Updates from the Medical Library Service

Old jobs, new jobs. Meet the new boss

At the departure of the library director in September, the inevitable question of a replacement arose. Three capable and experienced librarians remained on staff; would one of them be interested in taking over the helm?

The question was mulled over until it dawned upon us: why not all three? Each of us felt this was an excellent opportunity to pool our various experiences and abilities to work on a consensual basis and share the administrative duties. We could each continue with our present duties and share the responsibilities of administration.

With acceptance from the College and from the Library staff, several months into our tenure we can honestly report that things are going very well. The only remaining problem is what to call ourselves. Co-heads? (too nebulous). The Triumvirate? (too hard to spell).

By way of introduction, the College Library’s new “Co-Librarians-In-Charge” are Linda Einblau, Karen MacDonell, and Judy Neill. A phone call, fax, letter, or e-mail to any one of us, or to the Library in general, will put you in touch with the Library’s administration.

Some things will never change, however. Your College Library exists to serve your information needs, be it to satisfy curiosity, to feed an interest, or to provide the tools necessary to enhance your decision-making process. We invite you to explore our resources, both physical and virtual, online or on-site, and allow us to show you how we can make your job more manageable.

Collection update

Ever-rising journal subscription prices and the ever-rocky state of the Canadian dollar have forced us to cancel about 40 journals for 2003. We were lucky enough to have both a 33-year veteran of the College Library in the form of a Collections Librarian, plus a couple of usage surveys, to carefully consider the choices. (For those wondering, unfortunately, no, electronic access isn’t any cheaper. Many journals either require a print subscription before allowing electronic access, or charge more than the print subscription for electronic access only.) We plan to access these cancelled journals through interlibrary loans.

Book selection is also done with careful consideration for the budget, but we welcome suggestions from College members. If you know of a book you think we should have, please phone, fax, or e-mail your suggestion.

Speaking of books

With approximately 10 000 titles, the College Library has developed a rich collection of current books that cover a broad scope of medical topics. The Library will mail books to College members at no cost, and always includes a prepaid, preaddressed label for return delivery.

The Pharmacotherapy of Common Functional Syndromes: Evidence Based Guidelines for Primary Care Practice (Peter Manu. New York: Haworth Medical Press, 2000) is of particular interest because it objectively and critically appraises drug therapy for the following four complex conditions: chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, and premenstrual syndrome. Drug therapy for these common conditions has typically been based on an empirical symptomatic approach without an evidence-based confirmation of effectiveness and safety. Author Peter Manu, associate professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, provides an analysis of the therapeutic literature and categorizes the drug therapy for each syndrome according to effective therapy, controversial therapies, ineffective drugs, and unreplicated trials. A framework for effective drug therapies and nonpharmacological interventions concludes each section. This book is valuable to internists, family practitioners, pediatricians, and gynecologists who are challenged to help those affected by these functional syndromes, and is also useful to patients wanting to enhance their knowledge regarding treatment options.

Call on us

A great way to begin exploring the College Library is through our web site (www.mls.cpsbc.ca) and online catalogue (http://szasz.mls.cpsbc.ca). Our online catalogue is a recent addition to the virtual services currently offered, named in honor of Dr George Szasz, who served on the College Library Committee for 40 years before resigning in April 2001.

The College Library is your library. We look forward to serving your information needs. Call on us!

— Linda Einblau
Karen MacDonell
Judy Neill
Medical Library Service