Use of Web-based library resources by medical students in community and ambulatory settings.
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PURPOSE: The purpose was to evaluate the use of Web-based library resources by third-year medical students. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS/RESOURCES: Third-year medical students (147) in a twelve-week multidisciplinary primary care rotation in community and ambulatory settings. METHODOLOGY: Individual user surveys and log file analysis of Website were used. RESULTS/OUTCOMES: Twenty resource topics were compiled into a Website to provide students with access to electronic library resources from any community-based clerkship location. These resource topics, covering subjects such as hypertension and back pain, linked to curriculum training problems, full-text journal articles, MEDLINE searches, electronic book chapters, and relevant Websites. More than half of the students (69%) accessed the Website on a daily or weekly basis. Over 80% thought the Website was a valuable addition to their clerkship. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: Web-based information resources can provide curriculum support to students for whom access to the library is difficult and time consuming. (+info)
Planning library spaces to encourage collaboration.
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Most librarians can give examples from their own experience in which a library's physical space was either ill suited to the work to be performed or, in some unfortunate cases, a genuine barrier to productivity. In an effort to correct or avoid these situations, planners of library renovations or new construction make pre-design studies of individual workers' tasks and workflow at the work-unit level. In this article, the authors discuss how a pre-design review of library and institutional values influenced the course of a library renovation. The identification of collaboration as the major theme of the library and the institution's strategic directions drove renovation decisions and resulted in a facility that supports and promotes this concept. (+info)
Standards for hospital libraries 2002.
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The Medical Library Association's "Standards for Hospital Libraries 2002" have been developed as a guide for hospital administrators, librarians, and accrediting bodies to ensure that hospitals have the resources and services to effectively meet their needs for knowledge-based information. Specific requirements for knowledge-based information include that the library be a separate department with its own budget. Knowledge-based information in the library should be directed by a qualified librarian who functions as a department head and is a member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals. The standards define the role of the medical librarian and the links between knowledge-based information and other functions such as patient care, patient education, performance improvement, and education. In addition, the standards address the development and implementation of the knowledge-based information needs assessment and plans, the promotion and publicity of the knowledge-based information services, and the physical space and staffing requirements. The role, qualifications, and functions of a hospital library consultant are outlined. The health sciences library is positioned to play a key role in the hospital. The increasing use of the Internet and new information technologies by medical, nursing, and allied health staffs; patients; and the community require new strategies, strategic planning, allocation of adequate resources, and selection and evaluation of appropriate information resources and technologies. The Hospital Library Standards Committee has developed this document as a guideline to be used in facing these challenges. (+info)
New library buildings. Part VI: Sciences Library, Brown University.
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Brown was one of the first universities in the nation to combine its science collections into a single library in the interest of aiding interdisciplinary teaching and research. This paper discusses the evolution of the Sciences Library and its resources, the development of the medical education program, and the physical aspects of the new library building. A fifteen-story tower, housing the collections of the physical, biological, and medical sciences, symbolizes the interdisciplinary approach to teaching and research at Brown University. (+info)
Current issues in the design of academic health sciences libraries: findings from three recent facility projects.
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Planning a new health sciences library at the beginning of the twenty-first century is a tremendous challenge. Technology has radically changed the way libraries function in an academic environment and the services they provide. Some individuals question whether the library as place will continue to exist as information becomes increasingly available electronically. To understand how libraries resolve programming and building design issues, visits were made to three academic health sciences libraries that have had significant renovation or completed new construction. The information gathered will be valuable for planning a new library for the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and may assist other health sciences librarians as they plan future library buildings. (+info)
Implementation and evaluation of an virtual intelligent agent.
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Reference librarians at the National Library of Medicine answer over 100,000 client questions annually. Although many answers are the NLM Web, clients may have difficulty finding them. Using intelligent virtual agent software, the NLM launched Cosmo, the Customer Service Owl (http://wwwns.nlm.nih.gov/). Cosmo uses natural language pattern matching to answer common questions. Early evaluation shows Cosmo can answer 25% of questions asked, but some users mistake the service for chat reference or a search engine. (+info)
Transition from in library use of resources to outside library use: the impact of the Internet on information seeking behavior of medical students and faculty.
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Advances in information technology have introduced both new capabilities and interesting challenges in accessing medical literature. More and more information resources exist in electronic format, such as online databases, journals, books, etc. instead of the traditional print format. In late 1998, there were thirty-five journal titles available online; in 2001, the number rose to over 4,000.1 Desk-top access to online resources is changing library use patterns, which challenges libraries to adjust to this transformed information access environment. Studies of the impact of the internet on information seeking behavior of users in medical environments could provide very valuable information for medical libraries seeking to adapt to this rapid and great evolution. This study aims to explore the impact of the Internet on information seeking behavior of medical students and faculty and their medical library use, to address the possible reasons for this change of information seeking behavior, and to identify the measures essential to the transition from traditional in-library use of resources to remote access. This study is conducted in two phases. (+info)
MyWelch: building an information portal system in a medical library environment.
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MyWelch is a medical library portal system that users can use to create customized web sites that reflect their research needs and personal interests. In the MyWelch environment, faculty and students are empowered to take a greater role in identifying their needs and determining their requirements in the electronic environment. The portal system also facilitates interaction among library users and staff. (+info)