Study And Design On Digital Reference System Of Medical Libraries

Digital reference service dates from the late years of 1980's when the Internet got prosperous and digital resources boomed. It enables reference librarians to help remote patrons through the Internet despite the limitations of time and space. Now, digital reference service has become one of the focuses of the library world. However, the theoretical research and practical construction of digital reference service systems can seldom be found in libraries other than public and college libraries. There is by far no thorough study on the construction of digital reference system for medical libraries, which serve their own unique patron groups.This thesis illustrates the definition, historical background, service patterns and problems of digital reference service, analyzes the patron makeup of modern medical libraries, studies the information needs of each patron group and investigates the digital reference systems of 162 medical libraries both in China and abroad. On the basis of the discussion results and unique nature of medical libraries, 10 principles are suggested for the construction of digital reference system for medical libraries. Then, a digital reference system is designed from angles of character, platform, working procedure and structure for the Medical Library of PLA, which is one of the largest medical libraries in China. And with network technology and net page construction techniques, both the patron system and reference librarian system are designed, created and put into simulant operation respectively.