美国文献情报界的一个奇葩是PubMed/MEDLINE。据说美国有这样的法律：除非有足够的证据证明，必须政府做的，政府才可以做；否则一律交给民间做。按照这个说法，PubMed/MEDLINE肯定不应该由美国政府做吧？也不知道咋回事，反正这些年PubMed/MEDLINE做下来了，做得还很好，尤其值得关注的一个新项目是： PubMed Central，个人觉得这个项目的影响意义深远。

眼下，美国政府在折腾，这事不小心影响到了文献情报界了。PubMed/MEDLINE的网站，挂出提示：

PubMed is open, however it is being maintained with minimal staffing due to the lapse in government funding. Information will be updated to the extent possible, and the agency will attempt to respond to urgent operational inquiries. For updates regarding government operating status see USA.gov.

PubMed/MEDLINE属于U.S. National Library of Medicine，其网站挂出提示：

Due to the lapse in government funding, the information on this web site may not be up to date, transactions submitted via the web site may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted. Updates regarding government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be found at USA.gov.

U.S. National Library of Medicine属于大名鼎鼎的National Institutes of Health (NIH)，其网站挂出提示：

Due to the lapse in government funding, the information on this web site may not be up to date, transactions submitted via the web site may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted.

The NIH Clinical Center (the research hospital of NIH) is open. For more details about its operating status, go to cc.nih.gov.

Updates regarding government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be found at USA.gov.

但是，PubMed/MEDLINE真的会消失吗？个人觉得一定不会：

一是美国政府不会一直折腾吧？

二是即使美国政府一直折腾，这个PubMed/MEDLINE的东西已经在其他相关平台被整合，其内容将继续得到使用，比如汤森路透的Web of Knowledge平台，就完全整合了Medline的内容，访问网址：http://www.webofknowledge.com/Medline

三是长期看，美国政府不做这事，一定会有商业公司顶上的，一定。