The Vital and Health Statistics Series, or what documents and medical librarians call The Rainbow Series, includes four series published by the U.S. National Health Survey between 1958 and 1963, and eighteen series published by the National Center for Health Statistics since 1963. Sixteen of these series are still active. In this volume, Jim Walsh and A. James Bothmer list, annotate, and index all of the reports published in the Rainbow Series, a total of 853 reports. Each entry contains standard bibliographical information and cataloging, publisher, and index/abstract access information.

The body of the book arranges the reports first by series and then by report number within each series. Each series begins with a series cover sheet, which provides general information about the series. The work concludes with author, title, and subject indexes. The subject index uses the Library of Congress Subject Headings and the National Library of Medicine Subject Headings. This useful volume is the only source that lists, annotates, and indexes all of the reports and that provides supplemental information that will enhance reference, interlibrary loan, cataloging, and acquisition information, and that will enhance the use of these valuable reports.