Who are the indexers, and what are their qualifications?
Most MEDLINE indexers are either Federal employees or employees of firms that have contracts with NLM for biomedical indexing. A prospective indexer must have no less than a bachelor’s degree in a biomedical science. A reading knowledge of certain modern foreign languages is sometimes sought. An increasing number of recent recruits hold advanced degrees in biomedical sciences. Federal employees must be United States citizens, but citizenship is not mandatory for contractors. Indexers are trained in principles of MEDLINE indexing, using the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) controlled vocabulary as part of individualized training provided onsite at NLM in Bethesda, Maryland. The initial part of the training is based on an online training module (that is partially available to the public at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/indexing/index.html), followed by a period of practice indexing that must also be completed at the Library. NLM does not accept other indexing training programs as a substitut
