E-library to give students access to medical journals

NAGPUR: The libraries of government-run medical and dental colleges in the state will soon have access to some of the most prestigious medical journals of the world. Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) has taken the initiative to enhance medical education in these institutes and give impetus to research. The step also aims meeting the needs of the electronic age.

Librarian Seema Vyas of city's Government Medical College and Hospital has been chosen as the coordinator for the project named e-library consortium. Seven of the most reputed medical journals of the world, including British Medical Journal and online research database ProQuest, have already agreed to be a part of the consortium. This consortium will give students access to the best electronic resources. DMER has invested 1.25 crore to purchase the rights for use of these websites.

"Along with postgraduate students from the 14 medical and three dental colleges of the state, students from seven nursing colleges and two physiotherapy colleges would also benefit," said DMER director Dr Pravin Shingare. Librarians from all colleges have been trained through workshops, and all colleges have been given their own user IDs and password to access them.

"This will be of great help to around 14,000 postgraduate students in writing their dissertations and completing other projects," he added.

"If we were to buy hard copies of these journals for all colleges, it would have cost the state a huge amount. The number of copies would also have been too less to help all the students equally. These sites, however, can be accessed via laptops, phones or tablets anywhere in the campus," explained Seema Vyas.

With this, Maharashtra would become one of the few states where such a service is available to students. DMER officials feel that it would go a long way in helping doctors, medical teachers and students to get a wider perspective for their research.

"Doctors grappling with a particularly difficult disease can always browse through the journals about research done on the subject earlier. Those engaged in research can also go through what has already been worked on, making sharing of resources among peers from different colleges easier," added Vyas. She said there are plans to make e-books of courses available through the colleges by next year as well.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/E-library-to-give-students-access-to-medical-journals/articleshow/13074674.cms