getrefs.zip:                                              29. July 1998

This package contains a BibTeX style file and a LaTeX2e document
template to facilitate the retrieval of references from a library.
Here is the idea, posted as a question to comp.text.tex in July 1998:

  When I read a paper I normally find a few references interesting, but
  can't retrieve them immediately, be it because my desk is not in the
  library, or because the library doesn't carry the stuff, anyway, and I
  have to pile up a few references before travelling to another library
  (or ordering copies). So, I put all these references in my BibTeX data
  base with a distinctive tag ('get ref'), and once in a while I output
  only those in a separate file, type set them and go wild in the
  library.

  Now, I'd love to have a BibTeX style that allows me to obtain the type
  set version of this BibTeX input file sorted first according to source
  (say, 'J. Phys. B' before 'Phys. Rev.' before 'Phys. Rev. B' before
  'Zeitschrift f\"ur Physik' etc.), and within each group ordered
  according to year, and within this according to volume, possibly down
  to issue and page number.

  This would make life a lot easier for me or for who ever I ask to
  retrieve the papers for me, especially when some stuff is on micro
  film, other journals on display, others in storage etc.

  Is there anything like this out there, or is it easy to cook up
  something like this?


With the help of Nicolas Holzschuch and the BibTeX author, Oren
Patashnik, the problem was easily solved. Nicolas emailed me the
suggestion for a modification of an existing BibTeX style file, Oren
made a few suggestions to make the sorting and handling of page ranges a
bit more robust, and there it was. I don't think I would have been able
to cook this up in a reasonable amount of time w/o reading the 'LaTeX
companion' again, so the credit really ought to go to those two people.
I just want to make the result available to avoid doubling of efforts,
since I think I am not the only one who could benefit from such a
solution.

I have chosen to modify the 'abbrv' style file and rename it to
'getrefs.bst', which together with the included 'getrefs.tex'
accomplishes the desired result. 

Once you have put the BibTeX style file 'getrefs.bst' in a directory
searched by  (e.g. the one where your other *.bst files reside) 
and a copy of 'getrefs.tex' in your tex input path, only the following
steps are needed: 

1. Extract from your BibTeX data base file(s) all entries for which you
   want to retrieve the papers from the library, and copy them into a
   separate file, say, getrefs.bib. 

   (I label the title field as 'no idea yet -- get ref!', so it is easy
   to extract the entries with tools such as bibtool (from CTAN) or even
   sed.)

2. Run LaTeX and BibTeX on the file getrefs.tex:

   latex getrefs
   bibtex getrefs
   latex getrefs
   latex getrefs

3. Print the resulting getrefs.dvi file.

4. Find someone to go to the library for you ...


Have fun!     Stefan A. Deutscher        (sad@utk.edu)  05-Nov-1998