Welcome Back

Exactly 10 years ago the LSU Medical Center Library published its last newsletter. It has been a good 10 years; many changes have occurred, one of which is the appearance of this newsletter in a non-traditional format. With our new web-based format, we are able to bring you the most current news without restrictions due to printing and mailing costs. We welcome back the newsletter as a means of staying in touch with the faculty, staff, and students.

In this issue we will bring you up-to-date on the entire range of library services, from traditional to the latest technology has to offer. Read articles about the changes that have taken place this past decade -- the Library's new web-based integrated library system and databases, the availability of full-text journals, and our bibliographic instruction classes -- as well as staff news, and tips for using internet resources via our Homepage.

New services are being planned, and as they are implemented, you will be notified through this means of communication. In the meantime, I encourage you to call, come by, or visit the Library in person or through our Homepage (a link is available at the bottom of the "Contents" frame). Our mission is to serve your research and informational needs, and we are here ready and willing to serve.

-- Wilba Swearingen
Acting Director
wswear@lsumc.edu link removed

Decade of Change

In the ten years since the last Library Bulletin was issued, the Library has experienced a number of changes. The most significant change was the migration from an entirely paper existence to an automated future. From our physical location to the services provided, the library is constantly evolving. Necessarily the ways in which our patrons use the library have evolved as well.

The following is a list of the highlights of the library's decade of change:

1988 Technical services begins processing monographs via an online system (NOTIS - mainframe based).
1989 Resource Center Library opens. (Libraries at 1542 Tulane Avenue and the Medical Education Building merged.)
Automated card catalog is made available to the public (NOTIS - mainframe based).
Grand Opening of the Resource Center Library is celebrated.
1990 MEDLINE is available to the public at library terminals (NOTIS - mainframe based).
1991 Resource Center Library is dedicated in the name of former director John P. Isché.
Card catalog is closed. All new material is entered into the online catalog only.
1993 The conversion of paper catalog records to automated catalog records is complete. All library materials are available for public use via online catalog.
1994 All monographic (book) and serial (journal) records are barcoded in preparation for automated check out.
1997 Web-based database searching via OVID is available.
Conversion of the library catalog from mainframe to enhanced web INNOPAC is completed.
1998 All library processes are automated (Acquisitions, Cataloging, Circulation, and Serials).
Card catalog is removed.
The Library Bulletin is published for the first time in 10 years.

We continue to evolve in an effort to provide the best possible service to the LSUMC community today and in the future.

Contributors:
Elizabeth Dean
Pauline Fulda
Jennifer Lloyd
Jean Rouse