Using BITNET to access the National Library of Medicine databases* By Richard K. C. Hsieh, Dr. P.H. Director for International Programs
National Library of Medicine 8600 Rockville Pike Bethesda, Maryland 20894 Carlos A. Gamboa, M.D. Regional Advisor Human Resources Program Pan American Health Organization 525 Twenty-third Street, N. W. Washington, D.C. 20037
An ongoing developmental project is described that uses the National Library of Medicine (NLM) GRATEFUL MED software on the BITNET network to access the NLM databases. The objective of the project is to improve biomedical communication capabilities to support health professionals in countries where international telecommunication services are limited. After a successful demonstration of the concept, the system was assembled and tested by the University of Chile and NLM. The full impact of this project will be measured at a later time. This paper describes the concept and testing of the system in Latin American countries.
In 1970, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) established an online search capability known as the Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System (MEDLARS). In 1986, NLM developed a software package called GRATEFUL MED (GM), which facilitates online searching of the MEDLARS system. Today, more than 40,000 institutions and individuals in the United States conduct about five million online MEDLARS searches per year. Interest in searching the NLM databases is not limited to U.S. health personnel. Internationally, more than seventeen International MEDLARS Centers provide technical and administrative assistance to health personnel in accessing the NLM databases. Some international centers lease the most well known NLM database, MEDLINE, to provide search services in their countries; some centers provide online access to NLM databases through the international "packetswitching service" system, using a message-sending convention termed the X.25 protocol. Some international centers do both. But it remains difficult, sometimes impossible, for medical scholars and clinicians in LatPresented June 3, 1991, at the Ninety-first Annual Meeting of the Medical Library Association in San Francisco, California. *
Bull Med Libr Assoc 80(4) October 1992
in American and Caribbean countries to access all NLM databases, due mainly to high costs and limited international telecommunications services.
THE BITNET NETWORK
BITNET is an international digital telecommunication network that links more than 1,000 research organizations and educational institutions in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Each participating institution contributes computers, leased communication lines, personnel, and communication software. The primary purpose of BITNET is to enable exchange of noncommercial information in support of a member institution's mission of research or education. Gateways exist between BITNET and other networks such as INTERNET, ARPANET, MILNET, NSFNET, and JANET. The member institution (a BITNET site) determines the type and number of nodes; each node has a unique node name. A user connected to a particular node is identified by a user identification and the node name. BITNET operates as a "store and forward" network. A message or file originating at a given node is received by an intermediate node and then forwarded 335
Hsieh and Gamboa
to its destination. A paper written by one scientist can be sent as electronic mail (E-Mail) through BITNET to someone at a distant location. The recipient can read the paper, add comments, make revisions, and then transmit it back to the source. Regardless of the distance an E-Mail message travels, the sender (user) pays only the cost of a local telephone connection. In addition to E-Mail, several other BITNET features are important for scientific information distribution and exchange, including list server and data
exchange. There are thirty-eight countries and more than 300 health science faculties in Latin America and the Caribbean where education and research programs could benefit from linking to BITNET or other academic networks. Until 1988, despite the popularity of these networks in North America, only a few faculties in Latin America could be reached on BITNET E-Mail, and they had to be given passwords by institutions overseas. One example was the issuance of BITNET passwords by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to two members of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Chile in Santiago who were collaborating with NIH scientists for biomedical research projects. Their positive experience with BITNET led to the rapid development of a nationwide academic network in Chile. THE ORIGIN OF BITNIS
Figure 1 Topology of BITNIS Mexico Argentina
1TI
11 ~~~~~~~~~~BITNIS G1ateway
NLM j: AR
DCRT/NIH
Chile
BITNET PAHO/H1
X
__
Venezuela
a dedicated PC, which serves as a gateway. That is, it can access the NIH BITNET node and the NLM mainframe computer. The gateway PC dials the NIH BITNET node at a fixed interval to check for incoming BITNET mail. When incoming mail (a file) is waiting in the mailbox, the PC requests file downloading. The incoming file is removed from the BITNET E-Mail envelope by the gateway PC, and the search statements are sent automatically to the NLM mainframe computer. After the MEDLINE search is executed, the gateway PC captures the search results, places them in the same E-Mail envelope, and returns the file to
the sender (Figure 1).
