Guide Index

An Introduction to SERLINE

Fields in SERLINE

Indexing and Abstracting Publications List

Limit Fields

NLM Field Terms List

Search Examples

Searching for Full MEDLINE Titles

Stopwords in SERLINE


An Introduction to SERLINE
An Introduction to SERLINE (R) on SilverPlatter (R)

SERLINE (R) on SilverPlatter (R) contains bibliographic information for over 80,000 biomedical and health science serials. The database includes all serials and numbered congresses that are in the National Library of Medicine's collection. A limited number of titles not held by the National Library of Medicine are included if they are indexed in MEDLINE (R), BIOTECHSEEK, or HEALTH.

SERLINE provides full title information in MEDLINE and other NLM databases.

GD-368-SLIN-100


Fields in SERLINE

Records in SERLINE are divided into the following fields.  Highlighted fields are limit fields.

AN	Accession Number

AT	Additional Title(s)

CAT	CATLINE Number

CO	CODEN

CP	Country of Publication

DE	Descriptor

EA	English Language Abstracts

EML	Electronic Mail Address

FR	Frequency

IA	Indexing and Abstracting Publications

ISSN	International Standard Serial Number

LA	Language

MESH	MESH Headings

MI	MEDLINE Indexing Status

MT	Material Type

NLM	NLM Number

NT	Notes

PB	Publisher

PD	Publication Dates

PS	Publication Status Indicator

SB	Subset

SD	Superintendent of Documents Number

TA	MEDLINE Title Abbreviation

TI	Title

TT	All Titles (Includes the AT, TA, TI fields)

UD	Update Code

There is also a special subset of fields, Citation (CITN), which consists of the TI, TA, PD and PB fields.  Use Citation to display, print, or save only these fields for a set of records.


AN  Accession Number

       (a limit field)

sr0068211 in an

an=sr0068211

The AN field contains a nine-character alpha-numeric code assigned to each record NLM adds to the database.


AT  Additional Title(s)

critical care in at

The AT field contains other titles, such as running titles, parallel titles, or former titles associated with the serial. You can search for any word or phrase in this field.

The MEDLINE Title Abbreviation (TA) field contains the abbreviated serial title as it appears in the MEDLINE database;  the Title (TI) field contains the official title of a serial.  You can use the All Titles (TT) to search for the AT, TI, and TA fields simultaneously.


CAT  CATLINE Number

       (a limit field)

9009969 in cat

cat=9009969

The CAT field contains the CATLINE number assigned to a serial.


CO  CODEN

       (a limit field)

abskar in co

co=abskar

The CO field contains the six-letter code assigned to a serial title by the International CODEN Service, Chemical Abstracts Service, Columbus, Ohio.


CP  Country of Publication

       (a limit field)

england in cp

cp=united-states

The CP field contains the place (usually country) of publication of the serial.  Search multi-word place names as hyphenated phrases or by one of the individual words.


DE  Descriptor

dermatology in de

The DE field contains general subject headings, assigned to a serial by Index Medicus, that describe the serial contents.

Note: Only serials indexed by Index Medicus contain the DE field. The MESH Headings (MESH) field contains subject headings assigned to records of serials cataloged by NLM.


EA  English Language Abstracts

       (a limit field)

yes in ea

ea=yes

The EA field indicates if English-language abstracts are available for a serial that is published in a non-English language.


EML  Electronic Mail Address

ftp in eml

The EML field, added to the database in 1994, contains the electronic mail address and access mode, such as FTP, LISTSERV, TELNET, etc. necessary to access the electronic journal indexed in the record.

Note:  Electronic mail address information appears in the Notes (NT) field in records added to the database prior to 1994.


FR  Frequency

       (a limit field)

annual in fr

fr=1-a-year

The FR field indicates how frequently a serial is published. In some records the frequency appears as issues in a year (e. g. 1-a-year). Frequencies include:

annual

biennial

bimonthly

biweekly

daily

decennial

irregular

monthly

quadrennial

quarterly

quinquennial

semimonthly

semiweekly

sextennial

triennial

unknown

varies

weekly


IA  Indexing and Abstracting Publications

       (a limit field)

med in ia

ia=med

The IA field contains a code indicating where the serial is currently indexed or where it was indexed at the time it ceased publication.  See the Indexing and Abstracting Publications topic for a complete list of codes and corresponding publications.


