What the Index Medicus indexes, and why

The main criterion for selecting journals for indexing in Index Medicus, and thereby largely in MEDLARS, is quality. Subject scope varies with the voiced needs of the biomedical community. The Index aims to cover the best journals in all relevant subject fields, but the percentage of journals on a subject indexed depends on the quality of each journal. Country and language coverage depends on quality, even in the case of the best journals of each, although American biases may affect such selection. While a number of guidelines exist for identifying quality journals, information necessary to apply them confidently is often difficult to obtain. The National Library of Medicine is advised by an Ad Hoc Panel on the Selection of Journals for Index Medicus, composed both of NLM officers and extramural members. Criticism has been voiced that too many titles are indexed, compared with titles actually used, but no meaningful statistics of use exist which can identify titles which should be excluded from indexing. Continuing suggestions from users regarding titles indexed would benefit everyone.