[Some ways to improve scientific and technical medical information in the public health system of the Moldavian SSR].
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Bibliographies as Topic↗
SEARCH · Search PubMed
Results for “Library Technical Services”
Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Requesting reprints: is it worth it?
Reprint requests are a common means of keeping up with the scientific literature. This study evaluated the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of reprint requests.
Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
Beyond the online catalog: developing an academic information system in the sciences.
The online public access catalog consists essentially of a machine-readable database with network capabilities. Like other computer-based information systems, it may be continuously enhanced by the addition of new capabilities and databases. It may also become a gateway to other information networks. This paper reports the evolution of the Bibliographic Access and Control System (BACS) of Washington University in end-user searching, current awareness services, information management, and administrative functions. Ongoing research and development and the future of the online catalog are also discussed.
Catalogs, Library↗
Effect of institutional mergers on hospital libraries.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Health Facilities↗
Hospital libraries in the United States: historical antecedents.
The hospital health sciences library of today that reaches out to the world knowledge base through electronic networks bears little resemblance to its forebears. Yet to understand the challenges and future directions of the hospital library it is necessary to examine how it began and how it has evolved in more than 200 years. This paper identifies five developmental periods in which major strides were made: the colonial years through the 19th century; World War I to the Great Depression; World War II and the 1950s; the 1960s--the Great Society and the Medical Library Assistance Act; and the 1970s, an era of growth for hospital libraries.
History, 18th Century↗
Selecting for health sciences library collections when budgets falter.
The economic plight of the 1970s often limits the librarian, who should be the final selector, to insufficient funds for acquiring essential publications. The librarian, in addition to making every effort to acquire the best possible collection, must provide access from other libraries, within and outside one's parent institution, to materials not acquired; for this purpose, an effective document delivery network has proved more significant than formal plans for shared acquisitions. Too much is published, but the choices become more manageable with selection criteria that include limiting subject scope and keeping within the English language. In regard to journals, new titles should be added only reluctantly; cancellation lists compiled with the help of selective lists, the librarians' judgment, and users' responses; and newsletters and state journals pruned to a mimimum. As to books, selective lists should be consulted; congress proceedings generally ignored; and reprinted collections, multiple copies, and gifts considered with care. Book reviews are more useful selection aids now that lack of funds causes delays in purchasing than when new titles were acquired promptly with less discrimination. Audiovisual media, although widely pushed, do not replace printed materials, are not of central importance to many faculties, are expensive, and thus comprise a bandwagon which the impoverished library cannot afford to board without extra funding. The less money there is, the more need for a librarian's selection skills.
Audiovisual Aids↗
The Israeli National Medical Library's new minicomputerized on-line integrated system (MAIMON).
An in-house library system based on a dedicated mini-computer has been in operation in the Israel National Medical Library since the summer of 1979. The integrated system, called MAIMON, features on-line access to bibliographic and circulation records. It replaces manual procedures in cataloging, searching, lending, and reservations. The system provides previously unavailable statistics on items in heavy use and demand, items to be removed from the active collection, and who uses what in the library. It is designed to be user cordial and to save users' time. The system has been very favorably accepted by patrons, and frees professional librarians from time-consuming clerical routine tasks. The system is evaluated in terms of performance, convenience, and cost.
Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
[Theoretical frame of reference for the establishment of an international health information network].
This article discusses the principal problems of health information systems. It describes the benefits that would accrue from the adoption of a new policy for the organization of medical libraries based on the principles of selectivity and exchanges of resources in order to make library services more cost-effective. It describes how this cost-effectiveness can be achieved not only in a single library but in an entire health information network. It is also shown how a basic collection can be assembled by having the material selected by a group of experts, and by selection based on the frequency of references to different works. Finally, the author enumerates what he regards as the basic requirements for the success of information systems, among them the identification and acquisition of appropriate technology for the circulation, maintenance and use of the material, training for the personnel of the inter-change network, the education of users, and the establishment of a sound financial structure.
Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
Perspectives on academic health sciences libraries in the 1980s: indicators from a Delphi study.
A Delphi study was undertaken to identify the changes in library roles and functions that the directors of academic health sciences libraries believe will occur over the next decade. The methodology is described and the results are summarized. Two scenarios resulted: one, highly desirable; the other, highly probable. They overlap by 64%. Library directors expect moderate evolutionary changes in the next ten years. Users are perceived to be the force maintaining the status quo, while technology is the force advancing change. The adoption of technology is seen as desirable and within the libraries' span of control. Education and service roles of librarians will expand. Library and institutional priorities are seen as obstacles to change.
Canada↗
Implementing hospital library automation: the GaIN project. Georgia Interactive Network for Medical Information.
The GaIN (Georgia Interactive Network for Medical Information) Hospital Libraries' Local Automation Project was a one-year, grant-funded initiative to implement an integrated library system in three Georgia hospitals. The purpose of the project was to install the library systems, describe the steps in hospital library automation, and identify issues and barriers related to automation in small libraries. The participating hospitals included a small, a medium, and a large institution. The steps and time required for project implementation were documented in order to develop a decision checklist. Although library automation proved a desirable approach for improving collection accessibility, simplifying daily routines, and improving the library's image in the hospital, planners must be sure to consider equipment as well as software support, staffing for the conversion, and training of the library staff and end users.
Catalogs, Library↗
The Utah education network: a collaborative model.
High-speed data communications networks are transforming the operations, services, and roles of libraries. While the installation of the physical network is often the focus of activity, the administrative and political issues are, in fact, fundamental. For libraries to participate in and influence the development of networks, building new partnerships has proven to be an effective strategy. This paper describes the use of this strategy in the development of the Utah Education Network. This participation is essential if libraries are to take full advantage of the technologies and to ensure that networks reflect the fundamental values of the profession.
