Collection Management Policies

Purpose
Language, Geographic & Chronological Coverage
Formats/Types
Selection Criteria
Interdisciplinary Relationships
Cooperative Resource Sharing Relationships
Collecting Levels and Access Notes
Scope Notes

Purpose

The Public Health Library's primary clientele are the faculty, staff, students, and research personnel of the School of Public Health which includes approximately 100 faculty, 250 staff, and 800 graduate students. The School of Public Health is comprised of five departments: Biostatistics, Environmental and Industrial Health, Epidemiology, Health Behavior and Health Education, and Health Management and Policy. The School confers the following degrees: Master of Public Health (MPH), Master of Health Services Administration (MHSA), and Doctor of Public Health (DrPH). The School offers six On Job/On Campus (OJ/OC) programs at the master's level. These programs are aimed at an audience of health professionals who continue to work full-time while pursuing a graduate degree part-time. The School also offers the degrees of Master of Science (MS) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) through the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies. In addition to its primary clientele who receive access to a wide variety of information services, the library is a campus and community-wide resource with its collection and selective services open to all.

This policy describes the subjects and types of material that are of primary importance to the development of the library's collection. The purpose of the policy is not to determine which individual items to acquire or provide access to, but instead to give a general framework within which choices can more easily be made.

The library's focus is on the professional literature which supports the School of Public Health's curriculum, research interests, and outreach programs. The journal literature is considered the most significant record of advances in knowledge and takes precedence over other published forms.

Future developments will reflect an increasing emphasis on access to local and remote resources through electronic means rather than traditional forms of ownership. Some materials will be acquired in electronic format only; funding for these acquisitions will be through the Public Health Library's collection budget as well as by shared arrangements with other institutions. The identification of remote electronic resources and the establishment and maintenance of linkages with these resources will become an integral part of the Public Health Library's collection development activities.

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Language, Geographic, & Chronological Change

Language
Most current book and journal purchases are in English, although the Library does collect some materials in Spanish, particularly World Health Organization (WHO) and Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) publications.

Geography and Country of Origin
The Public Health Library acquires basic research and clinical publications from major publishers in the U.S. and Great Britain as well as from publishers in Australia, Canada, Japan, and countries in Eastern and Western Europe which publish seminal works in English. Textbooks and publications for practitioners are normally purchased only if published in the US.

Date of Publication
The intent is to maintain an up-to-date research collection; therefore, almost all regular allocations are spent on newly-published material. Books that are more than one or two years old are ordered only if a special request is made, if the content is not out of date, or if they are of lasting historical or reference value.

Publications of conference proceedings held more than a year prior to the current date are acquired only if there is an obvious need.

Retrospective purchases are rarely made unless a major deficiency is identified and an ongoing need for the material exists.

Multiple Copies
Up to three copies of books placed on reserve for courses may be acquired if needed; multiple copies of journals are not acquired.

Replacements Books
in core subject areas, published in the last two or three years, and still in print are generally replaced unless the library owns another copy or a more recent edition.

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Formats/Types

All formats and types are collected except:

Annual reports
Examination review books; study guides
Fiction
Manuals
Models
Programmed texts
Reprints
Translations of current monographs or journals

Some formats are selectively collected. These include:

Archival materials and publications of local historical importance
Atlases
Audiovisual programs
Biographies and autobiographies
Conference proceedings and symposia - Consider sponsoring organization, breadth of topic, publisher, and time from meeting to publication.
Dissertations Non-U of M) - As requested by primary clientele, if the topic falls within collection policy guidelines and if requester's research is not subsidized by alternate sources such as grant funds. [Note: U of M Dissertations are collected by the Graduate Library.]
Electronic publications - May include core bibliographic and selected secondary resources for the health sciences; high-use core journals, standard handbooks, and manuals; required textbooks for U of M courses; and "classic" texts in the subspecialties.
Faculty publications
Government documents - Includes both depository and non-depository documents.
Health education and patient education information
Pamphlets
Popular works - May include high-quality, reviewed materials on consumer health.
Syllabi, course evaluations, and course outlines
Technical reports - Individual reports as requested by primary clientele, if the topic falls within collection policy guidelines.
Textbooks - Consider if of reference value or in support of current teaching programs.

