CONCURRENT CONTRIBUTED PRESENTATIONS
Challenges and Choices in Managing Electronic Journal Collections (Garden Room)
Terry Henner, Savitt Medical Library, University of Nevada School of
Medicine
thenner@admin.unr.edu
Electronic, full-text counterparts of print journals are proliferating
rapidly. These digitized formats present a new set of challenges beyond
that of traditional print journal collections. This presentation reports
on the progress of the Savitt Medical Library as it undertakes an
initiative to provide extensive access to electronic journals. It details
our efforts to manage electronic collections effectively and will focus on
a range of concerns: licensing agreements and authorized use, cataloging
and control, selection criteria, economics of electronic access, training
and support issues, and acceptance by library clientele. Experiences in
this project will be examined in the context of trends in electronic
publishing and the impact on medical libraries.
Clickology: Analyzing User Behavior at Public Internet Workstations (Empire Room)
Jennifer Reiswig, Biomedical Library, University of California, San Diego
jreiswig@ucsd.edu
Many libraries are investing in "one-stop-shopping" workstations for
end-user electronic resource activity. How do users interact with these
workstations? Do users spend most of their time using catalogs, databases
and other research resources? Or do they tie up stations just "surfing"?
Analysis of Netscape browser logs allows the tracking of end-users
unobtrusively, without requiring individuals to sign in or divulge any
personal information. The data from our studies indicate that
recreational use is very high. This paper will discuss ways of tracking
user behavior at public workstations. Different methods will be
presented, with an analysis of the data obtained at our library. Finally,
the advantages and limitations of this kind of research will be presented
to place this method in context with other kinds of information-seeking
behavior research.
Developing a Library Intranet: Idea to Implementation (California Room)
Melissa L. Just and Greg Coleman, Library & Center for Knowledge
Management, University of California, San Francisco
just@library.ucsf.edu, coleman@library.ucsf.edu
As libraries strive to provide organized Internet resources to patrons and
customers, the ability to share internal information among library staff
is still being developed. By using the same technologies and skills being
employed to provide Internet resources to the public, libraries and their
staff members are able to develop Intranets which allow them to share
internal information. Using a team-based approach, staff at the UCSF
Library developed an Intranet by using inexpensive software that maximized
information availability and minimized the efforts needed to publish on
the Intranet. This presentation will discuss the challenges faced by the
group during the development process. Issues such as the planning and
implementation of the project, hardware and software selection, access
methods, content and documentation format, interface design, site content
and management, and final rollout of the Intranet to Library staff will be
discussed.
Evolution of Web Access to Electronic Journal Subscriptions (Garden Room)
Pamela M. Murnane, Mary Buttner, Dick R. Miller, Ying Li, Maria Feng,
Randy Woelfel, Lane Medical Library, Stanford University Medical Center
pmurnane@stanford.edu
Beginning in 1995, with our first library home page, we began listing
links to electronic journals across the web regardless of the presence of
fulltext. Although we now limit the collection of links to fulltext
subscriptions, it has nearly doubled in size every few months over the
past year. Maintaining this information in HTML has become increasingly
time consuming. We recently initiated several projects involving CGI
scripting to automate the creation and maintenance of an electronic
journal list from online bibliographic data. Our ultimate goal is to
provide an interface to the electronic journal collection which could be
customized by subject or other categorization. These approaches will be
described and analyzed in terms of implementation, usefulness, and
required learning curve.
Expanding the Library's Role in Academic Web Development (Empire Room)
Linda Azen Martin, Norris Medical Library, University of Southern
California
lazen@hsc.usc.edu
Libraries are in the process of expanding our "traditional" role in Web
development. In the past we established and managed our library Web
sites, concentrating on library services and resources. This experience
provided librarians with the expertise to extend their involvement in
non-library related Web projects. This paper will present Norris Medical
Library as a case study, highlighting two projects in which librarians
collaborated with faculty and staff to create curricular materials and
redesign the USC School of Medicine's Web site. As a result of the
success of these new ventures, the Library received the recognition needed
to increase partnerships with other groups on collaborative Web projects.
It is imperative that we as librarians continue to seek new opportunities
in Web development and publishing to secure our future in this rapidly
changing information age.
HouseCalls: Bringing the Library to You (Empire Room)
Rebecca Davis, Carlson Health Sciences Library, University of California,
Davis
radavis@ucdavis.edu
The widespread availability of powerful desktop computers has increased
user expectations regarding the ability to obtain goods and services
online while in an office or lab. In keeping with this trend, many
libraries allow users to initiate requests online for such services as
interlibrary loan, document delivery, and reference assistance.
