FROM THE LIBRARY DIRECTOR

Abstract

or several years UAMS librarians, along with other librarians throughout the country, have been monitoring the F development of the PubMed database (which includes MEDLINE) provided for free by the National Library of Medicine (NIH). During the past year, UAMS reference librarians did an in-depth comparison of PubMed and the Ovid MEDLINE product to which the Library currently subscribes. After studying the features of both systems that seem most important to our users, we considered PubMed to be the better option for UAMS for several major reasons. Therefore, we are planning to cancel the Ovid MEDLINE subscription effective July 1, 2006, giving Ovid MEDLINE users nearly a year for the transition to PubMed. Some of the reasons we selected PubMed over Ovid MEDLINE are as follows: Open Accessibility and Life-Long Learning PubMed is a free resource from the National Library of Medicine that will continue to be available via the Internet to faculty, students, and staff even after they leave UAMS. In the spirit of life-long learning, students and faculty will be acquiring the skills needed to search a database that will be available wherever they practice their health sciences profession. Ovid Costs and Restriction