William H. Welch Medical Library

COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT MANUAL

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Introduction
II. Vision for the Digital Library
III. User Population Profile
IV.Scope
V. Collecting Levels
VI.Coverage
VII.Overview of Library Collections

Welch Medical Library Collection

VIII. Selection

IX. Policies

X. Cooperative Resources and Arrangements

INTRODUCTION

Library Mission Statement:

Through knowledge management, the Welch Library advances science and its applications to improving health.

The William H. Welch Medical Library's current collection policy governing the funding, selection, acquisition, and retention of library materials and information resources applies to all formats including electronic resources. The Welch Library is the primary source of biomedical information for the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions (JHMI), i.e., the Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System, and the health divisions of Johns Hopkins University; the Kennedy Krieger Institute, the School of Medicine, the School of Nursing, and the Bloomberg School of Public Health. To support its mission, the library collects materials in all formats central to medicine, health, and the basic life sciences as well as some materials in the allied health sciences and other relevant areas. Materials selected are written for the health professional or for the scholarly audience. Materials written for the lay public are generally not acquired. Holdings include more than 400,000 items.

As of 2002, the library gives priority to the acquisition of electronic resources. This will result in easier use, wider access and more timely updates.

The Welch Library is part of a network of several Johns Hopkins libraries. The main library at the Homewood campus is the Milton S. Eisenhower Library, a large research library whose comprehensive collections also support the non-medical needs of the East Baltimore campus. Other JHU libraries whose collections support the work of Johns Hopkins are: the Friedheim Library of the Peabody Conservatory of Music, the R.E. Gibson Library of the Applied Physics Laboratory in Howard County, the Mason Library of the Nitze School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C. (which also supports libraries in Bologna and Nanjing), the John Work Garrett Library of rare books, the George Peabody Library of 19th century scholarly interests, and the Montgomery County Campus Library for part-time graduate students.

The purpose of this Collection Development Manual is to provide guidelines for building and maintaining a collection of information resources, print, audiovisual and electronic, to meet the current and long-term biomedical information needs of the JHMI.

Welch Medical Library is committed to the continuing evaluation of its collection and will continue to revise and expand its policies as necessary. The policy has been written by the Collection Development staff and reviewed by library management.

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VISION FOR THE DIGITAL LIBRARY

The availability of electronic resources opens new vistas for teaching, research, and patient care. Although acquiring materials in digital form and organizing them for use is both costly and challenging, electronic resources will be a critical element of the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions of the future. Cooperative acquisitions and cost-sharing with university libraries and consortia are pursued when feasible to provide access for all Hopkins library users. The library will meet the demand for broader subject access and cross-campus access with e-resources. By the year 2015, material needed on a regular basis will be provided electronically. Remaining print materials will be housed onsite in the Institute of the History of Medicine and off-site in the Libraries Service Center.

Resources may be accessed in a variety of ways but internet/worldwide web is preferred. The decision to select specific products depends on projected use, licensing requirements, support services either local or remote, and other access issues. Materials must be available on campus and remotely. Reserves and distance learning programs are included. Resources are accessed via the JHU online catalog and/or the library web site.

USER POPULATION PROFILE

The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, located approximately six miles from the Homewood campus, comprise the East Baltimore campus of the Johns Hopkins University. The library's clientele is as diverse and sophisticated as the medical institutions themselves.

The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (SOM) is organized into preclinical and clinical departments. Faculty members frequently have clinical, research, and instructional responsibilities. Students may work toward an M.D., a combined M.D./Ph.D., or a graduate level degree. Graduate degree programs are offered in biochemistry; cellular and molecular biology; immunology; neuroscience; art as applied to medicine; functional anatomy and evolution; history of medicine; molecular biophysics; physiology; pharmacology and molecular sciences; cellular and molecular medicine; biomedical engineering; and human genetics and molecular biology. Interns, residents, and post-docs are also part of the SOM.

The Bloomberg School of Public Health (BSPH) focuses on the diverse areas unique to public health: basic and applied research, social policy, planning, management and evaluation of the delivery of health services, biostatistics, epidemiology, demography, and the environmental health sciences. Areas of special interest include: quantitative and analytic methodologies, outcomes assessment, chronic diseases, injury and violence prevention, substance abuse, epidemiological patterns of risk factors, health promotion and practice, health behavior and communications, vector biology, infant and women's health, environmental health engineering, environmental chemistry, physiology, toxicology, health finance and management, health policy, human genetics, infectious diseases, health problems in the developing world, nutrition, occupational safety and health, radiation health sciences, reproductive health and family planning, and molecular biology. Students from all over the world are drawn to BSPH to pursue educational, research, and service interests. Degree programs include Master of Public Health, Doctor of Public Health, Master of Science, Master of Health Science, Doctor of Science, Doctor of Philosophy, and several combined degrees. The school offers part-time graduate programs in two off-campus locations, Montgomery County Center near Rockville and The Johns Hopkins Washington Center in Washington, DC. The school also has cooperative ventures at the local, state, national and international levels as well as a distance education program. The BSPH offers post-doctoral degrees as well.

The Johns Hopkins School of Nursing was originally formed in 1983 by a collaborative effort on the part of three institutions, the Johns Hopkins University, Sinai Hospital, and Church Home Hospital, to provide undergraduate and postgraduate education in nursing. (Church Home no longer exists.) Students are admitted for their final two years of undergraduate study or for graduate study. In addition to their classroom training, students are given an opportunity to expand their knowledge and expertise in a clinical practice site at one of the consortium hospitals. The graduate program is built on a core of courses in research and statistics, nursing theory, science and ethics. Students may choose either an acute or chronic care clinical major. The school grants a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in nursing. The Master of Science in Nursing may focus on Nurse Practitioner, Community Health Nursing, Health Systems Management, or Clinical Specialist. The school also offers an MSN/MPH degree in collaboration with the Bloomberg School of Public Health, an MSN/MBA in collaboration with the School of Professional Studies in Business and Education and an MSN/PhD program. The doctoral program prepares nurse scholars to carry on research in the area of the theoretical foundation of nursing practice and health care delivery. There is also a certificate program called Hopkins Business of Nursing.