In 1988, independent of the NIH experiment with BITNET, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) also was working with NLM to make online MEDLARS search service available to the medical li-
PHASE I OF BITNIS
braries of the University of Chile. Naturally, participants of the two projects began to wonder whether BITNET could be used to search NLM databases; more specifically, they wondered if it would be technically and legally possible to transmit search commands and search results on BITNET. In May 1988, a collaborative project named BITNIS (BITNET and NLM Intercommunication System) was launched by NLM, PAHO, and the university. The test software for BITNIS was written by Dr. Andres Stutzin and Victor Cid of the University of Chile. In August 1988, they brought the first BITNIS software to Washington, D.C., and the basic concept of BITNIS was demonstrated successfully at NLM. MEDLINE search statements are prepared through the GM screen manager on a PC at a remote site, such as Chile. The GM file containing NLM search statements begins with "BEGIN SEARCH" and ends with "END SEARCH." This file then is given an identifier (e.g., "Universidad de Chile-BITNIS"), and placed in a BITNET E-Mail "envelope" for transmission to NLM in the BITNET network. At the other end of the BITNIS system at NLM is
In Phase I, all MEDLARS searches from Chile are initiated on an IBM PC in the Medical Library. This PC is connected by a dedicated line to an IBM 4361 located across town in the University Computer Studies Center. MEDLARS queries, along with other BITNET messages to the NIH BITNET address, are stored in the IBM 4361 for batch forwarding. This computer, which manages a BITNET address and file, also is used to store MEDLARS search results received from the BITNET node at NIH in Washington, D.C. The GM software is utilized primarily by health sciences librarians to establish user identification and to formulate and verify queries for each MEDLINE search. At NLM, the gateway software for the IBM PC performs a number of functions, including synchronization. That is, the software dials up the BITNET node at the Division of Computer Research and Technology (DCRT) at NIH every thirty seconds to download any incoming MEDLARS search queries and it communicates to the NLM mainframe (ELHILL) to upload MEDLARS search queries and download MEDLARS search results. All MEDLARS search results are for-
336
Bull Med Libr Assoc 80(4) October 1992
Using BITNET
Table 1 Participants in BITNIS beta test
Table 3 Tumaround time of MEDLINE searches using BITNIS Num-
User ID code BRM 35 BRM 36 BRM 37
BRM 38 BRM 39
ber of participants
Country
Argentina, Uruguay Chile Venezuela, Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala Mexico PAHO headquarters
Academic network
Originaftng network
14 21 3
UUNET BITNET UUNET, ECONET, PEACENET
7 18 63
BITNET BITNET, INTERNET EARN
warded to the DCRT BITNET node, which holds them until batch forwarding to Chile. At the time of the initial BITNIS testing, the BITNET node at the University of Chile was dependent upon the free use of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) telecommunication system for connection to the University of Maryland. This free use of the NASA telecommunication system, available from 8:00 P.M. to 6:00 A.M., continued throughout the initial phase and into phase II of BITNIS.
PHASE II OF BITNIS Several technical improvements were made in Phase II of the project. One was addition of a multiuser capability. Now a MEDLARS search on BITNET from Chile and other countries can be formulated on any PC by any user who has the BITNET access code issued by the university. Another improvement in the connection between NLM and the NIH BITNET node is that the frequency of dial-up is now every three seconds. During this phase of the testing, the BITNET Network Communication Center (EDUCOM) served notice that the BITNET Usage Committee had approved BITNIS use of BITNET. Shortly thereafter, PAHO, recognizing the importance of BITNET to health professionals, began preparations to establish a BITNET node at its headquarters. Major educational efforts Table 2 Total MEDLINE searches and connecting time User ID
Total searches
Connecting time (hours)
BRM 35 BRM 36 BRM 37 BRM 38 BRM 39 Total
335 195 19 30 195 774
39.524 26.494 0.413 2.070 21.903 90.404
Bull Med Libr Assoc 80(4) October 1992
INTERNET BITNET PEACENET/ECONET EARN UUNET
Tumaround time (minutes)
9 10 18 25 85
now are underway to encourage the establishment of more BITNET nodes in Latin America to promote better connections among nodes and to educate more medical personnel in the use of various features in BITNET.
