Aida FarhaMedical Librarian

Saab Medical Library

August 18, 2014

Libraries @ AUBNew faculty orientation

"Half of what you are taught as medical students will in 10 years have been shown to be wrong. And the trouble is none of your teachers knows which half"

Dr. Sydney Burwell [1956]

Tsunami of Information… • Scholarly Literature

doubles every 3-5 years.

• 6500 medical articles

published/day

• >120,000 STM journals.

AUB LibrariesJafet Library (Arts, Humanities, Social

Sciences)

Saab Medical Library (SML)

Engineering and Architecture Library

Science and Agriculture LibraryFarm Library

AUB Libraries embrace the mission of the University in supporting excellence in education & research and in serving the peoples of the Middle East and beyond.

Academic / Research LibraryOne of the largest academic/research libraries in the Arab world:

Budget: one of the largest in Arab world and larger than most institutions of the same size in the U.S.

Staff: among the largest in Arab world25 librarians with MS in library or

information science (some with PhD or a second master degree)

10 assistants to the librarians55 support staff plus student

assistants

Libraries @ AUB

As a Physical Facility

Group-study rooms / Study carrels / Computer Labs.

Renovation plans…Jafet Regular Hours:

Mon-Fri 7:30 am - midnight Sat 8:00 am - 8:00 pm Sun 12:00 pm – midnight

106.5 hrs/week …. 24/7 during reading/exams periods Summer: Jafet/SML close at 9:00 pm Science/Engineering at 3:00 pm

Collection in NumbersOver 1.3 million volumes of print and electronic

monographs and periodicalsOver 140,000 print and electronic journals & conference

proceedingsOver 300 databases and hundreds of major reference

worksSubstantial number of local/regional journals, newspapers,

and magazines going back to the late 19th century1,400 manuscripts (some appraised as museum pieces)

and a growing collection of rare books2,000 maps and 50,000 photographs of unique/historical

natureMissionaries papers; art and political posters, and papers

by famous scholars, musicians and artists: e.g. Zaki Nassif…

And open to suggestions from Faculty!

Item Type in 2009 in 2014Print books purchased 8,000 20,000

Databases* 90 300

Major Reference Works

100 500

eBooks (ownership) 15,000 500,000

Journal packages 14 50

eJournals (access) 49,000 140,000

Journal dig. arch. (# vols)

14,000 400,000

Journal subscriptions 2,643 5,780

Newspapers (Mic. to E)**

0 20

Primary Sources (DBs) 0 25

*New databases: expensive, high quality, core titles (e.g., PAO, PQ Central, WoS).**Examples: Economist, Financial Times, Jerusalem Post, NYT, Times, WSJ, Washington Post.

Collection: Past vs. Present

Services for Faculty … (1 of 3)

Borrowing, renewing and returning books:Up to 100 items for a loan period of one

yearOnline renewalBorrowing by proxy Books can be returned to any libraryRecalling books

Ordering new books:Online formAutomated tracking/notification system

Ordering journals/databases:Serials and Electronic Resources Librarian

Services for Faculty … (2

of 3)

Ordering articles/research material:Document Delivery and Interlibrary Loan

Services (worldwide)

Identifying new acquisitions

E-Reserve or Print Reserve:Contact Circulation Staff

libreserve@aub.edu.lb

Subject Specialist Librarians give course-integrated classes or create customized research guides and act as liaisons between the Library and the AUB Faculties

Services for Faculty … (3 of 3)

Instruction one-to-one:Library TourIdentify resources relevant to your needs

Learn about the quality of the journals and conference proceedings

Know who/which papers cited your work

Citation Management Tools training Create targeted current awarenessGet help with research at the Reference Desk

In summary, we are professional information specialists that are here to satisfy your information needs

Services for YOUR Students

Instructions either one-to-one or for a group/class

Customized sessions to suit your curricular needs

Thesis clinicsSML’s 2-credit hours course (IDTH 301)Last year: 500 sessions for 8,000 students Carrels for your graduate students and

research associatesE-Classroom

Technology @AUB Libraries

Wireless Internet connectionFour computer labs with 120 state-of-the-

art PCsNetworked printing and photocopying

servicesRemote access available for the great

majority of online resourcesComputer technicians are available in the

libraries during regular hours for troubleshooting (24 hours help desk by phone)

Current & Future PlansUpgrade the E-Classroom and renovate SMLCreate 2 study rooms (increase seating capacity

to 1,000)Redesign the libraries’ homepages (ASC, Jafet,

and SML)Populate AUB Scholar Works repository with AUB

student and faculty publicationsIndex and digitize major Arabic newspapers,

magazines, and journalsDigitize all of the Libraries’ 1,400 manuscriptsDigitize all of the Libraries’ 10,000 pre-1956

Arabic booksOpen for YOUR Suggestions

http://medlineplus.gov