DIRLINE®

DIRLINE DEFINED

DIRLINE (Directory of Information Resources Online) is the National Library of Medicine's online database containing location and descriptive information about a wide variety of information resources including organizations, research resources, projects, databases, and electronic bulletin boards concerned with health and biomedicine. This information may not be readily available in bibliographic databases. Each record may contain information on the publications, holdings, and services provided.

DIRLINE focuses primarily on health and biomedicine, although it also provides limited coverage of some other special interests. These information resources fall into many categories including federal, state, and local government agencies; information and referral centers; professional societies; self-help groups and voluntary associations; academic and research institutions and their programs; information systems and research facilities.

DIRLINE COMPONENTS

DIRLINE contains over 15,000 records merged from the following sources:

National Library of Medicine (NLM) General biomedical resources compiled by the National Library of Medicine.

ODPHP National Health Information Center Database (HR) Supplied by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

Poison Control Centers List (PCC) Accredited centers compiled in collaboration with representatives of the American Association of Poison Control Centers.

Regional Alcohol and Drug Awareness Resource Network (RADAR) Information provided by the Office of Substance Abuse Prevention's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information.

History of Medicine (HMD) Produced by the History of Medicine Division, National Library of Medicine.

Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Produced by the National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health.

AIDS Produced by the Centers for Disease Control's National AIDS Clearinghouse.

Directory of Biotechnology Information Resources (DBIR)* Produced by the American Type Culture Collection under contract to NLM.

Self-Help Clearinghouses (SHC) Produced in response to the Surgeon General's Initiative in Self-Help and Public Health.

NIH Research Resources (NIHRES) Information on NIH-funded research resources provided by the National Institutes of Health.

Health Services Research Information (HSRI) Produced by ECRI under contract to the National Library of Medicine.

ACCESS

DIRLINE can be accessed via direct telephone line, the TELENET/SprintNet, TYMNET, or CompuServe nationwide telecommunications networks, or by the Internet at medlars.nlm.nih.gov. DIRLINE is also available using GRATEFUL MED software.

SEARCHING DIRLINE

DIRLINE can be searched in a variety of ways. Geographic searching by country or, U.S. Postal Service abbreviation for state names, and zip or other postal codes, allows the retrieval of resources within a specified region. Users interested in locating resources by name or subject matter can specify either words appearing in the name field, the text of the record, or keywords, or enter Medical Subject Headings (MeSH).

The following represents portions of a DIRLINE record:

SECONDARY SOURCE ID    HR/2389
NAME                   National Women's Health Resource Center
ADDRESS                2440 M Street, NW, Suite 325 ; Washington,  
                       DC  20037
INSTITUTION CONTACTS   Program Director, (202)293-6045
ABSTRACT               The National Women's Health Resource        
                       Center is a national organization devoted
                       solely to the health of women.  Its         
                       services include a complete range of        
                       clinical, education, research,  
                       psychological support and information       
                       programs. HOLDINGS: Publications include    
                       the National Women's Health Report  
                       (quarterly newsletter), a five year  
                       index and NWHR Series Packets.  There are
                       charges for subscriptions and back issue  
                       orders.  
MESH HEADING           *Gynecology; *Women's Health Services

AVAILABILITY

DIRLINE is available on the NLM computer facility 24 hours a day, seven days a week. DIRLINE is available free of charge to all NLM online users.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For information about DIRLINE content and search strategies contact:

Specialized Information Services
National Library of Medicine
8600 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20894

Telephone: (301) 496-1131 or (301) 496-3147

Internet Address: toxmail@nlm.nih.gov

For information about DIRLINE access, or MEDLARS services contact:

MEDLARS Managment Section
National Library of Medicine
8600 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20894

Telephone: 1 (800) 638-8480

Internet Address: mms@nlm.nih.gov

NLM HyperDOC / DIRLINE FactSheet / March 1994