Library Bulletin Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Library -- New Orleans

LOUIS: LOUISiana made, LOUISisana Proud

LOUIS (link removed), the Louisiana Library Network, is a consortium of 47 academic and special libraries throughout the state. The network was founded in 1992 as a result of the Board of Regents' Task Force on Libraries.¹ Executive Director, Sara Zimmerman, follows in the footsteps of Director Emeritus Ralph Boé. Mr. Boé was the first administrator of LOUIS, and he led the organization for 18 years before retiring on June 30, 2010. Through his leadership and vision LOUIS has undoubtedly become the center of information resources for academics in Louisiana.

Beginning with the automation of four university library catalogs, LOUIS has since automated over 29 libraries across the state. By 1994, the network began contracting with publishers and vendors to provide a diverse array of databases, electronic resources, and full-text books and journals to libraries. According to LOUIS' 2009-2010 Annual Report (link removed) the network provided subscriptions to 77 different electronic resource packages with and an average of 72,000 electronic journal and book titles.² LOUIS also has added services such as ILLiad Interlibrary Loan, LOUISiana Digital Library among others, while it continues to maintain the central automated system SirsiDynix and the LOUISiana Union Catalog. Member libraries are able to subscribe to a wide range of resources and services at a discounted rate including many resources that could not be afforded without the consortium.

LSU Health Sciences Center Libraries have been a part of the LOUIS Library Network since 1997. LOUIS resources are available from the Library's web page (link removed) and catalog (link removed). Some of our subscriptions include the following:

ISI Web of Knowledge/Web of Science

Science Citation Abstracts

Social Science Citation Abstracts

Journal Citation Reports

Annual Reviews Biomedical Suite

APA PsycARTICLES

EBSCOhost and EBSCO A-to-Z

CINAHL Plus with Full Text

Medline

Mental Measurements Yearbook

Biological Abstracts

PSCYinfo

Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection

SocINDEX with Full Text

AltHealthWatch

Environment Index

Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition

Academic Search Complete

ERIC

Newspaper Source

Until recently, primary funding for LOUIS was provided by the Board of Regents with the remainder supported by member libraries and grant monies. As of July 2010 the Board of Regents cut funding (link removed) for LOUIS. The Board has provided the network with enough funds to carry subscriptions through August 2010. Member libraries have rallied to make up as much of the almost 2.7 million dollar deficit as possible, but in the Louisiana's current recession the future of LOUIS is uncertain.

References:
1. LOUIS, the Louisiana Library Network [Internet]. [cited 26 Aug 2010]. http://appl003.lsu.edu/ocsweb/louishome.nsf/index/ (link removed).

2. LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network 2009-2010 Annual Report To The Louisiana Board of Regents July 2010. LOUIS; 2010. [Internet]. [cited 26 Aug 2010]. http://appl003.lsu.edu/ocsweb/louishome.nsf/$Content/LLN+Reports/$File/BoR%20report%202009-2010.pdf (link removed).

-- Marlene Bishop (link removed) and Hanna Kwasik (link removed)