PHASE III OF BITNIS The great majority (over 96%) of the BITNIS system failures recorded in Phases I and II were attributable to dial-up telephone calls between the DCRT mainframe and the NLM gateway PC. In Phase III, a dedicated telephone line and two 9,600-baud modems were installed (one at DCRT and the other at NLM). In essence, this modification of hardware configuration makes the NLM gateway PC a BITNET "end node." That is, any E-Mail addressed to the NLM BITNET node is forwarded automatically from the DCRT BITNET node to the PC at NLM. A complementary piece of software was added to assist in the use of GM. Briefly, this software, named SMED, edits the search file generated by GM by adding the necessary lines of codes required for a BITNIS search file. When SMED is used for the first time, it also helps the user enter the necessary identification information as required by the BITNET node. The configured information is saved for all future BITNIS use. BETA TEST OF BITNIS
Modifications made in all three phases of the BITNIS project have resulted in a smooth working model. Participants agreed that prior to any further development of BITNIS, a beta test of the system was needed to elicit comments from users. Beginning in September 1990, a five-month test of BITNIS was conducted with the participation of health professionals in Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, Mexico, Venezuela, and elsewhere, many of whom were experienced BITNET users. Each participant was given a copy of the necessary software and the user manual. Results of the beta test indicated that the system worked well and most users found it important in their professional activities. A Sun workstation was 337
Hsieh and Gamboa
purchased in late 1991 to replace the old IBM PC gateway. The new gateway accommodates an increased search throughput rate and will provide the international MEDLARS centers with an administrative control capability. The beta test provided some statistical data. The number of participants and the countries involved are shown in Table 1. The distribution of queries made by participants is shown in Table 2. The turnaround time of MEDLINE searches on BITNIS is shown in Table 3. The UUNET from Argentina used a "dial-up as needed method" to connect its gateway, resulting in a longer turnaround time. The turnaround time for MEDLINE searches is acceptable, even for most of the users in Argentina. Participants indicated that familiarity with the use of BITNET E-Mail made learning BITNIS easy.
must be conducted with a spirit of international cooperation, and the project does not have funding earmarked. It is rewarding to note that, during the progress of this project, the Pan American Federation of Associations of Medical Schools (PAFAMS) and PAHO developed a plan for collaboration and also allocated resources for computer-based communications in support of international medical education. A timely gift of computers and services by the IBM Partnership Programs for the Latin American countries, and the technical support of the NASA, the National Science Foundation, the University of Maryland Computer Center, and the Yale University Computer Center enabled the distribution of academic networks to major university campuses in the Latin American countries.
CONCLUSION
Received October 1991; accepted March 1992
BITNIS has had a modest beginning based on three common understandings: the professional objective is to promote communication for health, the project
338
Bull Med Libr Assoc 80(4) October 1992
National Library of Medicine 8600 Rockville Pike Bethesda, Maryland 20894 Carlos A. Gamboa, M.D. Regional Advisor Human Resources Program Pan American Health Organization 525 Twenty-third Street, N. W. Washington, D.C. 20037
An ongoing developmental project is described that uses the National Library of Medicine (NLM) GRATEFUL MED software on the BITNET network to access the NLM databases. The objective of the project is to improve biomedical communication capabilities to support health professionals in countries where international telecommunication services are limited. After a successful demonstration of the concept, the system was assembled and tested by the University of Chile and NLM. The full impact of this project will be measured at a later time. This paper describes the concept and testing of the system in Latin American countries.
In 1970, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) established an online search capability known as the Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System (MEDLARS). In 1986, NLM developed a software package called GRATEFUL MED (GM), which facilitates online searching of the MEDLARS system. Today, more than 40,000 institutions and individuals in the United States conduct about five million online MEDLARS searches per year. Interest in searching the NLM databases is not limited to U.S. health personnel. Internationally, more than seventeen International MEDLARS Centers provide technical and administrative assistance to health personnel in accessing the NLM databases. Some international centers lease the most well known NLM database, MEDLINE, to provide search services in their countries; some centers provide online access to NLM databases through the international "packetswitching service" system, using a message-sending convention termed the X.25 protocol. Some international centers do both. But it remains difficult, sometimes impossible, for medical scholars and clinicians in LatPresented June 3, 1991, at the Ninety-first Annual Meeting of the Medical Library Association in San Francisco, California. *
Bull Med Libr Assoc 80(4) October 1992
in American and Caribbean countries to access all NLM databases, due mainly to high costs and limited international telecommunications services.
