The Gibson D. Lewis Health Science Library supports the educational, patient care, research, and community service missions of the University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC) by meeting the information needs of faculty, students, staff, and the local health sciences community. The library supports UNTHSC faculty, staff and students by providing a full complement of library services, including access to scholarly bibliographic resources, borrowing privileges, use of individual and group study areas, photocopying and printing, document delivery/interlibrary loan, expert instruction in the use of information resources, and access to professionally trained librarians for reference and search assistance. The library also offers three computer labs outfitted with up-to-date hardware and software used in both teaching and research on campus.
Lewis Library’s staff of 26 employees, including 12 degreed librarians, provides in-person research and reference assistance for 109 hours per week. Both the library’s main and top floors are available for student and faculty use 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The library’s scholarly collection contains approximately 12,000 electronic journal titles, 43,000 print books and journals, and over 80 searchable databases in the biomedical sciences, clinical medicine, public health, and affiliated fields. All the library’s electronic resources can be accessed through the Lewis Library web page at http://library.hsc.unt.edu and are available to UNTHSC students, staff, and faculty from anywhere in the world.
Lewis Library also maintains the UNTHSC Scholarly Repository, an online resource that preserves intellectual works created by UNTHSC faculty, staff, and students and enables discovery of these works to the international scientific community. You can view repository items, including student theses and dissertations, at http://digitalcommons.hsc.unt.edu/. In addition to working on the cutting edge of digital content creation and preservation, Lewis Library operates a special collections operation consisting of a rare books collection and a functioning archive operation. These print-based collections give users the opportunity to access historical material in osteopathic and physical medicine and items related to the founding and operation of the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine and the University of North Texas Health Science Center.
The library uses an online system from Innovative Interfaces, Inc. (III) to acquire, process, and provide access to its collections. Students and faculty may obtain books and journals not owned by Lewis Library via interlibrary loan. Lewis Library has been a resource library in the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM) since 1991 and is also a member of the South Central Academic Medical Libraries Consortium (SCAMEL), a group of 14 academic medical/health science center libraries in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and New Mexico. Additionally, the library participates in TexShare, a state of Texas cooperative library program. TexShare allows UNTHSC students, staff, and faculty physical access to and borrowing privileges from all public libraries as well as various public and private institutions of higher education in Texas. As a member of the University of North Texas System, the library is able to gain access to a wide array of electronic resources outside the health sciences. The library’s participation in NNLM, SCAMEL, TexShare, and the UNT System ensures that UNTHSC students and faculty have access to the world of information beyond the walls of Lewis Library.
The middle floor of Lewis Library was renovated in 2011 to create space that promotes collaboration and facilitates teamwork. The new Collaborative Learning Commons offers an open and spacious feel and includes tables with built-in electrical connections, LCD panels with connections to project large images from laptops, restaurant-style booths with pendant lighting, special chair groupings to accommodate laptop use, and a variety of brightly colored seating options. For closed-door collaborations, the Commons includes eight large conference rooms with flat panel monitors and six smaller meeting rooms. The floor is covered with robust wireless connectivity and each seat offers access to electrical outlets.
The Collaborative Commons offers advanced computing capabilities such as three state-of-the-art iMacs that give faculty, staff, and students the opportunity to use Apple software such as Pages, Keynote, iMovie, and GarageBand. Additional software from Microsoft and Adobe is offered for any projects requiring work with text, graphics, photos, audio, and video. The combination of high-end hardware and software provides near real-time processing of audio/visual files in the production of class/research materials for presentation and/or distribution. Another special educational space in the Commons is the Virtual Anatomy Bar which features a 60” LCD screen connected to a computer that runs the VH Dissector Program. This program uses the Visible Human male dataset to allow exploration and manipulation of human anatomy for student study. In addition to the bar, the themed space is furnished with high tables and stools for student use. A touch screen, life-sized Anatomage Table provides the female and male model in an electronic dissection table for learning and demonstrations.
Information Technology Services provides quality computer services to all academic and administrative areas of the Health Science Center. The departments of Information Technology Services that provide services to students are Helpdesk and Client Services, and Infrastructure and Security. These departments are located in room 202 of the Library building and can be accessed through the Student Support helpdesk. For more information on IT Policies, please visit the policies website at www.hsc.unt.edu/policies/PoliciesList.cfm.