The Johns Hopkins Hospital is located adjacent to the School of Medicine and the Bloomberg School of Public Health. The Hospital has over 1000 beds and clinical services in 37 buildings. The head of each clinical department for the hospital is also the director of the corresponding academic department of the School of Medicine. Facilities for patient care are distributed throughout the various buildings that frequently house clinics, laboratories, and offices. Special facilities include the Brady Urological Institute, the Wilmer Eye Institute, the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

The Johns Hopkins Health System (JHHS) is a nonprofit, academically based healthcare system offering a comprehensive array of services such as outpatient care, ambulatory surgery, community hospital care, long-term care for the elderly, and sophisticated treatment centers in every area of medical specialization. The system includes the Johns Hopkins Hospital, the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Howard County General Hospital, and the Johns Hopkins Community Physicians. The Health System includes 3 acute care hospitals. In 1994, Hopkins opened a group practice of full-time faculty physicians at Greenspring Station, a suburban location in Baltimore County. These physicians offer care in internal medicine, ophthalmology, oncology, cardiology, pediatrics, and women's health. Similar operations have been launched in Baltimore County at White Marsh, in Howard County at Cedar Lane, and internationally in Singapore.

The Kennedy Krieger Institute, also in East Baltimore, is involved in research, education, and patient care of children and adolescents with disorders of the brain, either congenital or acquired. There is a strong emphasis on biomedical and behavioral research, a training program and day school for children with learning disabilities, traumatic brain injuries, or pervasive disabilities and neurological impairment. The facility provides both inpatient and extensive outpatient services focusing on the rehabilitative and psychological aspects of these conditions. Kennedy Krieger is well-known for its strong interdisciplinary approach whose fields include medicine, psychology, education, physical and occupational therapy, audiology, speech and language therapy, social work, child development, nutrition and nursing. Clinical staff is comprised of physicians, doctoral-level clinicians, and licensed therapists.

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SCOPE

The scope of the collection of the William H. Welch Medical Library and its affiliates is shaped by the library's mission and the needs of its clients. The primary clients of the library are JHMI faculty, staff and students.

The library collects current scholarly information, regardless of format, which supports the research, clinical, administrative and educational needs of its clients. The collection covers the practice of medicine and related biomedical and allied health care disciplines, public health and related disciplines, nursing, research literature, methodological literature, reviews or state-of-the-art reports, and in-depth, authoritative analyses of areas influencing biomedicine and health care. The collection is predominantly English.

The subject emphases of the collection reflect past and present research interests at JHMI. Basic collections are also maintained in related disciplines and cross-disciplinary areas. Through cooperative networks, the library ensures access to literature not owned by the library.

The Welch Library retains some older materials of medical and historical importance, even when they are no longer of use in clinical practice. However, the Welch collection does not encompass current scholarship in medical history. That is the province of the History of Medicine collection which is maintained jointly by the Welch Library and the Institute of the History of Medicine.

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COLLECTING LEVELS

OUT OF SCOPE - the libraries do not collect at this level

LEVEL ONE - Minimal

LEVEL TWO - Basic

LEVEL THREE - Instructional Support

LEVEL FOUR - Research

The library does not collect at Level Five - Comprehensive

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COVERAGE

Welch Medical Library collects almost exclusively in the English language. Materials may be collected in foreign languages if:

Audiovisual materials are collected only in English.

Welch collects materials that fall within its scope without regard to the geographic area covered or the location of the publisher or sponsor. As with any other publication, any work covering or originating in a foreign country must conform to collecting standards of timeliness and authoritative treatment of subject.

OVERVIEW OF LIBRARY COLLECTIONS

Welch Medical Library Collection

Founded in 1929 by a merger of the hospital, School of Medicine and School of Public Health collections, the Welch Medical Library is located on the JHMI campus in East Baltimore. Its collection is shaped by the library's mission and by the needs of its clients for biomedical information. The library collects materials which are scholarly, relevant, current and in scope.

Welch's collection contains more than 400,000 bound volumes, 1,600 audiovisual programs, and current subscriptions to nearly 2000 print journals. The electronic collection is comprised of over 2400 full-text journals and over 300 e-books. More than 190 databases are available as well. Access to the collection is provided through the JHU Online Catalog and WelchWeb.

Lilienfeld Library

The Abraham Lilienfeld Library is the primary resource for the Bloomberg School of Public Health (BSPH) for information in the fields of public health, management science, and the social sciences. There is a strong emphasis on epidemiology, infectious diseases, health policy and management, the social aspects of health care, and HIV and AIDS. Lilienfeld Library, once an independent library for the school, became a part of the Welch system in 1997. The library purchases current materials that support the educational and research programs of the BSPH.

Located on the ninth floor of the Hampton House Building, the library contains 30,000 volumes of books, pamphlets, and government reports and subscribes to 134 periodicals. The library's scope includes biostatistics, economics, environmental health, health policy and management, international health, occupational medicine and other public health topics.

Access to the collection is via the JHU online catalog and WelchWeb. Registered users of the Welch Library may use and borrow Lilienfeld materials.

