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Rhode Island Health Science Libraries Join Academic Consortium

It is with great pleasure that the Association of Rhode Island Health Sciences Libraries (ARIHSL) announces the recent receipt of a one-year grant in support of the further development of the "Library of Rhode Island." Funding for this project was awarded by the RI Office of Library and Information Services, using funds provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, under the federal Library Services and Technology Act.

The award-winning proposal, "The Heart of the Matter: Improving Health Information Access in Rhode Island," expresses ARIHSL's intention to improve the public's access to medical books residing in the libraries of hospitals and the Department of Health. The 15,000 titles, valued at over $1.5M, reflect a concentration in health related fields, including pre-clinical sciences, surgery, nursing, allied health medicine, health care administration, public health, bio-terrorism, consumer health, and behavioral health. Participants include the libraries of Butler, Eleanor Slater, Kent, Memorial, Naval, Newport, Lifespan, St. Joseph, and South County hospitals; Landmark, Roger Williams, and the Veterans' Administration medical centers, and the RI Department of Health.

A cornerstone of the project is the partnership being formed with the current nine academic members of Rhode Island's Higher Education Library Network (HELIN), including Brown University. The $36,100 award provides funding for ARIHSL libraries to join HELIN as Associate Members (a newly-created category of HELIN membership), and for the technical processing of monographic MARC record holdings required for integration into the HELIN library catalog. Using only the OPAC portion of the Innovative Interfaces, Inc. integrated library system will provide a web-based catalog for the ARIHSL libraries' holdings.

Access to such a state-of-the-art information technology would ordinarily be out of the question for individual small medical libraries. Treating the thirteen libraries as one entity and the flexibility demonstrated by the HELIN leadership in accommodating ARIHSL's limited OPAC needs were keys to the project's appeal. Soon all Rhode Islanders will benefit from easier access to these up-to-date and comprehensive health sciences collections thanks to the new collaboration.

WEBSITES:

Jo-Anne M. Aspri, MLS
Director, Library Services
KENT HOSPITAL
Warwick, RI 02886