Services for Health Professionals

NN/LM PSR Fact Sheet

Making biomedical information available to health professionals is a primary goal of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine Pacific Southwest Region (NN/LM PSR). To achieve this goal, our staff coordinate a number of information services, working with twelve Resource Libraries in academic health science centers and over 600 member libraries, primarily in hospitals and health centers throughout the region.

Our office at the UCLA Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library serves as headquarters for the Pacific Southwest Region of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM), which is administered by the National Library of Medicine (NLM). The Pacific Southwest Region includes the states of Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and the US-Associated Pacific Basin.

We provide the following services for health professionals:

• Exhibits at professional meetings to provide information on Network services and to demonstrate access to MEDLINE/PubMed, the NLM Gateway, MedlinePlus and other NLM databases.
• Free demonstrations and training in the use of PubMed and other health related Internet resources to staff at facilities without library services;
• Referrals to libraries providing article photocopy and delivery service via Loansome Doc for health professionals not affiliated with a medical library;
• CME credit courses on using PubMed, taught at meetings and institutions;
• Telephone consultation through an 800 number on how to access biomedical information sources;
• Referrals to librarians who provide training on effectively using the Internet and other information services;
• Discussion of individual information needs, with feedback to NLM.