NN/LM PNR SUPPLEMENT: Results of National Health Library Internet Survey

[NNLM PNR]

[CALL FOR QUICK FEEDBACK:  Your RML will be discussing Internet
connectivity issues with NLM and the other RMLs next week.  If you have a
response to the following two items do let us know that quickly.  You can
forward you response to the HLIB-NW list <hlib at u.washington.edu> if you
want to share it widely or to the RML inbox at <nnlm at u.washington.edu>.]

If you have ideas about ways of encouraging Internet connectivity either
in health libraries or to health care professionals, we encourage you to
share those with us and your colleagues.

If you used an approach or an argument that was successful in convincing
your management to get you connected, we encourage you to share those
stories with us and your (not yet fully connected) colleagues.  Knowing
what works in your environments will help us be better advocates for you.

Library staff throughout our region answered questions about library
Internet access last spring for a National Network of Libraries of
Medicine survey. Nationally there were 3,499 respondents. The survey was
sent to all 276 network members in our region, 227 of whom responded.  A
brief summary of results follows. For more complete survey results, feel
free to contact us at the RML.

Institution Type	Libraries with an Internet Connection
			 Pacific Northwest	Nationally
 Academic			97%		96%
 Hospital			81%		73%
 Other				93%		89%

TOTAL				85%		79%

A predecessor survey done in 1993 showed that 24% of network member
hospital libraries were connected nationally, compared to 73% four years
later.  Obviously, great progress has been made but there is still a way
to go before the Internet is a ubiquitous utility in hospital libraries.

Staff of hospital libraries not currently connected (29 network members in
this region) were asked to rank barriers to Internet connectivity; in the
Pacific Northwest the barriers were ranked in this order, with the most
serious first: 

 Level of management support
 Availability of in-house technical expertise
 Cost of computer hardware
 Cost of staff training and education
 Long-distance charges
 Capabilities of local phone service


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The Supplement is the newsletter of the National Network of Libraries of
Medicine, Pacific Northwest Region. Produced by NN/LM PNR, under NLM
Contract N01-LM-6-3520.  Nancy Press, Editor, pressno at u.washington.edu. 
Michael Boer, Publication Manager, boerm at u.washington.edu. The Supplement
is transmitted by e-mail via HLIB-NW and PNRNews.

Previous issues of the Supplement are available on the World Wide Web at: 
        http://www.nnlm.nlm.nih.gov/pnr/supp/

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