ISSN  International Standard Serial Number

       (a limit field)

0065-2253 in issn

issn=0065-2253

The ISSN field contains an eight-digit code unique to each serial.  When searching, include a hyphen between the fourth and fifth digits.


LA  Language

       (a limit field)

french in la

la=non-english

The LA field contains the language of the serial.  If the language is not English, the word "non-English" appears in this field in addition to the name of the language.


MESH  MESH Headings

nursing in mesh

nursing-care in mesh

MeSH Headings are subject headings assigned by NLM cataloguers to group serials on similar topics. Searching in mesh retrieves all records containing a particular heading. For example, the search nursing in mesh retrieves records of serials indexed with the subject heading nursing, as well as societies-nursing, nursing-care, and occupational-health-nursing.

Search MeSH headings as hyphenated, "bound" phrases or as individual words; the most efficient search for a multi-word heading is with hyphens.  Hyphenate one-word headings to limit your search to a single-word heading, such as nursing- in mesh.

The subject headings in this field do not include MeSH subheadings.

Note:   For records of serials indexed by Index Medicus only, subject classifications also appear in the Descriptor (DE).


MI  MEDLINE Indexing Status

       (a limit field)

yes in mi

mi=not-indexed

The term "yes" in the MI field indicates that NLM either indexes the serial currently or indexed it at some time for the MEDLINE database. For these serials, one of the following qualifying statuses might also appear in the MI field. The term "not-indexed" appears in this field if the serial was never indexed for MEDLINE.

changed-title

currently-indexed

no-longer-indexed

title-continuation

ceased-publication


MT  Material Type

       (a limit field)

microfiche in mt

mt=computer-disk

The MT field indicates the medium used for non-print serials.  Material types include:

audiocassette

audio-program-mixed-media

CD-ROM

computer-disk

electronic-journal

kit

microfiche

microfilm

slide

videocassette


NLM  NLM Number

       (a limit field)

w1 ad445 in nlm

nlm=w1 ad445

The NLM field contains a unique call number assigned to each work. Include spaces when searching for an NLM Number. There is no location symbol for NLM. The presence or absence of the NLM Number indicates whether the title is held by NLM.

The NLM FIELD Terms List contains additional terms and abbreviations that can appear in this field.


NT  Notes

standards in nt

The NT field contains additional information about the serial, such as any former titles by which a journal was known, the publishing history, the years a journal was indexed by MEDLINE, how the serial is indexed.  The term "selectively" appears in this field if only particular articles from the journal are indexed.


PB  Publisher

appleton-century-crofts in pb

appleton in pb

The PB field contains the name and address of the publisher.


PD  Publication Dates

1994 in pd

The PD field indicates the year in which the serial was first published under the title, and when applicable, includes the date the serial ceased publication under the title listed.

The PD field can include volume and number information.


PS  Publication Status Indicator

       (a limit field)

open in ps

ps=closed

The PS field indicates whether a serial remains in publication under the official title listed in the Title (TI) field. The term "open" indicates that the serial is published currently under the title; the term "closed" indicates that the serial is no longer published under that title.

See the Notes (NT) field or the Additional Title(s) (AT) field for former or current titles, as well as a serials publishing history.


SB  Subset

       (a limit field)

nursing in sb

sb=dentistry

MEDLINE contains several subsets of specialized journals.  You can limit your search to just these journals by using the SB field.

The terms "abridged-index-medicus" in this field indicate that the journal is indexed in the abridged edition of "Index Medicus."  If your library has a small collection of medical journals, combining your search terms with and abridged-index-medicus in sb increases your chances of retrieving items held by the library.

The word "nursing" appears in this field if the journal is from the nursing journal subset, "dentistry" if the article is from the dental journal subset, and "cancer" if the journal is from the "core cancer" journal subset (as identified by the National Cancer Institute).

The following are possible journal subsets:

abridged-index-medicus

cancer

dentistry

index-medicus

nursing


SD  Superintendent of Documents Number

       (a limit field)

he391 in sd

sd=he391

The SD field contains the Superintendent of Documents number for the serial. You can search for a number without punctuation.


TA  MEDLINE Title Abbreviation

adv-biol-skin in ta

The TA field contains the abbreviated serial title as it appears in the MEDLINE database.

The Title (TI) field indicates the official title of a serial; the Additional Title(s) (AT) field contains other titles, such as running titles, parallel titles, or former associated with the serial.

