Archives, data bases, and interactive computer programs: are these a library?

Unprecedented access to the archives of Francis Crick, just before the 50th anniversary next year of his famous paper co-authored with James Watson on the proposed double helix structure of DNA, looks set to go ahead. Nigel Williams reports.

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PubMed2002

[Ink and bytes].

Paper journals--and books--will continue to exist, despite the digital revolution. Electronic media are superior for storage and retrieval of information, but far less so for intellectual digestion. The Dutch Journal of Medicine is proud of its recently completed electronic archive, in the form of digital images (1857-1985) and full text (from 1986 onwards). At the same time the Journal's supporting Society cherishes a valuable book collection, with some 700 titles before the year 1800 alone. Recently, a curator and a professional librarian were appointed. Part of the Society's assets have been transferred to a special fund for the support of projects on the borderline between medicine and other disciplines, such as history, philosophy, sociology and art.

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PubMed2001

[How to manage all those ECGs? Experiences with computer-based storage and interpretation of electrocardiograms in the county of Vastmanland].

We describe our experience using a database (Sicare, Siemens Elema) containing 381,000 ECGs covering 90% of all ECGs during 11 years in the county of Västmanland, Sweden, with 260,000 inhabitants. The database expedites rapid recovery of earlier ECGs. For instance, in patients admitted to coronary care with chest pain and ST-elevation, speedy access to an earlier ECG with identical ST-elevation may be crucial for avoiding unnecessary and potentially harmful thrombolysis. The database also enables us to select ECGs with a specific diagnosis, for instance atrial fibrillation. This facilitates characterization and quality control of treatment of atrial fibrillation in a well-defined population.

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