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Selection Criteria

Factors considered are the following:

Bibliographic access - Availability through indexing in secondary sources is of major importance.
Cost
Need
Quality - Determined in part by reputation of authors or editors, institutional affiliation, relationship to professional society, up-to-date references, and clarity of illustrations or micrographs.
Readership
Subject scope and centrality
Type of publication:
1. REVIEWS; SUMMARIES - Rarely more than one in any field.
2. Those broader in scope are preferred.
3. NEWSLETTERS - Rarely acquired.
4. JOURNAL BACKFILES - Acquire from first volume if in publication only for a year or two. If not a new journal, judgments are made based on demand for the journal, availability from other sources, and cost of the volumes. If another copy is available elsewhere on campus, duplicate backfiles are not acquired.
Use or potential use

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Interdisciplinary Relationships

[also University Library Policy Statement]

The Public Health Library is a divisional library within the University Library system. It is part of the Health Sciences Cluster which also includes the Taubman Medical and Dentistry Libraries. These libraries work closely together to coordinate collection development, especially in areas of overlapping interest.

Other units within the University Library System have related collections. Duplication between libraries, especially journal subscriptions, is minimized but not avoided altogether. Important and heavily used titles may be found in more than one location.

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Cooperative Resource Sharing Relationships

The National Network of Libraries of Medicine
The National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) program is intended to provide health sciences practitioners, investigators, educators, and administrators in the United States with timely, convenient access to health care and biomedical information resources. The program is coordinated by the National Library of Medicine and is carried out through a nationwide network of more than 3,000 health sciences libraries and information centers. The network includes eight regional medical libraries. The Health Sciences Cluster is a component of the Greater Midwest Region (Region 3) of the NN/LM. Through this network the Cluster has access to the holdings of medical libraries throughout the country. A union list of monographs and audiovisuals for Region 3 provides information for borrowing books not available within the Cluster. Both regional and national union lists of serials give locations for periodicals in the health sciences. A well- established communications network, DOCLINE, makes borrowing among health sciences libraries efficient.

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Collecting Levels and Access Notes

The Public Health Library Collection encompasses the professional literature on public health, a community-focused, multidisciplinary field, which can be defined as the science, practice, and philosophy of preventing the occurrence and severity of disease and injury, promoting healthy lifestyles and behaviors, protecting the environment, and providing access to health care through policy development. Core areas of collection include: health services research, environmental and industrial health, maternal and child health care, health behavior and education, occupational health, nutrition, community health programs, international health, epidemiology, and biostatistics. The library is noted for its extensive collection of publications from the US Department of Health and Human Services, the World Health Organization, and the Pan American Health Organization. Some disciplines, that are generally out of scope or peripherally related, may have aspects or applications that pertain to core subject areas such as medicine, law, business, social work, engineering, and psychology. Only those individual items that are directly related to core areas are acquired.

Definitions of Collecting Levels

Coverage pertains to the depth of the collection, that is, the degree to which materials in various subject areas are acquired. This collection policy uses the codes and definitions for collecting levels that were developed by the Research Libraries Group (RLG) and subsequently adopted by the Association for Research Libraries.

There are five collecting levels:

C = Comprehensive Level
A collection in which the library endeavors, insofar as possible, to include all significant works of recorded knowledge in all applicable languages for a defined and limited field. The level of collecting intensity are sufficiently broad to indicate a national resource for the subject. The aim, if not the achievement, being exhaustive coverage of the field to serve as a national and international resource for scholars.

R = Research Level
A collection which contains the major published source materials required for dissertations and independent research, including specialized reference tools, conference proceedings, professional society publications, technical reports, government documents, multiple editions of most textbooks and monographs, including a significant number of titles pertinent to the subject in a recognized "standard" bibliography, an extensive collection of periodicals, including at least 65 percent of the titles pertinent to the subject which are included in List of Serials Indexed for Online Users. English language materials predominate, but the collection also contains important materials in other languages. Older or superseded materials are usually retained for historical research.

I = Instructional Support Level
A selective collection which is adequate to support undergraduate and most graduate instruction, sustained independent study within a curriculum, and health care in a hospital or clinical setting; that is, a collection which is adequate to support campus instruction but with less depth than might be required to support in-depth research. It includes the subject's major reference tools, significant indexing and abstracting services including access to information resources via electronic networks, a broad selection of major textbooks and monographs, and a wide range of basic periodicals, including at least 25 percent of the titles pertinent to the subject which are included in List of Serials Indexed for Online Users.

