Fritz P. GLUCKSTEIN

• 27+ years in veterinary librarianship
• Consultant, Biomedical information retrieval, 1994-
• Coordinator for Veterinary Affairs, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1966-1993
• Co-investigator with Ann Kerker on AVMA/MLA statistical survey, 1966
• Compiler of numerous bibliographies including, Laboratory Animal Welfare: A Selected Annotated Bibliography, 1984 -1993
• Contributed to MEDLARS/MEDLINE indexing vocabulary and instructions for veterinary medicine
• Participated in coordinating collection development policies between NLM and NAL

Major Contributions to Veterinary Librarianship:

Having Dr. Fritz P. Gluckstein at the National Library of Medicine was a great asset to veterinary librarianship for nearly three decades. His unique combination of interests and knowledge of foreign animal diseases, laboratory animal science, and veterinary public health along with the retrieval of scientific information enabled him to contribute significantly to the veterinary medical profession and its literature.

Born in Berlin, Germany and immigrating to the United States in 1948, Fritz earned a B.S. degree at the University of Minnesota in 1953 followed by a D.V.M. degree from the same university in 1955.

In his “first” career as a veterinarian, Fritz worked as a U.S.D.A. meat inspector in Minnesota from 1955 to 1956. He then served in the U.S. Army as veterinary officer at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland from 1956 to 1958. From 1958 to 1959 he was assistant pathologist at the U.S.D.A. Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Ames, Iowa. He relocated to the Washington, DC area to become a veterinary analyst for the U.S.D.A. Economic Research Service from 1959 to 1963 and then Chief of the Microbiology Branch of the Scientific Information Exchange of the Smithsonian Institution for three more years.

In 1966 Dr. Gluckstein entered the U.S. Public Health Service as a commissioned officer and was appointed to the newly created position of Coordinator for Veterinary Affairs at the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland. This position was intended to “expand the Library’s information resources in laboratory animal science, veterinary public health, comparative medicine, and the basic sciences.”

In his volume, A History of the National Library of Medicine, Wyndam Miles described the background behind Fritz’s appointment and noted his contributions. Dr. James H. Steele, the chief veterinary officer of the U.S. Public Health Service, had initiated discussions concerning improvements in the collection of veterinary literature. In conversations with Dr. Martin Cummings, NLM Director, Dr. Steele “emphasized the importance of NLM to his profession, and pointed out that neither NLM nor the National Agricultural Library completely satisfied its needs.” This led to agreements between the institutions to “cooperate in developing the scope and coverage of their veterinary health services collections, so that between them they would cover the subject completely….” As noted by Miles,

“He [Dr. Gluckstein] brought to the Library a philosophical point of view that permitted the institution to serve veterinary medicine without becoming involved in subjects properly belonging to Agriculture, and he made a careful study of the scope and coverage policy, differentiating the literature that the National Library of Medicine and the [National] Agricultural Library should each acquire. The Library set up a panel on veterinary medicine composed of representatives of NLM, the National Agricultural Library, and the American Veterinary Medical Association to develop an authoritative, precise vocabulary of veterinary terms for use by both libraries and for MESH [Medical Subject Headings]. As the Library’s support of the veterinary profession improved, more and more veterinarians came to rely on NLM for information.”

As Fritz got more involved with information, he earned an M.L.S. degree from the University of Maryland in 1984 which further enhanced his outstanding credentials.

During his 27 years as a biomedical information specialist at NLM, Fritz “assisted in updating veterinary terms in Medical Subject Headings and provided liaison between NLM and other Government agencies and the scientific community” in exemplary manner. In particular, he collaborated with Thelma Charen and others in NLM’s MEDLARS Indexing Section in developing instructions for indexing veterinary medicine. Dr. Gluckstein also participating in establishing coordinated collection development policies regarding veterinary medicine for NLM and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Library.

With his veterinary background, Fritz was also well qualified to “participate in NIH’s effort to establish policies to reduce laboratory animal pain and stress.” An outgrowth of this activity resulted in the compilation of a publication titled, Laboratory Animal Welfare: A Selected Annotated Bibliography, begun in 1984 and updated annually until 1993.

During his tenure at NLM, Dr. Gluckstein contributed to a number of classic bibliographies related to veterinary topics of current interest. Among his “Current Bibliographies in Medicine” published by the Superintendent of Documents include: Bovine Somatotropin, Clinical Use of Botulinum Toxin, Toxoplasmosis in Man and Animals, Modeling in Biomedical Research, Lyme Disease, and Bacterial, Viral and Parasitic Foodborne Infections and Intoxications to name a few.