THE BITNET NETWORK
BITNET is an international digital telecommunication network that links more than 1,000 research organizations and educational institutions in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Each participating institution contributes computers, leased communication lines, personnel, and communication software. The primary purpose of BITNET is to enable exchange of noncommercial information in support of a member institution's mission of research or education. Gateways exist between BITNET and other networks such as INTERNET, ARPANET, MILNET, NSFNET, and JANET. The member institution (a BITNET site) determines the type and number of nodes; each node has a unique node name. A user connected to a particular node is identified by a user identification and the node name. BITNET operates as a "store and forward" network. A message or file originating at a given node is received by an intermediate node and then forwarded 335
Hsieh and Gamboa
to its destination. A paper written by one scientist can be sent as electronic mail (E-Mail) through BITNET to someone at a distant location. The recipient can read the paper, add comments, make revisions, and then transmit it back to the source. Regardless of the distance an E-Mail message travels, the sender (user) pays only the cost of a local telephone connection. In addition to E-Mail, several other BITNET features are important for scientific information distribution and exchange, including list server and data
exchange. There are thirty-eight countries and more than 300 health science faculties in Latin America and the Caribbean where education and research programs could benefit from linking to BITNET or other academic networks. Until 1988, despite the popularity of these networks in North America, only a few faculties in Latin America could be reached on BITNET E-Mail, and they had to be given passwords by institutions overseas. One example was the issuance of BITNET passwords by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to two members of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Chile in Santiago who were collaborating with NIH scientists for biomedical research projects. Their positive experience with BITNET led to the rapid development of a nationwide academic network in Chile. THE ORIGIN OF BITNIS
Figure 1 Topology of BITNIS Mexico Argentina
1TI
11 ~~~~~~~~~~BITNIS G1ateway
NLM j: AR
DCRT/NIH
Chile
BITNET PAHO/H1
X
__
Venezuela
a dedicated PC, which serves as a gateway. That is, it can access the NIH BITNET node and the NLM mainframe computer. The gateway PC dials the NIH BITNET node at a fixed interval to check for incoming BITNET mail. When incoming mail (a file) is waiting in the mailbox, the PC requests file downloading. The incoming file is removed from the BITNET E-Mail envelope by the gateway PC, and the search statements are sent automatically to the NLM mainframe computer. After the MEDLINE search is executed, the gateway PC captures the search results, places them in the same E-Mail envelope, and returns the file to
the sender (Figure 1).
In 1988, independent of the NIH experiment with BITNET, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) also was working with NLM to make online MEDLARS search service available to the medical li-
PHASE I OF BITNIS
braries of the University of Chile. Naturally, participants of the two projects began to wonder whether BITNET could be used to search NLM databases; more specifically, they wondered if it would be technically and legally possible to transmit search commands and search results on BITNET. In May 1988, a collaborative project named BITNIS (BITNET and NLM Intercommunication System) was launched by NLM, PAHO, and the university. The test software for BITNIS was written by Dr. Andres Stutzin and Victor Cid of the University of Chile. In August 1988, they brought the first BITNIS software to Washington, D.C., and the basic concept of BITNIS was demonstrated successfully at NLM. MEDLINE search statements are prepared through the GM screen manager on a PC at a remote site, such as Chile. The GM file containing NLM search statements begins with "BEGIN SEARCH" and ends with "END SEARCH." This file then is given an identifier (e.g., "Universidad de Chile-BITNIS"), and placed in a BITNET E-Mail "envelope" for transmission to NLM in the BITNET network. At the other end of the BITNIS system at NLM is
In Phase I, all MEDLARS searches from Chile are initiated on an IBM PC in the Medical Library. This PC is connected by a dedicated line to an IBM 4361 located across town in the University Computer Studies Center. MEDLARS queries, along with other BITNET messages to the NIH BITNET address, are stored in the IBM 4361 for batch forwarding. This computer, which manages a BITNET address and file, also is used to store MEDLARS search results received from the BITNET node at NIH in Washington, D.C. The GM software is utilized primarily by health sciences librarians to establish user identification and to formulate and verify queries for each MEDLINE search. At NLM, the gateway software for the IBM PC performs a number of functions, including synchronization. That is, the software dials up the BITNET node at the Division of Computer Research and Technology (DCRT) at NIH every thirty seconds to download any incoming MEDLARS search queries and it communicates to the NLM mainframe (ELHILL) to upload MEDLARS search queries and download MEDLARS search results. All MEDLARS search results are for-
336
Bull Med Libr Assoc 80(4) October 1992
Using BITNET
Table 1 Participants in BITNIS beta test
Table 3 Tumaround time of MEDLINE searches using BITNIS Num-
User ID code BRM 35 BRM 36 BRM 37
BRM 38 BRM 39
ber of participants
Country
Argentina, Uruguay Chile Venezuela, Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala Mexico PAHO headquarters
Academic network
Originaftng network
14 21 3
UUNET BITNET UUNET, ECONET, PEACENET
7 18 63
BITNET BITNET, INTERNET EARN
warded to the DCRT BITNET node, which holds them until batch forwarding to Chile. At the time of the initial BITNIS testing, the BITNET node at the University of Chile was dependent upon the free use of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) telecommunication system for connection to the University of Maryland. This free use of the NASA telecommunication system, available from 8:00 P.M. to 6:00 A.M., continued throughout the initial phase and into phase II of BITNIS.
