BALTIC SEAENVIRONMENT PROCEEDINGS No. 59 - Helcom

m- Information
Service 22.6.1993
BALTIC MARINE ENVIRONMENT BIBLIOGRAPHY
Pirjo Sutela M. Sc.
Technical Research Centre of Finland
Information service
What is the Baltic Marine Environment Bibliography?
The Baltic Marine Environment Bibliography covers bibliographic information on the Baltic Sea,
i.e. all marine areas from the Gulfs of Finland and Bothnia in the east and north to the Belt Sea
and Kattegat in the west. It contains references to reports including “grey literature”, journal
articles, books, conference proceedings, dissertations etc. The bibliography covers material from
the year 1970, currently ca. 9 000 references.
The Baltic Marine Environment Bibliography is produced under auspices of The Baltic Marine
Environment Protection Commission (Helsinki Commission) from contributions prepared by the
Baltic Sea states. The Information Service of the Technical Research Centre of Finland is
responsible for compilation and processing of the bibliographic information as a consultant for the
Helsinki Commission.
The availability of the Baltic Marine Environment Bibliography
The bibliographic information is inputted to machine readable form to compile a database. Various
forms of output are possible, for example printed bibliographies, computer-output-microfiches
(COM), magnetic tapes or diskettes for online retrieval systems, diskettes for microcomputer use
and CD-ROMs. Current output forms are printed bibliographies and the online service.
Previously also microfiches have been produced. In addition the bibliography will be distributed
on diskettes in the near future.
The bibliography is available in microfiche form for the years 1970 - 1989 in three sets: 1970 -
1979, 1980 - 1985 and 1986 - 1989. For the moment the production of microfiches has been
ceased and the printed version has been chosen instead.
The first Baltic Marine Environment Bibliography in printed form (Baltic Sea Environment
Proceedings No. 43) was published in 1992. It covers the years 1986 - 1990. The printed
bibliography will be published yearly and the next bibliography will cover the years 1991 - 1992.
The bibliography is also available as an online database. The online database covers
references from the year 1970. The online service is offered at the Swedish host DAFA by
appointment of the Swedish National Environmental Protection Board, at the German host
DIMDI, Deutsches Istitut ftir Medizinische Dokumentation und Information, and at the
Technical Research Centre of Finland. Online systems are connected to world-wide
telecommunication networks and they are available all over the world.
What can be found from the the Baltic Marine Environment Bibliography?
There are only a few databases in the world dedicated to marine sciences. These include for
example such large international databases as ASFA, BIOSIS and AGRIS. The Baltic Marine
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