Articles Published and Downloaded by Public Health Scientists: Analysis of Data From the CDC Public Health Library, 2011-2013.

OBJECTIVE: To describe scientific information usage and publication patterns of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Public Health Library and Information Center patrons. DESIGN: Administratively collected patron usage data and aggregate data on CDC-authored publications from the CDC Library for 3 consecutive years were analyzed. SETTING: The CDC Public Health Library and Information Center, which serves CDC employees nationally and internationally. PARTICIPANTS: Internal patrons and external users of the CDC Library. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Three-year trends in full-text article publication and downloads including most common journals used for each purpose, systematic literature searches requested and completed, and subscriptions to a weekly public health current literature awareness service. RESULTS: From 2011 to 2013, CDC scientists published a total of 7718 articles in the peer-reviewed literature. During the same period, article downloads from the CDC Library increased 25% to more than 1.1 million, completed requests for reviews of the scientific literature increased by 34%, and electronic subscriptions to literature compilation services increased by 23%. CONCLUSIONS: CDC's scientific output and information use via the CDC Library are both increasing. Researchers and field staff are making greater use of literature review services and other customized information content delivery. Virtual public health library access is an increasingly important resource for the scientific practice of public health.

Tracking the epidemiology of human genes in the literature: the HuGE Published Literature database.

Completion of the human genome sequence has inspired a new wave of epidemiologic studies on the prevalence of gene variants and their associations with diseases in human populations. In 2001, the Human Genome Epidemiology (HuGE) Network launched the HuGE Published Literature database (HuGE Pub Lit), a searchable, online knowledge base of published, population-based epidemiologic studies of human genes. The database contains links to PubMed articles and can be searched by gene, disease, interacting factor, type of study design or analysis, or any combination of terms in these categories. The search output contains a link to each identified article, along with a table summarizing key features of the reported study. As of September 6, 2005, some 17,665 articles were indexed in the database. Most described gene-disease associations (86%); fewer evaluated gene-gene or gene-environment interactions (17%), the prevalence of gene variants (10%), or genetic tests (3%). Although not comprehensive, this database is a unique tool for epidemiologic researchers and others concerned with the role of genetic variation in population health. Here, the authors provide an overview of the database and its characteristics and uses.