The Internet has fundamentally changed the publishing model that authors, editors and publishers have followed for centuries. Information that took months or years to publish, edit and distribute in print is now produced and available to the public worldwide on an accelerated schedule. Despite changes brought by technology, the need to accurately cite the source of information for scholarly publication remains. And, while the need to cite remains, the challenges of collecting and reporting accurate, lasting citation information have increased tremendously. Electronic publishing creates new issues of impermanence that paper did not present.

With this publication, Citing Medicine, the National Library of Medicine strives to provide those charged with capturing an accurate scholarly citation with a guide to do so in this new era of electronic information, both permanent and ephemeral. We hope you find it useful in your pursuit of scholarship and the published word. We welcome your suggestions for improving Citing Medicine in the future.

/Sheldon Kotzin/

Sheldon Kotzin
Associate Director for Library Operations
National Library of Medicine