Published from 1950 to 1973, the Alcoholism Treatment Digest (ISSN: 0002-5046) was a trailblazing periodical publication that shared short review articles on emerging topics in the alcohol literature. Think of the functionality of our modern-day BrowZine, which can browse e-journals from different publishers on your selected topic and is available in one simple interface, but add to it the expert summary on that topic from multiple resources carefully selected at the oldest alcohol research institution in the United States: the Center of Alcohol Studies (Yale / Rutgers).
The justification to launch a subscription-based publication in 1950 was disclosed in the Alumni News of the Yale Summer School of Alcohol Studies as follows:
On many occasions, the directors of programs on alcoholism have indicated a want of materials that would serve the needs of certain groups who are (or should be) concerned, especially with the treatment and rehabilitation of alcoholics.
Published five times a year, the Alcoholism Treatment Digest usually presented four reviews ready to distribute further, prepared by the editorial department. of the Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol. Each review covered multiple articles on the topic. Many of these reviews were simultaneously published in the Connecticut Review on Alcoholism under the identical subtitle, Alcoholism Treatment Digest, every other month.
Founding editor Mark Keller was the author of many reviews and summaries, often unnamed. Both publications started to list the authors of these reviews only in the June issue in 1964. Keller’s authorship can be verified by his cv and the index to the Raymond G. McCarthy Collection, along with other staff members of the Documentation Division at the Center.
Each issue provided instructions on the front page that would help with logistics, timing, and distribution, including a disclaimer. According to this “NOTE TO SUBSCRIBERS”
Prepare these materials for distribution in your circulation area at your convenience, but do not distribute before the above Release Date.
Each time any of these materials are used, be sure to feature at least once the following minimum copyright line: Copyright 1967 by Journal of Studies on Alcohol, Inc., New Brunswick, N.J.
You may find it advantageous to feature all or part of the following explanatory statement (which incorporates the necessary copyright line), or·a modification of it, inserting the name of your organization at the end: The ALCOHOLISM TREATMENT DIGEST is prepared for special client; by the editorial department of the Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, Center of Alcohol Studies, Rutgers University. Quotation is not permitted without written authorization of the copyright owners. Copyright 1967 by Journal of Studies on Alcohol, Inc., New Brunswick, N.J.
The views expressed in the ALCOHOLISM TREATMENT DIGEST are those of the authors cited. They are published for professional information and are not necessarily endorsed by
Most of the reviews cover issues related to substance use from a medical perspective. Many of the topics look fairly current in our time too, even though the language has changed a lot. A few examples:
- Tuberculosis and Alcoholism
- Treatment of Alcoholics in Mental Hospitals
- Brain Atrophy and Alcoholism
- Tranquilizing Alcoholic Patients with Non-sedative Drugs
- The Problem Drinker on Probation
- Results of Compulsory and Voluntary Treatment of Alcoholics
- The Initial Interview with Alcoholic Patients
- Trial Combination of Mental Health and Alcoholism Clinics
- Medical Management of the Acutely Ill Alcoholic
The language of some reviews, such as in the titles The Challenge of the Skid Row Alcoholic, Navajo Indians, Helping the ghetto alcoholic, Halfway From Skid Row, and The Alcoholic Woman, might be more problematic today.
However, we especially appreciate topics on unorthodox adjuvant treatment ideas in the early 1950s.
- The Written Word as a Therapeutic Tool in Alcoholism
- Therapeutic Uses of Jellinek’s Phases of Alcoholism
- Music Therapy for Alcoholics
- Pastoral Counseling of Alcoholics
All issues have been digitized. The files are now being added to RUcore. The digitization process didn’t lack its challenges either, even though the majority of the items were in decent shape. The mimeographed or photocopied issues could be relatively easily scanned after removing the rusty staples and greyish ribbons holding them together. A LibGuide of Introduction to all prints helped sort out how exactly the various issues were duplicated throughout the years, but we looked into Photocopying with an IBM Selectric, too.
The earliest few issues need some “stitching,” i.e., the creative assembling of the often almost 2-ft long galleys that survived the move from Yale to Rutgers. Given the fact that holdings for the Alcoholism Treatment Digest show only one more library, the National Library of Medicine, in the United States, and one more in Canada in WorldCat, we are proud to preserve these treasures of alcohol history.
This sample issue, Alcoholism treatment digest (Release No. 47, December 15, 1959), gives an idea of the scope, style, and content. All records will include a Table of Content, in lieu of article-level description, for better discoverability.