With Ann Kerker, Fritz served as principal investigator on a cooperative project in 1966 with the American Veterinary Medical Association to obtain statistical data regarding the 21 existing veterinary school libraries in the United States and Canada. Funded by a grant from the U.S. Office of Education and Medical Library Association, this was part of an MLA effort to “complete the statistical picture for health sciences libraries of the schools in the United States.”

As a member of the new Veterinary Medical Libraries Group which later became the Section in 1980, he often attended annual meetings and reported on new NLM projects and developments, especially in the areas of “public health and the zoonotic aspects of veterinary medicine.”

Dr. Gluckstein retired from NLM in 1993 after 27 years of service. Following his retirement, Fritz continued to write in the field of veterinary public health and was involved in various consulting assignments.

In addition to being involved with veterinary librarianship and biomedical information, “he has also contributed articles to such publications as Modern Veterinary Practice and the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, and chapters to books such as Equine Medicine and Surgery, and The Biology of the Laboratory Rabbit.”

Dr. Gluckstein is a member of many veterinary organizations, including the American Veterinary Medical Association, American Public Health Association, American Association of Laboratory Animal Science, American Society of Laboratory Animal Practitioners, Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S., and American Veterinary Medical History Society.

Selected Publications:

Broderson JR, Gluckstein FP. Chapter 16: Zoonoses and occupational health considerations. In: Manning PJ, Ringler DH, Newcomer CE, eds. The biology of the laboratory rabbit. 2 nd ed. San Diego: Academic Press; 1994. p. 355-365.

Charen T, Gluckstein FP, National Library of Medicine Index Section. Veterinary medicine: MEDLARS indexing instructions. [Bethesda, MD]: National Library of Medicine, Bibliographic Services Division, Index Section; 1973.

Gluckstein FP. Bacterial, viral, and parasitic foodborne infections and intoxications: January 1986 through October 1988: 662 citations. Bethesda, MD: National Library of Medicine, Reference Section; Washington, DC: Supt. of Docs.; 1988. (Current Bibliographies in Medicine, no. 88-13).

Gluckstein FP. Care and use of laboratory animals: January 1985 through December 1989: 230 citations. Bethesda, MD: National Library of Medicine, Reference Section ; Washington, DC: Supt. of Docs.; 1989. (Current Bibliographies in Medicine, no. 89-15).

Gluckstein FP. Chapter 18: Diseases of public health significance. In: Weisbroth SH, Flatt RE, Kraus AL, eds. The biology of the laboratory rabbit. New York: Academic Press; 1974. p. 453-462.

Gluckstein FP. Modeling in biomedical research: applications to studies in cardiovascular/pulmonary function and diabetes: January 1986 through March 1989. Bethesda, MD: National Library of Medicine, Reference Section ; Washington, DC: Supt. of Docs.; 1989. (Current Bibliographies in Medicine, no. 89-5).

Gluckstein FP. National Library of Medicine and the public health veterinarian. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1971 Dec 1;159(11):1508-11.

Gluckstein FP. National Library of Medicine and the public health veterinarian. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1971 Jun 1;158(11):1884-5. [Abstract].

Gluckstein FP. Pain, anesthesia, and analgesia in common laboratory animals: January 1980 through December 1986; 514 citations. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Service, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health; [1987]. (Literature search, no. 86-17).

Gluckstein FP. Seafood safety: January 1990 through July 1992: 961 citations. Bethesda, MD: National Library of Medicine, Reference Section ; Washington, DC: Supt. of Docs.; 1992. (Current Bibliographies in Medicine, no. 92-7).

Gluckstein FP. Toxoplasmosis in man and animals: January 1987 through May 1989, 986 citations. Bethesda, MD: National Library of Medicine, Reference Section ; Washington, DC: Supt. of Docs.; 1989. (Current Bibliographies in Medicine, no. 89-9).

Gluckstein FP. The veterinary program of the National Library of Medicine. J Parasitol. 1970;56(4 sec II pt.1):114-5.

Gluckstein FP, Doszkocs TE, Hoag WG. The laboratory animal data bank (LADB). Proceedings of International Symposium on Animal Health and Disease Data Banks, 4-6 Dec. 1978. Washington, DC: U.S. Dept of Agric.; 1979. (Misc Publ., No. 1381). p. 147-54.

