Internet Access to the Medical &Family Libraries

Children'S National Medical Center, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

The staff of Learning Resources, which includes the Medical and Family Libraries at the Children?s National Medical Center (CNMC), plans to fully automate library operations and services and to provide easy Internet access to the medical literature, professional and consumer health. This would enable them to incorporate knowledge-base information into a strong institution-wide information technology infrastructure, making the health sciences literature readily available to CNMC staff, patient families and the community. The librarians plan to use a library automation system produced by SIRSI Unicorn Quickstart to: 1) Automate library operations, including those of acquiring materials, cataloging, serials control and circulation; 2) Provide an easy one-stop access point for library patrons to the CNMC libraries? holdings and the Internet, both from within the institution and remotely; 3) Enable all CNMC staff and patient families to have easy access to databases such as MEDLINE, MEDLINEplus and LOCATORplus from the hospital, community office, bedside, home and anywhere on the globe; 4) Permit segments of the CNMC community to access CNMC subscriptions to the full-text of medical and consumer health books and journals, additional databases and document delivery services, including Loansome Doc, from any computer with an Internet browser; 5) Provide the community of the DC Metropolitan area (as well as the greater national and international community) with one Web site to which to go for information on child health and welfare issues.