searching. The staff at the National Library of Medicine required that searchers pass a 4-month training course in MEDLINE search techniques before they were certified and allowed to search. This was soon reduced to a 2–4 week course. Mandatory training was still enforced well into the 1980s. Initially only librarians did online searching, but with the proliferation of computers and telecommunication networks in the late 1980s and early 1990s, anyone with the right equipment can and does use these systems. In fact, my 15-year-old daughter was asked to go on the Internet and use MEDLINE to find some disease-related material in a tenth grade biology class assignment. All of the students in the class finished the routine assignment with no major problems.⁵⁴⁷⁵ 

Content on this page was last changed on March 19, 2009.