Adolf Meyer Psychiatry/Neurosciences Collection

The Adolf Meyer Library, located in the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Meyer Building, Room 8-149, is a full- service site of the Welch Medical Library. Meyer was established in 1982 when collections from the Phipps Clinic Library and the departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery were merged and moved to their present location. The library serves the departments of Psychiatry, Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine. However, any registered patron of the Welch Library may use and borrow materials.

Meyer houses materials in the subject areas of psychiatry, psychology, behavioral sciences, AIDS, anesthesiology, critical care medicine, neurology, and neurosurgery. Meyer resources include approximately 8000 monographs and 100 current journal subscriptions. Meyer maintains a fairly extensive reference collection and a small audiovisual collection of about 150 items.

Access to the Meyer collection is via the JHU Online Catalog and WelchWeb. Registered patrons of the Welch Library may use and borrow Meyer materials.

Nursing Information Resources Center

The Carol J. Gray Nursing Information Resource Center (NIRC), located on the third floor of the Anne M. Pinkard Building, opened in November 1984. As one of the service sites of the Welch Medical Library, NIRC supports the educational activities of the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. The collection consists of a core of about 400 monographs related to nursing and health care which have been selected to be used for immediate study and reference. NIRC subscribes to 4 nursing journals and has access to the CINAHL database of nursing information.

The library collects current, high quality materials. For the most part, other nursing materials, including historical, biographical and research works, are housed at the Welch Library. In a few unique cases, research items that are curriculum-oriented may be transferred to the NIRC or duplicated. A very small collection of reference materials is maintained for student and faculty use. A small collection of AV and CAI materials is also housed at NIRC. Library staff and nursing faculty recommendations determine what will be selected for the NIRC.

Access to the NIRC collection is via the JHU Online Catalog and WelchWeb. Materials circulate overnight. Registered patrons of the Welch Library may use and borrow NIRC materials.

Reference Collection

The Welch Reference Collection is a core collection of highly-used general and specialized print sources of information. Titles are included in this collection primarily because they provide factual information (directories, handbooks, dictionaries and statistical compilations) or give general background information on a topic (encyclopedias and textbooks). The collection is arranged by call number in the East Reading Room of the Welch Library on the second floor. The purpose of the collection is to serve immediate and specific needs so the material is non-circulating and, with the exception of medical textbooks, is generally not duplicated elsewhere in the collection. The Meyer Library, the Lilienfeld Library, the Population Center and the Nursing Information Resource Center have small reference collections also.

Access to the collection is via the JHU Online Catalog and WelchWeb.

School of Medicine Reserve Collection

The School of Medicine Reserve Collection is located on the second floor of the Welch Building. The collection contains course reserves, fewer than 1000 monographs and some audiovisual items, including videocassettes and audiocassettes.

The collection emphasizes classic textbooks, medical and clinical ready reference material and study guides. Permanent reserves are the most recent editions of the works; they are weeded and updated as new editions appear. Some copies of past exams and lecture notes are kept in the room and others are available via LectureLinks. A growing electronic reserve collection is limited to those students actually registered for classes.

Faculty is routinely apprised of copyright law and must adhere to stringent guidelines when placing materials on reserve.

Access to the collection is via the JHU Online Catalog and WelchWeb.

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Historical Collection of the Institute of the History of Medicine

In 1929 when the smaller libraries at the JHMI were brought together to create the Welch Library, the Institute of the History of Medicine was established on the top floor of the Welch building. The purpose of the Institute's collection is to support education and research programs of the Institute of the History of Medicine, that is, the current research of the Institute's faculty and students.

The Historical Collection contains about forty thousand volumes, including runs of more than 300 journals. It is one of the most comprehensive collections of secondary literature in the history of medicine; the 108 periodicals to which the collection now subscribes include almost all currently published titles in history of medicine, history of science, and social studies of medicine. Manuscripts, photographs, and prints of historical interest are located in the Alan Mason Chesney Medical Archives.

The Historical Collection collects comprehensively in the History of Medicine, Art and Medicine, Bioethics, Gender Issues in Medicine, History and Sociology of Science, Literature and Medicine, Medical Anthropology, and Religion and Medicine. The Rare Book Collection centers on western medicine, largely concentrated in the seventeenth and eighteenth century (some East Asian and South Asian texts). The Jacobs Collection contains materials on French medicine of the nineteenth century, with additional interests in Rabelais, tuberculosis and smallpox.

Access to the collection is via the JHU Online Catalog and WelchWeb.

Audiovisual Collection

The audiovisual collection located predominantly in the Welch Building provides basic support for continuing education in the clinical sciences, and in pre-professional and related health care topics. It does not contain direct patient education materials. The focus is on materials in English produced in the United States for the health professional audience. Formats include videocassettes, slide sets, audiocassettes, and computer-assisted instructional materials. Electronic media on the web is a new growth area for this collection. Motion pictures and filmstrips are no longer collected.

The library maintains subscriptions to serial audiovisual products including the Johns Hopkins University Medical Grand Rounds series and the Network for Continuing Medical Education series.

AV materials are collected and weeded in accordance with the following principles:

  1. Materials should be current (within the last three years)
  2. Duplicates will not be purchased
  3. Materials will be previewed whenever possible
  4. Materials available in electronic form are preferred

Access to the collection is via the JHU Online Catalog and WelchWeb.

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SELECTION

Selection of library materials involves the planned identification and review of items best-suited to strengthen JHMI resources for education, research, patient care, and administration. Regardless of format, selection criteria are the same - subject relevance, intellectual content, level of presentation, and reputation of author and publisher.

Selection of library materials for the Welch building and its distributed sites is the responsibility of the Associate Director for Collections and Document Services, the Associate Director for Digital Library Services, liaison librarians and librarians from the distributed sites.Faculty participation in the selection process is encouraged. Electronic resources are previewed when possible, evaluated, and recommended for acquisition by the Associate Director for Digital Library Services. The Electronic Collection Development Committee also reviews and evaluates selections.

