Mediated Searches

In the past several years, the LSUHSC Library has made every effort to provide our users with computerized access to the bibliographic and full-text resources that are needed for research, study, and patient care. We also provide instruction in how to access and to effectively use these resources.

You may not be aware that the reference librarians are available to do literature searches for faculty, staff, and students. We can provide advice about which databases are the most appropriate for your question (everything is not in MEDLINE). We can offer guidance in the use of the best terminology and how concepts can be combined. Or, we can actually do the search for you.

Before user-friendly interfaces were developed, only thoroughly trained librarians were allowed access to the databases that are now widely available to everyone. The only way to get a literature search was to have the librarian run one for you. The librarians became very skilled in manipulating the databases to get the maximum number of relevant citations without retrieving too many irrelevant ones.

Won't you he'p us? (as Gov. McKeithen used to say). If you are not satisfied with the results you get searching on your own, please call us or send us an e-mail. We can consult with you over the phone to help you to devise a satisfactory search strategy or we can discuss your needs and then run the search ourselves and send you the resulting bibliography. Search results can be provided in different formats: paper or electronic (email or on disk).

There is no charge for mediated searches for LSUHSC faculty, staff, or students (in good standing, of course) unless we have to access resources that are not part of Ovid or LOUIS. If access to additional databases is required, any fees accrued by the Library are passed on to the patron.

Reference librarians can be reached at (504) 568-6102 and 568-8339. On the Dental Campus call (504) 619-8507 or 619-8550. Our e-mail addresses are linked from the Library's web page: http://www.lsuhsc.edu/no/library/staff.html link removed The Dental Library staff can be reached from their web page: http://www.lsusd.lsumc.edu/libr/ link removed.

-- Mary L. Marix
mmarix@lsuhsc.edu link removed