The University of Washington Health Sciences Library BioCommons: an evolving Northwest biomedical research information support infrastructure.
METHODS
The University of Washington Health Sciences Libraries and Information Center BioCommons serves the bioinformatics needs of researchers at the university and in the vibrant for-profit and not-for-profit biomedical research sector in the Washington area and region.
The BioCommons comprises services addressing internal University of Washington, not-for-profit, for-profit, and regional and global clientele. The BioCommons is maintained and administered by the BioResearcher Liaison Team. The BioCommons architecture provides a highly flexible structure for adapting to rapidly changing resources and needs.
BioCommons uses Web-based pre- and post-course evaluations and periodic user surveys to assess service effectiveness. Recent surveys indicate substantial usage of BioCommons services and a high level of effectiveness and user satisfaction.
BioCommons is developing novel collaborative Web resources to distribute bioinformatics tools and is experimenting with Web-based competency training in bioinformation resource use.
Minie
Mark
M
Health Sciences Libraries and Information Center and Department of Biomedical and Health Informatics, University of Washington, Seattle, USA. meminie@u.washington.edu
Bowers
Stuart
S
Tarczy-Hornoch
Peter
P
Roberts
Edward
E
James
Rose A
RA
Rambo
Neil
N
Fuller
Sherrilynne
S
D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D035843:Biomedical Research; D019295:Computational Biology / Q000193:education; D004181:Directories as Topic; D007255:Information Services; D007318:Inservice Training; D020407:Internet; D007993:Libraries, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration*; D007999:Library Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D014495:Universities; D014861:Washington