ITM Library Newsletter 2015

2014 saw the loss of a number of valuable library resources. Especially the loss of the Cebam Digital Library of Health substantially diminished our online journals collection. We also had to take leave of CABI‘s Global Health and Veterinary Science databases, fine but increasingly expensive complements to PubMed and ISI Web of Knowledge. The unforeseen bankruptcy of two of our major books and journals providers  also gave us some continuity complications, but these have by now been taken care of. The reduction of the library budget, combined with the steep increase of dollar and pound, will become a hard challenge for collection integrity.

On the positive side, the new library website and the DSpace repository TropMed Central Antwerp are in fine shape. The latter now also contains a separate community in which our Alumni can add their own recent publications. The recently added UpToDate platform is highly appreciated by our clinicians. The institutional PURE research platform now contains all ITM publications up to 2013 and is ready to be rolled out starting this May. Institutional archives are being developed further (at a modest pace, with 0,2 FTE manpower) and a brand new central storage room was inaugurated in the Karibu campus. More specific data on collection growth, usage, and document delivery can be found in the ITM Library Annual Report 2014.

ITG library databases have recently been fully updated at https://lib.itg.be/literature/databases.php . The full library catalog of printed and (over 2,800) online books is now also fully integrated in our EDS Discovery Service. A new acquisitions list with books obtained in the second half of 2014 is available from https://lib.itg.be/acq14119.htm . The selected tropical medicine related book lists have also been updated: https://lib.itg.be/collection/books/tropical-medicine-books.php .

Together with other ITM (support) services the library managed to obtain ISO 9001 certification. As for external networking VOWB vzw was disolved in 2014, but its main activities are now continued by Elektron vzw (subscriptions consortia) and VVBAD vzw (collaborative projects), the ITM library being full member of both.