B = Basic Level
A highly selective collection which serves to introduce and define a subject and to indicate the varieties of information available elsewhere. It includes major dictionaries and encyclopedias, historical surveys, bibliographies, and handbooks. It contains selected editions of textbooks and monographs and the periodicals cited in the Brandon-Hill list.

M = Minimal Level
A collection in which very few selections are made beyond very basic reference tools, i.e.a representative textbook, a single dictionary, and a single periodical subscription.

Abbreviations

DC - Document Center	PSCL - Population Studies Center Library
DL - Dentistry Library	SL - Science Library
GL - Graduate Library	SPH - School of Public Health
LL - Law Library	SW - Social Work Library
MUL - Media Union Library	TML - Taubman Medical Library
ML - Museums Library

Specific Subfields

Subject	Collecting Level	Related Collection
AIDS	R	GL, SW, TML
Air Pollution	I ; goal = R
Alcoholism	I	DL, GL, SW, TML
Ambulatory Care	B; goal = I
Alternative Medicine	B	ML, TML
Biostatistics	I; goal = R	DL, SL, TML
Breast Cancer	I
Cancer	R	SW, TML
Career Opportunities	B	SPH
Cervical Cancer	I
Chronic Disease	I; goal = R
Clinical Practice Guidelines	B; goal = R
Community Health	I; goal = R	GL
Demography	I
Dental Public Health	B; goal = I	DL
Dietary Studies Nutrition Surveys)	R
Dietetics	B
Eating Disorders	B	SW, TML
Environmental Health	R	MUL, SL, TML
Environmental Microbiology	I	MUL, SL
Epidemiology	R
Family Planning	R	GL, SW, TML
Food Safety	I	MUL, SL
Hazardous Substances	I
Health Administration	R
Health Care Reform	R
Health Care Systems - National and International	B; goal= I
Health Economics	R
Health Education and Behavior	R
Health Gerontology	I	GL, SW, TML
Health Insurance	R
Health Personnel	I
Health Policy	R	GL
Health Professions Education/Training	B; goal = I
Health Promotion	I
Health Services	B; goal = I
Health Services Outcomes	New; goal = R
Health Services Research	I; goal = R
Health Statistics	R
History of Public Health	I
Human Populations	R	GL
Immunology	I	TML
Infectious Diseases	I, goal = R	TML
Informatics	New; goal = I	TML
Inpatient Care	B; goal = I
International Health	I
Laboratory Practices	B	TML, SL
Laws, Legislation, and Regulation	I	DC, LL
Long-Term Care	B; goal = I
Maternal and Child Health	I; goal = R
Medicaid	R
Medical Ethics	I	TML
Medical Geography	I
Medical Sociology	I	TML
Medically Undeserved	I; goal = R
Medically Uninsured	I; goal = R
Medicare	R
Mental Health Services	I	GL, SW, TML
Microbiology	B	MUL, SL, TML
Minority Health	I; goal = R
Nutrition	R	GL, TML
Nutritional Biochemistry	I
Occupational Health	R	MUL, SL, TML
Palestinian Public Health	New; goal I
Parasitology	R	SL, TML
Population Planning	I	PSCL
Practice Management	I	DL, TML
Pregnancy Termination	I	SW, TML
Preventive Medicine	R
Public Health	R
Public Health Nursing	M	TML
Public Health in Visual Images and Popular Culture	New; goal I
Radioactive Pollution and Radiological Health	I
Rural Health	I; goal R
Schools of Public Health	B
Smoking	R
STDs	I; goal R
Solid Waste	B; goal I
Substance Abuse and Dependence	R	DL, GL, SW, TML
Toxicology	R	MUL, SL, TML
Tropical Medicine	R	TML
TML	B; goal R
Violence and Abuse Behavior	B; goal I	SW
Virology	I; goal R	SL, TML
Vital Statistics	R
Water Fluoridation	New; goal I	DL
Water Pollution	R
Women's Health	I; goal R

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Collection Scope Notes:

Abbreviations

PHL - Public Health Library
SPH - School of Public Health
TML - Taubman Medical Library

Alternative Medicine - (B)

Systems of therapeutics that differ from orthodox medical care.

Selective coverage of health-related beliefs from other cultures, cross-cultural comparisons, descriptions of primitive medical systems, and alternative medical practices.

RELATED COLLECTIONS:

TML collects at the basic level. Museums Library collects ethnobotany.

