Going Electronic

Many of DML's journals will become “Online-Only” in 2008:

Approximately half of the Denver Medical Library’s over 450 journals will be converted to electronic or “Online-Only” subscriptions next year and we want to hear what you think about it.

Here are some reasons we are making this change:

Electronic journals mean greater access for more people:

While a print journal provides a great browsing experience for one person at a time, in the library, an electronic subscription can be used by multiple people in multiple locations. It also allows for greater searching ability, and faster retrieval and delivery for our staff and searchers. Statistics gathered at the library show a higher demand for electronic articles than print articles.

Electronic journals ease the library’s costs and affords more subscriptions:

Most electronic subscriptions are either less expensive or the same price as their print-only counterparts. Many of the library’s subscriptions at this point are print and electronic, the most expensive option of all. Print journals also require more staff time, for checking in, claiming, shelving, re-shelving, photocopying, and binding.

Some questions you may have:

What about the journals you like to browse?

We’re aware that many of our patrons prefer to browse journals in their paper form, and we are working on ways to facilitate browsing. We encourage you to come and talk to the librarians about your browsing needs. We want to hear ideas you have on how this can work for you and others.

Which journals will be in print, and which will be “Online-Only”?

We strive to have online access to all of our paid subscriptions, but those showing low print use over the last year will become online only subscriptions. The current issues of those journals will be marked with a bright sticker until the end of the year. We will also post a final list of these changes on our website as soon as possible.

For more information, visit our website: http://www.denvermedlib.org/, or call the library at 303.839.6670, Monday through Friday.

Where have all the JAMAs gone?

To India to be digitized!

We have sacrificed some of our very old JAMAs and Archives volumes for a digitization effort by the American Medical Association. In return for those beloved, historic volumes we get something great: Permanent electronic access to JAMA and 7 Archives titles from their first volumes to 1997. This will make those collections much more accessible than ever before, and preserve them while the paper copies will one day deteriorate beyond use. We will not get the donated volumes back, but in the mean time, before they are digitized, we will be able to borrow the articles they contain from other libraries. Let us know if something you need is not on the shelf.

Congratulations Contest Winners!

We had six winners in our two National Medical Librarians' Month Contests:

1. For the Barnes & Noble gift cards: Kristi Stasinos guessed correctly that 25% of Americans check the source and date of health information they find online. Susie Leach won second for guessing 26%, and Mary Shippey was next at 23%.

2. For Free Remote Access to the DML Portal: All entrants answered the three quiz questions correctly, and the names drawn were: Julie Burke, PSL Employee, 1 year free access; Pat Sheehan DMS Physician, 6 months free access; and Mary Jensen, PSL Nurse, 3 months free access.

Congrats to all, and thanks to everyone for playing!