History*
As
a section, the Medical Libraries Section (MLS) is one of the latest but
also a prestigious part of the Department of Health and Medical Services
(DOHMS), Dubai. It is one of three sections of the Continuous Education
Department, in itself relatively new in DOHMS. But this does not mean that
the concept of ‘libraries’ is new for the DOHMS. Like in any
organization, libraries have been and are considered the ‘hub’ of
activities here.
The
history of libraries in the DOHMS dates back to early1970s when the first
library started in Rashid Hospital. The next to appear was the Institute
of Nursing Library in 1972. After that it was the Dubai Hospital Library,
then Al Wasl Hospital, then Primary Health Care and the last, but not the least, to
appear on the horizon was the Rashid Medical Library which attained the
honor of becoming not only the main library but also the most modern, most
beautiful and most well laid out of all. Today the DOHMS boasts of a
Medical Library Section consisting of 6 full-fledged electronic libraries
– standing firmly like rocks in their respective domains but linked
together by a common network making them one solid entity.
Each
of the above six libraries is unique in its own way, be it the collection
or the patrons using it. The Al Wasl Hospital library, e.g., is just the
right place for a patron needing to know about obstetrics/gynecology.
Likewise, the Institute of Nursing has a library full of material meant
for the nursing profession. The Primary
Health Care
Library takes care of the
community related needs of the users. The point here is that though all
six are medical libraries, each one is specialized in itself making the
MLS a powerful collection for the medical profession.
The
MLS collections include books, journals, models, charts, slides, films,
videocassettes, audiocassettes, CD ROMs, electronic books, electronic
journals and other electronic databases, including the Metadata. All the
libraries together have more than 15,000 titles to their credit. And they
have a vast variety of readers using the facilities every day.
