A Biblioteca Virtual de Saúde Reprodutiva: dando voz ao usuário

Abstract

The theoretical foundation of this study is based on theorists who analyze modern and post-modern cultures, focusing attention on information and communication technologies. These technologies have been achievedimportance in academic research and information science fields. The virtual libraries have been created in order to allow the users to get closer to the institutionalized information stock. The Reproductive Health Virtual Library (RHVL), supported by the Library and the Department of Maternal and Child Health of Faculdade de Saúde Pública -USP, is part of these new technologies and is the subject of this study. The objective is to verify the communication process between the RHVL and its user, reproductive health researchers, attempting to identify his or her expectations, to perceive gaps in communication and to improve interactive communication to enhance the meaning of this kind of service. We adopted a qualitative method, known as focal group, which was applied to three meetings at chat rooms (Internet relay chat), on the internet. The results indicated the lack of awareness of RHVL and a poor acquisition of interactive communication by the society. Several suggestions were made, such as: meeting rooms, links among databases and other VLs, availability of validated sources, modern presentation, divisions according to the user profile, among others.