Customized, individual consultations with users is another response to
this trend. While this service has been commonplace in many libraries, it
is often provided on an ad hoc basis, with the emphasis continuing to be
placed on classes held in the library. A more formalized consultation
program that is marketed as a special service can provide many benefits
for the library as well as users. This presentation will discuss the
implementation of the HouseCalls program at the Carlson Health Sciences
Library, University of California, Davis.
How Do You Answer A Question At 2:00 AM Without A Librarian?: Cooperative
Basic Reference Training Project For Student Loan Assistants (California Room)
Mary L. Riordan and Hannah M. Fisher, Arizona Health Sciences Library,
University of Arizona
mriordan@ahsl.arizona.edu, hannah@ahsl.arizona.edu
The University of Arizona's Health Sciences Library offers services
twenty-four hours a day with the exception of Christmas and New Year's.
The Library hires students to work various shifts at the Loan Desk.
Student assistants must become adept at answering patron questions, from
both those who present in person and those who telephone, in the absence
of Information Services Librarians. The Loan Services Department asked
the Information Services Department to develop a chapter for their Student
Guide to help the student assistants with reference questions. The
chapter includes a reference tool explaining which sources to consult for
general questions. Members of the Information Services Staff provide
orientations as needed for these students. This presentation will discuss
the development of the chapter and a copy will be available for review.
How Usable is Your Web Site?: A Case Study (California Room)
Candice Benjes and Janis Brown, Norris Medical Library, University of
Southern California
benjes@hsc.usc.edu, jbrown@hsc.usc.edu
Can users find information on your Web site? We conducted a usability
study in 1998 to see if patrons were able to successfully navigate through
the Norris Medical Library's Web pages. Participants were drawn from all
aspects of our user population: faculty, staff, and students. Our first
usability study revealed flaws in our present Web site of which the
librarians were not aware, particularly in the categorization of materials
and the terminology used on the site. This study gave us a clearer view
of our users' Web capabilities and knowledge about the library. A
literature search on usability studies revealed that while computer
scientists have been relying for years on such studies to make their
products more user-friendly, librarians in general have not been testing
their Web sites. As we began to redesign our Web site, we started with
investigating our users' ability to navigate our Web site as well as their
needs and interests through such a test. This presentation will discuss
when, why and how to conduct a usability study.
Implementing Print Charging in an Academic Medical Library (California Room)
Julia K. Kochi, Library & Center for Knowledge Management, University of
California, San Francisco
kochi@library.ucsf.edu
The manner in which libraries offer access to resources has been changing
dramatically over the past several years. More resources are available in
a digital format, and more libraries are offering computer access to both
licensed digital content and free web-based content. Faced with either
shrinking or stable budgets, most libraries cannot afford to subsidize the
amount of printing being done on public workstations. Since the library
installed public workstations with dedicated laser printers, the number of
pages being printed at public workstations has increased dramatically.
Between July 1997 and June 1998, it was estimated that approximately 1.5
million sheets of paper were printed. In July 1998, a system was rolled
out which allows the library to charge for printing at all public
workstations. This presentation will focus on logistical issues such as
determining the amount to charge per page and the various pricing tiers,
publicizing print charging in a positive manner, and staff training and
input. Additionally, a discussion of the pros and cons of the different
charging mechanisms will be offered and issues currently faced by the
library will be discussed.
Issues in Managing Electronic Journals in the Health Science Library (Garden Room)
Maggie Wineburgh-Freed and David H. Morse, Norris Medical Library,
University of Southern California
mwfreed@hsc.usc.edu, dmorse@hsc.usc.edu
Electronic versions of medical and health sciences periodicals are
becoming widely available either at no charge or accompanying a print
subscription. Many other titles are available electronically at
additional cost. Managing these electronic journals requires careful
planning, including collaboration among collection development,
information systems, acquisitions, and cataloging departments. This
presentation will discuss the steps needed to make e-journals available in
your library. It will include discussion of identifying and selecting the
e-journals to make available, negotiating and licensing issues to be
considered, strategies for dealing with publishers or vendor aggregators,
and organization and access methods to be used. Examples will be drawn
from our experience in providing access to selected e-journals via our
library web site and our web-based catalog.
