A brief profile of Janet Doe is given. Twenty-five years of library automation are reviewed from the author's point of view. Major projects such as the SUNY Biomedical Communication Network and the Regional Online Union Catalog of the Greater Midwest Regional Medical Library Network are discussed. Important figures in medical library automation are considered, as is the major role played by the National Library of Medicine.

Automation↗

PubMed1976

Automation--planning to implementation; the problems en route.

Once the major decision to automate library processes is made, there are a variety of problems which may be encountered before the planned system becomes operational. These include problems of personnel, budget, procurement of adjunct services, institutional priorities, and manufacturing uncertainties. Actual and potential difficulties are discussed.

Automation↗

PubMed1976

New library buildings. Part VIII. The Library of the Health Sciences, University of Illinois at the Medical Center, Chicago.

The new Library of the Health Sciences at the University of Illinois at the Medical Center is described and illustrated. The building was under construction for thirteen months, using phased construction techniques, and opened in October 1973. The library is a self-contained and physically independent building consisting of three levels above ground and one lower level, comprising an area of 130,000 sq. ft. gross and 88,000 sq. ft. net. The building provides space for 350,000 volumes, 1,037 readers, and a staff of 100. The cost of construction was $5,140,500 plus $858,500 for furnishings and equipment. Among the special features are a twenty-four-hour multimedia services department and a full-circulating style book detection system. Included in the article is an evaluation of the library after two years of occupancy.

Chicago↗

PubMed1971

Continuing education.

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Curriculum↗

PubMed1969

A regional medical library network.

The raison d'être for cooperative networks is discussed, and the development of the SUNY Biomedical Communication Network is traced briefly; a description of the system and its products is given. The cooperative cataloging program engaged in with the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine and the National Library of Medicine is described, as are the efforts of the Network in the production of regional and state-wide union lists of serials.

Cataloging↗

PubMed1968

Development of methodologic tools for planning and managing library services. I. Project goals and approach.

In July 1966, the Institute for Advancement of Medical Communication began work on a project aimed at developing methods for collecting objective data suitable for planning and guiding local, regional, and national programs to improve biomedical libraries and the biomedical information complex. This article constitutes an introduction to a series of reports on the methodologic tools that have been developed. It describes the overall purpose and initial goals of the project, gives the general plan of the work, and presents five basic concepts that underlie the project's approach and structure the entire effort.

Information Services↗

PubMed1968

Development of methodologic tools for planning and managing library services. II. Measuring a library's capability for providing documents.

A method of measuring a library's capability for providing the documents its users need has been developed. The library is tested with a representative sample of such documents to determine how long would be required for users to obtain these documents. Test results are expressed in terms of a Capability Index, which has a maximal value of 100 only if all the sample documents are found "on shelf." Specific tests employing samples of 300 documents have been developed that are appropriate for academic and for "reservoir" biomedical libraries. Realistic field trials have demonstrated that these two tests are practical to administer and that test results are adequately reproducible. When strict comparability is not important, a library can test itself. In assessing a reservoir library, test results are supplemented by data on its typical processing time for interlibrary loan requests. Currently these tests are being used in a national survey. The general method is applicable to other types of libraries, provided appropriate test samples are established. If their limitations are clearly understood, these "Document Delivery Tests" can be valuable tools for planning and managing library services.

Information Services↗

PubMed1968

Developing of methodologic tools for planning and managing library services: 3. Standardized inventories of library services.

A standardized procedure was developed for eliciting those details of a library's service policies that are important to its users and for recording the data by checking appropriate categories on a form. This inventory procedure covers the entire spectrum of user services and accommodates a wide range of policies. The inventory was originally designed for use by trained interviewers in largescale surveys of academic medical libraries. However, it is also suitable for other kinds of libraries, and the Interview Guide and Checklist can be used for a self-survey by library staff. In addition to survey use, the inventory has a variety of educational, administrative, managerial, and research applications. A method for weighting the categorical inventory data to reflect the relative desirability of different policies makes it possible to calculate scores indicating how a library's policies compare with those of an "optimal" library. An analogous inventory of the services a library provides to other libraries was developed for surveying major backup resources in the medical library system.

Consumer Behavior↗

PubMed1966

A brief history of the State University of New York Upstate Medical Center.

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Education, Medical↗