Use the All Titles (TT) to search for the TI, TA, and AT fields simultaneously.


TI  Title

dermatology in ti

The TI field contains the official title of a serial. You can search for any word or phrase in this field.

The MEDLINE Title Abbreviation (TA) field contains the abbreviated serial title as it appears in the MEDLINE database;  the Additional Title(s) (AT) field contains other titles, such as running titles, parallel titles, or former associated with the serial.

Use the All Titles (TT) to search for the TI, TA, and AT fields simultaneously.


TT  All Titles

nursing in tt

The TT field enables you to search for the Title (TI), the MEDLINE Title Abbreviation (TA) field, and the Additional Title(s) (AT) field simultaneously.


UD  Update Code

       (a limit field)

9107 in ud

ud=9107

The UD field contains the month and year of the record's entry into the database, in YYMM form.

You can search the UD field with the following operators, as well as with in and =:

<  Less than,

   such as  ud<8407

>  Greater than,

   such as  ud>8504

<= Less than or equal to,

   such as  ud<=8407

>= Greater than or equal to,

   such as  ud>=8504

-  Within a range,

   such as  ud=8400-8500


CITN  Citation

The Citation is a subset of fields consisting of the following fields:

Title  (TI)

MEDLINE Title Abbreviation  (TA)

Publication Dates  (PD)

Publisher  (PB)

The Citation serves as an easy way to display, print, or save only these fields for a set of records.


Indexing and Abstracting Publications

The Indexing and Abstracting Publications (IA) field contains the code for the indexing and abstracting publications used for a particular serial.

Code

Publication

AGL

AGRICOLA

AIM

ABRIDGED INDEX MEDICUS

AV

Citations appearing in the INDEX TO

AUDIOVISUAL SERIALS IN THE HEALTH

SCIENCES 1977-83 or in the APPENDIX I

AUDIOVISUAL SERIALS INDEX

OF THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE

AUDIOVISUAL CATALOG 1984-1992.

BA

BIOLOGICAL ABSTRACTS

BTC

BIOTECHSEEK

CA

CHEMICAL ABSTRACTS

CNL

CUMULATIVE INDEX TO NURSING AND

     ALLIED HEALTH LITERATURE

COM

Journals in the field of communications

which are cited in MEDLINE

but are not included in any

hardcopy bibliography

CXP

Core cancer journals

identified by NCI

EM

EXCERPTA MEDICA

HIS

HISTLINE

HLI

HOSPITAL LITERATURE INDEX

HSR

HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH

IDL

INDEX TO DENTAL LITERATURE

IM

INDEX MEDICUS

INI

INTERNATIONAL

NURSING INDEX

MAP

MAP NOTES

(ceased publication in 1979)

MED

MEDLINE & Backfiles

PA

PSYCHOLOGICAL ABSTRACTS


Limit Fields

The limit fields listed below are specially indexed fields that have relatively few possible values.  They allow you to limit your searches to records of a particular characteristic, such as type of publication or language of text.

Accession Number  (AN)

CATLINE Number  (CAT)

CODEN  (CO)

Country of Publication  (CP)

English Language Abstracts  (EA)

Frequency  (FR)

Indexing and Abstracting Publications  (IA)

International Standard Serial Number  (ISSN)

Language  (LA)

MEDLINE Indexing Status  (MI)

Material Type  (MT)

NLM Number  (NLM)

Publication Status Indicator  (PS)

Subset  (SB)

Superintendent of Documents Number  (SD)

Update Code  (UD)

You can search these fields with in or =.  For example, to retrieve documents originally published in French, type:

  french in la  or  la=french

In addition to in and =, the following operators may be used with the UD field:

<  Less than,

   such as  ud<8407

>  Greater than,

   such as  ud>8504

<= Less than or equal to,

   such as  ud<=8407

>= Greater than or equal to,

   such as  ud>=8504

-  Within a range,

   such as  ud=8400-8500


 NLM Field Terms List

The NLM Number (NLM) field contains a unique call number assigned to each work. There is no location symbol for NLM. The presence or absence of the NLM Number indicates whether the title is held by NLM.

AAMC

(Association of American Medical Colleges)

The title was indexed for MAP NOTES, but is outside of NLM scope and coverage policy. NLM does not own the title. MAP NOTES ceased publication in 1979.