In addition to the formal selection process, the library makes available on their web site a "Request that Welch purchase a book, journal, etc." form which allows clientele to suggest items for purchase. Recommendations may also be made by email or phone. Suggestions may be made by JHMI faculty, staff and students. Materials may also be added at the suggestion of the Interlibrary Loan Coordinator, based on what patrons are borrowing.

Selection Aids and Tools

Library staff rely upon certain selection tools in their effort to build a relevant and timely collection. These tools include but are not limited to:

  • reviews in scholarly journals or newspapers
  • approval books and slips
  • publishers' announcements
  • unsolicited sample journal issues
  • recommendations from clients
  • standard lists, e.g., Brandon Hill List, Library for Internist list
  • catalogs of professional associations
  • stock lists from major vendors
  • catalogs of government documents
  • interlibrary loan requests

Evaluation Criteria

1. Needs of primary clientele

2. Relevance of subject

3. Cost-effectiveness: including availability and cost of updates, backfiles, future upgrades

4. Scholarly and intellectual level

5. Reputation and authority of author, producer

6. Confidence in producer's commitment to maintenance

7. Currency and validity of information and updates

8. Access and network capacity: access preferably not requiring individual userID and passwords

9. Uniqueness and completeness of information

10. Added-value and advantages over other formats

11. Technical ease and accessibility

12. Legal issues including licensing requirement and restrictions

13. Copyright and fair use issues

14. Archival issues - availability, cost, limitations, storage, etc.

15. Availability and quality of documentation

16. Vendor's reliability in customer support, material availability, and quality of training programs

17. Usage and/or limit access can be monitored

Guidelines by Format or Type of Material

The Welch Medical Library collects biomedical and related information in any format necessary to meet the needs of the JHMI. TheLibraries Service Center storage site is the appropriate place for retaining older materials.

Abridged Editions - Abridged editions are not collected. If any exist, they should be discarded.

Abstracting and Indexing Services - Major biomedical abstracting and indexing services in English which are national or international in scope are collected. Online access is preferred.

Academic Dissertations - The Library collects hard copy of Dr. P.H., Sc.D., and Sc. M. for the JHMI. Ph.D. dissertations from Johns Hopkins are collected on microfilm only (hard copy is available at the MSE Library). Dissertations and theses from the JHMI are retained; those of other institutions are discarded.

Annual Reports - Annual reports are collected for the Library of Congress, the National Library of Medicine, and the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Reports of major centers of medical education and research and for the major private foundations supporting medical research may be collected selectively. Other annual reports are discarded.

Audiovisual Materials - Audiovisual materials are collected subject to the same criteria as printed materials with the following exceptions:

Government Publications - The library collects committee prints, reports, and hearings selectively. Laws relating to health and health care delivery are not collected nor are regulations interpreting legislation. These materials are available at the Eisenhower Library and at the University of Maryland libraries. We do collect guidelines issued by major international organizations such as WHO and PAHO. Documents from other government agencies will be collected selectively.

Health Education/Patient Education Materials - Health education materials are materials used to educate the health consumer generally in matters of health and self-care or self-help. Patient education materials are health education materials specifically designed for persons suffering from a particular disease or disorder. These kinds of materials are not collected, though some directories and sourcebooks may be collected selectively.

Imprint Variants - Materials which are published in two or more places in the same language are collected in a single imprint only, with U.S. edition preferred.

Journals see Serials

Laboratory Manuals see Manuals

Lectures and Speeches - Separately published lectures, speeches, and addresses in the core subjects are collected very selectively.

Literature - Fiction, drama, and poetry are not collected.

Looseleaf Publications - Looseleaf publications are no longer collected since it is easier to update materials that are online.

Manuals - Laboratory manuals in the core biomedical subjects designed for health care personnel are collected if they describe procedures and techniques. Workbooks which provide space to answer questions about experiments are not collected. Computer software manuals are acquired when we acquire software.

Maps, Graphs, Charts, Posters - Individually issued items are not collected. The library does, however, collect a commercial atlas, a world atlas, and maps associated with the Baltimore/Washington metropolitan area.

Medical Atlases - Medical atlases detailing procedures and techniques are collected.

Meetings - see Congresses, Conferences, Symposia

Microforms - Works published in microform are acquired only if unique and unavailable in other formats. When the material is published in hard copy, hard copy is preferred.

Models - Three dimensional models are collected if the need arises.

Monographs - Substantive, scholarly monographic publications, primarily in English, are collected in core subjects at a research level, in related subjects selectively, and in peripheral subjects very selectively. Retain one copy of each edition of standard medical texts. Retain one copy of each edition of standard reference works that are medical or health-related. Retain one copy of all editions of medical specialty directories for historical research purposes. Retain indefinitely major symposia, histories, titles in Garrison and Morton's. Retain items that have Hopkins authors/editors of note or the Hopkins Press imprint. Discard computer books older than 10 years. Discard general dictionaries, encyclopedias, directories, and other general reference works that will be retained at MSE. Discard material in peripheral subject areas if older than 10 years with no historical significance. Discard outdated factual or legislative materials.

We are beginning to collect electronic monographs and will aggressively acquire monographs in this format in the future. When a title exists is print and electronic format, electronic is preferred.

Newsletters - The library will consider a newsletter to be a printed sheet, pamphlet, or small newspaper containing news or information pertinent to a special group. These items are collected if they reflect information that is difficult to get in any other format, i.e., news of a new field that has yet to develop the usual channels of information dissemination, news of a special group that is of interest to the Welch/JHMI community, etc.

