Current Contents

Current Contents is a rapid alerting service database from the Institute for Scientific Information, now part of Thomson, that is published online and in several different printed subject sections.

History

Current Contents was first published in paper format, in a single edition devoted only to biology and medicine. Other subject editions were added later. Initially, it consisted simply of a reproduction of the title pages from several hundred major peer-reviewed scientific journals, and was published weekly, with the issues containing title pages from journal issues only a few weeks previously, a shorter time lag than any service then available. There was an author index and a crude keyword subject index only. Author addresses were provided so readers could send reprint requests for copies of the actual articles.

Current status

Still published in print, it is presently available as one of the databases included in Thomson's ISI Web of Knowledge with daily updates, and also through other database aggregators.

Editions

The following different editions exist:

• Current Contents Agricultural, Biological, and Environmental Sciences
• Current Contents Arts and Humanities
• Current Contents Clinical Practice
• Current Contents Engineering , Technology, and Applied Sciences
• Current Contents Life Sciences
• Current Contents Physical Chemical and Earth Sciences
• Current Contents Social & Behavioral Sciences

References

• C.D. Hunt, Information Sources in Science and Technology, 3rd ed. Libraries Unlimited, 1998 ISBN 1563085283