Exporting the American (information) revolution: the international impact of the National Library of Medicine

The National Library of Medicine has had an enormous impact on health information services all over the world. Although NLM is primarily a national institution, it has become an important international resource by responding to requests from the international community. NLM has been influential in three major ways. First, NLM has provided a model for other national and regional health information services. Second, it has been a catalyst, in that MEDLARS and other services it provides formed the nucleus of many regional networks. NLM helped such networks get started by giving advice on how to set up services and build collections and by "training the trainers" on the MEDLARS system. Third, NLM has supported national and regional operations by providing the additional training and materials needed for day-to-day service.     

The Index Medicus: why it works and when it doesn't

A user study of the Index Medicus done at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center included responses from a group of sixty researchers, clinicians, residents, and interns. An analysis of the questionnaire shows that, while all respondents use the Index Medicus, most use it to search for a specific subject or a specific author reference. Comments received were critical of the delay from the time of journal publication until the appearance of its citation in Index Medicus. Suggestions were offered concerning the type of publication most of the respondents would prefer.     

The hospital library committee: its composition and tasks

Since a sizeable hospital must have a library, it must have a library committee. Like all hospital committees, this one is to help maintain standards of medical care and to mediate between staff and administration. Unlike others, it clusters around one elected member (the chairman) and one employee (the librarian). A dynamic librarian can, and should, influence and inspire the committee's deliberations; and must be able to depend upon the support of the physician members of the committee.     

Analysis of recorded biomedical book and journal use in the Yale Medical Library. II. Subject and user relations

Cancelled charge slips collected over a one-year period supply the data for this analysis of circulation in the Yale Medical Library. Full-time teaching faculty are the heaviest users of journal literature, and students, of monograph literature. Faculties of Medical School departments are compared in terms of their use of material in individual subjects. Subject literatures are analyzed in terms of groups of users borrowing from them. The extent to which journal titles used by medical students are also used by Medical School faculty is examined. One of the products of the study is a rank list of journal titles used in the Library. Results are presented in several tables.     

A survey of Web-based business models for e-government in the Netherlands

Governments worldwide are increasingly using Web-based business models to enhance their service delivery. Yet the concept of the business model is unexplored within the context of e-government. Drawing upon the literature on e-commerce, we develop a taxonomy for analyzing Web-based business models for e-government. Based on a systematic survey of 59 e-government Web sites in the Netherlands, our findings indicate that most of the Web sites use the content provider or direct-to-customer business models, while only a few are using novel business models. Overall, the concept of business model is appealing and useful in the public sector. Specifically it compliments research on Web site quality by analyzing and describing Web sites using atomic e-government business models and suggesting improvements by using combinations of business models.     

All I really needed to know I learned during gastrulation

Note from the Editor     

An Analysis of Academic Library Web Pages for Faculty

Web sites are increasingly used by academic libraries to promote key services and collections to teaching faculty. This study analyzes the content, location, language, and technological features of fifty-four academic library Web pages designed especially for faculty to expose patterns in the development of these pages.     

Health resources on the Internet: a basic list

With the plethora of health sites on the Internet, it is sometimes hard to know where to start. This is a basic list of health sites that either cover a subject area comprehensively, or are good general sites to lead to more specific information. Most of these sites include both full-text information as well as links to many other sites on the World-Wide Web. Included are medical, nursing, dental, alternative health, consumer health, organization, and government sites.