PHASE II OF BITNIS Several technical improvements were made in Phase II of the project. One was addition of a multiuser capability. Now a MEDLARS search on BITNET from Chile and other countries can be formulated on any PC by any user who has the BITNET access code issued by the university. Another improvement in the connection between NLM and the NIH BITNET node is that the frequency of dial-up is now every three seconds. During this phase of the testing, the BITNET Network Communication Center (EDUCOM) served notice that the BITNET Usage Committee had approved BITNIS use of BITNET. Shortly thereafter, PAHO, recognizing the importance of BITNET to health professionals, began preparations to establish a BITNET node at its headquarters. Major educational efforts Table 2 Total MEDLINE searches and connecting time User ID
Total searches
Connecting time (hours)
BRM 35 BRM 36 BRM 37 BRM 38 BRM 39 Total
335 195 19 30 195 774
39.524 26.494 0.413 2.070 21.903 90.404
Bull Med Libr Assoc 80(4) October 1992
INTERNET BITNET PEACENET/ECONET EARN UUNET
Tumaround time (minutes)
9 10 18 25 85
now are underway to encourage the establishment of more BITNET nodes in Latin America to promote better connections among nodes and to educate more medical personnel in the use of various features in BITNET.
PHASE III OF BITNIS The great majority (over 96%) of the BITNIS system failures recorded in Phases I and II were attributable to dial-up telephone calls between the DCRT mainframe and the NLM gateway PC. In Phase III, a dedicated telephone line and two 9,600-baud modems were installed (one at DCRT and the other at NLM). In essence, this modification of hardware configuration makes the NLM gateway PC a BITNET "end node." That is, any E-Mail addressed to the NLM BITNET node is forwarded automatically from the DCRT BITNET node to the PC at NLM. A complementary piece of software was added to assist in the use of GM. Briefly, this software, named SMED, edits the search file generated by GM by adding the necessary lines of codes required for a BITNIS search file. When SMED is used for the first time, it also helps the user enter the necessary identification information as required by the BITNET node. The configured information is saved for all future BITNIS use. BETA TEST OF BITNIS
Modifications made in all three phases of the BITNIS project have resulted in a smooth working model. Participants agreed that prior to any further development of BITNIS, a beta test of the system was needed to elicit comments from users. Beginning in September 1990, a five-month test of BITNIS was conducted with the participation of health professionals in Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, Mexico, Venezuela, and elsewhere, many of whom were experienced BITNET users. Each participant was given a copy of the necessary software and the user manual. Results of the beta test indicated that the system worked well and most users found it important in their professional activities. A Sun workstation was 337
Hsieh and Gamboa
purchased in late 1991 to replace the old IBM PC gateway. The new gateway accommodates an increased search throughput rate and will provide the international MEDLARS centers with an administrative control capability. The beta test provided some statistical data. The number of participants and the countries involved are shown in Table 1. The distribution of queries made by participants is shown in Table 2. The turnaround time of MEDLINE searches on BITNIS is shown in Table 3. The UUNET from Argentina used a "dial-up as needed method" to connect its gateway, resulting in a longer turnaround time. The turnaround time for MEDLINE searches is acceptable, even for most of the users in Argentina. Participants indicated that familiarity with the use of BITNET E-Mail made learning BITNIS easy.
must be conducted with a spirit of international cooperation, and the project does not have funding earmarked. It is rewarding to note that, during the progress of this project, the Pan American Federation of Associations of Medical Schools (PAFAMS) and PAHO developed a plan for collaboration and also allocated resources for computer-based communications in support of international medical education. A timely gift of computers and services by the IBM Partnership Programs for the Latin American countries, and the technical support of the NASA, the National Science Foundation, the University of Maryland Computer Center, and the Yale University Computer Center enabled the distribution of academic networks to major university campuses in the Latin American countries.
CONCLUSION
Received October 1991; accepted March 1992
BITNIS has had a modest beginning based on three common understandings: the professional objective is to promote communication for health, the project
338
Bull Med Libr Assoc 80(4) October 1992