Biostatistics - [biometrics; biometry] (I; goal R)

The application of statistical processes and methods to the analysis of biological data.

PHL has the primary collection of statistical methods applied to the health sciences. Collects works on the design and analysis of health research and on the application of statistics in the planning and/or evaluation of health services. Collection includes reference works and some basic math and statistical textbooks. Manuals for statistical programs used by SPH Faculty and related materials are also collected.

See Health Statistics for the results of biostatistical analysis.

RELATED COLLECTIONS:

TML and Dentistry collect at the instructional level. Science Library collects mathematics, statistics, and biostatistics applied to non-health related disciplines.

Career Opportunities - (B)

Resources to assist clients in their career choices and development, including writing resumes and locating employment, grant, and publishing opportunities.

PHL collects information on health careers and opportunities as well as information on resume writing, grants, and publishing. See also Schools of Public Health for information on internships and fellowships.

RELATED COLLECTIONS:

SPH Office of Academic and Professional Services, 3537 SPH I.

Community-based Public Health - (New; goal R)

Community Health - (I; goal R)

Activities and programs intended to improve the health status of a specified community.

PHL maintains the primary collection on community health for both U.S. and world-wide program coverage. Also collected are reports and evaluations of existing programs as well as programs provided through the World Health Organization.

RELATED COLLECTIONS:

Graduate Library collects both rural and urban community health practices of international countries.

Rural Health - (I; goal R)

Health care available in remote areas of the U.S. is usually emergency care or primary care delivered by a general practice/family practice, osteopathic, or internal medicine physician, or by physician assistants, nurse practitioners, EMTs, or paramedics. The patient is stabilized until being transported to advanced secondary or tertiary care facilities located in larger population centers.

PHL has the primary collection for U.S. rural health care. Also collected are materials on rural health services, elderly health care, medically underserved, telemedicine, and remote practice and delivery of care issues.

RELATED COLLECTIONS:

Urban Health - (B; goal R)

Pertains to health care services and facilities available in cities or developed areas in contrast to those available in rural areas.

PHL collects materials examining the delivery of health care to various metropolitan populations, including maternal and child health, poor, medically uninsured, etc.

Comparative Health Systems - See Health Care Systems--National and International

Dental Public Health - (B; goal I)

A dental specialty involving the control and prevention of dental disease and the promotion of oral health through organized community efforts. The focus of treatment is the community rather than the individual patient.

PHL selectively purchases materials which support the teaching and research activities of the Dental Public Health Program. For example, materials on the dental health of populations and fluoridation programs, community dental services, and preventive dentistry. Also collects selective dental health textbooks.

RELATED COLLECTIONS:

Primary collection is at Dentistry Library.

Water Fluoridation - (New; goal I)

The addition of fluorides to drinking water as a measure to reduce the incidence of dental caries.

PHL will collect materials concerning water fluoridation in the areas of prevention of dental caries, program administration and policy, and studies and evaluation to support the teaching and research activities of the Dental Public Health Program.

RELATED COLLECTIONS:

Dentistry.

Eating Disorders - (B)

Collective term for anorexia nervosa, bulimia, bulimarexia, and compulsive eating.

PHL collects selective textbooks, handbooks, and directories.

Related collections:

TML maintains the primary collection on eating disorders. This topic is also collected by Social Work.

Environmental Health - (R)

The effect of the environment on human health, and the prevention of illness and injury resulting from humankind's influence on the environment.

PHL houses the primary collection on environmental health. Emphasis of the collection is on health risk assessment, environmental health management, and the effects of the natural environment, air pollution, water pollution, chemical and radioactive pollution on human health. Includes general works on environmental policy, and the impact of technology, society and population movements on the environment. Collects national and international standards.

See also Laws, Legislation and Regulations, and Toxicology.

Air Pollution - (I; goal R)

PHL collects works on the effects of air pollution on human health. Includes works on air quality management, analysis, measurement, and control of air quality, indoor air pollution, air sampling and ventilation, "sick buildings," Legionnaires. Also includes some works on the physiological effects of air pollution.

Radioactive Pollution and Radiological Health - (I)

PHL collects works on the effects of radioactive pollution on human populations and works on the promotion and maintenance of health through the prevention of radiation illness or injury. Topics of interest include radon, radiation dosimetry, electromagnetic fields, extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic fields, health physics, radiation protection, radiation carcinogenesis, radionuclide carcinogenesis, environmental radionuclides, health effects of non-ionizing radiation, the measurement, evaluation and control of radiation in the work place and the environment. Selects a few general works on radiobiology, radiation genetics and radiation injuries.

