Library Services and Resources for COCA Members
By Jane Ryan Library Manager, RACGP

COCA members have access to a growing range of electronic resources and information services through the RACGP John Murtagh Library, including an electronic current awareness service, e-journals, e-books, audio downloads, and an evidence based point of care resource. Other services such as literature searches, document delivery and distance borrowing are available to COCA members on a discounted fee-for-service basis.

electronic current awareness service (eTOC Service)
The monthly current awareness service, also known as the electronic Table of Contents or eTOC service, is available to all COCA members who choose this option when registering for access to the Library. The contents pages of specially selected journal titles, currently available to the Library in full text, are emailed each month. The titles currently included are:

• American Family Physician
• Annals of Internal Medicine
• Journal of Hand Surgery
• Journal of Nutrition
• Journal of Rehabilitation
• Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development
• Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association
• JAMA
• Lancet
• Nutrition in Clinical Practice
• Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• Occupational Health & Safety
• Occupational Medicine
• Pediatrics
• Physiotherapy Research International

e-journals
COCA members can access the full text of any articles on the eTOC printouts in which they are interested via the Library’s online journal databases (login to the RACGP website is necessary, using the username and password allocated at registration). A “Publication Search” can be performed by entering the required journal title in the search box, selecting the appropriate issue, scrolling through the articles and choosing a suitable format from the options given. Articles can then be either printed or emailed to user’s email address.

COCA members can also perform subject searches across over 1000 leading health and medical journals contained in the full text ProQuest databases using the easy to use search engine. Alternatively searches can be performed using PubMed’s more sophisticated search engine and by opening a link between the Library’s customised version of PubMed and the ProQuest databases direct access to many thousands of the full text articles is enabled.

Other online journal content is available in the form of a collection of searchable Australasian databases including AusportMed, ATSIHealth, Health & Society and the full text Meditext database which provides access to articles from more than 100 of the indexed journals.

Recently the Library added a further package of e-journals to its web-based resources giving users direct access to over 40 Oxford University Press journal titles including British Medical Bulletin, Occupational Medicine, Rheumatology, Family Practice and British Journal of Anaesthesia. Each journal title is searchable by author, title or subject and a free emailed alerting service can be requested by anyone registering for a free account. To access the Oxford University Press journals collection login to the College website and go to: www.racgp.org.au/library/oxfordjournals.

ebooks
COCA members can also access the Library’s collection of electronic books, or ebooks. In order to fully access the ebook collection users need to be logged in to the College website and then create their own personal netLibrary account. Details of how to register, create accounts and use netLibrary can be found on the RACGP website. Titles available include titles such as Statistics at Square Two: Understanding Modern Statistical Applications by MJ Campbell and Evidence Based Sports Medicine edited by D MacAuley and Tom M Best. A full list of titles can be found on the website and all titles have been added to the Library’s web based catalogue.

Because an ebook is a digital file each is fully text searchable users are able to search for words or phrases within one ebook or across all the ebooks in the collection to locate quickly the information needed. Additional features include an embedded dictionary which includes audio pronunciation; an ebookshelf which allows users to return to favourite titles; and a notes area which enables text specific notes to be saved for future use. Pages may be copied or printed within limits set by the copyright protection software.

Users have a number of options for viewing the ebooks, the most popular being:

• Browsing: The full text of an ebook may be browsed for approximately 15 minutes without logging on or checking out the ebook; if a period of inactivity is detected the system’s software withdraws access, otherwise a further session is allowed.
• Borrowing (Checkout): ebooks can be borrowed or checked out and read online. When the check out time expires the ebook is automatically ‘returned’ to the Library. The checkout period is set across the entire collection and is currently 24 hours but this varies in response to continuously monitored of usage levels and user feedback.

For more information and access to the netLibrary collection go to: www.racgp.org.au/library/netlibrary.

Audio downloads
A recently introduced section on the website gives users access to a number of PDA and audio downloads including two titles of a popular audio journal Audio Digest Family Practice (weekly) and Audio Digest Pediatrics (fortnightly). Go to www.racgp.org.au/library/downloads for more information and access to these new resources.

Evidence based point of care resource – DynaMed
The Library is offering access to an innovative new evidence based resource, DynaMed, via a trial subscription until April 2008. DynaMed is aimed at supporting health professionals’ decision making within the consultation or during delivery of care. DynaMed covers nearly 2,000 clinical topics and is updated daily. A systematic 7-step methodology is used for evidence inclusion and the summaries of evidence focus on patient-oriented outcomes and absolute risks. Evidence summaries include links to references in PubMed and printable, full text patient information. For further information and access to DynaMed login to the website and go to: www.racgp.org.au/library/dynamed.

COCA members requiring help to access the Library’s resources can contact the Library on (03) 8699 0519 or library@racgp.org.au - the library staff are happy to assist. To register as a library user go to: www.coca.com.au/endorsements/racgp.asp.