The UAMS Library is normally open the hours listed on the web site and on signs in the Library. However, during the recent ice storms, the Library was closed one full day, and was opened later or closed earlier than usual on some other days.
We are currently reviewing our method of publicizing unexpected changes in hours, including putting information on our web site, placing a recording on the main phone line (686-5980), posting notes on the doors when possible, etc., to see if there are additional things we can do to keep people well-informed about our hours. In the future, we will continue to try to balance our users' needs against the risk of asking staff to travel to the Library in bad weather.
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
Dr. Harry P. Ward transferred his office papers to the Archives of the Historical Research Center in the UAMS Library. His donation contributes to the preservation of the historical record of UAMS and the office of Chancellor. Dr. Ward served as Chancellor during a time of great change and growth at UAMS. These papers will serve to document those times for future researchers and historians.
The Archives serve as a repository of materials that document the history of UAMS, as well as the history of the health sciences in Arkansas. The materials in the Archives generally are unpublished and unique. Private letters and documents provide an insight to people and events that is not always apparent with published materials. The UAMS Archives preserves these materials and provides access to them by creating indexes that allow their retrieval for the use of researchers.
Records being transferred to the Archives should reflect the functions and responsibilities of the office. Materials that document policies, established precedents, or agreements should be preserved. Biographies of persons, records of major events, and publications originating from an office should also be included. Materials should be left in their folders or files and in their original order. Donors may stipulate that access to their papers be restricted for a period of time.
The Archives has copies of UAMS theses and dissertations, personal papers of Arkansas health scientists, records of state health organizations, photographs, and recorded oral interviews with Arkansas health scientists who have contributed to the history of the health sciences in Arkansas.
For further information, or to transfer material, call Margaret Johnson, Chair, Historical Research Center, 686-6733 or send e-mail to johnsonmargareta@uams.edu.
Dr. Harry Ward and Margaret Johnson examine one of the 38 boxes of his office files that Dr. Ward transferred to the Archives of the UAMS Library Historical Research Center. Mary Ryan, Library Director, observes the transfer.
MEDLINEplus, the National Library of Medicine's consumer health website, has added a current news section featuring stories on health-related issues, according to a press release from the National Library of Medicine dated January 24, 2001. News items from sources such as the Associated Press, New York Times Syndicate and United Press International are included.
News items will be selected daily and indexed to the over 430 in-depth health topic pages. For example, someone interested in diabetes will find a section called "Latest News" at the top of the Diabetes page. In addition to highlighting important news items on the MEDLINEplus home page, a complete list of news items from the last 30 days is also available - a feature that may prove especially useful to librarians.
The news feature enhances MEDLINEplus's one-stop shopping for all kinds of information: news, overviews of diagnosis and treatment, and links to ongoing clinical research studies and recent journal articles. The URL is http://medlineplus.gov/ .
The Library is missing the following journal issues. If you would be willing to donate your copy of these issues to the Library, please contact Mary Hawks, hawksmarys@uams.edu, or 686-6749. Any donations will be very appreciated.
The National Library of Medicine [NLM] is the world's largest biomedical research library. The collection covers all areas of biomedicine and health care, and includes materials in physical and life sciences, social sciences and humanities. The unrivaled physical collection contains over 5.8 million items including books, journals, manuscripts, photographs, and more. NLM is also responsible for the production of the MEDLINE database and numerous other factual and bibliographic databases.
Over the years, NLM has utilized various methods for providing access to its resources. Grateful Med software, now retired, enabled health professionals across the country to search MEDLINE and the other databases with just a phone line. The explosion of the Internet has added yet another avenue with web-based search systems. PubMed, a search system from the National Center for Biotechnology Information, under NLM, is a free Internet resource allowing anyone with an Internet connection access to databases at NLM. LOCATORplus is NLM's online catalog providing information on items in the Library's physical collections while MEDLINEplus is NLM's consumer health web site.
Originally each of these resources had to be searched independently. With so many different routes available to access information at NLM, a centralized site was needed. The NLM Gateway, http://gateway.nlm.nih.gov/ allows users to search in multiple systems including MEDLINE on PubMed, LOCATORplus and MEDLINEplus from one centralized location. The Gateway is available to anyone with an Internet connection and it is particularly friendly to those who are unfamiliar with NLM and its resources. For example, a search on "multiple sclerosis" retrieves the following screen:
The Details of Search button in each category outlines the results from each resource. For example, the journal citations were pulled from PubMed and the OLDMEDLINE databases. The consumer health items came from MEDLINEplus Health Topics, MEDLINEplus Drug Information and the DIRLINE database providing directory-type information on health organizations. For those who prefer to search each separate system to prevent retrieval of unwanted items, the PubMed, MEDLINEplus and LOCATORplus systems will remain searchable individually.
Please note that free PubMed classes are being offered each month. These classes are open to any practicing health care professional in Arkansas. If you would like to register for one of these classes or schedule an individual class, please contact Susan Steelman, M.L.I.S. at 501-686-6737 or SteelmanSusanC@uams.edu.
February 15 9:00 am - 11:00 am
Thursday
March 6th 8:00 am - 10:00 am
Tuesday
April 18th 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Wednesday
One of the great advantages of an online catalog is the ability to link to online resources that are not strictly books or journals. The UAMS Library catalog now links to a web site titled "Instructions to Authors in the Health Sciences", which is prepared and updated by the Library at the Medical College of Ohio. This resource contains links to Web sites which provide instructions to authors for over 3,000 journals in the health and life sciences. All links are to "primary sources", that is, to publishers or organizations with editorial responsibilities for the titles. This can be accessed by going to http://www.libcatalog.uams.edu and searching under "Instructions to authors".
The UAMS Library will hold its annual used book sale on Thursday, March 1st, in the lobby of the ED II Building, from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. We will be selling books removed from our collection and gift books that we did not add to our collection. Most books will sell for $1.00 and the proceeds will be used to support the Library.
Come find a treasure! If you have books you'd like to donate for the sale, please contact Mary Hawks, hawksmarys@uams.edu or 686-6749.
UAMS Library: Editor,
Amanda Saar
Soundwords: Editor, Fred Bassett
Contributors: Fred Bassett, Mary Hawks, Margaret Johnson, Mary Ryan, Amanda
Saar 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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