See Food Safety for food irradiation.

Solid Waste - (B; goal I)

The effects of solid waste disposal on human health are collected at PHL. This is an area of growing interest in the field of environmental health. Includes material on community collection of solid waste and disposal of industrial, medical, and hazardous waste. Collects selectively on the technology of waste disposal.

Water Pollution - (R)

PHL collects works on water quality and the effects of water pollution on human health. Includes water quality, drinking water, water supply and water quality management. Collects some basic works on water analysis and purification, wastewater, sewage disposal and purification, water reuse. Selects a few basic reference works on aquatic ecology, and the effects of pollution on the aquatic community.

RELATED COLLECTIONS:

The Engineering Library has the primary collection on waste disposal. It also collects industrial waste, the technology of pollution prevention and control, and radiation injuries. The Science Library collects works on the effects of pollution on natural resources, soil, vegetation and animal life, and radiobiology. TML collects radiology, radiation oncology, and the treatment of radiation injuries.

Environmental Microbiology - (I)

The study of the effects of microorganisms on the environment.

PHL collects works on bio-pollutants in the air, water, soil, solid waste, and sewage that affect human health. Also collected are works on bioremediation--the contributions of microorganisms and/or nutrients to assist in biodegradation (ex.: bacteria that degrade oil slicks or pesticide residues). Selects a few basic works on industrial and sanitary microbiology.

See also Career Opportunities.

Practice Management - (I)

Application of management principles to the administration of individual or group practice. PHL collects theory, administration, and economics of practice management.

RELATED COLLECTIONS:

Dentistry has the primary collection on dental practice management. TML collects materials on establishing or evaluating the business aspect of clinical practice in the U.S.

Health Care Systems--National and International - (B; goal I)

The network of organizations and individuals who provide health services in a defined geographic area. (National health care system: a health program in which a national government directly operates a health system that serves some or all of its citizens. "National health care system" and "national health insurance" are not synonymous; the latter refers to programs in which the government insures or arranges financing for health care without directly owning or operating a health care program. International health care system: a health program which provides an entire population with complete medical care through government subsidization and regulation of medical and health services.)

PHL collects materials on the policies and delivery of health care by national health systems world-wide. Also includes comparative information.

Health Economics - (R)

The branch of the social sciences that studies the provision of health care services, both their delivery and use, with special attention to quantifying the demands and costs of services and the benefits obtained. More emphasis is given to the impact of health care services to a population than to individuals. PHL maintains a collection on U.S. and world-wide health care costs and control, cost-benefit analysis, financial administration and management, and public policy.

Health Education and Behavior - (R)

A process designed to increase the ability of individuals and the general population to make informed decisions affecting their personal, family, and community well-being. The following activities are included: inform and educate people about health, illness, disability, and ways in which they can improve and protect their own health such as more efficient use of the delivery system; motivate people to change to more healthful behaviors; help individuals learn the necessary skills to adopt and maintain healthful practices and lifestyles; foster teaching and communication skills in all those involved in instructing consumers about health; advocate changes in the environment that facilitate healthful conditions and healthful behavior; add to the knowledge and research base concerning the most effective methods of achieving health goals.

PHL collects materials that discuss change in behavior as it relates to health and behavioral risk factors--such as smoking, weight gain, substance abuse, etc. Materials covering theory, research and practice of behavior therapy, psychology of health, health attitudes, health education, health behavior, patient compliance, and sex behavior.

Health Gerontology - (I)

The study of the sociological, psychological, health, and biological aspects of aging. SPH offers a Master of Public Health in Health Gerontology.

PHL maintains the primary collection on health gerontology which includes: health promotion, disease prevention, chronic disease control, mental health, rehabilitative care, self-care, and community health services for the aged. Also, demographic trends; health policy, planning, management and evaluation of elder health; institutional and non-institutional long-term care and services for older persons. PHL also maintains a basic collection on geriatrics.

RELATED COLLECTIONS:

Social Work collects social welfare, social services, and housing for the aging. Graduate Library collects the psychology of aging, employment, retirement, and social security. TML has a research collection supporting the biology of aging and the diagnosis and treatment of disease in the aged.

