Keeping up with all that literature: The IronRefs database turns 500

The IronRefs database covers published research on remediation applications of zero-valent metals and is accessible at http://cgr.ese.ogi.edu/ironrefs/. The rapid growth of ground water remediation applications of zero-valent metals is reflected in the rapid growth of this database, which exceeded 500 records in December 2001. This is much more complete coverage of this topic than can be obtained from any of the major commercial databases of the scientific literature. Specialized databases such as IronRefs, prepared by experts in a particular field, are becoming increasingly common on the Web and offer distinctive benefits over traditional options for keeping up with the literature in rapidly growing fields of science and engineering.