World Directory of Crystallographers

The World Directory of Crystallographers and Other Persons working with Crystallographic Methods (WDC) is periodically published by the IUCr. Up to the 8th edition in 1990 only paper copies were produced but subsequently the situation changed considerably due to the rapid growth of computer networks. The 9th edition (WDC9) was the first one accessible through the networks. The entries were stored in the form of a database. Since the IUCr has established its own format for crystallographic information, it was decided to use the same format, i.e. to store the data as CIF files. From these a qi database was created to enable WDC to be interrogated through the Web and Tex files were created for the printing of the paper edition of the directory.

The database has been very successful. The number of interrogations has been growing rapidly and many scientists now no longer consult the printed directory. We may say that the paper edition is now a by-product of the electronic database, so that it would be fair to speak of the World Database of Crystallographers and other Persons using Crystallographic Methods instead of the World Directory.

A network database means easier access but it also means new problems. With the printed edition appearing approximately only once every five years the update was a slow process. The General Editor requested National Editors to correct the information and to send it back to him. The whole process took about two years! This time lag is completely unacceptable for a database and the updating process must be improved. The General Editor is working hard in this direction and one can expect rapid progress.

WDC updating organization

There is a full hierarchy of responsibilities for WDC. All persons are volunteers and it means extra work for them.

In each country a National Editor is responsible for collecting the entries of scientists working there. Note that scientists must register in the country where they work, not in the country of which they are a citizen. Each National Editor reports to a Regional Editor who himself reports to the General Editor, Yves Epelboin, epelboin@lmcp.jussieu.fr.

A Technical Editor, Brian McMahon, bm@iucr.org is in charge of handling the files in Chester where the database is located.

How to register?

Each entry is a collection of information in STAR format, as shown in the example.

Each line must be coded according to the explanations, especially for the keywords which must be chosen in a list of mandatory keywords.

For some countries it is possible to register through the Web, which automatically creates the entry in the correct format. This process is still experimental but will be rapidly extended to other countries.

For the moment, only:

• Canada
• France
• USA