The literature of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS): Continuing changes in publication patterns and subject access

The literature on acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) offers unique opportunities for bibliographic analysis. This study presents and analyzes data from the 1992 AIDSLINE database. The analysis compares these 1992 data with data from the 1989 AIDSLINE on two dimensions: The shifts in productivity of various journals that contributed to the literature; and the changing frequencies with which various Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms were used to provide subject access and control. The greatest increase in productivity came from the group of specialty journals in immunity, viral disease, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This increase has significance for collection management. Secondly, although a stable set of indexing terms persisted, new and newly prominent subject headings reflected changes in the knowledge base (e.g., the addition of the subsets of HIV) and the direction of research effort (e.g., toward transmission in the general population). The changes indicate that the knowledge base is less chaotic, but that it is still continuing its rapid alteration and development. The findings have implications for database searching, including the choice of database. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.