The CD-ROM experience at Loma Linda: the issues of training, logistics, and creative financing

Since the end of 1987, the Medical Center and University libraries at Loma Linda have progressed from stand-alone CD-ROM-based workstations for access to MEDLINE to networked CD-ROM access to a variety of databases. T.O.M.M.I. (Total Online Medical Material Integration) is a CD-ROM-based wide area network linking the Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda University, and other entities in Loma Linda, California. T.O.M.M.I., a microcomputer-based system, represents the implementation of IAIMS at Loma Linda. In addition to discussing the issue of "downsizing" campus-wide information networks, this article focuses on the issues of training, handling of logistical problems, and the use of creative financing.