Correspondence
www.nejm.org
N Engl J Med 1998; 339:2028December 31, 1998
- Article
To the Editor:
In his editorial (Aug. 27 issue),1 Dr. Campion invites suggestions for ways of improving the Journal's World Wide Web site. The usefulness of the site would be increased if access to the subscribers-only site were extended to those who usually read the Journal at their institution's library. Such readers have access to the Journal, but lack the convenience of having their own copy. Allowing readers to opt for only articles on topics they have chosen could enhance the utility of the e-mailed table of contents. Direct links from articles on the site to Medline would be appreciated by many. . . .
1 ReferencesSmita Khandelwal, M.B., B.S.
Manor Hospital, Walsall, W. Midlands WS2 9PS, United KingdomSomdutt Prasad, M.B., B.S.
Arrowe Park Hospital, Upton, Wirral L49 5PE, United Kingdom1
Campion EW . Improvements of the Journal 's site on the World Wide Web. N Engl J Med 1998;339:629-629
Full Text | Web of Science | Medline
To the Editor:
The new features of the Journal 's Web site are excellent. However, can the downloading of figures be improved? If I download figures and import them into a software package such as Powerpoint, the quality is too poor for slides to be made of the material. One still has to take photographs of a figure or scan it and then import it. I know that providing good-quality figures would increase the size of the files considerably. But it would represent an enormous improvement, since I expect that many readers will want to use the material in this manner.
Norbert Frickhofen, M.D.
Dr.-Horst-Schmidt-Kliniken, D-65199 Wiesbaden, GermanyTo the Editor:
I really like your Web site, but I think it would be valuable if each article included an option to view all other articles in the Journal that refer to that article. Readers would thus have quick access to associated editorials and letters to the editor.
Alan Cole, M.D.
MetroWest Medical Center, Natick, MA 01760To the Editor:
Many thanks for the new full-text access to the Journal. This service is a big help to me in preparing for teaching conferences, lectures, and seminars. Now I do not have to wonder whether I left any particular volume on my desk at home or at the office or look through stacks of old Journal s in my basement. I have been a subscriber for 27 years, and the Journal has always been a great source of information. Now, it is even better.
Linda M. Wild, M.D.
State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, NY 14214Author/Editor Response
Dr. Campion replies:
The letter writers' comments and suggestions are appreciated. Drs. Khandelwal and Prasad will be glad to learn that all libraries with subscriptions to the Journal do have access to the expanded, full-text Web site. After completing the initial registration, each librarian is responsible for an institutional password that will allow access to the Web site by up to two concurrent users. Institutional passwords are intended to allow access only from the library's computers, and their use is monitored by our Internet server.
On our Web site, each reference is linked to the corresponding abstract in Medline, if there is one. References to Journal articles published after 1992, however, are linked directly to the articles on our Web site.
The electronic transmission of figures and photographs is designed for display on a computer screen, and as Dr. Frickhofen points out, the resulting images are not of optimal quality for other possible uses. In the future, technological advances may permit the creation of better-quality figures whose inclusion will not slow transmission of the article to users. We are continuing to add new features to the site, including the one that Dr. Cole suggests. For example, Original Articles are now linked to their related editorials.
Dr. Wild's comment reflects what many users have told us: that they find it convenient to have quick, on-line access to past issues of the Journal. Our electronic archive now includes just over 300 issues, which is equivalent to about 100 kg of the paper version.
Edward W. Campion, M.D.
