Bioethics Library and Information Services: Good News in Pairs

Two Five-Year Funding Commitments

Both the National Reference Center for Bioethics Literature (NRCBL) (http://bioethics.georgetown.edu/nrc/index.htm) and the National Information Resource on Ethics and Human Genetics (NIREHG) (http://bioethics.georgetown.edu/nirehg/index.htm) have received five-year awards to continue their work. The National Library of Medicine (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/) awarded an $8.1 million, five-year contract covering NRCBL from 2005 through 2009 to continue and enhance library and outreach services. This contract is the largest in the Kennedy Institute of Ethics's 34-year history.

In August, the ELSI (Ethical, Legal and Social Implications) Research Program of the National Human Genome Research Institute (http://www.genome.gov/) awarded a five-year, $2.2 million grant for the continuation of the NIREHG, which covers all library and information services related to genetics and ethics. Both projects are led by LeRoy Walters, Ph.D., Joseph P. Kennedy Professor of Christian Ethics and the mentor behind all information projects at the Institute since 1973.

Two New Librarians Appointed

With funding assured for five more years, two professional librarians have been recruited to carry out continuing and new services. Each is fluent in French and each brings international experience in libraries to her and his respective position. Jane Louise Webster, Reference Librarian, earned her M.S.L.S. degree at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill and her B.A. at the University of Virginia. Her experience includes development of a community library while serving in the U.S. Peace Corps in Morocco and internships at the Environmental Protection Agency Library at Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and libraries at UNC. Richard M. Anderson, Collection Development Librarian, earned his B.A. at the University of British Columbia and his M.L.S. at the University of Western Ontario. From 1985 to 2005, he headed the Canadian Agriculture Library at the Potato Research Centre, Fredericton, New Brunswick. He is current president of the Well Spouse Association and has worked with that group for several years. Richard will work both at the reference desk and in collection development.

Two New Digitization Projects: Scope Notes And Syllabi

The new NLM contract emphasizes digital delivery of publications and services. Issues of New Titles in Bioethics are already available at no charge on NRCBL's website beginning with July 2003. Updated full text of NIREHG's Scope Notes on genetics have been on the web for years. Two new initiatives are now underway. First, staff plan to complement the existing Scope Note collection by adding full text of the remaining Scope Notes, each of which will be accompanied by a QuickBib—i.e., an automatically-generated bibliography on the topic drawn from the latest citations in the ETHX on the Web database. Second, items in the Syllabus Exchange Clearinghouse will be digitized and made available via NRCBL's website. Currently, only a few syllabi link to full text. With NLM support and contributions from educators like yourselves to the exchange, new teachers of bioethics in diverse learning settings can explore different approaches to curriculum development.

Finally, Two Requests

First, we are indebted to faculty and authors who donate syllabi and their own recent articles and books to our library collections. We are especially interested in government reports, task force documents, and the like, which can be difficult to identify. Please contact the library regarding prospective donations: 888-BIOETHX (throughout the U.S. and Canada)—for the D.C. metropolitan area, dial 202-687-3885; or email us at: bioethics@georgetown.edu.

Second, we invite you to explore our website at http://bioethics.georgetown.edu. In the past three months, we have modified 107 webpages; we are certain that you will find something new that is of interest to you on a regular basis. We rely on your comments as we develop the website, so please do not hesitate to let us know what works and what does not.