Baystate Health Sciences Library
The Health
Sciences Library is located on the main campus of Baystate Medical Center and
provides information to meet the needs of clinicians, researchers, educators
and administrative staff affiliated with Baystate Health. The library provides
easy access to print, digital, video and audio materials as well as to study
and training space. The library is fully networked and provides access to
current knowledge resources and clinical information systems. Training sessions
are offered on the optimal use of all databases as well as on information
management procedures.
The library
is an 8,781 square foot state-of-the-art educational facility built in 1998 that
promotes learning and research using state-of-the-art information management techniques.
Wireless networking is available and supplemented by over 30 hardwired workstation
connections located in drop-in as well as small and medium group settings. A Computer Lab is available for instructional classes by
Baystate faculty and staff and can accommodate 15 persons for hands-on training
with a separate instructor's station, printers, projector and screen, and
whiteboards. Additional audio-visual equipment is available for use in the Lab.
The library
focuses on providing knowledge resources in digital format via the web with
over 1600 electronic journals, 140 e-books, CME podcasts, as well as 20 proprietary
and public databases that are available for research, drug, and clinical point-of-care
information. Twenty bibliographic and full text
databases are provided by the library to support the research, education and
clinical care needs of Baystate staff. Some of these databases include:
- Medline, the premier medical database
from the National Library of Medicine, covers the fields of medicine,
nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system and
preclinical sciences. Medline is available from both OVID and through the
PubMed interface.
- Scopus, an Elsevier database,
augments Medline by providing coverage from non-US literature in the
scientific, technical, medical, and social science fields.
- CINAHL provides bibliographic access
to English-language nursing journals, publications from the American
Nurses Association and the National League for Nursing, and as well as
primary journals from the allied health disciplines.
- Micromedex, a suite of databases that
combine several different pharmacology and toxicology resources into a
single searchable interface. Topics include interactions between drugs,
evaluations of drugs, toxicity of common substances, herbal preparations,
and calculation of dosage.
- Evidenced-based databases such as UpToDate, eMedicine, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews,
and DiseaseDex-Emergency Medicine review
and summarize the clinical evidence on major topics helping the clinician
quickly locate and apply the best evidence within the context of patient
care.
- Information for patients is included in a
variety of databases such as CareNotes,
Health Source, Health & Wellness, and Well-Connected. The information from
these sources support reading levels beginning at the 5th grade with
information in Spanish as well as English.
- Health Business provides bibliographic indexing
as well as full text access to over 160 periodicals covering the business
of health care administration.
Links from
the databases to online articles are standard in core areas. These electronic
resources are available through Baystate Medical Center and as allowed by
copyright and licensing provisions by Baystate learners and educators from home
and other offsite locations. Conventional resources include 400 print journal
subscriptions, 10,000 books, and several hundred CME CD-ROMs and audiocassettes.
While the library provides a strong array of resources, information not
available locally may be requested and is delivered electronically. A full list of resources is available at
http://libraryinfo.bhs.org.
The library
staff includes 4 professional librarians who provide targeted instructional
sessions, in-depth research assistance, as well as help with all aspects of
information management. The 6 paraprofessionals on staff assist with all
personal and department book, journal, and article orders in addition to
photocopy requests. The library is available 24/7 for use by clinicians.
Baystate
Consumer Health Library
In
support of the health information needs of our patients and their families, the
Library operates a Consumer Health Library in the ambulatory care building at
3300 Main Street and contributes to the patient information centers in 4 other
locations within Baystate Health. The Consumer Health Library opened in 1998.
Individuals can find current and relevant information by themselves or with the
assistance of a librarian. Resources are available in a variety of formats to
meet individual learning styles and include books and articles, videos, text
and image pamphlets as well as a variety of models for hands-on learning.
Internet access to library databases and resources is also available.