Mission
The mission of the Health Sciences Library is to advance health related education,
research, service and rural health by organizing, synthesizing, and disseminating
knowledge in the health sciences and by fostering the use of health care information.
- Statement revised April 9, 1997.
History
The Health Sciences Library is a unit of The College of Community Health Sciences,
a division of The University of Alabama School of Medicine, in Tuscaloosa. In
1972 a special act of the Alabama Legislature established CCHS to provide community-based
medical education, with a primary care emphasis and a family practice residency
training program, designed to encourage physicians to settle and practice in
the rural and under served areas of Alabama. Today the focus of CCHS continues
to be in seeking solutions for rural health care problems in Alabama. A major
goal of CCHS is to rank among the top national academic programs in the production
of primary care physicians for rural areas.
The medical program of CCHS was established under the leadership of William
R. Willard, M.D. The medical student undergraduate program for 3rd and 4th year
medical students is organized as a clinical campus of the University of Alabama
School of Medicine (UASOM). The graduate medical education component was
established as a three year family practice residency program, affiliated with
UASOM.
The Library first opened in 1978 on completion of the Educational Tower built
adjacent to and integrated with the DCH Medical Center. The library serves
to assist the CCHS in its mission and goals in health related education, research,
service, and rural health. The Library recognizes and gives priority to
the information needs of the School of Medicine, as well as University of Alabama
healthcare-related programs. Additionally, the library serves as the primary
resource for health science information for the University community, Tuscaloosa
and West Alabama.
Collection
The Health Sciences Library is a gateway to health related information worldwide. This
specialized collection includes books, more than 230 current journal subscriptions,
audio-visual resources, and access to specialized databases, library catalogs,
and Internet resources. The collection covers topics in clinical medicine, family
practice, primary care, medical education, consumer health, and related healthcare
topics.
The reference collection provides core titles in the major medical specialties,
medical dictionaries, directories of physicians, hospitals, healthcare associations,
medical schools and residency programs. U.S. and Alabama vital statistics are
available. Also, drug guides, clinical treatment guidelines and standards
are included in the collection.
The catalog for the Health Sciences Library collection is included in the
UA Libraries Catalog - http://library.ua.edu/ Searches
may be limited to material located in the Health Sciences Library.
Electronic access is available at seven public work stations. Numerous electronic
resources are available, including PubMed (Medline), CINAHL, Exam Master, MDConsult,
Harrison’s Online, Stat!Ref, Up-to-Dateplus many more. (Some resources
may be restricted to medical students and CCHS faculty and staff.)
Arrangement
The book collection is arranged according to the National Library of Medicine
Classification System, developed by the National Library of Medicine to organize
and provide access to the unique subjects within the health sciences.
The journal collection is arranged alphabetically by title, disregarding the
initial article. Note that 'the' within a the title is included in the letter
by letter arrangement.
Subject access to the collection on the UA Library System or on Medline is
provided by MeSH, the Medical Subject Headings of the National Library of Medicine. To
do a subject search of the UA Library catalog for material located in the
Health Sciences Library, you should use the MeSH vocabulary, e.g. SM = pregnancy.
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