Libraries and Telemedicine: Partnering to Produce a Web-based Consumer
Information Service (California Room)
Gerald Perry and Dave Piper, Arizona Health Sciences Library, University
of Arizona
jperry@ahsl.arizona.edu, dpiper@ahsl.arizona.edu
Telemedicine provides remote and underserved populations with increased
access to primary and specialty medical services. The World Wide Web
extends unprecedented access to health information to similar populations.
Together, telemedicine and the Web provide practitioners and patients new
and enhanced opportunities for education, prevention and treatment. This
presentation describes the collaborative development of a Web-based
patient information resource on behalf of a statewide telemedicine
service, a regional cancer research and treatment center, and an academic
health sciences library. The Arizona Telemedicine Program's patient
information resource Web site (http://www.ahsc.arizona.edu/atp) was
designed to support an expanding telemedicine program and was targeted to
provide U.S./Mexico border region practitioners with accessible
patient-focused resources, some in bilingual format. A combination of
existing Web resources and locally developed monographs was utilized. A
cancer specialist and library staff collaboratively identified and
evaluated links and designed and published the site. This pilot
established a context for future collaboration between the Library and the
Arizona Telemedicine Program.
MEDLINEplus: Access to Consumer Health Information Made Easy (Garden Room)
Terri Clark, Contractor with the National Library of Medicine and Lisa
Lott Jerant, Department of Radiology, University of California, Davis
Medical Center
terriclark@earthlink.net, lisa.jerant@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
On October 22, 1998, MEDLINEplus was launched by the National Library of
Medicine as part of the Medical Questions campaign. MEDLINEplus is a
pilot project with 39 public library systems in nine states designed to
increase public awareness of and access to health information via the
Internet. The pilot project has been designed to help determine the
feasibility of expanding the program into public libraries nationwide.
The goal of the MEDLINEplus site is to provide quick and easy access to
disease specific information located on the Internet. In addition to the
disease specific information resources, users can access lists of related
organizations and associations, dictionaries, online publications, search
databases, and libraries. In our presentation, we will outline how this
site was created including database structure, site development
procedures, and criteria for site inclusion. We will also present a tour
of the MEDLINEplus site and discuss future directions for the project.
Ovid MEDLINE Usability: An Observational Study (Garden Room)
Alice K. Kawakami, Norris Medical Library, University of Southern
California
akawakam@hsc.usc.edu
This study analyzes intuitive use of the Ovid MEDLINE system.
Approximately 25 subjects including researchers, clinicians, faculty,
students and staff were invited to the library, given a predetermined
medical topic, and asked to find citations and print a bibliography using
Ovid MEDLINE. The observer took notes on how the database was utilized by
each subject with special attention paid to the use or non-use of online
help, interpretation of error messages, and the pathways followed or
ignored. Of particular interest was the process by which citations were
selected and printed for the bibliography. Variables included
participants' familiarity with the web, searching knowledge, and degree of
Ovid training. The data collected will be analyzed with regard to its
application to database design, access, and teaching.
Providing Access in a Digital World: the Public Health Information Link in
Nevada (Garden Room)
Joan S. Zenan and Terry Henner, Savitt Medical Library, University of
Nevada School of Medicine
joanz@admin.unr.edu, thenner@admin.unr.edu
This presentation will report on a project to link all of Nevada's public
health professionals to a developing web site that includes a digital
library designed specifically for them. The Savitt Medical Library will
be the publisher of a digital library that links public health
professionals with tools they will need to do their jobs in the 21st
century. The Public Health Information Link for Nevada will be developed
to actively support those professionals working in city, county, and state
agencies. It will also provide increasingly important information for
Nevada's primary care students and health professionals. The scanning of
grey data and written reports created by public health agencies that are
particularly important to Nevada will further enhance the web site. An
"Internet for Public Health Professionals" course will be used to teach
public health professionals to become proficient in using the Internet and
searching PubMed. Hands-on, face-to-face training will come first,
followed by training via videoconferencing.
"Rush" Purchase instead of Interlibrary Loan (Empire Room)
Anne Prussing and Barbara Slater, Biomedical Library, University of
California, San Diego
aprussing@ucsd.edu, bslater@ucsd.edu
In April 1998, the University of California at San Diego Biomedical
Library began a pilot project to "rush" purchase and catalog recent
in-scope monographs instead of processing certain Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
requests. The pilot was to determine whether these purchases could be
completed and the books catalogued quickly enough to respond to patron
expectations for borrowed materials. These expectations were very high
due to an efficient ILL unit. We saw that several benefits would result
if the pilot succeeded: reduced cost and labor for ILL, the
supplementation of the collection budget with additional money earmarked
for "access projects," and collection development decisions based on
immediate need. The risks of the project were identified and minimized by
involving the staff closest to the process in development of procedures
and by ongoing and diligent communication. This presentation will
describe the background, obstacles, complexities, interdepartmental
cooperation and ultimate success of the project.
