The International Bibliographic Information on Dietary Supplements Database

Journal of Family Practice, July, 2000 by Marsha J. Handel, Debbie Oberlander

The International Bibliographic Information on Dietary Supplements Database URL: ODP.OD.NIH.GOV/ODS/DATABASES/IBIDS.HTML WEBMASTER E-MAIL: ODS@NIH.GOV

This US government project facilitates access to the worldwide scientific literature on dietary supplements, including vitamins, minerals, and herbal and botanical supplements. The Office of Dietary supplements of the National Institutes of Health produces the International Bibliographic Information of Dietary Supplements (IBIDS) database in conjunction with the National Agricultural Library in the Department of Agriculture. Updated quarterly, it currently offers key word searching of 328,000 bibliographic records with abstracts (1986 to the present) from 3 databases: MEDLINE, AGRICOLA, and AGRIS. Information from as many as 10 additional databases is planned, as well as citations dating back to 1970. The site is well designed for both the novice and experienced user. Users can choose to search the full database or peer-reviewed citations only. Because searching is by key word, it is important to choose the key word option from the menu on the search page so that relevant synonyms are included in the search. Unfortunately, key word searching is not comprehensive. Other menu options include an advanced search that allows for Boolean searching and a refined search that allows another term to be added. Records can be selected from the retrieval list and citations displayed for printing or E-mailing.

Marsha J. Handel, MLS Debbie Oberlander, MS, RD, CNSD New York, NY