A library service model that provides reference and instructional services by summoning reference librarians from a single service point is described. The system utilizes Libraryh3lp, an open-source, multioperator instant messaging system. The selection and refinement of this solution and technical challenges encountered are explored, as is the design of public services around this technology, usage of the system, and best practices. This service model, while a major cultural and procedural change at first, is now a routine aspect of customer service for this library.
Evidence-Based Medicine Reviews (EBMR) is a new full-text product from Ovid Technologies. EBMR supports the practice of evidence-based medicine (EBM) by providing access to two premiere EBM resources: the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews from the international Cochrane Collaboration, and Best Evidence from the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine. Both resources alert health care professionals, researchers, and librarians to clinically relevant and methodologically sound studies by providing access to full-text reviews and meta-analyses of clinical literature. Value-added features include links to EBMR from MEDLINE, alerting MEDLINE users to available reviews. An "EBM Reviews" limit within MEDLINE facilitates access to the EBMR database contents.
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