The NASA Astrophysics Data System: Overview

Abstract

Abstract. The NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstract Service has become a key component of astronomical research. It provides bibliographic information daily, or near daily, to a majority of astronomical researchers worldwide.We describe the history of the development of the system and its current status. Urania (Boyce 1996), and the ADS role in the emerging electronic astronomical data environment are discussed. Astronomy is unique in that it already has a fully functional data resource, where several of the most important data sources exist on-line and interoperate nearly seamlessly. The ADS and the Strasbourg Data Center (CDS; Genova et al. 2000) form the core of this resource.We show several examples of how to use the ADS, and we show how ADS use has increased as a function of time. Currently it is still increasing exponentially, with a doubling time for number of queries of 17 months.Using the ADS logs we make the first detailed model of how scientific journals are read as a function of time since publication. We find four distinct components. We directly compare the readership rate with the citation rate for scientific articles as a function of age. Citations generally follow reads, but there are some differences.The main journals of astronomy have differences in the ways they are read and cited. We discuss these from a number of different aspects.The impact of the ADS on astronomy can be calculated after making some simple assumptions. We find that the ADS increases the efficiency of astronomical research by 333 Full Time Equivalent (2000 hour) research years per year, and that the value of the early development of the ADS for astronomy, compared with waiting for mature technologies to be adopted, is 2332 FTE research years.A full technical description of the ADS is in three companion articles:

Sharing Data Increases Citations

“…As described by Dorch (2012) and Dorch et al (2015), we apply the large, astronomical abstract database Astrophysics Data System (ADS) 1 by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in 1992 (Boyce, 1996;Kurtz et al, 2000). It contains three bibliographic databases with more than 11.8 million records.…”

Redshift-Independent Distances in the Nasa/Ipac Extragalactic Database: Methodology, Content, and Use of Ned-D

“…Estimates are based on either new observations, or old observations newly re-analyzed. To find eligible distance estimates in the astronomical literature, we at first relied solely on keyword-based searches of the joint Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) and NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS), described by Kurtz et al (2000). ADS offers up-to-date access to the astronomical literature published in major astronomical and scientific journals, including Astronomy & Astrophysics, The Astronomical Journal, The Astrophysical Journal, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, as well as Nature, and Science, and most other journals.…”

Enhanced Journals: A Case Study with General Remarks

“…Most electronic journals offer linked references the usual method is via CrossRef. IBVS does have reference links, but relies on a different support infrastructure: the bibliographic identifier standard in astronomy (Bibcode, see Schmitz et al, 1995) and the NASA/Smithsonian Astrophysics Data System (ADS, see Kurtz et al, 2000), a free bibliographic database. Bibcode identifiers are created from the source text of the article using technology initially developed at the Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS), and tailored to the needs of IBVS.…”