ACCESS TO BIOMEDICAL ELECTRONIC SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. PRAABRE detected the necessity of improving researcher's productivity by facilitating timely access to scientific information essential in their work. As the Puerto Rico research community becomes more competitive, more grants will be awarded, attracting in turn more scholars and offering more research opportunities for the young investigators. The amount of effort and time invested by researchers in obtaining the supporting information needed in their work is quite significant, so any gains mean that more time would be available for research specific activities. Information not received at all or received late is a serious handicap compromising deadlines and results. Besides, improvement in on line access to information will benefit not only investigators but also Faculty and students, resulting in a global improvement for the academic community in Puerto Rico. The Access to Biomedical Electronic Scientific Information (ABESI) project was designed to address those issues by pursuing the following Specific Aims: 1. To improve the on line library holdings a. Switch to on line journals. b. Make sure all on line journals are "Activated". c. Include Libraries in existing consortia to get "more for less". d. Choose carefully the core list of journals needed by investigators. e. Complement subscriptions to specific journals by licensing full-text journal Databases 2. To improve the Inter-Library-Loan systems (ILL). a. Enlist libraries in the OCLC network (Online Computer Library Center). b. Send library representatives to the OCLC's 3-day training course in Atlanta. c. Assure that patron's ILL requests are made on line and not on paper forms. d. Register libraries as participants in the DOCLINE (NLM networking for Inter Library Loans). e. Be able to access other libraries holdings to know what they have. f. Purchase, install and use the ARIEL software to receive the loans in high quality formats, and update the necessary hardware (PC and scanner). g. License, install and use the ILLiad software (Inter Library Loan Internet Accessible Database) to manage the Inter-Library-Loan system, if required by the number of Inter- Library-Loans of a given institution. 3. Improve communication between Libraries and Investigators a. Publish on the institutional Web pages the resources available to the researchers, and the rules and limitations in their use. b. Publish on line the listings of all journals and databases available on line or in printed or other formats. c. Provide a means of feed-back on the web pages from the users to solve their day-to day problems and to offer technical assistance if required. d. Keep patrons informed of relevant changes and updates in the available resources or the rules for using them. 4. Implement a Pay-per-view or purchase-on-demand system a. Open a PREPAID account with INFOTRIEVE or other suitable supplier of information to be controlled by the Libraries and used by the researchers as a last-resort in getting scientific information. b. Encourage Librarians and Investigators to use the purchasing judiciously (checking first their holdings and trying the ILL system). 5. Improve Investigators' proficiency in using search engines to find information. a. Organize hands-on Workshops for different search engines used by the researchers. b. Post tutorials and help systems on the Institution's Web pages related do searching for information. c. Foster subscription to "Alerts" based on keywords, for each Investigator. 6. Improve Investigators' proficiency in managing personal Reference Databases. a. Purchase End Note or Reference Manager Software license for each Investigator. b. Organize hands-on workshops on using End Note or Reference Manager and on managing their personal databases of scientific information. 7. Coordinate the activities acting as a liaison between all participants on a continuous basis. a. To fulfill the objective of this aim, frequent meetings and personal contact of the Director of ABESI with all the participants will be maintained on a permanent basis to interchange ideas, problems and to share solutions which the Director will recommend, to be evaluated and implemented by the concerned. b. ABESI Director will report advances, difficulties and planning to the Steering Committee, and will make the corrections the Committee might deem necessary.