A library without walls

10 World Health • SOth Yem, No. 6, November-December 1997 A library without walls Yvonne Grandbois & Barbara Aronson The reference room of the WHO Library in Geneva. Behind this traditional image, information is being received and disseminated at the speed of light Photo WHO The popular image of a library is of hushed rooms lined floor to ceiling with books through which people leaf in search of infor- mation. But this image is out of date. Today's libraries are at the forefront of the information revolution, busily transmitting knowledge to colleagues and clients around the world using the latest technology. WHO's library is no exception. Our librarians based in Geneva and six regional offices are involved in a wealth of communi- cation activities with a wide variety of clients, from ministries of health, hospitals and international organiza- tions to individual scientists, re- searchers, students and general enquirers. Our services include sending ready-packaged mini-li- braries of vital health information to clients worldwide, running a free exchange service of books and med- ical journals for other libraries, and training librarians around the world in the latest health science library technologies. Every week we receive masses of queries and requests for information. Here is a typical selection of ques- tions and the answers we give: Our library budget is very limited, and we can't convert it to foreign hard currencies. Ho w can we sub- scribe to international journals for our researchers and purchase the latest textbooks for our medical students? You can order your books and med- ical journals through WHO Library's health literature purchasing ser- vice, and pay through WHO 's Revolving Fund with your local currency. WHO Library will ensure that you get the best value for your money. You may even be able to find some of the items you are looking for free of charge through our International Health Literature Exchange. Our documentation centre has just been connected to e-mail, and our country should have full Internet capacity by next year. What services can we already have access to, and what can we look forward to when we can enter the World Wide Web ? Through e-mail you can already use our services, including WHOLIS (for bibliographic records), WHODOC (for information about new WHO publications and docu- ments), and entire issues of our Library newsletters (for professional updates on new technologies and trends) . These same services are also available through the World Wide Web (http://www.who.ch), where they are even easier to find . Of special interest to our colleagues in Africa are AHILANET (African health sciences librarians discussion group on e-mail ), our full text WHO Library Digest for Africa, and the African Index Medicus biblio- graphic database, both on the Web and gopher. We receive WHO publications at the Ministry of Health. How can we know which one to look in to find the answer to a particular question? Consult the WHOLIS database and its WHODOC updates available on diskette, paper, or the Internet (go- pher and the Web). Write, telephone or e-mail the WHO Library closest to your country for guidance. Our health dispensary is in a rural area several days' journey from any library. How can our personnel get the information they need to provide the best possible medical services? Our Blue Trunk Libraries/ Bibliotheques bleues and WHO Documentation Modules can meet your need. They contain basic manu- als and are designed as "instant libraries", ready for use on arrival. The WHO Library can help you get started. We know that the health conditions and problems in our area are similar to those in other districts and in neighbouring countries. Is there any way we can share knowledge re- sources locally and regionally? World Health • SOth Year, No. 6, November-December 1997 How do we communicate? Besides answering queries the conventional ways - by post, telephone and fax - W HO Library commu nicates wi th clien ts: * by e-mail :library@who.ch * through its home page on the W HO Website (http://www.who.ch); * through its electronic database, WHOLIS, which enables clients to find out what WHO's view is on any heal th- related topic; * through its newsletter, Liaison, distributed to health science librarians in developing countries; * through its WHO Library Digest for Africa , transmitted by satellite to ground stations in Africa; * through the AHllANET e-mail discussion group for health science librarians in Africa WHO's Regional Office libraries organize health information and literature services programmes including training, expert counsel and advice. They also publish in- dexes - topics, authors and titles each arranged in alphabetical order- to the health and medical literature published in countries of the region. Some indexes are already on the Internet, others are on CD-ROM, or on paper. Regional libraries also run networks for sharing resources. Contact your Regional Office library to find out more about its activities. Our institute does research on public health topics. How can we know what WHO has written on these subjects? Consult WHOLIS on the Internet, CD-ROM, diskette, or paper. This international database indexes all WHO-produced knowledge and information (books, unpublished technical documents, official records , journal articles, CD-ROMs, videos, press releases) from all WHO offices and projects worldwide. • Ms Yvonne Grandbois is Chief, ond Ms Barbara Aronson is Librarian, Office of Library and Health Literature Services, World Health Organization, 12 11 Geneva 27, Switzerland. The Library of the University of Dor es So/am. Libraries in the world ore not closed in behind their wolfs: they ore links in o vast network of information, an important port of which spreads precious knowledge about health. Photo Panos Pictures/ H. Netocn y © Libraries at WHO Headquarters and Regional Offices WHO Headquarters Office of Library and Health Literature Services 20 Avenue Appia l 21 l Geneva 27, Switzerland African Region Regional Office for Africa Library P.O. Box No. 6 Brazzaville, Congo (T emriorary address): PB. BE773 Belvedere Harare, Zimbabwe Region of the Americas Regional Office for the Americas/ Pan American Sanitary Bureau Library 525 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037, USA Eastern Mediterranean Region Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterraneon Library PO Box 1517 Alexandria - 2151 l , Egypt European Region Regional Office for Europe Library 8, Scherfigsvej DK-2100 Copenhagen South-East Asia Region Regional Office for South-East Asia Library World Health House lndraprastha Estate Mahatma Gandhi Road New Delhi l l 0002, India Western Pacific Region Regional Office for the Western Pacific Library PO Box 2932 l 099 Manila, Philippines Tel (41-22) 791 20 62 Fax: (41-22) 79 1 4 1 50 e-mail : library@who.ch Tel (00242) 83.90.3 l /32/33 Fax: 100242) 83.94.30 e-mail: afrobibl@htsd mail corn Tel: 100263) 4 707 493 Fax (00263) 4 705 619 Tel: (001) 202.974.3000 Fax (00 l) 202. 97 4. 3663 e-mail: library@paho.org Tel (00203) 48.202.23 Fax (00203)48 38 916 e-ma il : postmaster@who.sci.eg Tel: (0045) 39. l 7. l 7. l 7 Fax (0045) 39. 17.18 .52 e-mail: msb@who.dk Tel (0091) l l .33 l .7804 Fax (0091) l l.331.8607 e-mail: postmaster@who.ernet.in Tel (00632) 528.80.0l Fax (00632) 52 l l 036 e-mail: postmaster@who.org.ph 11