Newspapers - The library maintains subscriptions to the Baltimore Sun, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal for general reading. They are retained only for the day.

Pamphlets - Pamphlets are defined as paperbound or unbound nonperiodical publications of not fewer than 5 nor more than 48 pages exclusive of covers. Pamphlets are collected very selectively.

Patient Education Materials - Generally, the library does not collect patient education materials.

Personal Narratives - The library does not collect personal narratives.

Popular Works - Contemporary popular health-related books, journals, etc., published for a nonprofessional readership are not collected, even though the author may be a health professional. These materials are available at public libraries.

Portraits, Prints, and Photographs - Portraits, prints, and photographs are not collected.

Proceedings see Congresses, Conferences, Symposia

Programmed Texts - Programmed texts are not collected.

Promotional Materials - Commercial product and service advertising materials and literature used in fund-raising appeals are not collected.

Reprints - Reprint editions of monographs, series, and serials will be collected only if Welch lacks the original, or if the original is in poor condition or is too rare or too valuable to lend, or if an added copy of the work is needed, or if the reprint contains significant introductory material or additional textual material lacking in the original edition. Reprints of the collected works of a health professional which are published in a volume or series will be collected very selectively. Reprints of single journal articles are not collected.

Serials - Substantive, scholarly serial publications, primarily in English, are collected in core subjects at the research level, in related subjects selectively, and in peripheral subjects very selectively.

Print Serials: Print is only collected if item is not available online. New print subscriptions will continue to be evaluated if there is no electronic version and if faculty or students have requested the title. Bundled serials: we will keep print for a year with no checkin and no binding. During the transition period, both print and electronic titles may exist, but eventually print titles will be canceled.

Electronic Serials: The library is moving steadily toward a model of complete electronic access to serials. The electronic format is preferred to print.

Software - Software is collected to support the educational objectives of the medical institutions. Some software is collected to support the library's educational programs, i.e., staff instructing patrons in use of various software packages.

Standards - The library does not attempt to collect standards; however, it does acquire some guidelines related to health, health care, and health practice. ANSI library standards are acquired.

Statistics - Maryland and U.S. federal government health, vital, and some population statistics are collected. International statistics provided by the WHO series are also collected.

Syllabi and Course Outlines - These publications are not collected.

Symposia see Congresses, Conferences, Symposia

Technical Documents - In scope technical documents are collected on demand from NTIS in microform, cataloged and retained in the collection. Technical documents requiring collection in hard copy will be collected on demand on a very selective basis.

Tests - The library does not collect tests.

Textbooks - Textbooks supporting the professional education of JHMI biomedical personnel are collected in English.

Unpublished Materials - Manuscript materials are not collected.

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POLICIES

LICENSING

The library adheres to the following definitions and expectations regarding licensing.

1. Library's authorized users include the students, faculty and staff of Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions (JHMI) and Johns Hopkins Health Systems (JHHS) and all on-site visitors to the library.

2. "Site" is defined to include units of JHMI or JHMI with JHHS depending on licenses. Hopkins wide site licenses include all campuses.

3. Kennedy Krieger Institute is included upon request.

4. Students, faculty and staff of JHMI and JHHS are able to access all resources provided by the library according to the access restriction code key attached with each resource.

5. Currently, the preferred method for authenticating authorized users is via IP address ranges. If this method is not feasible, individual username and password access is acceptable as long as publishers agree to that user name/password information being posted on the Intranet IP access controlled web page.

Small locations are not included in IP controlled access. Patrons from these locations should access the library's e-resources through proxy remote access.

6. Pricing can be assessed based on the number of FTE, simultaneous users, or number of seats. The number of seats for licensing is determined by anticipated demand and available funding.

7. The "fair use" provision of the U.S. Copyright Act applies to all formats. See Licensing Agreements, Intellectual Property and Copyright for more detailed information.

8. The purchase of electronic information should include provisions for perpetual access to that information. Agreements should clearly state archival responsibility.

9. The library investigates a variety of licensing arrangements with other Hopkins libraries and consortia.

The Purchasing Officer of the Johns Hopkins University has the authority to approve and sign the finalized licensing agreements.

GIFTS

The library accepts gifts of book and non-print materials that are current and in scope, directly supporting curriculum, clinical or research needs of the JHMI. Newly published books are especially welcome. Serial donations will be accepted only if they fill specific gaps in the collection. The library will not add duplicates except in the case of certain signed copies or items with high circulation. Questions about the donation of historical materials should be directed to The Institute of the History of Medicine, 955-3159. Materials which are deemed to be within the scope of another JH library will be offered to that library. Material donated to the library becomes the property of the university and can be used or disposed of as we see fit. We are legally prohibited from providing tax appraisals for gifts, but we do provide a formal letter of acknowledgment to which is attached the donor-supplied itemized list. If appraisal is desired, the donor must arrange it and bear the cost before presenting materials to the library.

Donors are encouraged to call or email us prior to making a donation so that the need for the material can be determined. Calls and emails should be directed to the Acquisitions Coordinator, 955-3757 (mkelley@welch.jhu.edu). Donors are encouraged to deliver their gifts to the library after verifying that they are needed. All gifts will be formally acknowledged by the Associate Director for Collections and Document Services.

Monetary gifts are also welcome. Such gifts allow us to purchase special items or support programs that are beyond our normal means.

Serial Gifts

We discourage serial gifts due to the difficulties of managing them.

Duplicates, Replacements and Transfers of Print Materials

The library will not automatically replace print materials withdrawn from the collection because of loss, damage, or wear. Decisions to replace an item will be made on a case by case basis by the Associate Director for Collections and Document Services.

