National Library of Medicine Moves

to XML for PubMed Processing

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) updated it data format standard on November 13th.  It now requires publishers to use XML in submitting information for processing into PubMed (its search service that provides access to over 11 million citations in MEDLINE and other related databases, with links to participating online journals).  The XML format will optimize data manipulation and facilitate the increase in journal indexing, according to the American Medical Publishers' Association (AMPA).

More journals are expected to be included in MEDLINE, says the AMPA, resulting from NLM's recent endorsement of that concept, as well as a doubling in NLM's funding over the next five years, which should lead to a comparable increase in literature coverage. One indication: a significantly higher journal acceptance rate (35% in June) by the NLM's body that selects journals placed into MEDLINE.  Historically, only one in five had been selected.  

Publishers, who are approved for participation in PubMed, are asked to supply their XML-tagged prior to or at the time of publication.  Journals who  are indexed in Medline are also encouraged by the NLM to provide citation and abstract data via XLM.  For full details on the NLM's new XML requirements, see: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query/static/spec.html