EVALUATING IAIMS AT YALE - INFORMATION ACCESS

Objective: To evaluate use of information resources during the first y ear of IAIMS implementation at the Yale-New Haven Medical Center. The evaluation asked: (1) Which information resources are being used? (2) Who uses information resources? (3) Where are information resources us ed? (4) Are multiple sources of information being integrated? Design: Measures included monthly usage data for resources delivered network-w ide, in the Medical Library, and in the Hospital; online surveys of li brary workstation users; an annual survey of a random, stratified samp le of Medical Center faculty, postdoctoral trainees, students, nurses, residents, and managerial and professional staff; and user comments. Results: Eighty-three percent of the Medical Center community use netw orked information resources, and use of resources is increasing. Both status (faculty, student, nurse, etc.) and mission (teaching, research , patient care) affect use of individual resources. Eighty-eight perce nt of people use computers in more than one location, and increases in usage of traditional Library resources such as MEDLINE are due to inc reased access from outside the Library. Both survey and usage data sug gest that people are using multiple resources during the same informat ion seeking session. Conclusions: Almost all of the Medical Center com munity is using networked information resources in more settings. It i s necessary to support increased demand for information access from re mote locations and to specific populations, such as nurses. People are integrating information from multiple sources, but true integration w ithin information systems is just beginning. Other institutions are ad vised to incorporate pragmatic evaluation into their IAIMS activities and to share evaluation results with decision-makers.