Serial replacement issues will be purchased from the publisher or from a back-files dealer when deemed necessary. Economics dictates that we not replace every missing item. Serials staff will depend on gift issues to replace missing issues whenever possible.

We will not duplicate titles unless there is a very good reason to do so such as when an item is required in the reserve collection as well as in the Welch collection, when an item is needed at reference at more than one site, or when one copy is needed at reference and one circulating copy is needed (as with major textbooks). Serial items will not be duplicated. Every effort will be made not to duplicate materials that are available at other JHU libraries unless there is a compelling reason to do so, i.e., use, availability, etc.

Transfers from one collection (including the Libraries Service Center and the History of Medicine collection) to another within the Welch system may occur if:

  • an item is better-suited to one collection rather than the other
  • an item is too old to remain at one site but is still suitable for another collection
  • an item is classic or core material and must return to an on-site collection rather than remain at the Libraries Service Center
  • an item is lost or stolen and another site has a copy they can do without

Collection Review

As library collections age and the number of new publications soars, it has become necessary to review the collections of Welch and its satellites at regular intervals to ensure that they remain current, useful, and faithful to the mission of the JHMI. This will be necessary for both print and electronic materials. Print materials will ultimately be discarded or relocated to the Libraries Service Center. Electronic materials no longer needed will simply be dropped. Usage statistics of electronic resources serve as an important selection and de-selection tool.

As long as there are print materials in the library, we will continue to bind what we want to preserve. Binding, preservation and replacement decisions are made jointly by the Associate Director for Collections and Document Services and binding staff.

Materials designated for repair will be handled by the binding staff who will take the appropriate steps to have these items repaired in-house or sent to the bindery. Welch has a system in place for identifying items that require repairs or preservation treatment. The focus is on materials that are circulating and are needed by patrons. Managers of the sites identify these items and send them to Welch as needed. Welch's bindery is Bridgeport National Bindery, Agawam, Massachusetts.

Preservation and Conservation

Binding is a major means of preservation in that it reduces wear, simplifies handling, and reduces loss. Materials are identified for binding by preservation staff as well as by other members of the library staff. Preservation and conservation activities are under the direction of the Associate Director for Collections and Document Services and the Bindery Supervisor with the assistance of the two bindery personnel. Bindery assistants make decisions concerning the details of the binding process and are the liaisons to the bindery itself. They are also responsible for the binding activities of Meyer, Lilienfeld and the Population Center.

At the present time, preservation activities consist of binding, rebinding, tipping in pages, and measuring for archival packs (acid-free paperboard containers). Commercial binding is sent out once every 2 weeks.

Welch cooperates fully with the National Library of Medicine by lending unique items for preservation microfilming.

Document Services

It is our policy to acquire infrequently used materials on an as-needed basis via interlibrary loan. Other libraries are our major sources for these items; commercial providers are used when necessary. This service is provided free to our users although the library pays varying fees to do the borrowing. All articles are sent electronically to the users' desktops. Borrowing is done in compliance with U.S. Copyright Law. Titles are recorded online with the Copyright Clearance Center and fees are paid via their system. Requests are entered into the library's Weldoc system by authorized JHMI users.

Document Delivery services provide free copies of in-house materials and send them electronically to users. Requests are entered into the library's Weldoc system by authorized JHMI users.

Copyright

The Welch Medical Library collects a wide variety of materials in print and electronic format and makes them available to their community in keeping with U.S. Copyright Law and the interpretations adhered to by the Medical Library Association and the American Library Association. The library complies fully with copyright law in its collection development activities, its electronic licensing of products and in its borrowing and lending activities. Should questions arise, they are referred to university counsel.

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COOPERATIVE RESOURCES AND ARRANGEMENTS

INTERNAL

  1. THE ALAN MASON CHESNEY MEDICAL ARCHIVES
    The Alan Mason Chesney Medical Archives, located at 2024 E. Monument Street, Suite 1-500, was established to act as the exclusive archival agency and official repository for the historic documents of the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. This includes the Johns Hopkins Hospital, the School of Medicine, the Bloomberg School of Public Health, the School of Nursing, and the Welch Medical Library.

    The Chesney Archives also operates a records management program for the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions and manages its fine arts collections.

    Scope
    The Chesney Archives collects items relating to the history of the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, including archival records and personal paper collections of the faculty and staff of the medical institutions. Dates of the holdings range from the middle of the nineteenth century to the present. There are more than 200 personal paper collections, over 800 architectural drawings, and over 30,000 photos in the collection.

    Relationship to Welch Library
    Since the Chesney Archives was established to collect and retain the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions' archival material, the William H. Welch Medical Library is not obligated to store such materials. Welch makes gifts of materials to the Chesney Archives when Welch receives a duplicate copy of something or when the item belongs more appropriately in the archival collection. Library archival materials are also deposited in the Chesney Archives.

  2. JONAS FRIEDENWALD MEMORIAL LIBRARY/WILMER EYE INSTITUTE
    The Friedenwald Library of the Wilmer Eye Institute is located in the Woods research Building, 3B-50, and serves the Department of Ophthalmology as well as the faculty members of the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions and the University. Only departmental members and faculty of the JHMI and university have borrowing privileges at the Friedenwald Library. Other clients can use the collection in-house. The collection is comprised of approximately 8000 monographs and 120 current journal subscriptions. There are numerous slides that concentrate on ophthalmologic issues. The journal collection is primarily in English with some items in French, German, Italian and Japanese. The library has a special collection of reprints of Wilmer Institute papers from 1925 as well as reprints of many famous ophthalmologists' papers.

