In the Sept/Oct issue of this newsletter I wrote about some of the changes taking place in the scholarly communication process, and in this article I will review just a few of the initiatives that are addressing the issues involved in the changes.
The (NIH) National Library of Medicine's PubMed Central (www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov) project includes the archiving of electronic journals and providing free access to them. All material in PubMed Central will be contributed by journals currently indexed by a major abstracting or indexing service, or journals with three or more research grant holders from major funding agencies on their editorial boards. PubMed Central began accepting journal articles in January of 2000, and is growing steadily.
Another initiative is the Create Change initiative sponsored by the Association of Research Libraries, which attempts to educate scholars about the issues involved in scholarly communication and to encourage them to take action to make changes happen. The Create Change website (www.arl.org/create/librarians/intro/aboutcc.html ) gives an excellent overview of the issues involved in the scholarly communication process and gives suggestions for ways to foster change. Some of the strategies for change include the following:
Scholars can help regain control of the scholarly communication process by:
At the UAMS Library, we are trying to do whatever we can to help support these initiatives. We are also working on a more basic level with local and regional initiatives which will help provide better access to information for our users. We are active participants in the South Central Academic Medical Libraries consortium, which is composed of 14 academic medical libraries in a five-state area, through which we get discounted prices for MDConsult, Academic Ideal full-text journals, and other products, and which provides us with free document delivery of items owned by the other member libraries. We also actively participate in the ARKLink consortium, composed of the 47 public and private academic libraries in the state, which is trying to improve our resource sharing mechanisms within the state and is negotiating group discounts for electronic databases and full-text journals. Within the Library, we are improving access to information by:
We will continue to support efforts to improve the scholarly communication process on the international, national and regional levels, and to improve our local services in order to provide all of our users with more convenient access to information at the point-of-need.
AHECs
A major aspect of our outreach activities is the symbiotic relationship between the UAMS Library and the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Libraries in the state. Arkansas is divided into 7 AHEC regions with each AHEC covering certain counties. This regional breakdown is important because it forms the backbone of local medical library services available to health care professionals in the state.
For example, the UAMS Library functions as an AHEC Library in providing direct services to health care professionals in Cleburne, Faulkner, Garland, Hot Spring, Perry, Pulaski, Saline, Van Buren and White counties. These services include reference service, computer searches, current awareness services, interlibrary loan (ILL) and document delivery assistance. For health care professionals in other counties, the local AHEC/DHEC provides similar services.
Each AHEC Library offers assistance with computer searches, document delivery, and reference queries. When necessary, the AHEC librarians have numerous national and regional resources available to them for obtaining articles or answering reference questions. All Arkansas AHEC Libraries provide Loansome Doc services for health professionals in their region, using PubMed or Internet Grateful Med; however fees for the Loansome Doc service may vary.
If you would like detailed information about the services provided in your region, please contact your local AHEC librarian as shown on the previously linked list. If you have any questions regarding this list or other outreach concerns, please contact Susan Steelman, Coordinator of Outreach Services, UAMS Library, at 501-686-6737 or SteelmanSusanC@uams.edu.
Please note that we have free PubMed
classes scheduled beginning in January. If you would like to register for
one of these classes or an individual class, please contact Susan Steelman,
MLIS at 501-686-6737 or SteelmanSusanC@uams.edu.
January 16, 2001 9:00 am - 11:00 am Tuesday
February 15, 2001 9:00 am - 11:00 am Thursday
March 6, 2001 8:00 am - 10:00 am Tuesday
Right now, the UAMS Library has access to over 750 electronic journals on the Internet. Some of the journals are purchased as package deals from Ovid and MD Consult. Others are acquired individually, while some are "bundled" as part of our subscription to the print journal. Because they are from different vendors, access to these journals can be very confusing.
After extensive research, the UAMS Library staff came up with a centralized approach that has various access points. One access point is the use of the Ovid WebLink feature. Another access point is the listing in the Library's online catalog, and a third is the subject list of all e-journals to which the Library has access.
1. If you are searching most databases in Ovid:
After finishing your search, you will usually see several links under each citation: "Abstract", "Complete Reference", and "WebLink". In addition, if the article is available full-text from Ovid, there will be an "Ovid Full Text" link.
If you click on the "Ovid Full Text" link, you will go directly to the article.
If there is no "Ovid Full Text" link, clicking on the "WebLink" will take you to the UAMS Library online catalog. If the Library owns the title, you will see the catalog listing for it. This catalog listing will state what years the library owns if we own the print version, and whether or not there is a direct web link to the publisher's site for a possible full text version, in addition to any other link to the Ovid Full Text version, and/or the MD Consult version.
If you are searching the database Journals@Ovid Full Text, the links underneath the citation will have the "Table of Contents" link given instead of the "Ovid Full-Text". That link will take you to the Table of Contents for the proper journal issue, and from there to full text if it is presently available.