Health Insurance - (R)

Insurance against loss by disease or accidental bodily injury. Usually covers some of the medical costs of treating the disease or injury, may cover other losses associated with them such as loss of present or future earnings, and may be either individual or group insurance.

Materials on Medicare/Medicaid, national health policy/insurance, economic aspects of medical care, government issues, legal issues, malpractice/state regulation, medically uninsured, cost containment, fee schedules, diagnostic and procedure codes, reimbursement mechanisms, politics of health insurance, quality assurance and quality control of health care, health policy, and social security.

Medicare - (R)

A federal program administered under HCFA (Health Care Financing Administration) that reimburses hospitals and physicians for health care provided to qualifying people aged 65 years and older, persons eligible for Social Security disability payments for at least two years, and certain workers and their dependents who need kidney transplantation or dialysis. The program was enacted July 30, 1965 as Title XVIII of the Social Security Act and became effective on July 1, 1966. It consists of two separate but coordinated programs: hospital insurance (Part A) and supplementary medical insurance (Part B).

PHL collects government policy and regulations, organization and administration, program reports, trends and statistics, reimbursement and economics, and current issues, such as reform.

Medicaid - (R)

A program jointly funded by the states and federal government which reimburses hospitals and physicians for providing care to needy and low-income individuals who cannot finance their own medical expenses; specific categories include the aged, the blind, the disabled, and members of families with dependent children where one parent is absent, incapacitated, or unemployed. Authorized by Title XIX of the Social Security Act, Medicaid eligibility includes a means test. It is the main source of public assistance for nursing home costs. Subject to broad federal guidelines, states determine the benefits covered, program eligibility, rates of payment for providers, and methods of administering the program.

PHL collects federal and state (specifically Michigan) policy and regulations, organization and administration, program reports, trends and statistics, and economics of all areas of Medicaid--the aged, the blind, the disabled, nursing homes, aid to dependent children, incapacitated, and unemployed.

Medically Uninsured - (I; goal R)

Individuals who are capable of sustaining themselves financially and are able to pay for the basic costs of living but are unable to afford medical expenses or to buy health insurance.

PHL selects materials on legislation and policy, organization and administration of accessibility, and economic availability.

Health Policy [medical policy] - (R)

A statement of a decision regarding a goal in health care and a plan for achieving that goal.

PHL has the primary collection in health policy. The emphasis of the collection is on the U.S. federal government's health policy, but also collect works on health policy in other nations and at the local, state and international levels. Health politics and the health policies of political parties and non-governmental organizations should be included. Collect works on proposed health policies or proposed changes to existing health policies. Scholarly works representing the whole spectrum of viewpoints should be collected. Works comparing health policies over time or in different locations are important. The role of government in health care and health care resource allocation are covered. Effort should be made to acquire current issues ("hot topics") while they are still under debate. Select some works on current topics that affect health care, even if the topic is not directly health related (ex.: welfare reform, environmental policies).

See Laws, Legislation and Regulations for health policies that are in force (that is laws and regulations) Congressional bills and hearings.

See Health Insurance for Medicare, Medicaid and Medigap insurance.

Health Care Reform - (R)

Efforts on the federal, state and local levels to make changes in the health care delivery system so that costs are reduced or contained, the uninsured population is covered, all citizens have access to health care, financing is assured, and quality of care is controlled or improved.

Primary collection is in PHL. Emphasis is on health care reform in the U.S. at both the federal and state levels, but works on health care reform in other industrialized nations are included.

RELATED COLLECTIONS:

Graduate Library collects political science and social policy.

Health Promotion - (I)

Any activity that seeks to improve a person's or population's health by providing information about and increasing awareness of 'at risk' behaviors associated with certain diseases with the intent of reducing those behaviors.

PHL selects materials with an emphasis on change in lifestyles, either individual or community-wide, for maintenance of health. Includes sample surveys and health instruments.

Health Services - (B; goal I)

Medical and health care activities related to the diagnosis, treatment, therapy, and rehabilitation of patients. Also, activities which affect the recovery, health status, and well-being of patients ranging from acute care treatment to chronic disease care to preventive health care.

PHL collects materials on policy, organization and administration, trends and statistics for all health services areas.

Ambulatory Care - (B; goal I)

All types of health services which are provided on an outpatient basis, in contrast to services provided in the home or to persons who are inpatients. While many inpatients may be ambulatory, the term ambulatory care usually implies that the patient has come to a location other than his/her home to receive services and has departed the same day.

