NLM Director Lindberg Visits University of Colorado Health
Science Center
Reviews Plans for "Biomedical Library of the Future"
In July, NLM Director Donald A.B. Lindberg, MD, visited the
University of Colorado (CU) Health Sciences Center, to tour the new
campus now under construction at the former Fitzsimons Army Medical
Center in Aurora, just east of Denver.
During his visit, Dr. Lindberg got a taste of the excitement
surrounding the development of the nation's newest academic health
center and discussed the university's plans to build a new,
technology-rich health sciences library on the new campus. That
facility is scheduled for completion by 2008.
In roundtable discussions with a broad range of guests, including
representatives from Colorado's congressional offices, CU President
John Buechner, UCHSC Chancellor Jim Shore, business leaders, faculty
and others, Dr. Lindberg added his thoughts to the discussion of
communication in the new millennium.
"In the past few years, we've witnessed tremendous development in
the Internet and World Wide Web," said Dr. Lindberg, "offering
important new ways to communicate health and medical information.
Having access to timely and critical health information is important
not only to health care professionals and faculty, but also to
patients, their families and the public. Libraries need to create
that link for all their customers."
CU's new library will have the latest in extensive digital
information and will maintain public microcomputer stations, said
Rick Forsman, Director of the Denison Library at the CU Health
Sciences Center. "As the cornerstone of the education complex on our
campus, Denison Library already serves as the premier access point
to biomedical information for Colorado and a large portion of the
Rocky Mountain region. We look forward to transforming our programs
and leading the evolution to electronic information resources."
Medical schools will still teach doctors the basics, Dr. Lindberg
said, commenting on the practice and teaching of medicine in the
21st century. But, like everyone else today, they'll need to know
where to find the latest information, rather than trying to keep an
avalanche of data in their heads.
"You need the computer to find the articles you really need," he
said.
Dr. Lindberg pointed out that, before 1997, primarily physicians
and librarians had access to the National Library of Medicine
databases, and they conducted roughly seven million searches a
year.
The next year, when NLM's largest database, MEDLINE, could be
accessed at no charge via the World Wide Web, there were 75 million
searches. Usage has continued upward. According to NLM estimates,
the public alone conducted 51 million searches of the NLM databases
in the past year, seeking information on ailments, treatments and
diseases.
A modern medical library should make its information free,
available and understandable, suggested Dr. Lindberg. The University
of Colorado is pursuing that goal with its new library, along with
plans to encourage greater use of the facility by the public at
large.
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