The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is responsible for the production and distribution of molecular sequence databases, and particularly the GenBank Genetic sequence Database. Databases with associated molecular biology information are also created and distributed. GenBank database entries come from the journal literature as well as direct electronic submissions from authors. NCBI provides data submission software to the scientific community for use in submitting their sequence data. The GenBank database and other molecular biology databases are distributed on the Internet through electronic mail servers, client/server applications, and the World Wide Web. Both text-based searching and sequence similarity searching are provided. It is also distributed on CD-ROM. GenBank can also be downloaded in full through NCBI's anonymous FTP server. The objective of this project is to assist NCBI in providing database support services to scientists who submit sequence data to the database and use NCBI databases and software through any of the distribution channels. This involves responding to daily technical questions by phone and e-mail, distributing materials on request, maintaining accurate records of user requests, developing materials to facilitate the user services function, maintaining internal and external documentation, and maintaining a collection of internal and external biotechnology information resources for reference. The work requires a unique combination of expertise in molecular biology and information retrieval, and experience in a public information services capacity. The database services staff will be dealing on a daily basis with active researchers in molecular biology, who expect accurate and professional answers and assume that GenBank staff understand the nature of their database needs.
