NC Health Info and MedlinePlus: the Go Local Initiative MLA May 24, 2004 Christie Silbajoris Director, NC Health Info

NC Health Info History 2001 – feasibility study 2002 – 1 st year contract (build prototype) 2003 – launch – Refine methodology, grow database – Move towards sustainable model – Produce documentation for other states to use 2004 – Test NLM’s centralized model, release in May

Customer Service Ask-a-Librarian feature added to site in November, 2002 Questions answered by reference staff On average, 6 questions answered per month - 4% of total number

Outreach and Promotion Hired.5 fte Outreach Coordinator Jan Developed outreach and PR plan – First phase is to healthcare practitioners and librarians Professional associations, exhibits, training, piggyback onto AHEC Digital Library work – Second phase to public when database is fuller – Diabetes project to help create PR model

Usage Stats and Other Fun Facts Usage statistics show a steady increase 602,454 visits since launch through April 2004 from 186,887 unique visitors 130 sites suggested through Suggest-a-Site since launch 2,570 sites/URLs currently display to the public

Key Challenges Keeping up to date – Harnessing XML Balancing maintenance with continued growth Evaluation Funding

Things to Consider Agreement to develop with NLM Infrastructure and support prerequisites Technical infrastructure Local vocabulary pairings Traffic mappings Cataloging methodology and training Maintenance procedures Evaluation

UNC Resources for You All documentation is freely available online at: TableOfContents.cfm Christie Silbajoris (919)