| Abstract | The rapid advances in computer and communication technology in the 1970's have enabled large interactive scientific and technical information retrieval systems to be implemented. Major search services today offer on-line access to millions of bibliographic citations and an increasing number of "electronic handbooks." In addition, development of knowledge bases is well under way. Despite the impressive speed and flexibility of interactive retrieval systems, their impact has been lessed by limited awareness of their existence, uneven quality of retrieval, inadequate linkages among data bases, and reliance on specially trained intermediaries. [This article is chiefly about the early history of MedLine and its access methods.] |