Discusses rationale for the conversion of a card catalog to an online system in a special library owning approximately 4,000 titles. Equipment, software, and procedures are described, and pros and cons, costs, and personnel needs involved in use of microcomputer for such a project are outlined. Nine references are cited. (EJS)

Planning and moving procedures that facilitated the relocation of a medical center library collection of 30,000 book and journal volumes and 600 audiovisuals are detailed in four areas: space planning, avoidance of service disruptions, library staff morale, and physical handling of materials. An 8-item bibliography is included. (EJS)

In this, the sixth year of recording academic library building data, it is possible to begin a yearly appraisal of change, progress or decline by comparison with the five-year base data published last year. (Author/NH)

A statistical measure of user satisfaction among medical school faculty members was undertaken which found that such libraries tend to develop techniques of storage, retrieval, and dissemination of medical information without benefit of current research into the real needs of faculties and researchers. (Author/MLW)

This study measured the following performance factors at the Cleveland Health Science Library: user bibliographic information; collection development policy; acquisition policy; user catalog; circulation; library operation/functioning; and user search. Book availability rates were similar to rates for other academic libraries, and book…

Issues related to end-user training for scientific and technical online databases are discussed in five articles. Topics covered include instruction in the use of controlled and natural language vocabularies; a planning assessment for end-user searching; the role of the information center in industrial research; training for health care…

Although the challenges faced by librarians and medical informaticians are sometimes different, the evolution of information technology and new forms of biomedical communication suggest an increasing convergence between the two disciplines. Both groups serve as information deliverers and curators, apply information technology to knowledge…

Describes a study of the MEDLINE and SCISEARCH databases conducted in health sciences libraries that investigated the efficacy of searching by terms and by citations. Recall and precision are examined, relevance odds and search modes are discussed, and overlap retrieval from the two databases is studied. (26 references) (LRW)

Twenty-seven rural physicians were visited by a medical librarian and taught to search medical literature via computer. A survey of 21 participants showed that the program reduced the sense of isolation and increased satisfaction. Online searching cost an average of $10 per month to answer 20 clinical questions. (SK)

Describes a project at the Ministry of Health Library and Documentation Centre in Malawi, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), that changed the role of the library from information collector to producer of information through the use of desktop publishing and the creation of CD-ROM databases. (LRW)

The establishment of faculties of medical library and information science in four Chinese national medical universities is described. The faculties were established in the mid-1980s, and each is fully integrated into its university. Students receive three years of nonclinical medical training and two years of library and information science…

Describes a study of Institutes of Health Sciences (IHS) libraries in Botswana that determined the state of the collections and services and examined how well the libraries provided complements to classroom-based student learning and to lecturers' research. Results showed that college library standards were not met and recommends strategies for…

The "ARL Annual Salary Survey 2005-06" reports salary data for all professional staff working in Association of Research Libraries (ARL) libraries. It is the most comprehensive and thorough guide to current salaries in large U.S. and Canadian academic and research libraries, and is a valuable management and research tool. Data for 9,655…

Raising a child with a disability requires an even greater amount of information than that needed to raise a "typical" child. This information is not as easily accessed as information regarding typically developing children. Parents require this information to help promote their child's development, learn information about diagnoses and treatment…

This study examines continuing education and professional development of 210 health sciences librarians affiliated with 70 academic medical libraries in the United States, which has the most advanced system of education in librarianship in the world. Of the 102 respondents, the largest categories were library directors/administrators and public…