2. If you have a list of citations on hand, the best way to see what titles the Library owns is to go directly to the UAMS Library online catalog at www.libcatalog.uams.edu.
Do a title search. If the Library has access to the title, the catalog entry will show you if it is owned in print format, and/or also available in electronic format.
For titles to which there is electronic access, there may be links to the full text via Ovid, MD Consult, or the publisher's site. Before you leap out of the catalog, look to see if a password is required, and what it is. Some sites do require a library ID and password. MD Consult requires your personal password each time.
3. The subject list of all electronic journals to which the Library has access is available at www.library.uams.edu/ejournls/subject.htm. This will let you know the number of e-journals in your specialty that are available via UAMS Library access. You can follow the links to the full-text journals from there, too.
Remember: you have to be on either the ACH, VA/NLRVA or UAMS campus, or have an Aristotle Internet account to access these journals. Another reminder: Most of the full-text journals go back only 3 or 5 years.
This whole process may seem troublesome, but many people have found it extremely helpful when they need an article in a hurry.
The Interlibrary Loan Department can now provide electronic desktop delivery of documents via Prospero.
Prospero, a Web-based document delivery system, was developed as a complement to the Ariel software system. Ariel is a product that allows libraries to use the Internet to exchange documents through interlibrary loan. Ariel has been available at the UAMS Library since April 2000 and Prospero has been available since November 2000.
Prospero consists of two software modules. The first is a staff module that captures and converts TIFF files, Ariel's native format, into PDF files. The converted files are saved to a directory on the library web server. A patron database maintains authentication information, consisting of a patron's email address and a randomly assigned personal identification number (PIN). When a document is processed, an email message is automatically sent to the patron regarding the availability of the document.
The second Prospero module is the web server/patron interface. Patrons can access Prospero from any web browser using their email address and PIN. After being authenticated, a web page is generated that contains a list of the patron's documents. The patron can simply select and download the required document. Documents will be removed automatically from the system after viewing them five times or after 14 days on the system to comply with copyright. Patrons can also delete documents directly from the web interface.
The Library understands that this new method may not appeal to all patrons. It is important to note that patron equipment and connection issues are significant with this new service. The loading of large PDF files can be slow, especially with a dial-up connection. The patron must have the latest version of the Adobe reader loaded. The reader is available for FREE at www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.
Printing can be extremely slow on non-laser printers. Also, we have received reports of problems accessing documents when using America Online. You should report any problems as soon as possible and the staff will be happy to work with you to identify the best method for delivery of requests.
Some of our Interlibrary Loan suppliers do not have the capability to deliver in an electronic format. When we can only receive an item in print format, you will need to pick up your request at the Circulation Desk after receiving notification that it is available.
If you have any questions or would like to test this new enhanced service, call Lynne Finister at 686-8680 or email her at FinisterLynneD@uams.edu.
Need a gift idea? Consider these possibilities from the Library. You can make a donation to the library book collection fund as a special way to honor someone during this holiday season. Honorees will be notified of your donation.
Consider "adopting" a book from the History of Medicine collection that needs conservation treatment. Donors will receive an adoption packet and a commemorative bookplate will be placed insider the book. This process helps to ensure that these important works receive the treatment needed to prolong their lives. An adoption makes a wonderful gift for someone you want to honor during the holidays.
The History of Medicine Associates offer two publications that would be great gifts for anyone interested in Arkansas medical history. Each volume contains papers of winners of the History of Medicine Research Awards. Both volumes of Contributions to Arkansas Medical History can be purchased for a special price of $25, plus $3.00 handling if shipped.
Questions can be directed to Mary Hawks, Head, Collection Management (686 6749, HawksMaryS@uams.edu) or Margaret Johnson, Head, Historical Research Center (686 6733, JohnsonMargaretA@uams.edu).
Happy Holidays.
The Library will not borrow original material during the Holiday Season, beginning December 11. This includes books, journals, audio cassettes, and audiovisual cassettes. Regular service will resume January 2. Requests for photocopied material will be processed as usual.
If you have any questions, please contact Belinda Rocco, Borrower, Interlibrary Loan Dept., UAMS Library (686-6742, roccobelindar@uams.edu).
Media Services and the UAMS Bookstore have filled the exhibit cases in the Library with items that would make excellent holiday gifts. The services and products of both departments are presented in one location for the benefit of campus staff and students. If you have questions, please contact Margaret Johnson at 686-6733 or JohnsonMargaretA@uams.edu.
UAMS Library: Editor,
Amanda Saar
Soundwords: Editor, Fred Bassett
Contributors: Margaret Johnson, Lily Liu, Dena Plaisted,
Belinda Rocco, Mary Ryan, and Susan Steelman
Published by the UAMS
Library
4301 W. Markham, Slot 586
Little Rock, AR 72205-7186
(501) 686-5980
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