Library

WELCOME TO THE
MEHARRY MEDICAL COLLEGE LIBRARY

Mission
The mission of the Meharry Medical College Library is to support students, faculty, researchers, and clinicians by providing access to current, authoritative biomedical information resources that effectively integrate technology to promote best practices.

 

Vision
The Library aspires to strengthen its role as an essential partner in student learning, research and clinical care through exceptional services.

LIBRARY HOURS

Monday – Friday

7:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.

Saturday – Sunday

9:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.

ABOUT THE LIBRARY

Digital Resources
The MMCL is increasingly focusing its collection on electronic resources to maximize the utility and accessibility of information across the campus and from home. MMCL provides access to 7,234 electronic journals; 94,771 books (all formats), 465 databases, 6,719 serials, and 3,044 other web resources, all available via its Digital Library. The Digital Library provides fast access and multiple routes to electronic resources that support evidence-based practice.

 

The most well-known of these e-resources include McGraw-Hill Education’s AccessMedicine; Browzine eJournal repository; the CDC’s searchable Pink Book & Yellow Book; Elsevier’s ClinicalKey and ScienceDirect databases; Decker Medicine & Decker Surgery; Essential Evidence Plus & AHFS DI Essentials; LWW Health Library; McMaster Plus’s STAT!Ref Evidence Alerts; MyJoVE video journals and clinical skills video; Oxford Medical Simulation; ProQuest eBook Central; American Psychiatric Association’s PsychiatryOnline Premium; Rittenhouse’s R2 Digital Library; SAGE Research Methods modules (Foundations & Visualizations); STAT!Ref Medical Reference; ProQuest’s Theses & Dissertations; TolTech’s Sectra Anatomy/Dissection Table & VR software; Wolters Kluwer’s UpToDate and Lexicomp for Dentistry point-of-care tools; and VisualDx + DermExpert.

 

Subscription eJournal collections include American Academy of Pediatrics; Biomed Central; Cochrane Evidence-Based Medicine Reviews; publishers of subscribed content include Elsevier, JAMA Network, Springer/Nature, and Wiley, among numerous others, providing access to tens of thousands of the most recently published medical, dental, public health, and applied computational sciences-related articles in full text format.

 

Test banks and other e-tools provided include AccessMedicine self-assessment questions; American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Conditions A-Z; American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists (ASHP) Drug & Injectable Drug Information; BoardVitals USMLE & INBDE exam banks; EBMCalc; IBM Clinical Checklist & Lab Advisor and IBM DrugPoints System; ICD-10-CM: Clinical Modification; ICD-10-PCS: Procedure Coding System; and ICD-9-CM; LWW Health Library self-assessment questions; STAT!Ref ICD Conversion Tool; and True Learn OBGYN exam bank.

 

In addition to test banks for board study, the library provides eBook review resources on 1) basic and advanced sciences, 2) USMLE exams, 3) NBDE II/INBDE exams, 4) medical specialty board exams, and 5) board certification review content for Master of Public Health students: “Board Review in Preventive Medicine and Public Health” and “Certification in Public Health (CPH) Q&A Exam Review.” Review series subscriptions include McGraw Hill’s First Aid series, LWW’s Board Review Series, Elsevier Publishing titles, and Oxford University Press’s Medicine & Health review collection.

 

Other e-publications of note include Health Affairs, Merck Manual, Morbidity & Mortality Weekly, Nashville Business Journal, Stedman’s Medical Dictionary, The Community Guide, Thomson Reuters Medical News Feed and Wall Street Journal.

Education and Information Services
The core priorities for the Meharry Medical Library are:

  • Information: providing health and life sciences information that advances research, scholarship, education, and patient-care;
  • Education: developing and implementing programs to train and educate faculty, staff, and students in the skills needed to effectively find, evaluate, and manage health and life sciences information; and
  • Communication: partnering with patrons, being familiar with their needs, and providing and promoting resources and services that meet those needs.

 

Services include circulation, collection development, reference, document delivery, instruction in information retrieval and use, integrated library system, and special collections. The library also loans laptops and iPads with keyboards to students. Materials unavailable in the collection are obtained from other medical libraries at no cost through cooperative arrangements (interlibrary loan). Online bibliographic retrieval services are routinely used

Library Technologies
Laptops, tablets, and smartphones are supported by reliable Internet bandwidth access throughout the library. To meet students’ needs where they are in the mobile realm, the library created the mobile technology website using LibGuides.

