|
|
|
|
|
No. 126 | |
July/August 2005 |
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
From the Library Director For several years UAMS librarians, along with other librarians throughout the country, have been monitoring the development of the PubMed database (which includes MEDLINE) provided for free by the National Library of Medicine (NIH). During the past year, UAMS reference librarians did an in-depth comparison of PubMed and the Ovid MEDLINE product to which the Library currently subscribes. After studying the features of both systems that seem most important to our users, we considered PubMed to be the better option for UAMS for several major reasons. Therefore, we are planning to cancel the Ovid MEDLINE subscription effective July 1, 2006, giving Ovid MEDLINE users nearly a year for the transition to PubMed. Some of the reasons we selected PubMed over Ovid MEDLINE are as follows: Open Accessibility and Life-Long Learning PubMed is a free resource from the National Library of Medicine that will continue to be available via the Internet to faculty, students, and staff even after they leave UAMS. In the spirit of life-long learning, students and faculty will be acquiring the skills needed to search a database that will be available wherever they practice their health sciences profession. Ovid Costs and Restrictions Ovid is a privately-owned system that requires re-negotiations every year as prices continue to climb. Ovid limits the number of concurrent users of the Ovid databases and full-text journals based on what a library is able to afford, thus creating times when popular databases or materials are not accessible. Ovid access is also restricted by license to UAMS faculty, students, and staff only. This has been a troublesome issue at UAMS since access is usually denied to our alumni, emeritus faculty, adjunct faculty, volunteers, and others who do not strictly fall under our license. This problem is exacerbated by the erroneous belief that Ovid is the only option for accessing full-text journals. Full-Text Journal Articles In the past the Library purchased full-text journals via Ovid, but this is no longer the case. The vast majority of full-text journals are now licensed directly through publishers providing immediate access to current online articles, usually without restrictions on concurrent users. Full-text articles are equally available through PubMed and Ovid. Also, the ejournal list on the Library Website provides access to virtually all of the Library’s full-text journals by journal title or citation. Quicker Access and Broader Coverage PubMed and Ovid (and all other MEDLINE vendors) provide access to records that are indexed and compiled by the National Library of Medicine. However, records are more quickly available in PubMed, including In-Process records searchable by words in the citation and abstract before the full indexing is completed. PubMed also provides a broader coverage than MEDLINE, including Non-Indexed Citations for articles judged to be of importance to health and life sciences that appear in journals not routinely indexed in MEDLINE. Although access to Ovid MEDLINE will end in June 2006, access to other Ovid databases, including HAPI, IPA, and Cochrane Evidence-Based Medicine files, will continue to be available through Ovid for the foreseeable future. Beginning immediately, the Library staff will teach PubMed searching skills instead of Ovid in classes offered both on and off campus. The Reference librarians are ready to assist Ovid users in the transition to PubMed individually, in small groups, or in larger settings. Please contact the Library Reference Desk at libraryreferencedesk@uams.edu or 686-6734 to obtain PubMed training or assistance.
|
|
|
