Background :  is a database covering European literature on ethics in medicine. It is produced within Eurethnet, a European information network on ethics in medicine and biotechnology.

SveMed+ is a bibliographic database covering Scandinavian medical journals. It is produced by the University Library of Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. The bibliographic references are indexed with terms from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) thesaurus. The MeSH has been translated into several languages, including Swedish, making it suitable as the basis for multilingual tools in the medical field. The data structure of SveMed+ closely mimics that of PubMed/MEDLINE. Users of PubMed/MEDLINE and similar databases typically expect retrieval features that are not readily available off-the-shelf. The SveMed+ interface is based on a free text search engine (Solr) and a relational database management system (Microsoft SQL Server) containing the bibliographic database and a multilingual thesaurus database. The thesaurus database contains medical terms in three different languages and information about relationships between the terms. A combined approach involving the Solr free text index, the bibliographic database and the thesaurus database allowed the implementation of functionality such as automatic multilingual query expansion, faceting and hierarchical explode searches. The present paper describes how this was done in practice.

One of the main challenges faced by libraries is to present their services and holdings to patrons in a truly professional and user-friendly way. The standard library software available does not usually adapt to new technology as quickly as library users and staff would like. However, such limitations need not be accepted. By thinking in terms of small-scale, incremental development and by using general computer software, an ambitious library can create a technologically up-to-date information browsing instrument even though finances and resources are limited. This paper describes the strategic and technological steps involved in such a process.