The best way to get data released is to send the accession number and
publication information to
update at ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
because NCBI then figures out who's responsible (the first letter in
the accession number will tell you, but you have to learn the code).
You of course do NOT have to be the original author -- I have used this
mechanism many times when stuff isn't in the database when the journal
paper shows up.
This is clearly not a complete solution to the problem. There
is a related problem of released entries whose JOURNAL fields are stuck
at "in press" -- it makes tracking down citations a real nuisance.
I think that all entries marked "in press" or being held should be
periodically reviewed (perhaps after 3 months). This, plus the journal
scanning by NCBI, should greatly reduce the number of entries which are
marooned in one fashion or another.
Keith Robison
Harvard University
Department of Cellular and Developmental Biology
Department of Genetics / HHMI
robison at biosun.harvard.edu
