March/April 2002
volume 11, issue 2
In this issue:
Digital Health Reference Service: A Cooperative Project with Public Libraries
PSRML Express Outreach Awards
It's "EZ" to Apply for NLM's Internet Connection Grants!
Membership Renewal Update
Joint Meeting Update
MEDLINE Facts
Where Can I Find a Listserv On...?
Surgeon General's Reports on the Web
NIH's New Rare Disease Information Center
Highlights from the January - February 2002 NLM Technical Bulletin
In every issue:
Table of Contents for the NLM Technical Bulletin
Upcoming Events - 2002
Publication Information
Digital Health Reference Service: A Cooperative Project with Public Libraries
by Kay Deeney
Education & Exhibit Coordinator
PSRML
Would you like to collaborate on providing digital health reference services for questions referred from public librarians? Can you commit to about two hours per week? PSRML is working with the Metropolitan Cooperative Library System of Southern California on a pilot to offer this service to public librarians. The staff of the Metropolitan Cooperative Library System will provide training. To participate, you will need a PC with Windows 98, NT, or 2000, and a direct Internet connection. You can work from your hospital or library, or from your home if you have at least a 56K modem.
Performing digital health reference will give you experience in this new technology. See what it is all about! You can chat with callers in real time, walk users through searches and web sites, input search terms and fill out online forms, share documents with users, review what the caller does, and troubleshoot.
You may find that this service is something you want to offer your patrons, or that you would like to collaborate on with other medical librarians.
Twelve Californian public law librarians are participating in a similar pilot project to provide real time legal reference service via the Internet. Participating law librarians will be fielding law related reference questions received through the icons of participating libraries of the 24/7 reference service of the Metropolitan Cooperative Library System in Southern California and the Q&A café of the Golden Gateway Library Network in Northern California. They may also decide to expand access by adding icons to the public law library web sites.
More information about MCLS and the 24/7 Reference is at http://www.247ref.org. There is a nicely done tour of the system. And, there is a link for trying out digital reference.
The Library of Congress also has a collaborative digital reference project (CDRS). My understanding is that it is more of an email referral system pointing to experts at this time. They will be beta testing a web based system starting in March. For more information, go to http://www.loc.gov/rr/digiref/.
Please contact PSRML at kdeeney@library.ucla.edu to participate or if you have any questions.
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