Collection Development Policy: Medical Sciences
  • Subject Librarian(s):
    Janet Crager

  • Description of the Academic Program | Home Page
    The listing of degree programs offered by the Brown Medical School includes M.D., Ph.D., Master of Public Health, and Master of Medical Science.

    Major areas of interest include the work of the following Research Centers,
    Institutes, Programs, and Initiatives:

    • Biomedical Ethics, Center for
    • Brain Science Program
    • Brain and Neural Studies, Institute for
    • Brown-Marine Biological Laboratory Graduate Program
    • Environmental Change Initiative
    • Fetal Treatment Program
    • Fetal Medicine, Program in
    • Genomics and Proteomics, Center for
    • Program in Public Health
      • Brown University AIDS Program
        • AIDS Research Center
      • Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Center for
      • Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, Centers for
        • The Nicotine and Tobacco Research Center
        • The Physical Activity Research Center
        • The Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center
      • Gerontology and Health Care Research, Center for
      • Primary Care and Prevention, Center for
        • Women's Health Initiative
        • Osteoarthritis Initiative
        • Cholesterol Education and Research Trial
      • Clinical Trials and Evidence-Based Healthcare, Center for
      • Statistical Science, Center for
      • International Health Institute
      • Community Health Promotion, Institute for
    • U.S. Cochrane Center at Brown University
    • Liver Research Center
    • Hallett Center for Diabetes at Rhode Island Hospital
    • Chronobiology and Sleep Lab
    • Women’s Health, Center of Excellence in



  • Overview of the Collection
    At the inception of the Program in Medicine, the collecting strategy included the affiliated hospital libraries, even though their collections were never under the direction of the University Library. The University Library was assigned the task of acquiring material to serve the research interests of Brown faculty while the hospitals were to provide clinical support. In the intervening years, the line has blurred as much research has moved off campus and as the education of campus-based first and second year medical students has become more clinically oriented.

    Besides serving the Medical School, the medical collection supports the study and interest of undergraduates in the PLME and pre-med programs. Community Health is another area that permeates both undergraduate and graduate interests, especially since the program recently began offering a Masters in Public Health and since the University has targeted this area under the Plan for Academic Enrichment.

    Journals
    Over the last few years, Library consortial deals with a number of the major publishers in the life sciences have enabled the Library to provide access to a tremendous number of electronic journals. This desktop access to a growing portion of the collection certainly provides improved convenience but also fosters a much greater use of the collection than what was feasible before, especially for medical faculty and students who are primarily based off campus. The Library has subscribed to online access from the following important publishers:


    Collections of electronic books have been made available through MD Consult and through Books@OVID.

  • General Collecting Guidelines
    The Library attempts to maintain a RESEARCH level collection. A RESEARCH (Collecting Levels) level collection includes the major source materials required for dissertations and independent research. It also includes important reference works and a selection of specialized monographs. With the heavy reliance on journals, the literature of the faculty and medical students is also an important literature of the undergraduate life science concentrators.

  • Specific Collecting Guidelines
    • Language: English, original or in translation.
    • Imprint Date: Current imprints. As needed - retrospective materials in support of research needs and replacements to missing or damaged volumes. Infrequent - acquisition of out-of-print material.
    • Types of Material Included: Monographs and journals. Selectively, proceedings and textbooks.


  • Related Collections
    The primary resource for medical materials is through the National Network of Libraries of Medicine and its DOCLINE system that allows for rapid transmission of information from member institutions anywhere in the country or directly from the National Library of Medicine. NLM provides 2 hour delivery service for clinical emergency requests.

    The resources of the Ivy League institutions' libraries are available to Brown faculty and students via the Borrow Direct service. The Virtual Catalog makes the resources of the participating members of the Boston Library Consortium available upon request. BLC members include Boston University Medical School, University of Massachusetts Medical School and Tufts Medical School. The nursing programs at Rhode Island College and The University of Rhode Island contribute a unique aspect to the health science collections at those institutions. Rhode Island hospital libraries currently share their journal holdings through CRIARL and are planning to add their monographs to the holdings of RI academic institutions in the HELIN database.

    For further information, check with the Interlibrary Loan Office (Phone: (401) 863-2750; Email: sci-ill@brown.edu

  • Selected List of Key Internet Resources