 

This website highlights free and subscription based recommended mobile apps. Other important topics include EBM resources, Citation Management Tools, Copyright, and Consumer Health resources.

Total Volumes
MMCL’s collection of 94,771 volumes includes essential resources for healthcare scholarship and research, with a focus on health disparities and minority health. Users can locate library holdings via the Digital Library. MMCL also participates in consortia agreements to offer its users interlibrary loan access to print resources not held at Meharry.

 

Last Updated: September 2021

LIBRARY STAFF

Sandra Parham, MLIS

Library Executive Director
Phone: (615) 327-5770

Email: sparham@mmc.edu

Clare Kimbro, MLIS

Reference Librarian
Phone: (615) 327-6454

Email: ekimbro@mmc.edu

Julia Drew Rather, MLS

Reference Librarian
Phone: (615) 327-6465

Email: jrather@mmc.edu

Vanessa Smith, B.S.

Health Information Analyst III/Information Desk
Phone: (615) 327-6463

Email: vsmith@mmc.edu

LIBRARY INFORMATION

Students, faculty, and staff have access to electronic journals, books, databases, and web resources via the Digital Library, which can be logged into from anywhere through any device. For convenience, connections to the most highly used resources are listed individually at https://meharry.ovidds.com:

  • AccessMedicine/Case Files eBook collection & interactive evidence-based and assessment tool database
  • Board Vitals USMLE Steps 1, 2CK, 2CS, & 3 medical board exam banks
  • Board Vitals NBDE II & INBDE dental board exam banks
  • BrowZine eJournal repository
  • ClinicalKey eBook, eJournal, & interactive evidence-based tool database
  • EBSCO a la carte eJournal collection
  • Grant’s Anatomy dissection video software (used in anatomy curriculum)
  • Journal of the American Medical Association/JAMA Network of eJournals collection
  • Lexicomp for Dentistry database
  • LWW Health Library Medicine & Clerkship/Rotation eBook collection & interactive evidence-based assessment tools database
  • McGraw-Hill Education First-Aid Series review text eBook collection
  • Board Review Series Basic Sciences review text eBook collection
  • MyJoVE eJournal Basic & Advanced Sciences, Clinical Skills streaming video collections
  • New England Journal of Medicine eJournal database and NEJM Resident 360 interactive educational platform
  • Ovid Discovery Service scholarly search platform (includes library catalog)
  • Ovid Neurology & OBGYN Clerkship eJournal collection
  • ProQuest eBook Central database
  • PsychiatryOnline Premium eBook, eJournal, & American Psychiatric Association Clinical Guidelines database
  • R2 Library (Rittenhouse) eBook collection
  • ScienceDirect eBook & eJournal database
  • Science/Springer/Biomed Central/NatureeJournal database
  • STAT!Ref Medical Reference eBook & evidence-based tool database
  • TrueLearn OBGYN exam bank
  • UpToDate evidence-based point-of-care tool (UpToDate Anywhere)
  • Wiley Online Library eJournal collection

 

NEW & IN PROGRESS (September 2021): MMCL applied for and was awarded available “wraparound” Bloomberg Scholars funds in Fall 2020 for its initiative to enhance medical student learning. As of September 2021, the following print materials and electronic tools are either being processed by the library or are installed and in use:

  • Print textbooks, board review and reference titles, along with atlases, flash cards, and other print materials—many now available for checkout—in the basic and advanced sciences and all medical disciplines taught within the School of Medicine, to serve medical students in all levels of study (found in the library).
  • The Visual Dx differential diagnosis builder platform to enhance the studies of third and fourth-year medical students and residents (found on the Digital Library).
  • Oxford Medical Simulation software to enhance the studies of third and fourth-year students and residents (found on computers in the upper level Electronic Classroom/Computer Lab and the lower level computer lab).
  • ToLTech’s Sectra Anatomy & Dissection Table with accompanying Virtual Human (VH) software and Education Portal to serve first through fourth-year students in their studies of anatomy and radiology.
  • ToLTech’s Virtual Reality (VR) Anatomy & Dissection software and Education Portal (with its accompanying VR headset and handsets for use in the lower level computer lab).

