The NTR University of Health Sciences (NTRUHS) will provide access to NTRMEDNET Consortium and Digital Library (NC&DL) for faculty and students beyond the libraries belonging to 43 medical colleges in the near future.
This online repository of medical learning resources and tools can, at the moment, be accessed only from computer terminals in the libraries of medical colleges which have secure Internet Protocol numbers for the purpose. The new idea is to enable users to gain access through their personal laptops and even smart-phones in the coming months. Out of 43 medical colleges in the State, only some 20 colleges are offering the facility as the rest have Internet connectivity and other issues to be sorted out.
NC&DL Academic Committee Member Secretary and Librarian In-Charge R. Nalini told The Hindu that the medical colleges were given static and dynamic IP numbers with which they provide access to the online library and it was the vision of Vice-Chancellor T. Ravi Raju to expand its access beyond the college campuses with necessary checks and balances.
Users could now enter the website www.ntrmednet.edu.in and get abstracts of a huge number of journals, e-books and even research theses but to download their full versions one need to have log in identity and passwords which could be given subject to the terms and conditions of the agreement with content providers (publishers) that include ERMED (Electronic Resources in Medicine in India) Consortium, Elsevier Clinical Key, Wolters Kluwer Health and others.
In the current year, NC&DL subscribed to 869 e-journals and 1,039 e-books providing access to materials of 158 health institutions covering all branches of medicine and clinical disciplines. Wider access is planned to be given to NTRUHS’s own online journal www.jdrntruhs.org in the same way as NC&DL sought to reach the faculty, students and researchers.
NC&DL was set up six years ago and has since been disseminating valuable information to the discerning learners. In addition to the world renowned medical publishers, several expert Indian doctors made their contributions to the library thereby enriching its content.