Gluckstein FP, Glock MH, Hill JG. Bovine somatotropin: January 1985 through October 1990: 1097 citations. Bethesda, MD: National Library of Medicine, Reference Section ; Washington, DC: Supt. of Docs.; 1990. (Current Bibliographies in Medicine, no. 90-13).

Gluckstein FP, Hallett M. Clinical use of botulinum toxin: January 1987 through September 1990: 318 citations. Bethesda, MD: National Library of Medicine, Reference Section ; Washington, DC: Supt. of Docs.; 1990. (Current Bibliographies in Medicine, no. 90-10).

Gluckstein FP, National Library of Medicine Index Section. Veterinary medicine: selected glossary and indexing instructions. [Bethesda, MD: National Library of Medicine] Index Section; 1969.

Laboratory animal welfare: a selected annotated bibliography. Bethesda, MD: Reference Services Division, National Library of Medicine, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, 1985-1993.

Current Bibliographies in Medicine, CBM 93-11. [cited 13 April 2010]. <http://www.nlm.nih.gov/archive/20040830/pubs/cbm/labanim.html >.

Litterst C, Adams R, Hoag W, Gluckstein F, Soave O. The laboratory animal data bank: concepts and capabilities. Toxicol Lett. 1980;(special issue 1):188.

MLA Committee on Surveys and Statistics; Gluckstein F, Kerker A, principal investigators. Library statistics of veterinary school in the United States and Canada. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1967 Apr;55(2):201-6. [cited 29 Mar 2010]. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC199051/pdf/mlab00171-0092.pdf >.

Scannell K, Gluckstein FP. Lyme disease: January 1985 through December 1988: 850 citations. Bethesda, MD: National Library of Medicine, Reference Section ; Washington, DC: Supt. of Docs.; 1989. (Current Bibliographies in Medicine, no. 88-17).

Honors and Awards:

Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, 1966

Fellow, Royal Society for Public Health (London)

Certificate of Merit, U.S. Department of Agriculture 1962

Member, Advisory Scientific Board of the Gorgas Memorial Institute of Tropical and Preventive Medicine, 1967 to 1970

Beta Phi Mu

Publications about Fritz Gluckstein:

Fritz Paul Gluckstein. Marquis who’s who on the Web. [Internet]. Marquis Who’s Who; 2009. [cited 29 Mar 2010]. <http://search.marquiswhoswho.com/executable/SearchResults.aspx?db=E>.

Gluckstein, Fritz Paul. American men & women of science 1998-99, 20th ed. New Providence, NJ: R.R. Bowker; 1999. p. 208.

Gluckstein, Fritz Paul. Who’s who in veterinary science and medicine. 2nd ed. Van Nuys, CA: Crown Publishing; 1991. p. 89.

Veterinary expert Gluckstein retires. National Library of Medicine News. 1994 Jan-Feb;49(1):6. Also available from: NLM Newsline. [cited 3 May 2010]. <http://www.nlm.nih.gov/archive/20040422/pubs/nlmnews/janfeb94.html >.

Gluckstein, Fritz P. Who’s Who in Library and Information Services. [Chicago: ALA; 1982] p. 175.

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Fritz Gluckstein. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Survivor Volunteers. [Internet]. [cited 29 Mar 2010]. <http://www.ushmm.org/remembrance/survivoraffairs/meet/detail.php?content=gluckstein>.

Comments from Dr. Gluckstein:

Dr. Gluckstein shares the following anecdote:

“My first contact with veterinary librarianship actually occurred in veterinary school. At that time the school had only one librarian, and the library was not open in the evenings and on weekends. I suggested to the faculty library advisor that students should take turns staffing the library when the librarian was not on duty and was promptly asked to form a student committee that would submit detailed recommendations as to how this could be accomplished. The committee’s recommendations were accepted, and the library stayed open evenings and Saturday’s successfully staffed by veterinary students in rotation.”

Other Publications and Resources:

Miles WD. Extension of traditional library services. In: A history of the National Library of Medicine: the nation’s treasury of medical knowledge. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine ; Washington, DC: For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O.; 1982. p. 443-444. [cited 3 May 2010]. <http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/manuscripts/miles/miles.html> . <http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/manuscripts/miles/miles_25.pdf >.

Collection development manual of the National Library of Medicine. 2nd ed. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine; 1985. [Page 99 lists Dr. Gluckstein under NLM staff who contributed to the manual.]

Prepared by Susanne Whitaker, May 10, 2010; Photo courtesy United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.