Inpatient Care - (B; goal I)

Health services provided to a patient who has been admitted at least overnight to a hospital or other health facility.

Long-Term Care - [nursing homes] (B; goal I)

Health services provided to persons who are chronically ill, aged, disabled, or retarded, in an institution or at home, on a long-term basis.

Health Services Research - (I; goal R)

Research concerned with the organization, financing, administration, and other nonmedical aspects of health services. Health services research often focuses on the relationships among need, demand, supply, use, and outcomes of health services.

PHL covers the areas of funding, policy, methodology, protocols, case studies, evaluation, and trends.

Clinical Practice Guidelines - (B; goal R)

Descriptive tools or standardized specifications for care of the typical patient in the typical situation, developed through a formal process that incorporates the best scientific evidence of effectiveness with expert opinion.

PHL collects AHCPR practice guidelines, as well as accepted standards of practice from various organizations and associations. Also materials dealing with the development, administration, and evaluation of clinical practice guidelines.

Health Services Outcomes - (New; goal R)

Evaluation of the results of services, such as the degree to which individuals receiving health services experience measurable benefits.

PHL will collect materials evaluating outcomes of health services, including statistics and trends.

Health Statistics - (R)

PHL maintains the primary collection of vital and health statistics for the U.S.--including population statistics--and all statistics published by international, state and foreign bodies.

Vital Statistics - (R)

PHL maintains an extensive collection of national and state cumulations of statistics related to natality, mortality of diseases, marriage and divorce.

History of Public Health - (I)

PHL collects historical materials on epidemic diseases, human disease, causes and theories of causation of diseases, hospitals, health behavior, public health, disease prevention, and medical care. Also collects selective biographies.

Human Populations - (R)

A group of individuals co-existing at a given moment and defined time, according to various criteria. The term population usually denotes all the inhabitants of a specified area (state, province, city, etc.) but may also be used to refer to subpopulations within the larger group (male/female population, school population, etc.).

PHL covers general population statistics including vital statistics, morbidity and mortality. Materials on demography; population genetics, and population policy are also collected.

RELATED COLLECTIONS:

Graduate Library collects general information about populations, including migration and immigration.

Demography - (I)

The study of human populations in relation to the changes brought about by the interplay of births, deaths, and migration.

PHL collects materials dealing with the statistical study of the characteristics of human population, especially with reference to size and density, growth, distribution, migration and vital statistics, and the effect of all these on social and economic conditions.

Population Planning - (I)

The study of governmental or broad societal approaches to cope with the economics and social consequences of excessive growth in human numbers. More generally the term may be used for governmental or social efforts to raise or to lower the level of population.

PHL selects materials on population policy and planning from world countries.

RELATED COLLECTIONS:

Population Studies Center Library, 1225 S. University.

Immunology - (I)

Study of the structure and function of the immune system and the study of immunity--protection from diseases, especially infectious diseases.

PHL collects works on the administration and use of vaccines for prevention of disease; immunization programs, and public policy issues. Also collected are selective works on immunosuppression (interference with the normal immunological response), immunotoxicology (the study of agents produced in response to and capable of neutralizing a specific biological toxin), natural immunity, and the role of nutrition in immunity.

RELATED COLLECTIONS:

TML has the primary collection on immunology.

Informatics [medical informatics] - (New; goal I)

An emerging term, still seeking a standard definition, which is used to cover the computer management--including storage, retrieval, and use--of medical and related information.

PHL will collect administration, policy and planning, and evaluation of medical informatics systems.

RELATED COLLECTIONS:

TML on medical informatics, with emphasis on clinical and hospital settings.

International Health - (I)

PHL has the primary collection of materials dealing with health issues for individual and national health concerns from an international perspective.

Palestinian Public Health - (New; goal I)

PHL is selectively purchasing materials, in English when available, on public health within the West Bank and Gaza Strip in support of a new initiative by the SPH Community-Based Public Health Program.

Laboratory Practices - (B)

The procedures for and performance of experimentation or research in a laboratory setting.

To assist SPH faculty and staff conducting laboratory research, PHL collects basic works on laboratory practice, including laboratory manuals and laboratory standards. Emphasis is on works in laboratory practices in parasitology and virology, infection control, and laboratory safety. Selective works on the welfare and use of laboratory animals are also collected.

See Medical Ethics for information on human subjects and ethical issues of animal research.