NC Health Info and MedlinePlus: the Go Local Initiative

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NC Health Info and MedlinePlus the Go Local
Initiative

• MLA May 24, 2004
• Christie Silbajoris
• Director, NC Health Info

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NC Health Info History

• 2001 feasibility study
• 2002 1st year contract (build prototype)
• 2003 launch
• Refine methodology, grow database
• Move towards sustainable model
• Produce documentation for other states to use
• 2004
• Test NLMs centralized model, release in May

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Customer Service

• Ask-a-Librarian feature added to site in
  November, 2002
• Questions answered by reference staff
• On average, 6 questions answered per month - 4
  of total number

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Outreach and Promotion

• Hired .5 fte Outreach Coordinator Jan. 2003
• Developed outreach and PR plan
• First phase is to healthcare practitioners and
  librarians
• Professional associations, exhibits, training,
  piggyback onto AHEC Digital Library work
• Second phase to public when database is fuller
• Diabetes project to help create PR model

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Usage Stats and Other Fun Facts

• Usage statistics show a steady increase
• 602,454 visits since launch through April 2004
  from 186,887 unique visitors
• 130 sites suggested through Suggest-a-Site since
  launch
• 2,570 sites/URLs currently display to the public

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Key Challenges

• Keeping up to date
• Harnessing XML
• Balancing maintenance with continued growth
• Evaluation
• Funding

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Things to Consider

• Agreement to develop with NLM
• Infrastructure and support prerequisites
• Technical infrastructure
• Local vocabulary pairings
• Traffic mappings
• Cataloging methodology and training
• Maintenance procedures
• Evaluation

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UNC Resources for You

• All documentation is freely available online at
• http//www.nchealthinfo.org/Documentation/
• TableOfContents.cfm
• Christie Silbajoris
• silbc_at_email.unc.edu
• [phone]