Helpdesk and Client Services provides consultation and user assistance to computer users relative to hardware and software use, communications, printing, email, and provides computer purchase recommendations. In addition, the helpdesk re-sells certain software to students under academic purchase agreements. It manages and provides warranty support for the student laptop one-to-one program. All student laptops are supported by this office located in the Library main floor, Room 219. Other services include classroom lecture capture, setup of audiovisual equipment for classroom use, and equipment checkout for faculty/staff.
Responsible for the design, installation, and maintenance of academic and administrative local-area networks (LANs), wireless networks on campus, email systems, servers, data storage, user access and accounts. Computer users connected to the UNTHSC network have access to a variety of software programs and are able to exchange data and e-mail with users across the institution and off-campus. VPN access is available for both PC and Macintosh platforms.
The Center for Learning and Development (CLD) offers faculty development opportunities focused on instructional strategies, technologies and assessment techniques with an emphasis on improving student-learning outcomes. A major program of the CLD is the Quality Enhancement Plan or “QEP” project that works with faculty in each of the schools to improve students’ higher order thinking skills. Additionally, the CLD provides consultation services to faculty on evaluation methodology and statistical analysis for research projects and customized surveys.
The Center for Online Education provides support to programs, faculty, and students for academic instruction that is provided through online tools and resources. The Center partners with academic departments to develop programs and deliver virtual classroom education. The Center for Online Education also provides training and support for a variety of technology applications related to online learning. Distance students may find help and support for their online experience at http://www.unthsc.edu/education/onlineeducation/.
In 2012 UNTHSC created the Department of Interprofessional Practice with the mission to create a culture of interprofessional education to advance integrated health services and improve the health and quality of life for the people of Texas and beyond. Healthcare research supports the positive impact of effective healthcare teams on improved quality of patient care and reduction of medical errors. UNTHSC’s five schools, The Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, School of Health Professions (Physician Assistant, and Physical Therapy), UNT System College of Pharmacy, School of Public Health, and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences are collaborating to provide opportunities for health professions students to train together in promotion of achievement of interprofessional practice competencies across four domains: Values/Ethics for Interprofessional Practice, Roles/Responsibilities, Interprofessional Communication and Teams and Teamwork.
Interprofessional education partnerships are also being developed between UNTHSC and local educational institutions educating those health professions not represented at UNTHSC in order to broaden these training opportunities. Physicians, nurses, physical therapists, physician assistants, social workers, public health specialists, chaplains, biomedical researchers and other allied health and extender health providers have an opportunity to learn about, with, and from each other through interprofessional training opportunities.
For more information on the UNTHSC Department of Interprofessional Practice please contact:
David Farmer, PhD
Director of Interprofessional Practice
david.farmer@unthsc.edu
The mission of the Records and Information Management Division is to provide systematic control of records regardless of medium from creation to disposition, reduce the cost and liability associated with records and information management relative to space, litigation, privacy, regulatory non-compliance; provide training and support to the campus in all areas of records and information management, maintain records, containing adequate and proper documentation of UNT Health Science Center functions, policies, decisions, procedures and essential transactions of the institution; designed to furnish information to protect the legal and financial rights of the state and of any person directly affected by activities of the institution. This service is located on the first floor of the Library building.
The Research Office is responsible for all basic and applied research, clinical trials, and biomedical technology programs. Programs that promote these activities include seminars and workshops, faculty research programs, collaborative, and community outreach activities, and a variety of programs to encourage students to pursue careers in research.
The Research Office develops policies and administers programs to enhance research and scholarly activity and to assure institutional compliance with all mandated requirements related to research. The office assists in proposal development, identification of and negotiations with potential sources of support and post-award management of research funds. The office manages intellectual property (patents and copyrights), institutional policies, and research contractual matters.
The Center for Online Education provides support to programs, faculty, and students for academic instruction that is provided through online tools and resources. The Center partners with academic departments to develop programs and deliver virtual classroom education. The Center for Online Education also provides training and support for a variety of technology applications related to online learning. Distance students may find help and support for their online experience at http://www.unthsc.edu/education/onlineeducation/.
The Division of Student Affairs also offers a variety of services for online students. These services include, but are not limited to:
- 24/7 counseling hotline
- Free professional counseling in locations across the United States
- Financial assistance and debt management resources
- Academic support services such as subject related tutoring and writing skills tutoring
- Course/instructor evaluation services
- Registration and enrollment management
- Student health insurance
- Career placement services
For a full explanation of all these services provided within the Division of Student Affairs, please visit: http://web.unthsc.edu/Departments/StudentAffairs/.
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