CASSI, Chemical Abstracts Service Source Index

The Chemical Abstracts Service Source Index, CASSI, is Chemical Abstracts link to the publication history and library holdings or document suppliers of the primary literature from which the abstracts are derived. For example the journal Wuli Xuebao is listed as:

Wuli Xuebao. WLHPAR. ISSN 0372-736X. (Journal of Physics) (Supersedes Chung-Kuo Wu Li Hsueh). In Ch; Ch, Eng sum; Eng tc. v1 n1 F, 1953-v22 n9 S, 1966; v23 n1 Ja, 1974+. [Susp Oc 1966-73]. m 32 1983 Guoji Shudian. WU LI HSUEH PAO. BEIJING. For Eng transl. see Chin. J. Phys. (Beijing) (Engl. Transl.).
Doc. Supplier: CAS
; ... MoKL 1966+; ...

Wuli Xuebao is the full journal title and also in this case the International Organization for Standardization abbreviation (the entries are alphabetized according to the abbreviation). WLHPAR is the CODEN. ISSN 0372-736X is the unique International Standard Serial Number for this journal. Journal of Physics is the English translation of this journal title. The former title of the journal was Chung-Kuo Wu Li Hsueh. The journal is published in Chinese with English summaries and tables of contents. The journal began publication with volume 1 issue 1 in February of 1953, suspended publication with volume 22 issue 9 in September of 1966, resumed publication with volume 23 issue 1 in 1974, and continues to be published today. Why did the journal suspend publication? The journal is published monthly and, in 1983 at the time when Chemical Abstracts provided the information on which this discussion is based, the current volume was 32. Guoji Shudian is the publisher of the journal (CASSI contains of a list of addresses where publishers may be contacted). WU LI HSUEH PAO. BEIJING is the Anglo-American Cataloguing abbreviation and is included since many libraries will have catolgued this journal according to this abbreviation. Chemical Abstracts Service is a document supplier for the journal. Among the 23 libraries holding this journal is the Linda Hall Library at 5109 Cherry Street, Kansas City, MO 64110 (CASSI provides a key that allows the abbreviation MoKL to be identified with the Linda Hall Library and further gives the address of this library), which holds a current subscription to the journal and has issues dating back to 1966.

CASSI also provides a modest amount of citation analysis, but not nearly as much as the Institute for Scientific Information, which we will visit later. For example the top five most frequently cited journals in from 1907 to 1984 were:

J. Biol. Chem.
Biochim. Biophys. Acta
J. Chem. Phys.
J. Am. Chem. Soc.
Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter
Assignment Notes:

In locating the nearest library holding a given journal, you will have to use a bit of trial and error with the Library abbreviations.