General Information
Physical & Virtual Locations
Subject Headings
Library Organizational Scheme
Information Needs of the Users of the AHSL

General Information

This pathfinder provides access to the University of Arizona, Arizona Health Sciences Center Library (AHSL) collections of print and electronic resources concerning of Environmental Health and Toxicology, found at http://www.ahsl.arizona.edu/. It is addressed to teachers who participate in workshops, research, and training sessions conducted by the Community Outreach and Education Program of the Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Center. I found the resources to be plentiful and useful and do not recommend any additional acquisitions for this user group.

The AHSL is one of twelve libraries at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. The scope of the collection and services for this library is health related. The typical users of this library are the students, faculty and staff of the Arizona Health Sciences Center, which includes the Colleges of Nursing, Public Health, Pharmacy, and Medicine. The library opened in 1967 as part of the medical school. The new Arizona Health Sciences Library building was dedicated on February 17 and 18, 1993.

The library advances the education, research, clinical practice and community service goals of the Arizona Health Sciences Center. It also has three goals related to fostering informed health care practice in Arizona by:
1) Assuring access to biomedical information resources in all formats;
2) Teaching the principles & techniques of information retrieval & management; and
3) Providing services and an environment that promote effective information use and study.

The collection of the AHSL is extensive with print, online and World Wide Web materials. The primary users expect to locate serious career oriented information that is of an intellectual rather than a recreational nature. Onsite users of the library expect silence. Neither the staff nor the other patrons of this library tolerate talking above a whisper. The online environment of this library is equally serious, simple in design and text driven.

The collection includes a variety of journals, databases, electronic books, and reference materials.  Reference services are provided in person, over the telephone and by email.  The reference staff helps at all levels of service from simple questions to in-depth assistance with research.  The reference desk is staffed 24 hours a day. Reference librarians are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Until this summer the library provided free access to teachers and other general pubic users. Now there is a $25.00 per year fee. top

Physical & Virtual Locations

The Arizona Health Sciences Library is located within the same complex of buildings as the University of Arizona Colleges of Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing and Public Health. These buildings are connected by a series of corridors and a courtyard. My colleague, Doug Cromey of the Imaging Lab at the College of Medicine, said, "At one point this complex was the largest building under one roof in Arizona." This proximity provides ready physical access to the information housed at the library. In addition, the library has a strong web presence, with numerous subscriptions to online resources as well as suggested reputable web sites, a strong relationship with the National Library of Medicine, and a CD Rom collection.

The ready reference collection is near the entrance to the library. This area has a number of tables so that the users can browse for the needed information without extra effort. The reference section is adjacent to the ready reference collection. Both are arranged in alphabetical order with clear signs about the content of each shelf. The general collection for both Toxicology and Environmental Health are located on the fourth floor, where browsing and using the books are facilitated in comfortable surroundings. top

Subject Headings

The Arizona Health Sciences Library uses Library of Congress subject headings. In a discussion with the librarian in charge of cataloging the collections, Mary Holcomb, Head of Collection Services, I learned she wishes they had adopted a dual system of MeSH terms as well as the Library of Congress terms. She indicated that she thought this would give greater access to the materials in the library. She also indicated that some medical libraries do follow that pattern of dual subject headings. Some of the electronic resources, especially MedlinePlus Health Information, are accessed with MeSH terms. For the list of materials by subject heading please click here. top

Library Organizational Scheme: Related to Environmental Health and Toxicology

Ready reference includes encyclopedias, dictionaries, books and current handbooks.
Reference includes books, some with CDs, handbooks, and directories.
Books cover specific topics. Some of the books in the collection are textbooks.
Journals, both in print and available electronically, are numerous. They address current issues on often obscure topics.
Online databases are available both in the library and by remote access with a library card.
Suggested Web Resources are listed by information topic. top

Information Needs of the Users of the AHSL

The information seeking behaviors of the typical users of the AHSL can best be described as goal directed and seeking specific, detailed, and current information. The literature is not robust in discussing the information seeking needs of medical and nursing students. Three articles did give me some insight into the nature of the relationship between biomedical students and the health science library. Students seem to utilize the library staff when needing information, as indicated by the Wildemuth (1994) study concerning students locating information concerning toxins. The Hersh (2000) and Pelzer (1998) studies suggested there is a growing use of online databases, such as PubMed and Medline, by clinicians. Hersh (2000) demonstrated that IR systems are beneficial in helping clinicians answer medical questions. The Pelzer article reports a major shift in library use from print indexes and abstracts in 1987 to the use of computerized indexes and other electronic resources in 1997. “60 per cent of the students reported using the Internet for current information” (Pelzer, 1998, p346). Most of the 1997 students indicated they thought that electronic resources are important because they contain a wealth of information. This pathfinder has many electronic references, including journals only available electronically. The Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program (TEHIP) resources offered by the National Library of Medicine are important resources for middle school and high school teachers.

Teachers who participate in SWEHSC - COEP programs have information needs that are similar to those of the typical user of the AHSL. The difference is that they require information that will reinforce their understanding and teaching of Environmental Health and Toxicology. Thus, they do not require the depth of information people who specialize in the field require. They need information that will give them background that will support lessons, and student activities. top