Importance of Searching Databases 12/8/2018 Meeting of African Medical Journal Editors Partnership Project May 18-19, 2010 Julia Royall Chief, International Programs National Library of Medicine

12/8/2018 “We must develop a communications system so that the miraculous triumphs of modern science can be taken from the laboratory and transmitted to all in need.”     —Senator Lister Hill, 1965   

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Paradigms for Development: Collegial 12/8/2018

Creating a two-way street: How, when and why... 12/8/2018

NLM Mission World’s largest medical library. 12/8/2018 World’s largest medical library. Collects material and provides information and research services in all areas of biomedicine and health. Mission is to assist the advancement of medical and related sciences through the collection, preservation, dissemination and exchange of information important to the progress of medicine and health. Users can explore the research interests of participating sites; search major databases and medical reference resources on genomics, pharmacology, reagents, and vaccines; order full-text documents for free and access a number of journals, guides, books, and reports; learn more about how to use the Internet; participate in discussion groups; discover funding opportunities, meeting schedules, and training materials.

NLM Today Collection has strong international character 12/8/2018 Collection has strong international character Holdings in over 80 languages 57% of journals are published abroad Almost half of MEDLINE/PubMed users live outside the US

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Google Google Search on Malaria Children 12/8/2018 Malaria Children Google Google Search on Malaria Children No PubMed citations on first page of results

Google Google Search on Malaria Children 12/8/2018 Google Google Search on Malaria Children One 1995 PubMed citation on second page of results

12/8/2018 Google Scholar Nothing later than 1997 which leaves out all research that has been published since substantial funding has been made available for malaria research

Large number of current articles 12/8/2018 PubMed Large number of current articles

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NLM Outreach in Africa African Malaria Researchers NLM Medical Info (Multilateral Initiative on Malaria Communications Network) NLM Medical Info African Medical Students (Medline Plus Tutorial on Malaria) African Medical Journals (African Medical Journal Partnership Project) African Medical Librarians (NLM Associates Program & Network of African Medical Librarians & Deans)

Africa Reaches Out to the World 12/8/2018 Africa Reaches Out to the World

Regina Shakakata Medical librarian 12/8/2018 “We are talking of empowering our communities, empowering individuals in Africa with appropriate information so that they can take decisions about their own health. About their well-being.” Regina Shakakata was an early information advocate and pioneer in Africa, first as Medical Librarian at the University of Zambia, then at WHO-AFRO. She died suddenly last November, but left a legacy of greater use of information technology by medical librarians, physicians, and policy makers in Africa – and her indominatible spirit. You talk of the underserved here, but if you have not visited Africa, the real Africa, you don’t know what information poverty is all about. Those of you who are librarians in here, you know that as a librarian, you dust books, you shelve them, you do nothing else. But with information technology, oh my God, we were the champions. We could talk email language and were able to send out some information that we have CD-ROM technology here. And the relationship that started between the University of Zambia and the University of Florida Health Sciences Library became much more exciting, because whatever we did not have in the library, and I can assure you that we did not have the majority of the information we needed, we would ask the University of Florida to send full text articles. Sometimes these came by email. But if they were not urgent, then they were sent by post. We are talking of empowering our communities, empowering individuals in Africa with appropriate information so that they can take decisions about their own health. About their well-being. But the problems of Africa, as those of you who have worked in Africa know, are big. They are complex. They need to be tackled from all angles. And all interested parties in humanity and the well-being of human life ought to participate in this collective correction of the African situation.  

“When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion.” – Ethiopian adage 12/8/2018 “When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion.” – Ethiopian adage