ICML 2009: Meeting Room 1 Session 34

Theme: ICAHIS-International Conferene of Animal Health Information Specialists

Time:15.30-16.45
Date: Thursday 3rd September 2009
Chair: Vicki Croft

Advances in Collection Management: the Use of Technology to Create a New Basic List of Veterinary Serials
Presented By: Ana Ugaz, Texas A & M University, United States
C. Trenton Boyd, University of Missouri, United States
Esther Carrigan, Texas A & M University, United States
Vicki F. Croft, Washington State University, United States
Katherine M. Anderson, University of Missouri, United State

Ana Ugaz is a Resources Management Librarian at the Medical Sciences Library, Texas A&M University. Ms. Ugaz has worked in acquisitions and collection development at the Medical Sciences Library since 2004.

Abstract:
The original 1977 Basic List of Veterinary Serials, a classic collection management tool for veterinary librarians, was last updated in 1986. A new list has long been overdue. The Veterinary Serials Committee of the Veterinary Medical Libraries Section/Medical Library Association has been working on a new edition, taking advantage of new technologies and selection tools.

Objectives: To provide a current list of the most important veterinary journals for veterinary librarians, as well as agricultural, animal health and medical librarians wanting to add a veterinary component to their journal collections.

Methods: Librarians at all AVMA accredited veterinary schools were asked to assign level of importance to individual journal titles via an online survey tool. These results were used in a weighted formula, in combination with variables such as impact factor, required readings for AVMA Specialty Board certification, and where indexed.

Results: A new Basic List has been compiled. This list represents a core list containing substantive veterinary medical journals that are absolutely essential to the veterinary medical library, regardless of the research thrust of the college, and provides a starting point upon which to build a collection based on the research objectives and goals of the local institution.

Conclusions: With the use of online survey technology, input from the veterinary library community was dramatically increased. Combining librarian feedback with additional journal quality measures should make the new Basic List of Veterinary Serials a more accurate reflection of current journal usage and importance.

Information services and products for Phytomedicine and Ethno-veterinary medicine: supporting new research niche areas in Africa
Mrs Tertia Coetsee, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Marguerite A Nel, University of Pretoria, South Africa

Tertia Coetsee is an information specialist at the Veterinary Science library of the University of Pretoria (Faculty of Veterinary Science).

Marguerite Nel specialises in collection development for the Veterinary Science Library.

Abstract:
Early in 2006 a new four year faculty plan was developed for the Faculty of Veterinary Science. The emphasis was on postgraduate training, stimulating research on unique problems and the development of national and international relationships. Five “National Research Foundation Developed Research Niche Areas” were identified of which "Phytomedicine and ethno-veterinary medicine" was one. This programme focuses on the development of extracts from South African plants with antimicrobial or anti-parasitic activity for use in animal production.

This paper will focus on the role of the Veterinary Science Library of the University of Pretoria to promote information services to support research in this discipline. It will illustrate how the information specialist can become closely aligned with the faculty department, to support education innovation and research excellence.

In order to provide resources for current research in phytomedicine and ethno-veterinary medicine, the information collection of the Library was evaluated against other national and international university libraries’ collections. As many of the postgraduate students are situated off campus, often outside South Africa, the focus is on electronic information products and services for easier retrieval of information, group interaction, information sharing and collaboration and the digital preservation of intellectual products of the Phytomedicine Programme. A webpage and a digitized slide collection with optimum accessibility provided by metadata, are part of information support. The important role of the information specialist in ensuring the development of relevant information services and products to support research in a new and dynamic subject field, with significance for Africa is illustrated.

Exploring the State of Veterinary Informatics
Mrs Kristine M Alpi, North Carolina State University, William Rand Kenan, Jr. Library of Veterinary Medicine, United States

Kristine Alpi, MLS, MPH, AHIP is Director of the William Rand Kenan, Jr. Library of Veterinary Medicine at North Carolina State University. She holds the MLS from Indiana University and a Masters in Public Health from Hunter College, the City University of New York. Ms. Alpi is a member of the American Medical Information Association and the Medical Informatics section of the Medical Library Association.

Abstract:
Although there are few members in common between the Association for Veterinary Informatics and the American Medical Informatics Association, both are interested in promoting standards in terminology and technology. Many medical informatics areas are integral parts of veterinary practice—for example, digital radiology through Picture Archiving Communication Systems (PACS) and patient information portal software. While business information systems for practice management and herd health are common, these programs lack standards and functionality required for human electronic health records (EHRs) including drug alerts, application of encoded clinical practice guidelines, case identification through uniformly-accepted diagnostic codes, automatic laboratory reporting, and links to knowledge-based resources for just in time learning and evidence-based practice. The level of EHR functions at the veterinary teaching hospital, chains of integrated practices, and the individual practitioner are compared using examples in North Carolina. A survey of all veterinary teaching hospitals and their supporting libraries will explore the state of functional EHRs, the integration of knowledge-based information, and participation in the Veterinary Medical Database, a repository of case records. Known barriers include minimal use of standards for interoperability in practice systems. The primary knowledge based resources (KBI) in veterinary medicine (Veterinary Information Network, VetMed Resource, Clinics and other Elsevier and Wiley/Blackwell titles) are not connected to EHRs. A greater understanding the informatics environment of veterinary practice is necessary to promote the integration of KBI in veterinary practice.

VetMed Resource: Developing an online resource for practicing veterinarians
Robert Taylor, CABI, United Kingdom

Robert Taylor is the Content Manager for Human, Animal and social Sciences at CABI based at their headquarters in Wallingford, near to Oxford in the UK. With a degree in Zoology, he has worked first on veterinary and animal production information, before also managing the Global Health team at CABI. He has given training on CABIs databases throughout the world and has worked on several information projects to strengthen information systems in developing countries.

Abstract:
The CAB Abstracts Database has been used widely in veterinary research institutes and veterinary schools since its creation in 1973. In 2007 CABI created a new Internet site called VetMed Resource to bring the CAB Abstracts Database and other information to practicing veterinarians, to try and improve information transfer from research to clinical veterinary practice. This paper will review the reasons for creating the site, and the steps taken in its development. It will include data from the market research, which consisted of an online questionnaire, and consultation exercise involving practitioners, veterinary associations, veterinary schools, and veterinary librarians. It will also evaluate the lessons learned about the different needs of practitioners and researchers and the various steps taken to meet these differing needs. Future developments will also be covered.