    Scope
    The Friedenwald Library once collected comprehensively in the field of ophthalmology. Its current policy is to collect materials supporting all fields of clinical ophthalmology as well as materials supporting basic and clinical research in the department. The library contains a very small reference collection and a skeletal collection of basic texts in other subject areas. The journal collection is focused on research journals and a few basic medical journals. Wilmer also has a number of rare books which constitute the personal collection of Dr. Wilmer. These books date back to 1470 and deal mostly with ophthalmological subjects.

    Friedenwald Library purchases current materials that directly support clinical ophthalmology and the research of the department. Weeded books are offered to ophthalmologic groups.

    Relationship to Welch Library
    Duplication between Welch's and the Friedenwald's collections is kept to a minimum since the Friedenwald's collection is so extensive and complete.


  3. HARRISON LIBRARY

    The Harold E. Harrison Library of the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, located on the first floor of the Pavillion on the Bayview Medical campus, is part of the Johns Hopkins Health System. Bayview is home to Maryland's most comprehensive neonatal intensive care unit, a sleep disorders center, an area-wide trauma center, the state's only regional burn center, and a nationally known geriatrics center. Harrison Library's collection is comprised of more than 400 journals and 1300 books, both print and electronic. Scope: The library collection is largely clinical and supports the work of the hospital. Primary subjects are general medicine, geriatrics, burns, gastroenterology and nephrology. There is a small reference collection plus an archive collection. Materials are current (within last five years) and in English. The library provides access to major clinical databases as well as traditional library services such as training, literature searching and interlibrary loan. Access to the collection is via the JHU Online Catalog and WelchWeb. Registered users of the Johns Hopkins University may use and borrow materials. Relationship to Welch: The Harrison collection complements the Welch collection with its clinical materials. In return, Harrison staff depend on the Welch collection to expand their subject scope as well as for research materials. Welch staff work with Harrison staff to provide a full array of services as well. Many JHMI staff have appointments at Bayview and vice versa.


  4. MILTON S. EISENHOWER LIBRARY

    The goal of the Milton S. Eisenhower Library of Johns Hopkins University is to develop and preserve collections which meet the research and teaching needs of faculty and the study needs of students at the Homewood campus. Eisenhower Library has over 2.5 million book volumes and subscribes to almost 14,000 periodicals. Its electronic collections include over 1600 full-text journals, full-text and image files, extensive abstracting and indexing sources and statistical, cartographic and full-text publications from the U.S. government.

    Relationship to Welch Library
    MSE and the other Hopkins libraries share an online catalog which makes everyone's materials readily available to every patron. Van service transports materials among the libraries daily. Many online resources are licensed for use at all JHU campuses. In certain subject areas, Eisenhower collections are important for the JHMI. Those areas are listed below:

    Government Documents: Though some government materials are collected at the Lilienfeld Library, many important resources reside at the Homewood campus. The Government Publications/Maps/Law Library is a branch of the Eisenhower Library and is located in the basement of the New Engineering Building on the Homewood campus. Government publications from the Department of Health and Human Services, the source of most medical and health-related government publications, are collected at the instructional support level. This level of collecting is adequate to support undergraduate and most graduate level instruction. Documents from the Environmental Protection agency, the National Academy of Science, and the National Science Foundation are also collected at the instructional support level. Documents from the Department of Agriculture are collected at the basic information level, which is adequate to introduce and define a subject. The library also collects the publications from intergovernmental organizations such as the United Nations, UNESCO, World Bank, European Communities and many others. These publications are important sources of statistical information about foreign countries. The library's law collection is a useful source for finding existing laws, regulations, and law review articles that deal with medical issues, health care and jurisprudence. The collection contains court decisions of the U.S. circuit courts, state supreme courts, and the U. S. Supreme Court as well as regulations published by U.S. federal agencies and the state of Maryland, and the annotated codes for the United States, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. Over 100 law reviews from the nations' leading law schools complement the primary legal sources with commentary and analysis. Maps and other cartographic materials comprise the third area of the library's specialty. Sheet maps and a cartographic CD-ROM known as SUPERMAP can provide readers with detailed graphic examples of demographic information collected from the U.S. decennial censuses. The library's collection of national atlases is also a useful source of demographic information for foreign countries. In the area of epidemiology, the library has several specialized atlases including the Atlas of Epidemic Diseases, An Atlas of Mortality from Selected Diseases, and the Atlas of Cancer Incidence in Nordic Countries.

    Biology: Eisenhower collects at the basic information level in microbiology and most of the biological and ecological sciences. Physiology and cytology are collected at the instructional support level. Biochemistry, molecular biology and molecular genetics are collected at the research level.

    Biomedical Engineering: Eisenhower does collect recent English language monographs, monographic series, and journals in the field of biomedical engineering. Their goal is to supplement the Welch collection, primarily in areas that relate to the engineering aspects of the discipline. Most of their materials support instruction not research. Eisenhower has a small annual fund set aside for biomedical engineering purchases. Although the department of Biomedical Engineering is part of the School of Medicine, it is located on the Homewood campus. Research interests of the faculty include "analysis of the heart and cardiovascular system, neural and hormonal control of cardiovascular hemodynamics, speech perception, and auditory neurophysiology, sensory prosthesis, muscle and neuromuscular control physiology, biological transport, biomechanics of locomotion, biofluid mechanics, biomaterials, instrumentation, computer applications, and hospital and clinic engineering.

    Biophysics: The Eisenhower Library collects materials to support the Thomas C. Jenkins Department of Biophysics at the Homewood campus. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of this field, and the strong biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics collections of Eisenhower, general biophysics is collected at the minimal level. Molecular biophysics is collected at the research level. The Jenkins Biophysics Department also relies on Welch and the Lilienfeld Library of the Bloomberg School of Public Health for biophysics materials.

