Expanding rural primary care training by employing information technologies: the need for participation by medical reference librarians

The use of rural sites to train badly needed primary care providers requires access to sophisticated medical information not traditionally available outside of academic health centers. Medical reference librarians can play a key role in the development of primary care training sites in rural settings. Electronic information technologies, with proactive support from medical reference librarians, can provide current and detailed information without concern for distance from the health science center library. This paper discusses recent developments in technology, describes current challenges to the application of this technology in rural settings, and provides policy recommendations for medical reference librarians to enhance rural primary care training.     

Reconciling rising serials costs, the serials budget, and reference needs in a medical library serials retrenchment program: a methodology

Devising a coherent serials retrenchment plan while maintaining quality reference service is a dilemma faced by increasing numbers of medical librarians. In 1991, the staff of the Shiffman Medical Library, Wayne State University, began to address increasing serials budget reductions that by 1994 amounted to a projected 20% maximum cut. The resulting retrenchment plan combined an ongoing serials use study, faculty and librarian reviews of cancellation lists, and systematic refinements in interlibrary cooperation and document delivery service. The Shiffman plan provides a constructive framework that can be adapted to other medical libraries facing immediate, major serials retrenchment.     

Analysis of the use of reference services in an academic health sciences library

In 1991, the Reference and Information Services staff of the Alfred Taubman Medical Library at the University of Michigan gathered data on the use of the reference desk, including the frequency and types of assistance requested by different user groups throughout the year. Recommendations based on the results of this study led to improved service as well as more efficient use of staff resources.     

The literature of women and the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS): implications for collection development and information retrieval

The purpose of the study was to identify the pattern of publication about women and AIDS in scientific journals. Bradford zones were identified in each of six databases. The study determined that journal scatter for this subset of AIDS literature differed from the scatter in the general literature; further, the information indexed in the six electronic sources demonstrated little overlap. Consequently, key journal and newsletter titles identified by this study should form the core of any collection focusing on women and AIDS. The assurance of quality patient care management demands that librarians consult multiple resources for information retrieval that can assist health care providers, patients, and caregivers to enhance quality of life as well as to provide optimum care.     

Horizontal wires replace the vertical files

Traditionally, clippings of newspaper articles, pictures from magazines, pamphlets, charts, graphs, posters, proceedings, or copies thereof, and other miscellaneous information sources have been stored in vertical files in libraries. The practice of creating and maintaining vertical files is extremely time consuming. In a medical library, in particular, old information about diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis can quickly become incorrect, misleading, and possibly harmful. Adequately tending to the vertical files can require a librarian to create a balancing act between properly maintaining vertical files and meeting the needs of the users in other areas of the library. The maintenance of vertical files is, by nature, highly consumptive of paper and space consuming. A reasonable alternative to the traditional vertical files is the World-Wide Web. Search engines exist for locating specific information, and bookmarks and/or links which point users to particularly useful sites can be set in search software. Some methods for searching are discussed, and a variety of World-Wide Web information sources are offered.     

美国的图书馆自动化和文献资源共享网络--现状与趋势CALIS项目考察团

美国的图书馆自动化和文献资源共享网络--现状与趋势CALIS项目考察团(执笔:杨宗英朱强李晓明)由国家教委组织的"'211工程'高等教育文献保障体系"(CHINAACADEMICLIBRARY＆IN-FORMATIONSYSTEM,简称CALIS)项...     

Sources of information on postgraduate medical training programs--update

This is an update of an earlier article listing directories, journal articles, and general books that aid the librarian, resident, or medical student in finding information on residency and fellowship programs. The article also gives suggestions for building a file of program catalogs related to residencies, fellowships, and clerkships and related materials.     

面向未来,立足当前

<正> 清华大学图书馆在一九七八年就开始了有关图书馆现代化的探索.经过几年的努力,我们在校办工厂生产的DIS-130计算机上研制成功了一个西文书目检索实验系统.目前,已存入八一年十一月以来入藏的西文图书近一万种,并于一九八三年四月一日开始向读者提供服务.到目前为止,有校内外读者一万四千人次使用了这个检索系统,受到了使用者的欢迎和肯定.下面从图书馆装备现代化的角度,并结合工作中的体会和感受,谈谈我对"新技术革命和图书馆"的初步认识.一、经济的发展才是推动图书馆事业的