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Publishing trends in Chinese medicine and related subjects documented in WorldCat
Shirley Leung1, Kylie Chan, Lisa Song
1Hong Kong Baptist University Library, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong. shirleyleung@pacbell.net
Background:
Chinese medicine (CM) has been the subject of increasing interest in the past 30 years, both as a discipline and in the larger context of alternative medicine. It has steadily been accepted by and integrated into the medical and health-care fields in many countries.
Objective:
This study aims to gain an overview of how CM has been interpreted and presented to the world outside China and to identify emerging trends.
Methods:
This study is designed to analyse the publishing trends of CM and related subjects in all languages except Chinese, ranging from books and serials to audio-visual and electronic resources found in WorldCat, the world's largest bibliographic database produced by OnLine Computer Library Center (OCLC).
Results:
The findings showed a flourishing growth of publications in CM and related subjects beginning in the 1970s with greater coverage on acupuncture. The materials in English language constitute the major portion of total output.
Conclusion:
We conclude that Chinese medicine has steadily gained recognition in the world based on the analysis of publication records. The translation of original works and analysis of journal literature and conference proceedings on Chinese medicine merit further study.