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46.1 IN MEMORIAM: DANIEL T. RICHARDS
From: Brenda Collins, Harvard <bcollins@warren.med.harvard.edu>
It is with great sadness that we report that Dan Richards, Director of Biomedical Libraries, Dartmouth College, Hanover NH passed away Saturday, December 9 at his home. His passing was as gentle as his care for his many friends and colleagues. Dan leaves behind a long list of achievements as a member of MLA's Board of Directors, former Chair of the Collection Development Section of MLA, and as Chief Collection Development Officer at the National Library of Medicine. Dan's philosophical and intellectual vision in Collection Development issues inspired countless librarians to focus their collecting efforts, and to shape their policies to be able to survive in an era of great change. Dan's leadership, intellect, wit, joie de vivre and kindness will be sorely missed.
A funeral service will take place on Thursday. Information about funeral arrangements can be obtained from: Ricker Funeral Home, Lebanon, NH. (603) 448-1568.
[Editor's Note: The world of biomedical library collection development just got a whole lot smaller, and it will be long time before we understand the full extent of our personal and professional loss. For the next issue of BLAB, I hope that some of you will be willing to share your memories of this unique man.]
46.2 SYMPOSIUM ON SERIALS BUDGET ANALYSIS: PART II - The Editor
The submissions that follow represent the second group of responses to an inquiry about how libraries analyze serials expenditures by subject. The first responses were published in the previous issue, #45. The final group of responses will appear in the next issue.
46.3 From: Pamela A Y Shigezawa, Kapiolani Medical
Library
<pshigeza@hawaii.edu>
I've had to cut about $10,000 from my subscription budget, so we've really had to take a close look at what we are currently buying. Each year I generally compile a list for the library committee of all the journals we currently subscribe to and break it down by area. It was never grumbled at before if one department or field of medicine received more subscriptions but now that we are cutting and slashing, it did become a critical part of the discussion. I generally receive a lump sum to be used to buy subscriptions and it is based on 1) usage of the journal 2) if it can be obtained from another library and at what price and 3) cost.
46.4 From: Marsha S. Clark, New York Academy of
Medicine
<mclark@health.nyam.org>
The New York Academy of Medicine is in the process of converting from manual record keeping to INNOPAC. We are coding all of our periodicals, serials and standing orders with a "fund" which is actually a subject code.
We assign a subject code based on NLM classifications plus two letters to indicate whether the title comes out of the book or serials budget, since many of our standing orders are paid from the book budget. For example, a pharmacology standing order might be coded "qvbk" and a pediatric journal would be coded "wsse".
This gives me the option of pulling together any purchases in the category pharmacology whether periodical or monographic series, or having separate figures. The issue of interdisciplinary journals is a tricky one. We only assign one category so it is a 'best guess' scenario.
Since we don't have different academic departments competing for subscriptions, we don't have to worry about this information creating PR problems for the library.
46.5 From: Daniel H. Jones, Univ. of Texas San Antonio
<jones@blis.uthscsa.edu>
We track our journal expenditures as one big blob since we traditionally get our budget essentially as a single allocation for books, serials and binding. This year when we were confronted with a need to cancel LOTS of journals at the beginning of September I made an attempt to categorize current subscriptions by affiliated school. It was a very subjective approach and I was not totally happy with the results. It confirmed conventional wisdom that clinical medicine and basic sciences represent the bulk of our subscriptions and expenditures. It also confirmed that we spend essentially the same amount of money for basic science and clinical medical journals, but we get twice as many clinical journals. The added cost of dental and nursing titles was small compared to the costs of basic medical and clinical medical titles.
I think allocating by department or by school, unless the collection is funded by a department or school formula, could be more troublesome and possibly open collection decisions to unnecessary conflicts or distractions.
An interesting aside: During a library committee when we were discussing cancellations the journal Brain Research was mentioned and faculty and students from medical, dental, and basic science departments all indicated this is an important journal to them. These type of titles are very difficult to categorize accurately because they are used across disciplines.
A GRIPE: I've begun playing with the AAHSLD statistics (16th and 17th editions) since we recently hired someone who could load them into Excel. I do wish they had not lumped the collection expenditure data into just two categories - serials and monographs. It really is not clear how AAHSLD libraries are spending their collection funds now. I assume most are reporting database subscription expenditures as serials, and audiovisual and computer software expenditures as monographs. But the average prices for databases, audiovisuals and computer software is so different and the amount of these materials we purchase is so variable, that it really is difficult to make any meaningful comparisons between AAHSLD libraries any more based on collection expenditures. I would be curious to hear others' opinions.
46.6 From: Patrice O'Donovan, Oregon Health Sciences
University
<odonovan@ohsu.edu>
Our budget is pretty much one big blob divided between nursing and medicine. Our dental branch and child resources branch are separate budget lines.
46.7 From: Constance Rinaldo, Dartmouth College
<Constance.Rinaldo@Dartmouth.EDU>
At Dartmouth's Biomedical Libraries we have serials funds broken up into Nursing, Medical and Biology assignments. The medical serials are split between 2 libraries: the Dana Biomedical Library, which has the primary biomedical research collection, and the Matthews-Fuller Health Sciences Library which is a small, mostly clinical, library. Dana has clinical as well as research-oriented materials, though, so we can't really identify any more specific categories. The funds are based on the sources of money (medical funds from the medical school and biology funds from Dartmouth's Arts and Sciences budget).
We have recently divided book funds into a set of sub-funds which are based on medical school departments (but again do not differentiate clinical versus curriculum-related versus research or other materials). We could set up sub-funds within the serials funds as well and have considered doing so for the purpose of understanding better where the dollars are going. We are about to embark on an intensive review of the serials collection and so will have this information when we are finished.
