Virtual Health Library
Encyclopedia
The Virtual Health Library (VHL) is an on-line (digital library
) and common space for the convergence of the cooperative work of producers, intermediaries, and users of information on health sciences, built and developed by the Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information
(also known as BIREME) in 1998. The VHL promotes the development of a network of sources of scientific and technical information with universal access on the internet
.
BIREME has envisioned the VHL as a new model for the management of information
and knowledge
, which includes the cooperation
and convergence between institutions, systems, networks, and initiatives of producers, intermediaries, and users in the operation of networks of local, national, regional and international information sources favoring open and universal access.
Today, every country in Latin America
and the Caribbean
regions participates either directly or indirectly in the cooperative products and services offered by the VHL, which includes over 1,000 institutions in more than 30 countries.
The VHL is simulated in a virtual space of the internet formed by a collection or network of health information sources in the region. Users of different levels and locations can interact and navigate in the space of one or many information sources, regardless of where they are. Information sources are generated, updated, stored and operated on the internet by producers, integrators, and intermediaries, in a decentralized manner, following common methodologies for their integration in the VHL.
The VHL organizes information in a structure that integrates and interconnects literature databases, directories or experts, events and institutions, a catalogue of the information resources available on the internet, collections of full texts with a highlight for the SciELO
(Scientific Electronic Library Online) collection of scientific journal
s, selective information dissemination
services, information sources to support education
and decision-making, news
, discussion lists, and support to virtual communities. The space of the VHL is, therefore, a dynamic and decentralized network of information sources based on which it is possible to retrieve and extract information and knowledge to support health decision-making processes.
The Virtual Health Library can be visualized as a distributed base of scientific and technical health knowledge that is saved, organized and stored in electronic format in the countries of the region, universally accessible on the internet and compatible with international databases.
Digital library
A digital library is a library in which collections are stored in digital formats and accessible by computers. The digital content may be stored locally, or accessed remotely via computer networks...
) and common space for the convergence of the cooperative work of producers, intermediaries, and users of information on health sciences, built and developed by the Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information
Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information
The Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information or BIREME was founded in Brazil in 1967 as the Biblioteca Regional de Medicina , a specialized center of the Pan-American Health Organization / World Health Organization .BIREME coordinates the model development of the Virtual...
(also known as BIREME) in 1998. The VHL promotes the development of a network of sources of scientific and technical information with universal access on the internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
.
BIREME has envisioned the VHL as a new model for the management of information
Information management
Information management is the collection and management of information from one or more sources and the distribution of that information to one or more audiences. This sometimes involves those who have a stake in, or a right to that information...
and knowledge
Knowledge management
Knowledge management comprises a range of strategies and practices used in an organization to identify, create, represent, distribute, and enable adoption of insights and experiences...
, which includes the cooperation
Cooperation
Cooperation or co-operation is the process of working or acting together. In its simplest form it involves things working in harmony, side by side, while in its more complicated forms, it can involve something as complex as the inner workings of a human being or even the social patterns of a...
and convergence between institutions, systems, networks, and initiatives of producers, intermediaries, and users in the operation of networks of local, national, regional and international information sources favoring open and universal access.
Today, every country in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
regions participates either directly or indirectly in the cooperative products and services offered by the VHL, which includes over 1,000 institutions in more than 30 countries.
The VHL is simulated in a virtual space of the internet formed by a collection or network of health information sources in the region. Users of different levels and locations can interact and navigate in the space of one or many information sources, regardless of where they are. Information sources are generated, updated, stored and operated on the internet by producers, integrators, and intermediaries, in a decentralized manner, following common methodologies for their integration in the VHL.
The VHL organizes information in a structure that integrates and interconnects literature databases, directories or experts, events and institutions, a catalogue of the information resources available on the internet, collections of full texts with a highlight for the SciELO
SciElo
SciELO is a bibliographic database and a model for cooperative electronic publishing in developing countries originally from Brazil, supported by the Foundation for Research Support of the State of São Paulo and the National Council of Scientific and Technological Development SciELO (Scientific...
(Scientific Electronic Library Online) collection of scientific journal
Scientific journal
In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. There are thousands of scientific journals in publication, and many more have been published at various points in the past...
s, selective information dissemination
Selective dissemination of information
Selective dissemination of information was originally a phrase related to library and information science. SDI refers to tools and resources used to keep a user informed of new resources on specified topics....
services, information sources to support education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
and decision-making, news
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
, discussion lists, and support to virtual communities. The space of the VHL is, therefore, a dynamic and decentralized network of information sources based on which it is possible to retrieve and extract information and knowledge to support health decision-making processes.
The Virtual Health Library can be visualized as a distributed base of scientific and technical health knowledge that is saved, organized and stored in electronic format in the countries of the region, universally accessible on the internet and compatible with international databases.
External links
- BIREME Website
- http://www.bvscuba.sld.cu InfomedInfomedInfomed is the Cuban health portal and the network of people and institutions that share the purpose of facilitating the access to the health information in Cuba.- History :...
website