Computer Communication Networks↗
A profile of health sciences libraries in Southeast Asia.
This paper reports the results of a survey undertaken by the World Health Organization of health sciences libraries in Southeast Asia. It includes information on clientele, budget, personnel, collections, lending policy, dissemination of information, and reference services. The survey indicates that the collections in most of the health sciences libraries in Southeast Asia are deficient and that services provided to readers are inadequate. Recommendations for improvement are outlined.
Asia, Southeastern↗
Impact of DOCLINE on interlibrary loan service at the National Library of Medicine.
In March 1985, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) began implementation of DOCLINE, its automated interlibrary loan request routing and referral system. By the end of fiscal year (FY) 1987, over 1,400 biomedical libraries in all seven regions of the Regional Medical Library network were using the system. This report summarizes the findings of an analysis of the interlibrary loan (ILL) requests received in FY 1987, comparing the results with a similar analysis done in FY 1984 to describe any changes in the requests or service which might be attributable to DOCLINE implementation. DOCLINE has had a substantial impact upon ILL loan service at NLM. An increase in the number of ILL requests (35% over FY 1984) can be attributed to the speed and ease with which requests may be routed to NLM through DOCLINE. Requests which cannot be filled by local or regional libraries are automatically routed by the system to NLM as the library of last resort. NLM's fill rate for serial requests has declined, however, from 78% filled in FY 1984 to 67% filled in FY 1987. Some of the decline results from the 11,000 requests that NLM did not fill because the borrowing libraries were not willing to pay the NLM charge for filling the loans.
Humans↗
Our silent enemy: ashes in our libraries.
SCHOLARS, SCIENTISTS, PHYSICIANS, OTHER HEALTH PROFESSIONALS, AND LIBRARIANS FACE A CRUCIAL DECISION TODAY: shall we nourish the biomedical archives as a viable and indispensable source of information, or shall we bury their ashes and lose a century or more of consequential scientific history? Biomedical books and journals published since the 1850s on self-destructing acidic paper are silently and insidiously scorching on our shelves. The associated risks for scientists and physicians are serious-incomplete assessment of past knowledge; unnecessary repetition of studies that have already led to conclusive results; delay in scientific advances when important concepts, techniques, instruments, and procedures are overlooked; faulty comparative analyses; or improper assignment of priority. The archives also disclose the nature of biomedical research, which builds on past knowledge, advances incrementally, and is strewn with missteps, frustrations, detours, inconsistencies, enigmas, and contradictions. The public's familiarity with the scientific process will avoid unrealistic expectations and will encourage support for research in health. But a proper historical perspective requires access to the biomedical archives. Since journals will apparently continue to be published on paper, it is folly to persist in the use of acidic paper and thus magnify for future librarians and preservationists the already Sisyphean and costly task of deacidifying their collections. Our plea for conversion to acid-free paper is accompanied by an equally strong appeal for more rigorous criteria for journal publication. The glut of journal articles-many superficial, redundant, mediocre, or otherwise flawed and some even fraudulent-has overloaded our databases, complicated bibliographic research, and exacerbated the preservation problem. Before accepting articles, journal editors should ask: If it is not worth preserving, is it worth publishing?It is our responsibility to protect the integrity of our biomedical records against all threats. Authors should consider submitting manuscripts to journals that use acid-free paper, especially if they think, as most authors do, that they are writing for posterity. Librarians can refuse to purchase journals published on acidic paper, which they know will need restoration within a few decades and will thus help deplete their budgets. All of us can urge our government to devise a coordinated national conservation policy that will halt the destruction of a century of our historical record. The battle will not be easy, but the challenge beckons urgently. The choice is ours: we can answer the call, or we can deny scientists, physicians, and historians the records they need to expand human knowledge and improve health care.
Books↗
Preservation of the biomedical literature: an overview.
The National Library of Medicine began to preserve its collection many years ago. This article presents a brief review of NLM's early conservation and microfilming programs, and describes the current activities of the library's new Preservation Section. Also mentioned are the complementary efforts of NLM staff who are involved in research into electronic imaging and the campaign to increase the use of alkaline paper in medical and scientific publishing. Goals of the National Preservation Plan for the Biomedical Literature are summarized and a report on progress in implementing the plan is provided. Results of the preservation needs assessment described in the accompanying article by Kirkpatrick are briefly analyzed. Recent efforts of the Commission on Preservation and Access, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Research Libraries Group, and several international associations are described in terms of their potential benefit to preservation of the biomedical literature. The need to monitor new preservation technologies and preserve materials in audiovisual and electronic formats is emphasized. It is argued that with enough coordination, cooperation, and willingness among health sciences libraries to share the costs, the goal of preserving all of the important biomedical literature can be accomplished.
Books↗
[Information and library assistance to the medical workers of Ryazan Province].
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Humans↗
The National Medical Audiovisual Center.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Audiovisual Aids↗
Community hospitals and the Internet: lessons from pilot connections.
Community hospitals in rural and isolated areas have had little access to the Internet. In 1992, the National Library of Medicine funded a pilot project to be conducted by the University of Washington and seven community hospitals in the northwestern United States. The goals of the project were to connect the hospitals to the Internet and study the uses made of this resource. A number of administrative, technical, financial, and organizational problems were dealt with in the attempt to establish the Internet connections and introduce this resource to these health care settings. This paper examines these issues and presents conclusions drawn from the experiences of the project team.
Computer Communication Networks↗