The Dublin Journal of Medical and Chemical Science Catalogue

This paper reports on the Dublin Journal of Medical and Chemical Science research project which was conducted as part of the UCD Irish Virtual Research Library and Archive (IVRLA) series of demonstrator research projects. The remit of these projects was to provide digital research resources and to show how digital repositories could not only provide access to archival research materials but could also present material in new ways and suggest themes for further research. This project, which was undertaken in collaboration with the Centre for the History of Medicine in Ireland, created a complete contents catalogue of the Dublin Journal of Medical and Chemical Science from its establishment in 1832 up to the end of 1949, thus opening up the journal as a source for medical historians who are developing an analytical and contextual approach to their subject. The research paper outlines the history and significance of the journal, describes the process of designing the catalogue, and explains the issues encountered in completing the work. The paper also provides a detailed section explaining how users can conduct searches in order to find the material required. It is hoped that this project will develop a further interest in the history of Irish medical publications and the paper concludes with suggestions for how this project could be developed in the future.