 

Remote Access to the Meharry Digital Library

To have remote access to all available digital resources found in the Meharry Digital Library, users must obtain a valid Meharry account. Meharry accounts are issued to individuals who have a direct faculty, student, or work role with Meharry—the subscription licenses for our electronic library resources restrict use to such individuals.

 

Remote Access Instructions

  1. Visit the Digital Library site at https://meharry.ovidds.com
  2. Click the “Off-Campus” login button and input Meharry credentials

Archives

 

The Meharry Medical College Archives collects, preserves, organizes, and provides access to archival and historical materials documenting the history of Meharry Medical College and its presidents, alumni and faculty.

 

Our collections include catalogues, class bulletins, photographs, institutional records, artifacts, and personal papers of notable individuals in the history of the College from its inception in 1876 such as past presidents, former deans and department chairs, departmental records and personal collections including the Matthew Walker, M.D. Collection, and the Hubbard Hospital and Metropolitan Nashville General Hospital merger.

 

Other holdings include a biographical collection of Meharrians and outstanding African American health professionals, pictures of early faculty and early buildings on the South Nashville Campus and the North Nashville Campus.

 

Visit the MMC Archives

SERVICE REQUEST FORMS

 

As part of its service commitment, the library has a collection of service request forms that allow students, faculty, staff and residents to request services of different departments. Each online form is designed to help you inquire a specific request for service.

BOOK PURCHASE REQUEST

Step 1 of 3

  • Date Format: MM slash DD slash YYYY

CIRCULATION SERVICES

 

The circulation department is the central distribution area of the library. It handles distribution of books, audiovisual materials, and reserved materials as well as handling accounting for overdue charges and copy machine accounts. Here, a variety of material may be reserved, checked out, and returned by patrons of the library.

 

Circulation Policies and Charges

Material:

Books

Audiovisuals

Reserve Material

Journals

Checkout Duration:

28 Days

5 Days

24 Hours

Library Use Only

Charges:

$0.25 per day

$0.50 per day

$1.00 per hour

Library Use Only

Material:

Books

Checkout Duration:

28 Days

Charges:

$0.25 per day

Material:

Audiovisuals

Checkout Duration:

5 Days

Charges:

$0.50 per day

Material:

Reserve Material

Checkout Duration:

24 Hours

Charges:

$1.00 per hour

Material:

Journals

Checkout Duration:

Library Use Only

Charges:

Library Use Only

COMPUTER LAB

 

Located on the first floor of the library, the Library Computer Lab is the primary center for electronic information access on Meharry’s campus, providing access to library online resourcesAll workstations have access to a printer in the lab. The Computer Lab is open to all Meharry students, faculty, residents, and staff. The Lab hours are the same as the library hours.

 

The Computer Lab is staffed by library staff and technical support. Please ask for assistance if you need help with literature searching, computer and software use.

RESOURCE TRAINING

 

The Meharry Librarians are dedicated to informing and educating the Meharry community on the print and web-based tools for clinical, research, and curriculum needs. The MMC library offers training sessions in online resources.

 

Training is available upon request. Classes will be held in the Electronic Classroom (below) of the S.S. Kresge Learning Resource Center, Room 318. Librarians will also conduct remote training sessions (orientations, department meetings, class meetings) upon request.

For questions or scheduling adjustments, please contact:

 

Clare Kimbro, MLIS

Reference Librarian
Phone: (615) 327-6454

Email: ekimbro@mmc.edu

ELECTRONIC CLASSROOM

 

To support the library and college’s training and education, library patrons have access to a well equipped electronic classroom, which is Room 318 located on the 2nd floor of the library.

 

Training Workstation Specifications:

  • The electronic classroom utilizes Thin Client PCs for students.
  • The instructor’s workstation features the Smart Board projection software.

Reserve a Classroom — In addition to scheduled training classes, the library classroom is also available for curriculum-based database training or staff training sessions. Faculty members or department personnel may reserve a classroom by contacting:

 

Vanessa Smith

Health Information Analyst III/Information Desk
Phone: (615) 327-6463

Email: vsmith@mmc.edu

 

Notes: If special software is needed for the training session, please contact Media Services to have the software checked and installed beforehand.

 

Media Services
Email: helpdesk@mmc.edu
Phone: (615) 327-4357