arlier this year, the Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs (JHU/CCP) notified the National Library of Medicine (NLM) that it wished to end a long-standing agreement to cooperate in the production and dissemination of POPLINE records. POPLINE has been part of NLM's database family since 1980. Like other specialty databases, its records are being moved to PubMed and LocatorPlus. The separate POPLINE file will cease to be available from NLM. Please see the article, Organization of National Library of Medicine Bibliographic Databases. NLM Tech Bull. 2000 May-Jun; (314):e1, for more information on the reorganization of bibliographic data at NLM.

POPLINE records through 2000 will be available from NLM free on the Web. NLM also will add prospective journal articles and monographic records in areas of family planning, contraception, fertility and population issues. The Library will implement a population/family planning subject hedge in PubMed in the future. The JHU/CCP, through its Web site (http://www.popline.org/), will provide access to the data formerly in POPLINE and will continue to update its collection with new citations.

POPLINE records have been a valuable source of reproductive health information to the global public health community. Both JHU/CCP and NLM intend to ensure continued access to information on this topic.

By Sheldon Kotzin
Bibliographic Services Division

Kotzin S. Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs and NLM Cease POPLINE Agreement. NLM Tech Bull. 2001 Jul-Aug;(321):e5.