Searching for the 3 R's: Considering the Literature Search Requirement in
Biomedical Research (Empire Room)
Mary W. Wood, UC Center for Animal Alternatives, School of Veterinary
Medicine, University of California, Davis
mwwood@ucdavis.edu
In order to use animals in research, the Animal Welfare Act requires that
a protocol approved by the institution's animal care and use committee is
on file for each and every project. An alternatives literature search
must be completed for each protocol, a search which considers alternatives
to the use of animals in research, covers all three R's (replacement,
refinement, and reduction), and is run in multiple databases. As
librarians at institutions which perform biomedical research, we are in a
unique position to help. Especially when scientists are seeing this as
just one more regulatory hoop through which to jump, we are well
positioned to step in and offer concrete assistance. This presentation
will offer ideas and insight on developing pertinent strategies and
selecting appropriate databases as well as how to best reach this needy
but reticent audience.
Shedding Light on the Grey Literature: Web Publishing Trends and
Collection Development Strategies (Empire Room)
Laurie Isenberg and Jill Woolums, California HealthCare Foundation,
Oakland, CA
lisenberg@chcf.org, jwoolums@chcf.org
This presentation reviews the results of a survey analyzing publishing and
marketing trends in health policy grey literature, with a special emphasis
on California. Reports from associations, think tanks and foundations
contain cutting edge information of great relevance to those interested in
health care policy. This "grey literature" has traditionally been left
out of most bibliographic indexes and is difficult to track and collect in
a consolidated manner. The shift toward web publishing introduces new
opportunities for collection development of grey literature. But first
some questions must be addressed. What types of organizations are
publishing on the web? What types of materials are being published? How
is the Internet being used for acquisition of publications? What are the
best methods to track and collect these publications? Librarians who
understand the trends can use their influence to keep up and, even better,
to drive change in sane and accessible directions.
Ten Years of the UMLS Metathesaurus (Garden Room)
Stephanie Lipow, Lexical Technology, Inc., Alameda, CA
steph@lexical.com
The tenth annual edition of the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS)
Metathesaurus was released in January, 1999. Sponsored by the National
Library of Medicine, the UMLS Metathesaurus is a synthesis of existing
biomedical naming systems, mapping together concepts and terms from
important biomedical vocabularies and classifications. The first
Metathesaurus contained 28,816 reviewed concepts from seven sources. The
1999 Metathesaurus will include more than 400,000 reviewed concepts from
more than 40 sources, including MeSH, SNOMED International, CPT-4, ICD-9,
and several nursing sources. This presentation will review the progress
of the Metathesaurus over its history, including examples of how the
medical community is using the Metathesaurus.
The Online Reference Center: Providing Access to Selected Web Resources (Empire Room)
Roumiana Katzarkov and Janet Nelson, Norris Medical Library, University of
Southern California
katzarko@hsc.usc.edu, janetnel@hsc.usc.edu
Until recently, access to the Web resources in Norris Medical Library was
restricted to USC clientele through a key checkout system. Librarians at
the reference desk were constantly showing Web sites to both our primary
user groups and the general public. In order to provide quick, easy
access to selected Web sites to all users, we designed the Online
Reference Center and mounted it on three dedicated terminals in the
reference area. This presentation will discuss the criteria used to
evaluate and select sites, the menu structure, the interface design, the
software (NetSitter) used to restrict users to specific sites, and the
evaluation of the final product. The nature of the questions received
through Online Reference Help will also be addressed.
When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade (California Room)
Lenore K. Schnaitman, Brown Health Sciences Library & The Learning Center,
Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ
lenores@samaritan.edu
Providing consumer health information to patients and their families is an
increasingly important aspect of hospital librarianship. In the past,
providing such services was an abstract concept to me, part of my myriad
duties as a medical librarian. Since my own brushes with illness,
however, I have gained new appreciation of the patient experience and need
for consumer education. This understanding has brought new dimensions and
insights to my role as provider of patient and family education. This
dual voice, as patient and librarian, carries authority with hospital
administration, impacting planning and delivery of services. I also
relate more openly to patients and families having been a patient myself.
Coupling my own illness experience with my library skills has enabled me
to improve the patient education at my hospital.