46.8 From: Arjan Hogenaar, Bibliotheek KNAW
<Arjan.Hogenaar@library.knaw.nl>
The Library KNAW has a budget of 1.2 million dollars. With that money we buy mostly journals and book series. All our serials are indexed via an NLM-derived indexing system of subject-codes. By doing so, we are able to figure out how much money we spend on whatever subject (immunology, dermatology, surgery, et cetera).
There are some minor problems in selecting interdisciplinary serials, but as long as those serials are small in number in comparison with the other ones we do not think it is necessary to apply more precise indexing.
46.9 From: Frances Lynch, Vanderbilt Univ.
<frances.lynch@mcmail.vanderbilt.edu>
At Vanderbilt we do not now track our serials by subject. We do have separate funds for print versus electronic serials and are trying to track expenditures by vendor, but not by subject.
46.10 From: Eric D. Albright, Northwestern Univ.
We do not categorize our serials budget in any way. We do feel that we will probably have to look more closely at how the subjects break down in the next few years. We just completed a two year project of reviewing with our faculty all of our journal subscriptions and also did a cost per use study on about 1/2 of the collection which was not identified as essential by our faculty.
46.11 From: Jo Anne Boorkman, Univ. of Calif. Davis
<jaboorkman@ucdavis.edu>
At UC Davis, the health sciences serials budget is divided for the two libraries HSL and MLC. We basically have two "blobs", HSCP and MCCP. We have two newCP categories for initial subscriptions, but no subject breakdown. In considering our next serials review (for potential cancellations), we are having to create a database in Access to track cost/use information for current subscriptions. Due to the fact that we use Innovacq for order information and DR for circulation information, this is proving to be quite a challenge. If this database actually gets set up properly, it will include subject information from the DR bib record. We will then be able to see a subject breakdown of the serials budget. I'm sure we will have to refine things, due to the multi-disciplinary nature of many titles, but it's a start.
46.12 PRESS RELEASE: NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
From: Richard Gedye, Oxford University Press <GEDYER@oup.co.uk>
From January 1996, Nucleic Acids Research will formally launch its online edition, NAR Online. All 1996 subscribers to NAR will be able to access NAR Online at no additional charge, for the whole of 1996. If this includes you, here are the advantages that online access to NAR will bring you:-
* An e-mail current awareness service, giving you advance notice of papers to be published.
* Articles available online in advance of hard copy.
* Speedy delivery of full text articles, either as postscript files, PDF files, or as HTML files via the World Wide Web.
* Access to a fully searchable three year back file of papers, each one
obtainable either via FTP or the World Wide Web.
* Hot links from references directly to their Medline Abstracts
* Hot links from articles to genetic sequencing databases
* Annual database issue with live links. The first issue of NAR in 1996 is the annual database issue, always the most cited issue of the year. The online version of this issue will contain links to all of the databases described which can be accessed via the Web.
Until January 1996, the prototype version of NAR Online is available for anyone to visit at the following URL: http://www.oup.co.uk/nar
Visitors to this URL will be able to browse the tables of contents and abstracts of a number of recent issues of NAR, but will need to register in order to access full text of the articles. Until January 1996, registration will be available at no charge. After January 1996, you will need to be a subscriber to Nucleic Acids Research in order to access the full text of articles online.
For both individual and institutional subscribers, single user access to NAR Online will be included in the basic print subscription rate to NAR.
Multi-user access within the library or throughout the campus site will require the purchase of a site licence. If you are interested in the possibility of purchasing a site licence for your institution, you should contact:- Journals Customer Service Department, Oxford University Press, Walton Street, Oxford OX2 6DP, United Kingdom. Telephone: +44 1865 267907. Fax: +44 1865 267485. E-mail: jnl.info@oup.co.uk
46.13 BOOK REVIEW: NUTRIENTS CATALOG
From: Melanie Wilson, Univ. of Iowa <melanie-wilson@uiowa.edu>
Newstrom, Harvey. NUTRIENTS CATALOG: VITAMINS, MINERALS, AMINO ACIDS, MACRONUTRIENTS--Beneficial Use, Helpers, Inhibitors, Food Sources, Intake Recommendations, and Symptoms of Over or Under Use. (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 1993) $55.00
This is an excellent source of detailed information on individual vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and macronutrients. Entries are in order by broad category ("Amino Acids"), then alphabetically by the name of the nutrient ("Valine"). Entries vary in length, from one paragraph (for Tin) to a dozen or more pages (for Vitamin B1).
Each entry includes:
* Common, chemical, and brand names* Classification: i.e, antioxidant, nonessential amino acid, fat- soluble vitamin, etc.
* Deficiency symptoms ("Deficiency of potassium could lead to yellow coating on the back of the tongue"--page 199)
* Side-effects and toxicity symptoms
* Inhibitors and helper substances
* Food sources, in order from the richest source to lesser sources, per 100 grams of food. (Polar bear liver is one of the best food sources of Vitamin A!--page 6.)
* Applications: i.e., ailments for which a nutrient can be applied in order to counteract deficiency or produce a helpful effect.
* Daily dosage: Lists nutritional and therapeutic dosages from a variety of sources and years, some of which contradict one another. Useful for examining the history of recommended dosages.
The format for the "Food Sources" section of each entry takes a bit of getting used to, but otherwise the entries are easy to read. Exhaustively cross-indexed, with a lengthy bibliography.
Submitted by Lora Rose and Melanie Wilson Hardin Library for the Health Sciences
University of Iowa
| The BIOMEDICAL LIBRARY ACQUISITIONS BULLETIN (ISSN: 1064-699X) is published
by
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cooperation of the University of Southern California Norris Medical Library.
BLAB is published more or less monthly, and includes items of news and opinion
contributed by its readers concerning biomedical library acquisitions.
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