Notice of NLM Z39.50 MEDLINE Server Ceasing

The National Library of Medicine will discontinue its Z39.50 server to the MEDLINE data (back to 1966) and the PREMEDLINE data effective December 13, 1999. This server communicates with the ELHILL command language, mainframe online system which is being discontinued for billed public access on September 30, 1999. (Read the March-April 1999 NLM Technical Bulletin article announcing this demise online at: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/ma99/ma99_elhill.html) In consideration for those organizations that may be providing Z39.50 MEDLINE/PREMEDLINE access to their users, NLM will continue to support its server until nearly the end of the calendar year through the completion of the December 9912 (EM) update of MEDLINE data. In mid-December, NLM changes to the new indexing year using the new edition of Medical Subject Headlings, all of which would require significant changes to the Z39.50 server. There is no Z39.50 replacement currently planned for the MEDLINE data. NLM provides free Web access to all its databases and users have been encouraged to transition to the Web for more than a year. PubMed, Internet Grateful Med, LocatorPlus, and TOXNET on the Web provide free access using state-of-the-art search engines (https://www.nlm.nih.gov). Please direct questions to NLM Customer Service at: custserv@nlm.nih.gov.