How to keep up with the medical literature: VI. How to store and retrieve articles worth keeping.

The human mind is not well suited to storing and retrieving large amounts of infrequently used information. An effective personal filing system is needed if good articles that we encounter in our efforts to keep up to date are to be kept handy for future reference. Many options exist for the creation of a personal filing system. In this article, we assist the reader in the development of a tailor-made system that is based on making key decisions that strike a balance between filing needs and the lack of enthusiasm that most of us have for filing. The complexity of the system should match the number of purposes that your file must serve. Important additional considerations include how much time and effort you are willing to spend; where and how you will house your collection; how many articles you want to keep in the file; what standards you will apply in selecting material for your file; what subject headings are most appropriate for your articles; whether you will need to cross-reference; and what access you will have to personal computers.