Below is a copy of the full MEDLIB-L guidelines. Please take the time
to read though all of the guidelines.
These are posted quarterly and can also be found at
http://www.mlanet.org/discussion/medlib_l_faq.html
MLA has determined that MEDLIB-L can be used for ILL requests.
And yes, "ILL REQUESTS should be confined to emergencies, or to titles
unavailable through regular interloan networks."
As coordinator of the list I have requested a meeting with MLA to
discuss the topic of ILL's. I've read all the posts and will present
the comments, recommendations and over all attitudes from all sides of
the topic to MLA. I will report back to the list the results of this
meeting.
Mary Piorun
List Coordinator
Mary Piorun
Associate Director, Library Systems
Lamar Soutter Library
P) 508/856-2206
E) [log in to unmask]
This is a periodic posting of the MEDLIB-L FAQ/Guidelines. Please take
the time to review the Guidelines before you post to the list.
By subscribing to MEDLIB-L, you agree to follow the MEDLIB-L Guidelines.
The MEDLIB-L Guidelines and Commands can always be found on the Medical
Library Association MLA Net website:
http://www.mlanet.org/discussion/medlib_l_faq.html
Please pay special attention to ending your messages with a full
signature file, and labeling your messages correctly: ILL, REF, VERIF
___________________________________________________
MEDLIB-L GUIDELINES, Part One:
PURPOSE, AUDIENCE and GUIDELINES FOR MESSAGES
A. PURPOSE AND AUDIENCE
MEDLIB-L is an electronic discussion list for medical and health science
librarians/information professionals. This forum focuses on ideas,
questions, announcements and concerns specific to medical and health
sciences librarians.
1. MEDLIB-L IS NOT FOR QUESTIONS FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC:
MEDLIB-L is not a place for the general public, healthcare professionals
or students to ask reference questions, request assistance with library
research or medical problems, or request materials. These questions
should be directed to a local medical library or one of the sci.med
newsgroups.
2. MEDLIB-L IS NOT FOR ADVERTISEMENTS:
MEDLIB-L does not accept advertisements, product announcements or self
promotional posts from either individuals or publishers or producers of
print products, software, web pages, etc.
Posts to MEDLIB-L about these items, in response to specific questions
and/or discussions initiated by MEDLIB-L subscribers about products, web
sites and services are appropriate, in order to provide an avenue to
receive recommendations, suggestions and help from colleagues on this
list.
3. MEDLIB-L IS NOT FOR GENERAL CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENTS:
MEDLIB-L should not be used for announcements of conferences outside the
field (or likely interest) of medical librarians/information
professionals.
Do not send announcements for conferences in medicine or nursing.
4. MEDLIB-L IS NOT FOR posting of JOB WANTED messages:
If you are seeking a job in a medical library, it is not appropriate to
send a "Position Wanted" posting to MEDLIB-L.
5. ANNOUNCEMENTS OF MEDICAL LIBRARY JOBS AVAILABLE are WELCOME Job
postings for medical personnel (other than librarians/information
professionals) are not appropriate. Please keep job announcements brief
and list an e-mail address for further information. You must include a
minimum salary, or salary range.
In the subject line of the position description, use the format:
JOB POSTING - POSITION TITLE, GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION
6. MEDLIB-L IS NOT FOR posting DUPLICATES or WANT LISTS:
Do not post lists of duplicate or discarded materials or want lists on
MEDLIB-L. These may be posted on the BackMed List. For information about
BackMed, visit the BackMed web site:
http://lists.swetsblackwell.com/mailman/listinfo/backmed
7. MEDLIB-L IS NOT FOR ADVOCACY POSTINGS:
Postings aimed at collecting mass or organized support for political
and/or social causes are not appropriate for MEDLIB-L.
8. DO NOT POST VIRUS, WORM, or HOAX WARNINGS to MEDLIB-L:
Send these to the Coordinator, who will verify the information and post
a warning message to the list, if appropriate. Do not forward general
warnings, rumors or similar posts to MEDLIB-L.
_________________________________________________________
B. GUIDELINES FOR MESSAGES
1. Only subscribers to MEDLIB-L can post messages.
To post a message to all the current MEDLIB-L subscribers, use the
address:
[log in to unmask]
2. Keep postings within the scope of the list.MEDLIB-L should be used
for messages of PROFESSIONAL interest to health sciences and/or medical
librarians and information professionals. If your message is outside of
the field of medical librarianship, it probably doesn't belong on
MEDLIB-L.
Please use restraint with frivolous posts. There are many newsgroups and
discussion groups intended specifically for humor. It may help to keep
in mind that your message will be sent to more than 2,100 subscribers in
55 countries, and respect must be paid to people with different cultural
backgrounds.
3. MEDLIB-L DOES NOT ACCEPT posts which include ATTACHMENTS:
The message will be posted without the attachment.
