George F. Smith Library
Judith S. Cohn, Associate Vice President for Scholarly Information/University
Librarian
Roberta Bronson Fitzpatrick, Associate Director, George F. Smith
Library
Main Phone Number: (973) 972-4580
The George F. Smith
Library of the Health Sciences exists to fulfill the scholarly information
needs of all students, faculty and staff on the UMDNJ-Newark Campus. Located at
30 Twelfth Avenue in Newark, the library is open 93 hours per week, including
evenings and weekends. It houses the largest print collection of the UMDNJ
libraries and supports the disciplines of medicine, nursing, dentistry, public
health and health-related professions. The collection at the Smith Library
contains a vast number of both basic sciences and clinical medicine resources in
print, electronic and other digital formats. Numerous current texts are included
in the library’s Reserve Collection for use within the library building.
Reference librarians provide assistance in navigating resources, teaching
classes and assisting users in identifying and locating information. An
extensive collection of multimedia is available, providing resources in a
variety of formats including slides, videocassettes and other digital media
formats. A complete range of equipment and viewing facilities can be accessed
on-site. More than 50 public access computer workstations are available, as well
as networked printers and photocopy machines. Access cards, used for both laser
printing and photocopying and sold in varying denominations, are purchased at
the library’s Circulation Desk.
A wireless network for the use of laptop computers has recently been
installed for faculty, student and staff use. A limited number of laptop
computers can be signed out for two-hour blocks of time. Users must present a
valid UMDNJ ID in order to borrow a laptop computer. In addition, network cards
are available and may also be borrowed by users (with valid UMDNJ ID cards) who
have personal laptops to be used in the Smith Library.
Three workshops regularly offered by the Smith Library’s Media Center staff
provide needed information to NJMS students. The workshops are:
- Multimedia Resources on the Web
- Use of Dxplain
- CAI (Computer-Assisted Instruction) Programs available in the Smith
Library
NJMS students are also eligible to use the services available from the
libraries on the New Brunswick, Stratford and Camden campuses.
Circulation Policies
All students wishing to use the
library must register in order to borrow materials, search databases or use
microcomputer resources. ID badges are bar-coded upon registration. An ID badge
must be presented when requesting materials from the Reserve Collection or when
signing out materials. Borrowing periods for library materials vary depending on
primary campus library policies.
Reference Services
Professional reference services are
available Monday through Friday. A full range of library services is provided by
the reference staff to aid users in obtaining information. Students requiring
guidance in the use of the online catalog; assistance in locating books,
journals and computer software; or orientation to services and programs provided
by the library can obtain this information from the reference staff. Students
are encouraged to learn to do their own computerized literature searches using
the search options that the library has available. The library provides mediated
literature searches (performed by a librarian) for patrons who are interested in
this fee-based service. In addition to MEDLINE and other biomedical databases,
the library staff can provide searches of databases in other areas of science,
technology, business, arts, humanities, education and current events.
Interlibrary Loan
Interlibrary loan is a service provided
to obtain materials not available at our campus library. Books, audiovisuals
microfilm materials may be borrowed. Photocopies may be requested for
non-circulating materials (e.g. reference books, reserve materials, journals,
etc.) Users should allow at least seven to 10 business days to receive
materials. Items available from other UMDNJ libraries may be received sooner.
Interlibrary loan request forms are available at the Circulation Desk; an
electronic form is available at http://www.umdnj.edu/librweb/newarklib/ill.htm.
The library will make every effort to obtain items at no cost to the user;
however, some items may require pre-payment of loan fees up to $10.
Classes
The Smith Library offers classes and training
opportunities for students. Specialized classes and individual or small group
training sessions can be arranged through the reference librarians on each
campus.
