On-line access to nursing literature

Area of Science:

• Library and Information Science
• Nursing Education
• Health Sciences Librarianship

Background:

• Accessing essential nursing databases presents a significant challenge for academic institutions and healthcare organizations.
• Effective information retrieval is crucial for advancing nursing practice and education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a collaborative system developed to improve remote access to nursing databases for university faculty and students.
• To outline the integration of additional databases into an existing library system for enhanced user access.

Main Methods:

• Leveraging the established Detroit Area Library Network (DALNET) infrastructure.
• Integrating new computer databases into the Library User Information System (LUIS).
• Implementing remote access capabilities for authorized users via university identification.

Main Results:

• Faculty and students can now access a wider range of nursing information resources from remote locations.
• The system facilitates checking journal article availability across multiple sites in a tri-county area.
• Enhanced access to up-to-date literature-searching tools has been provided.

Conclusions:

• Collaborative efforts can successfully expand access to vital nursing information resources.
• Integrating remote access expands the utility of library systems for nursing education and practice.
• The developed system offers a scalable model for inter-institutional resource sharing.