4. Do not post using HTML, Rich Text, or other encoded formats to
MEDLIB-L.
Send your message in (ASCII) plain text only.
5. Always use a DESCRIPTIVE SUBJECT LINE.
The more descriptive you are, the more likely the right people will read
your posting.
6. Use these FORMATS in the SUBJECT LINE of your post:
REFERENCE questions: precede your SUBJECT with "Ref Q:" or "?"
ANSWERS: precede the SUBJECT with an exclamation point "!"
ILL REQUESTS: precede the TITLE you need with "ILL: "
Do not make multiple ILL requests in a single message unless from same
source title.
ILL REQUESTS should be confined to emergencies, or to titles unavailable
through regular interloan networks.
CITATION VERIFICATIONS: precede your subject with "VERIF:"
JOB AVAILABLE: "JOB POSTING-POSITION TITLE, GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION"
MESSAGES to ENTERTAIN:
Think twice about posting; then precede your subject with "CHAT:"
THANK YOUs: precede subject with "THANKS"
NOTE: Send thanks to INDIVIDUALS, not the whole list, unless
informational to halt others from continuing to fill a request.
7. Always give your postings a FULL SIGNATURE. Include your NAME, E-MAIL
ADDRESS, TITLE and INSTITUTIONAL AFFILIATION. Try to limit your
signature to four lines.
NOTE: Place this signature within the body of your MEDLIB-L message.
Automatic signature files do not display for many MEDLIB-L readers, and
some e-mail programs will strip the headers from your post.
8. For reference queries, MEDLIB-L should be used as the avenue of LAST
RESORT. Please exhaust all of your local resources, including the phone,
before turning to MEDLIB-L.
When you send a reference query, INDICATE THE SOURCES YOU HAVE ALREADY
CONSULTED so your generous and kind colleagues will not duplicate your
efforts.
9. BE BRIEF: Keep paragraphs and messages short and to the point. This
is a high volume list.
DO NOT FORWARD LONG DOCUMENTS TO THE LIST. Describe the document and
give instructions for retrieving it, or offer to send it to those
interested. For conference announcements and job postings, send a brief
message with an e-mail address for further information.
10. READ all the incoming mail from the List before responding; someone
may have already sent a reply similar to yours.
11. REPLIES: When replying, double check the original subject line. If
the original subject line is misleading, RETYPE an APPROPRIATE SUBJECT
LINE.
If you are initiating a new topic, do not use the reply feature.
TYPE a NEW subject line, create a NEW message and send to:
[log in to unmask]
12. REPLIES: SEND PERSONAL REPLIES TO THE INDIVIDUAL, not to the whole
list.
MEDLIB-L is configured so that when you use your "Reply To" e-mail
program feature, replies are sent to the individual, not the entire
list.
SUMMARIZE: People who post to the list to ask for assistance, are
expected to post a SUMMARY of the responses they receive. When posting a
summary of responses, please include only the gist of the answers you
received, instead of providing the full quotes. Recap, don't replicate.
Examples of messages that should be sent back as personal replies:
Requests for COPIES of offered materials.
PERSONAL or CHATTY replies.
THANK YOUs unless they are informational to halt other list
members from continuing to fill arequest.
Messages consisting of "ME TOO" or any synonym thereof.
"I can supply" responses.
Survey responses.
Answers to very specific reference questions.
13. REPLIES: DO NOT INCLUDE the ENTIRE PREVIOUS MESSAGE. Extract only
those brief portions of the previous message that are necessary to
identify the issue and make your point.
DO NOT INCLUDE THE HEADERS (the part that includes "Sender," "From,"
etc.).
or the CONFIDENTIALITY / PRIVACY STATEMENT from the previous message, in
the body of your message.
14. All work product that appears on MEDLIB-L is the property of the
author.
Messages appearing on MEDLIB-L may be forwarded to other lists or
individuals ONLY BY PERMISSION of the author of the post. Do not post
any materials to MEDLIB-L that are protected by copyright without
obtaining permission of the copyright owner.
15. No "FLAMES": Do not post defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening,
offensive or illegal material.
16. MEDLIB-L is not a moderated list; posts are not censored before they
appear. This means that some errors or inappropriate posts will
occasionally appear on the list and some people will make mistakes.
Please do not publicly chastise people who make mistakes. MEDLIB-L is
for human beings.
Perfect people are not permitted to subscribe to MEDLIB-L.
17. MLA accepts no responsibility for the opinions and information
posted by users.
18. MLA reserves the right to terminate access to MEDLIB-L and cancel
the subscription of any user who does not abide by these guidelines.
Mary
MedLib-L Coordinator
Mary Piorun
Associate Director, Library Systems
Lamar Soutter Library
P) 508/856-2206
E) [log in to unmask]
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