MEDLINE end-user survey: the University of Florida experience

The University of Florida Health Science Center Library (UF-HSCL) surveyed MEDLINE end-user activities of the faculty from the six colleges which the UF-HSCL serves. A questionnaire was developed and sent to all faculty members. The Basic SAS program was used to analyze the collected data. This survey was intended to identify the users, the reasons for faculty members not being end users, the purpose for searching MEDLINE, the information retrieval methods, the level of end-user satisfaction, and the librarian's role in information retrieval activities. Many findings from this survey were in agreement with those of the 1988 study by the National Library of Medicine.     

The mini MEDLINE SYSTEM: a library-based end-user search system

The mini MEDLINE SYSTEM, a user-friendly search system developed in 1981 at the Georgetown University Medical Center, has been operational since 1982. The system is designed to meet the immediate educational and clinical information needs of students, residents, and faculty. This article focuses on system planning and design, database creation through "downloading," hardware adaptation, and system use. The database is a subset of the NLM's MEDLINE file; it includes over 180,000 citations to articles indexed in over 160 journals from 1982 to the present. With only a few keystrokes in a two-step process it allows users to conduct bibliographic searches. The system is being replicated at eight other medical libraries.     

MEDLEARN:an orientation to MEDLINE

(***)MEDLEARN(***), an orientation to MEDLINE, was developed to educate members of the biomedical community to become competent on-line searchers. It appears in two complementary forms: an interactive terminal presentation available on the TYMSHARE Network and a supporting hard-copy manual which contains the didactic portions of the computer program as well as additional items which are not suitable for on-line presentation. (***)MEDLEARN(***), a flexible instructional tool, is divided into forty sections which may be selected in various sequences depending on the user's previous experience. Two MEDLINE simulations and feedback sections after practice on MEDLINE provide motivation for continued learning. The orientation program was evaluated at several medical centers with uniformly favorable results.     

MEDLINE and PsycLIT on CD-ROM:

A survey of users of PsycLIT and MEDLINE on CDROM was performed at an academic medical library. The questionnaire was designed to gather information about the user population, satisfaction of the users, the assistance needed to use the systems, and the type of searches being performed. The majority of users were graduate students in the schools of medicine, nursing, and pharmacy. In general, users were satisfied with the performance of the systems. Assistance from a librarian, printed documentation, or another patron was required by 85% of users, and they were generally satisfied with this assistance. Most searches were performed to obtain information on a subject. The results were remarkably similar for both databases.     

The MEDLINE update on closed-circuit television.

An alternative format for presentation of the MEDLINE Update is presented. Utilization of a statewide closed-circuit television network is time-saving and cost-effective for the audience. Differences in and audience response to this alternative programming are described.     

MELVYL MEDLINE: a library services perspective

The MELVYL MEDLINE project resulted in the addition of a full five-year subset of MEDLINE to the University of California's (UC) MELVYL online union catalog. As one of the nation's largest MEDLINE end-user searching systems, MELVYL MEDLINE provides online bibliographic access to the biomedical journal literature for all UC personnel at over seventy library sites or by remote access. This paper summarizes the project's accomplishments, reports MELVYL MEDLINE use and its impact on library services, and provides insights for other end-user search systems. The project serves as a model for adding databases to the MELVYL catalog and demonstrates the potential for use by other disciplines of a specialized database when readily accessible. Evaluation results report high user satisfaction and high usage. However, many advanced searching features of the interface are little used by searchers. Effects on library services include marked increases in reference transactions and interlibrary loans, with significant declines in mediated search services. Future MELVYL MEDLINE enhancements include matching search retrievals to journal locations, linkage to an online document delivery system, and consideration of building a superset of databases by combining MELVYL MEDLINE with citations from another database in the MELVYL catalog.     

台湾无线电视公共化的生命史:1986-2002

一、作为学院的概念 早从1970年起,李瞻教授即已主张建立公营电视,至1990年,就此写就的论文数量,至少积累有七篇。这些文字虽在产权主张与日后有关无线电视公共化者产生连结,但其说法比较单纯,具有浓厚的家长道德教化内涵,行文遣字也尚未明显谴责当权者。从1980年代中期起,情况似乎开始起了变化     

The Veteran MEDLINE Searcher's Encounter with Other Databases

No abstract available for this article.     

MEDTUTOR: a microcomputer-based training program for MEDLINE

MEDTUTOR is an interactive, microcomputer-based training package designed to teach medical and health professionals, as well as librarians and information specialists, how to use MEDLINE effectively. The objective of MEDTUTOR is to provide a comprehensive package for teaching the various commands and search techniques required for utilizing the MEDLINE database through the MEDLARS system. MEDTUTOR's menu-driven design allows novice users to learn about the content and use of MEDLINE, such as author searching, text word searching, MeSH indexing, etc., at their own pace and with considerable program feedback. In addition, MEDTUTOR provides the skilled searcher with a way to reinforce or recall previously-learned search techniques without incurring online charges. MEDTUTOR may be used in place of formal training, as a precursor to or as a refresher following formal training, or for review of a particular concept. It provides inexpensive and easily accessible instruction for searching MEDLINE.     

MEDLINE and MeSH: challenges for end users

Through casual observations, formal consultations, and educational sessions, the authors have identified various indexing features of the National Library of Medicine's Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) that pose challenges to end users while attempting to obtain relevant retrieval when searching MEDLINE. These problematic features include the use of Explodes, Tree structures, subheadings, Text Word vs. subject heading searching, and central concept searching. End-user search software is becoming more sophisticated with an increasing number of choices offered for search strategy formulation. Methods of instruction to orient the end user to these systems will also have to become more detailed. A review of the literature, that discusses end-user problems with using MEDLINE and MeSH, is included.     

OneSearch in a dental library: beyond MEDLINE.

MEDLINE, which includes the Index to Dental Literature, has been the database of choice for most search requests generated at Indiana University School of Dentistry. However, many requests extend beyond dentistry and the health sciences into the realms of business, education, psychology, law, and computer technology. For these requests, DIALOG's new OneSearch feature can be a simple and cost-effective mechanism for supplementing searches that would otherwise be confined to MEDLINE.     

The application of the radio frequency identification technology at libraries: The Russian experience

This paper presents the main stages of the emergence and development of the radio-frequency identification technology (RFID) at Russian libraries and analyzes the current state of library RFID systems, as well as considering the basic tendencies of the development of radio-frequency identification in the integration with the modern library technologies.     

The review article in MEDLINE: ambiguity of definition and implications for online searchers

The definition of a "review article" is examined from the viewpoints of the National Library of Medicine and of the patron. Implications of the differing interpretations of "review article" are discussed and possible alternative online search strategies are presented.