AHA

(American Hospital Association)

The title is indexed for the HOSPITAL LITERATURE INDEX and the HEALTH PLANNING AND ADMINISTRATION file, but is out side of NLM scope and coverage policy. NLM does not own the title.

ADA

(American Dental Association)

The title is indexed for INDEX TO DENTAL LITERATURE and MEDLINE, but is out side of NLM scope and coverage policy. NLM does not own the title.

ANA

(American Nurses Association)

The title is indexed for INTERNATIONAL NURSING INDEX and MEDLINE, but is out side of NLM scope and coverage policy. NLM does not own the title.

CLASSED SEP

Numbered congresses sponsored by single corporate bodies which lack distinctive serial titles are cataloged separately and given separate class numbers, but are ordered and controlled like serials. These congresses have CLASSED SEP in the NLM Number field.

ELECTRONIC JOURNAL

NLM is developing a definition for this item, final approval is pending.

REGIONAL HOLDINGS

The title is held by one or more of the libraries participating in the NLM National Biomedical Serials Holdings database, SERHOLD, but is out side of NLM scope and coverage policy. NLM does not own the title.

MONOGRAPH

This indicates that individual issues are cataloged as monographs at NLM. Users should check CATLINE for bibliographic information and the NLM number.

IN PROCESS

This indicates that the title has been received by NLM and is being cataloged.

ON ORDER

This indicates that the title has been ordered for the NLM collection.


Search Examples

The following examples demonstrate how to search SERLINE.  These examples are not exhaustive, but do illustrate several search techniques.  It is important to note that, although all examples are given in lowercase, SPIRS is not case-sensitive; whether your search terms are entered in upper- or lower-case, the same records will be retrieved.

Example 1

Let's find serials, indexed in MEDLINE, that focus on acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

1.  Search for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in mesh to retrieve records of serials with aids as their focus.

2.  Next, search for and mi =yes. Beginning your search with an operator, and, automatically combines the search with the previous search statement. Limiting your search to the MEDLINE Indexing Status (MI) field ensures that retrieved records will be of serials indexed in the MEDLINE database.

Example 2

Suppose several records you retrieved in a MEDLINE search had the title abbreviation "Br-J-Clin-Psychol". To retrieve information about this journal:

1. Search for br-j-clin-psychol in ta.

2.  Display records.

Example 3

Let'e search for publications that are from the MEDLINE subset of nursing journals.

1. Search for nursing in sb.

2.  Display records.


Searching for Full MEDLINE Titles

Use the Title Abbreviation (TA) field to search for a MEDLINE title abbreviation. Records contain complete title information for journals indexed in the MEDLINE database.

Suppose several records you retrieved in a MEDLINE search had the title abbreviation "Br-J-Clin-Psychol". To retrieve information about this journal:

1. Search for br-j-clin-psychol in ta.

2.  Display records.

Searching Hint:

You can use a Lateral Search for a MEDLINE title abbreviation, conducted in a MEDLINE database, to ensure your SERLINE search for a title abbreviation is accurate:

1. While in a MEDLINE database, conduct a Lateral Search for a MEDLINE title abbreviation directly from a displayed record. The search appears in your search history.

2.  Change to the SERLINE database.

3. Reuse the previous MEDLINE title abbreviation search to ensure that you have entered the exact MEDLINE title abbreviation for your SERLINE search.


Stopwords in SERLINE

Words of little intrinsic meaning that appear too frequently to be useful in searching text are known as "stopwords".  You can not search for the following stopwords by themselves, but you can include them within phrases:

an

and

are

as

at

be

by

from

is

more

of

or

that

the

their

to

was

were

which

with


Combining Searches

Beginning a search request with an operator (and, not, or, with, near, or in) automatically combines that request with the previous one.

For instance, if the search you just completed is radio-tagging, searching for and frogs will give you the same results as if you search for radio-tagging and frogs.  Similarly, the search red tide followed by the search in ti is the same as red tide in ti.


Truncation and Wildcards

You can use the truncation symbol (*) as a substitute for any string of zero or more characters in your search term.  For example, the search migrat* retrieves any record containing "migrated", "migration", "migratory", "migratory-species", etc.

You can use the wildcard symbol (?) as a substitute for one character or none.  For example, the search m?cdonald retrieves records containing "McDonald" or "MacDonald".

The truncation and wildcard symbols can be used anywhere in your search term, except as the first character.