MAC/MLA 2001 Eyes on NLM October 19, 2001 Ocean City, Maryland
MEDLINEplus Three years of growth Creation and maintenance Future plans
MEDLINEplus Debuted on October 22, 1998 –22 health topics Today—comprehensive, user-driven health resource –500 health topics + drug, encyclopedia, news and interactive patient education tutorials –Over 5 million hits per month
January : Health News
February: Interactive Tutorials Fully narrated Animations Low-literacy Printable summary Spanish modules
October: Announcement Lists MEDLINEplus-NEW Announcements New Topics New links by topic MEDLINEplus-NIH New consumer health resources from the National Institutes of Health
How is it created and maintained? Staffing Systems technology Procedures Selection guidelines
Library Managers IT Manager Programmers Public Services Mgr Reference Cataloging Selections Web design librarian Public Services Systems Librarians Contract librarians
MEDLINEplus System Database of records (Oracle) Web-based input system (Cold Fusion) Authorities and rules Review and approval process Remote access HTML generated nightly for Web
MEDLINEplus at Input System (Cold Fusion) Static HTML Files Oracle Database for input / maintenance Nightly build
Input system interface
Creating new topics People want information on very specific topics (their topic) Look at number of requests in search log Look at length of pages during topic review Look at characteristics of pages (e.g., number of specific conditions
Topic Name MeSH
Site selection and record creation
Selection Guidelines Selection Guidelines Linked from “About MEDLINEplus” Emphasis on government health organizations –NIH collaboration Must be authoritative, accurate and well maintained NLM contacts organizations about –Technical issues (frames, registration) –Medical advisory boards –Creation and “updated” dates
Name / URL Description Display to public?
Topic page(s) site should appear on Type of site Subcategories Organization
Maintaining Quality Check daily/weekly for new material Review topics every 6 months Check daily for broken links
New features--release process Library side –Identifies need (feedback and usability testing) –Develops user requirement Programming side –Develops specification –Programs test system Both sides –Develop test plans –Test, fix problems, release
Future Plans Enhance drug information with American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists database Spanish-language version of site Site for seniors Additional content – interactive tutorials Data sharing – state and local information