Both MEDLINE and pre-MEDLINE will be included on the ScienceDirect platform, with records being updated and added four times a week. MEDLINE will utilize the full-text linking capabilities of the ScienceDirect platform, supplying users with seamless linking from the MEDLINE abstracts to the full-text articles within ScienceDirect and CrossRef affiliates. The combination of MEDLINE with ScienceDirect now provides access to over 40 million abstracts linked to more than 3 million full-text articles.

"We are extremely pleased to be able to offer this premier database on ScienceDirect as a free enhancement for our users. MEDLINE has long been established as a well-known and widely used resource in the biomedical field. The combination of MEDLINE abstracts with our own large full-text database and augmented by the full-text linking to other publishers through CrossRef will provide a uniquely powerful search-and-retrieval resource," said Frank Vrancken Peeters, ScienceDirect's managing director.

Supported by its user-friendly search technology, users will be able to search simultaneously across journals and abstract databases on ScienceDirect and set up personalization features in the ScienceDirect platform, such as e-mail, search, and citation alerts; basic and advanced searches; and saving searches.

MEDLINE contains over 11 million references to journal articles, primarily in the biomedical fields. Coverage spans both basic biomedical research and clinical sciences, including nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, and pharmacy, with records dating back to 1966. Approximately 400,000 records are indexed each year at a rate of 8,000 per week.

Source: ScienceDirect, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 011-31-20-485-2677; Fax: 011-31-20-485-3354; http://www.sciencedirect.com.