As health sciences libraries transition from print to online journal collections that require significant institutional funding, librarians are investigating the use of on demand services in order to meet customer need and contain costs. In 2014 a three-year pilot project to determine if unmediated access to the Copyright Clearance Center's Get It Now service would expand access to needed content and provide usage data to inform collections decision making. The service provides rapid, automated delivery of unsubscribed, high-quality journal articles directly to the customer. The three-year pilot project aims to compare the cost of Get It Now to the traditional subscription model to learn if the service is a cost-effective and sustainable alternative that improves customer satisfaction and that can transform collection development with a hybrid model for journal acquisitions.
For each issue of Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet, the editor selects three to five health care sites containing high quality health care information on a given subject. The topic for each issue is very much dependent on the whim of the editor and the consumer questions that have crossed her desk. Sites used within the column are chosen based on the editor's personal experience and usage of the Internet. Each select site has been subjected to rigorous evaluation criteria.Evaluation criteria include: reputation of the producer/publisher of the site; bias; content and scope of information provided (including types of information provided -general overviews or specific conditions, treatments, etc.); intended audience (professionals, adults, teens, or children); currency of site updates; and viability of links. Dead links and changing URLs are a problematic reality of Internet usage. The selected sites have exhibited stability in providing long-term access to quality information.Columns begin with a brief discussion of the topic. In addition to the selected sites, other resource sites and URLs may be included in the discussion. Following the discussion, the main page of each select site will be reproduced, including site title and URL for bookmark purposes. The second page will summarize producer information, content, search options, audience, and noteworthy items. JCHI Editor's Select Sites are printed on two facing pages so they can be used as guides beside computer terminals.Web site and topic suggestions for the JCHI Editor's Select Sites column are welcome. Send suggestions to:
This year’s sponsored, no holds barred health sciences lively lunchtime gathering
was open to all. It began with greetings from luncheon sponsor, Rittenhouse. The
moderator, Rena Lubker, introduced the session and provided introductory remarks about
this year’s three presentations: a commentary on issues that keep us up at night; a
report on considerations to make when leaving big deal licenses and entering into new,
OA friendly arrangements; and more discussion about the impact of expansions on
libraries of academic medical affiliation. All three topics provided fodder for lively
discussion at the end. Ramune Kubilius provided her brief annual update on health
sciences publishing world developments. Are there trends or commonalities in the issues
that concern health sciences collection managers across institutions? Susan Kendall,
editor of a recent book on 21st century collection management shared her thoughts on
what keeps health sciences collection managers on their toes (or up at night). Audience
members were invited to agree or disagree with her list. The ever-changing academic
library and affiliated hospital relationship landscape was again explored at the
Charleston health sciences-themed gathering. Jean Gudenas examined the effects of
hospital mergers and acquisitions on academic libraries. She discussed the challenges
with negotiating licensing changes quickly, the commitment to communication, and other
matters essential to ensuring access to resources for the new affiliates. What goes into
planning, preparing and actively shifting towards a more open access friendly landscape?
How do consortia make decisions to leave or enter into deals on behalf of a multi-type
academic library system? Are the interests of health sciences libraries represented?
Sarah McClung shared examples of recent collections decisions made by the University of
California libraries and what lessons can be imparted to other libraries, including
those licensing in smaller groups or even solo.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.