University
of Illinois at Chicago Office of Public Affairs (MC 288)
601 S. Morgan St., Chicago, IL 60607-7113, (312) 996-3456, www.uic.edu/depts/paff
| May 4, 2001 | Contact: Bryant Payne (312) 355-2523; bpayne2@uic.edu |
UIC LIBRARY AWARDED $6.3 MILLION CONTRACT
The University of Illinois at Chicago's Library of the Health Sciences received a new $6.3 million contract from the National Library of Medicine to improve access to health information services throughout the Midwest.
Under the five-year contract, UIC will serve as a Regional Medical Library in the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, a nationwide network of health science libraries and information centers. As a Regional Medical Library, UIC will continue its efforts to improve information services for underserved groups of health professionals in rural and inner-city areas across 10 states within the network's Greater Midwest Region. The new contract will also provide UIC more opportunities for cross-regional and national collaborations to reach populations.
"We are pleased that UIC is continuing to serve as the Regional Medical Library for the Greater Midwest Region" said Susan Jacobson, UIC assistant university librarian for the health sciences and Greater Midwest Region director. "The new contract offers exciting opportunities for innovative ventures to ensure that health-care providers and consumers have access to quality health-care information."
Administered by the National Library of Medicine, the National Network of Libraries of Medicine provides access to accurate, up-to-date health information to health professionals, patients, families and the general public irrespective of geographic location. The UIC Library of the Health Sciences has provided services to the Midwest region since 1979 and is one of eight regional offices for the National Library of Medicine.
"In its 33-year history, a number of distinguished institutions have served as Regional Medical Libraries in the National Network of Libraries of Medicine," said Dr. Donald A.B. Linberg, director of the National Library of Medicine. "We look forward to working with the recipients of these contracts to make it even easier for all citizens to obtain accurate and up-to-date health information."
The UIC Library of the Health Sciences is the largest library devoted to health sciences in the Midwest and one of the five largest health sciences libraries in the country. Its collection includes over 672,000 volumes, 3,700 currently received print periodicals, a large media collection and a collection of full-text electronic resources and databases.
The library supports instruction, research and patient-care programs in the six professional schools at the UIC Health Sciences Center, as well as the UIC Hospital and Clinics. With the central library in Chicago and three regional sites in Peoria, Rockford and Urbana, the UIC Library of the Health Sciences has positioned itself to understand and provide for the health information needs of urban and rural health professionals and consumers.
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