The functioning and perspectives for the development of the Digital Medical Library with particular reference to the Database of Doctoral Theses

Abstract

The Digital Medical Library includes two collections: The Database of Doctoral Theses and Online Medical Resources. The first one has been developed from the Full-Text Database of Doctoral Theses of the Jagiellonian University Medical College defended in the years 2004-2011, which was migrated from the Alfresco system to the dLibra system in 2012, and the second collection was created under the SYNAT program in the years 2012-2013. The JU MC Medical Library has been collecting and maintaining doctoral theses. They have been available for users under a non-exclusive license agreement with the authors. Once a thesis has been cataloged in the Virtua/VTLS system, both formally and concerning the subject, the metadata are imported to the dLibra system. Each doctoral thesis published in The Database of Doctoral Theses is accompanied by an author’s abstract and a list of keywords both in English and Polish. Proper metadata provide simple and easy access to resources and the broader availability of this digital collection. The Database of Doctoral Theses is of great value as it contains the research output of the Jagiellonian University Medical College. In response to the growing demand from users and their changing needs and in order to make the resources more accessible, the JU MC Medical Library will develop the Digital Medical Library according to the regulations in force and building on examples of international institutions.