Library and Information Science

Library and Information Science ISSN: 2435-8495
三田図書館・情報学会 Mita Society for Library and Information Science
〒108‒8345 東京都港区三田2‒15‒45 慶應義塾大学文学部図書館・情報学専攻内 c/o Keio University, 2-15-45 Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8345, Japan
https://mslis.jp/ E-mail:mita-slis@ml.keio.jp
Library and Information Science 8: 123-138 (1970)
doi:10.46895/lis.8.123

原著論文Original Article

ランカスターのメドラース実績評価を通してみたメドラースの索引法MEDLARS indexing, as observed through Lancaster's evaluation of the operating efiiciency of MEDLARS

慶応義塾大学北里記念医学図書館Kitasato Memorial Medical Library, Keio University ◇ 〒160-8582 東京都新宿区信濃町35 ◇ 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan

発行日:1970年9月20日Published: September 20, 1970
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MEDLARS, an acronym of Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System, is a computer-based information system developed at the National Library of Medicine of the United States. It has been in operation since 1964, providing bibliographic services to the biomedical communities all over the world. It is in fact one of the largest and the oldest systems of this kind. However, its true significance lies in the fact that the system was subjected to a large-scaled evaluation study conducted in the period from 1966 through 1967 under the directorship of F.W. Lancaster, then the Information Systems Specialist of the National Library of Medicine. The principal objectives of the project were to study the demand search requirements of MEDLARS users and how effectively and efficiently the service was meeting these requirements, and also to recognize factors adversely affecting the performance of MEDLARS in hopes of providing suggestions for means by which the requirements of users can be satisfied more efficiently and economically as well. The test was designed to deter mine the operating efficiency of the specific aspects of MEDLARS: overall performance, coverage and processing, indexing, index language, searching and input and computer processing. The results of the test and analysis of failures are full of implications.

However, the present paper is concerned only with indexing, the intellectual factors which significantly affect the performance of all information retrieval systems. The MEDLARS indexing is practised by a group of indexers, some with sufficient experience and the others with little of it. As Robert Fairthorne stated, “indexing is the basic problem, as well as the costliest bottleneck of information retrieval.” This is particularly true when it is entirely depended upon the intellectual efforts of human indexers. With her own experience as a MEDLARS indexing instructor and reviser, the writer discusses MEDLARS indexing policies and practices as seen through the eyes of Lancaster in his evaluation test.

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