Valerie Florance

The Reagan administration and health information: A summary of trends

A partir de lexemple de linformation medicale, les tendances actuelles de la politique de production et de diffusion des informations scientifiques et techniques des Etats-Unis, au niveau gouvernemental, sont decrites de facon critique. Des indications sont donnees pour lamelioration des reseaux de diffusion de linformation

Presidential policy and information dissemination: An analysis of the Reagan moratorium on government publishing

Abstract In 1981, President Reagan declared a moratorium on the production of new government-financed pamphlets, periodicals, and audiovisuals. This study examines the impact of that action on the format and content of printed publications, issued during the freeze, by the Department of Health and Human Services. Analysis of those publications distributed to Government Printing Office depository libraries during the moratorium reflected: (1) no significant reduction in the number of documents produced, (2) a shift toward smaller, less-costly print formats, and (3) no significant reduction in the release of publicity/advertising materials. Changes observed in the quantity, format, and content of Department of Health and Human Services publications issued during the moratorium were not those expected given the presidential guidelines.

MEDOC: An Index for the Health Sciences

Abstract MEDOC is an index to U.S. government documents in the health sciences which has been produced at the Eccles Health Sciences Library for over a decade. The necessity for such an index and its development from an in-house catalog into a self-supporting subscription service is discussed. The application of computer technology in the production of the index is described. A detailed description of the factors which influenced the design of the current version of MEDOC is presented. The article concludes with a description of management concerns, including the development of a system for maintaining subscriber records.

Government publications and health sciences libraries

Abstract The first of a pair of columns describing access to U.S. government publications in health sciences libraries, this article profiles existing documents collections in academic health sciences libraries. The inclusion of government publications in standard health science library reference tools is discussed, and comparisons are made to more general indexes to government publications.

Government documents in medical libraries

Abstract A profile of government publications in academic health sciences libraries was initiated in this column in 1984 [1]. This article will conclude that profile by discussing in more detail the access and control problems faced by medical libraries. When the Eccles Health Sciences Library at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, became a depository in 1970, it was decided to create a printed catalog of government documents for the use of the reference staff and patrons. Ten years of tinkering and two grants later, that local catalog has blossomed into MEDOC: Index to U.S. Government Publications in the Medical and Health Sciences [2]. Four subscriber surveys undertaken by the MEDOC staff during that time have produced some interesting data on ways medical libraries deal, or dont deal, with their government documents. Figures quoted in the remainder of this article are drawn primarily from those surveys.