From the Library Director:
Accessibility of the Library
(continued)

The Library's web site (www.library.uams.edu) serves as the gateway for many of the Library's online resources, which are accessible anytime from anywhere on campus (including the Ed II 8th floor labs, which are open 24 hours a day), and from home when using a UAMS Aristotle account. Online resources include nearly 900 journals, the Ovid databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsychInfo, etc.), Harrison's Online, MD Consult (which has full-text of 35 textbooks and many other resources), and many of the Learning Resource Center's educational programs. We are currently working on the implementation of the web management software feature of the Innovative Interfaces (III) library system, which will enable UAMS personnel to utilize the Library's online resources from home or anywhere in the world regardless of the Internet service provider being used.

In addition to providing Internet access from the public computers in the Library, network connections were added to two study carrels on the 3rd floor of the Library (next to the elevator at the north end) to enable our users with laptops to connect to the UAMS network and the Internet. The laptops must have a network card and be configured to connect to your servers. If you have questions about these connections, please contact Loretta Edwards at 686-6752 or EdwardsLoretta@uams.edu.

The Library, with the exception of the Learning Resource Center, is open to the adult public for accessing consumer health/patient information. Children are allowed in the Library only when supervised by a parent. In addition to some printed resources, the Library provides access to the Internet from the Library's computers for searching MEDLINEPlus and other sources of consumer health information.

We have recently had several incidents where non-UAMS and UAMS personnel were accessing pornographic sites from the Library's computers. While the Library supports the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights (www.ala.org/work/freedom/lbr.html), we cannot allow access to pornographic sites from the Library's computers because it is not the use for which these computers are provided and it disturbs other users and staff. Also, accessing child pornography is a federal offense.

The Library is always accessible after-hours in case of a clinical emergency requiring use of the Library's resources. UAMS faculty, housestaff, and residents, and staff of the Poison Control Center and the UAMS Emergency Room may gain access to the Library by contacting the UAMS Police at 686-7777. With proper identification (UAMS ID badge), UAMS Police will open the Library and log the name and the time the individual enters and departs from the Library. The officer will either wait if the individual can retrieve the item(s) quickly, or return later when called to let the person out of the Library. A phone is provided at the Circulation Desk and the Police can usually get to the Library in about five minutes.

Recent physical improvements to the Library include the installation of push-button door openers on the front doors in compliance with ADA guidelines; the rearrangement of furniture on the 2nd and 3rd levels to provide more space between tables and better utilization of the space at the south ends of the 2nd and 3rd levels; and the addition of a fourth computer table "cluster" and three new public computers on the first floor. Other physical improvements scheduled for this year are on hold due to budget restrictions.

If you have any suggestions for improving the accessibility of the Library, please let me know (RyanMaryL@uams.edu or 686-6730). Although our budget is very tight, we will do the best we can to continue making improvements.

Mary L. Ryan