    Psychology: The Eisenhower Library collects most areas of psychology at the instructional support level. Comparative psychology, physiological psychology, neuropsychology, cognition and perception are collected at the research level. Homewood offers a doctoral program in psychology as well as a coordinated program with the Kennedy Institute.

    Sociology: Sociology is collected at the instructional level except for social pathology which is collected at the research level.

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EXTERNAL

  1. Clearinghouse Resources

    UMI: University Microfilms International (UMI) is a for-profit clearinghouse, a part of Pro-Quest Information and Learning. UMI archives over 1.6 million dissertations and masters' theses in addition to microfilm collections of serials and newspapers. Most are available in print, microform or digitally. All materials are copyright cleared. Orders can be placed via electronic mail, OCLC, and online.

    Copyright Clearance Center: Operated by publishers, the Copyright Clearance Center will provide copyright cleared items for a fee. Welch Library uses this service when we have requested more than 5 articles in any one year from one journal and we are not going to subscribe to the journal. Welch accesses CCC on the web and is billed for materials used.

    Document Delivery Services: There are many online document delivery services that can be used by staff and patrons for a fee. The fees vary for documents and generally include a copyright fee in the total.

  2. Enoch Pratt Library and MILO

    The Enoch Pratt Library is the public library system for the city of Baltimore. With branches throughout the city, Pratt holds almost two million volumes. Lay persons with a need for medical information will find popular medical books and magazines as well as undergraduate medical and health-related texts there. Pratt Library is the central location for Maryland Interlibrary Loan Organization (MILO) activities. The mission of MILO is to operate a resource-sharing network which provides access for the people of Maryland to existing library materials and services, regardless of where those people may live, or where needed resources may be located. Public, school, academic, and medical libraries throughout Maryland cooperate in this program. Over 105,000 requests for information and materials are processed per year. The State Library Resource Center at Pratt Library acts as the hub of the network and, as such, refers some interlibrary loan requests from Maryland libraries belonging to MILO to Welch.

    3. Relationship to Welch Library
    Members of the public who want access to Welch Library and are not allowed in are referred to Pratt Library for material that best addresses their needs and level of medical knowledge. Welch borrows very little directly from Pratt, as most of our non-medical borrowing requests are filled by the Eisenhower Library or other university libraries. Welch Library is a referral agency within the MILO network. Requests that cannot be filled elsewhere are referred to Welch. Welch does not use the MILO network for filling borrowing requests as most of our clientele need highly specialized technical or scientific material that is more easily obtained from an academic library or another medical library directly.

  3. NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE

    The National Library of Medicine (NLM) in Bethesda, Maryland, is one of three national libraries in the United States. Not only is it the world's largest medical library, it is also the largest research library in a single scientific professional field. The goal of NLM is to serve the clinical, research and scholarly information needs of all health professionals.

    NLM holds over 5 million items in all areas of the health sciences.

    The National Library of Medicine is a depository library for federal government publications, has one of the world's best history of medicine collections, and houses materials in more than 70 languages. NLM collects books, journals, electronic, and non-print materials in all areas of the biomedical sciences, and, to a lesser degree, in areas related to biomedicine.

    Relationship to Welch Library
    NLM is open to the public so that any member of the JHMI community can use its collections. Because it is less than forty miles away from Johns Hopkins, many researchers from Hopkins travel there directly for research needs that cannot be met by Welch. Welch participates in NLM's automated interlibrary loan request and referral system, Docline, begun in March 1985. NLM is accessible via the worldwide web, provides free MEDLINE and a document retrieval system called Loansome Doc that is used at Welch.

  4. REGIONAL MEDICAL NETWORK

    The Regional Medical Library network, administered by the National Library of Medicine, is a network of eight regional programs linking health science libraries throughout the United States. The goal of the program is to provide all health professionals throughout the country with equal and timely access to health-related information.

    Eight large medical libraries serve as Regional Medical Libraries, providing training, resource sharing, consulting and referral for other medical libraries in their region. Other medical libraries in each state serve as resource libraries with the smallest medical libraries acting as basic units. Maryland has two resource libraries, Welch and the University of Maryland Health and Human Services Library which is also the Regional Medical Library for Region 2.

    This network provides the clientele of Welch Library with access to virtually any medical publication held at any medical library within the United States. In addition, requests that cannot be filled within the United States are referred to the British Lending Library by the National Library of Medicine.

  5. UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES LIBRARY

    The University of Maryland Health and Human Services Library serves the health professional schools and the hospital of the University of Maryland. The professional schools include the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Social Work.

    The UMHHS Library is also the Regional Medical Library for Region 2. As such, it serves resource libraries, smaller libraries, and health practitioners to obtain medical information.

    Collections: The UMHHSL collects in all clinical and basic science fields. The following fields are also collected:

    Dentistry
    Gerontology and geriatrics
    Health care delivery and health professionals
    Hospitals Nursing Pharmaceutical chemistry
    Pharmacy and pharmacognosy
    Public health Rehabilitative medicine
    Social and public welfare, including charities, assistance, relief, and welfare law
    Social work
    Sports medicine

    Standard texts, major journals, selected reference works, selected bibliographies are collected in the following related fields:
    Botany
    Criminology
    Education
    Management and Administration
    Sociology
    Political Science
    Psychology

    Relationship to Welch Library
    Welch Library and the UMHHS Library have a reciprocal agreement whereby patrons can have access to both collections. Because it is located within a few miles of the JHMI, many Hopkins patrons use the UMHHS Library.

    The UMHHS collections are particularly strong in dentistry and social work, two areas that Welch collects at the basic level. In addition, the UMHHS collections are stronger in allied health and pharmacy. Their long runs of nursing journals nicely supplement our more recent collection in nursing.

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