Mushroom poisoning, thioctic acid and the foreign language barrier

Abstract

The neglect of foreign language material by English‐speaking scientists may sometimes be just one aspect of a more general problem involving poor current awareness and failure to use available, bibliographic tools. Evidence for this is provided by a study of the factors which have impeded the spread in North America of information on the use of thioctic acid to treat mushroom poisoning. This study also shows that published English language abstracts may be sufficient to overcome the language barrier without the need for full translations. Consequently, a general improvement in the coverage and use of the appropriate bibliographic tools, especially abstracting journals, should help to reduce the foreign language problem.

Citation

Chan, G.K.L. (1977), "Mushroom poisoning, thioctic acid and the foreign language barrier", Aslib Proceedings, Vol. 29 No. 6, pp. 237-240. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb050596