MEDLINE umsonst von der NLM

["Oliver Obst" <obsto@uni-muenster.de>]

Zur Info, O.Obst
----------------
> NIH Press Release
> 
> Vice President Gore to Launch Free Access to World's Largest
> Source of Published Medical Information on World Wide
> Web Consumers and Health Professionals Worldwide to Have
> Fingertip Access to Cutting-Edge Research
> 
> (Bethesda, MD -- June 26, 1997) -- The National Library of
> Medicine, a part of the National Institutes of Health, will
> today launch a new service to  provide all Americans free
> access to MEDLINE -- the world's most extensive
> collection of published medical information -- over the World
> Wide Web.  Prior  to this announcement, users have had to
> register and pay to search MEDLINE and other NLM
> databases. This free service will be demonstrated by Vice
> President Albert Gore at a press briefing to be hosted by
> Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) on Thursday, June 26, 1997 at
> 10:30 a.m. in Room 192 of the Dirksen Senate Office
> Building, United States Senate.
> 
>         "The National Library of Medicine's debut of free Web-
> based searching could not be more timely," said NLM
> Director Donald A.B. Lindberg, M.D. "The health
> care delivery landscape is changing.  Citizens are increasingly
> turning to the  Web as a source of information to improve
> their daily lives, including their  health.  So, it is vital that
> they, and the health professionals who serve them, have access
> to the most current and credible medical information."
> 
>           "Medical breakthroughs are happening so rapidly that I
> believe health care professionals and consumers alike should
> be able to tap into the most recent  medical information,"
> added pioneering heart surgeon Michael E. DeBakey, M.D.,
> chair of NLM's Board of Regents.  "Such information is often
> the critical link  in reaching the correct diagnosis, resulting in
> lives saved, unnecessary  treatment avoided, and
> hospitalization reduced.  Even with all our modern
> advances in health care, I still consider good information to be
> the best  medicine." Dr. DeBakey emphasized this same point
> this past spring in  testimony before a Capitol Hill
> appropriations subcommittee.
> 
>         Harold Varmus, M.D., Director of the National Institutes
> of Health, applauded free access and observed it would have
> the additional benefit of improving the  nation's scientific
> literacy. "The press briefing will demonstrate how the
> public, including high school and college science classes, will
> be able to  search through MEDLINE and the Human Gene
> Map, another one of NLM's Web-based databases, and learn
> about inherited diseases that are located on our
> chromosomes -- in terms that the public can understand.  No
> longer will the  public be left in the dark as this fascinating
> and historic human genome  research process unfolds."
> 
>         "The medical library community is pleased that this vast
> treasure trove of medical knowledge will be opened up to the
> general public," said Rachael K.  Anderson, President of the
> Medical Library Association.  "Patients and their  families are
> regularly turning to health sciences librarians to find reliable
> health information.  Free MEDLINE means that we can now
> provide consumers with  better access to the quality
> information they need, and librarians can help  them to tap
> into the full power of this authoritative source."

[del.]

 
>         The web address for the National Library of Medicine is:
> http://www.nlm.nih.gov.  On June 26, this site will display
> free MEDLINE.
>