Hours
Texas Department of State Health Services Medical and Research Library's hours are 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday except for State of Texas holidays.
Location/Contact Information
The Medical and Research Library is located at the Texas Department of State Health Services main campus in Austin, Texas at 1100 W. 49th Street, Mail Code 1955. The Library is in the Moreton Building, Room M-652 and the telephone number is 512-776-7559, toll-free 1-888-963-7111 ext. 7559, fax 512-776-7474, library@dshs.texas.gov. (See Visitor Information)
Library Contact Information:
Telephone number: 512-776-7559
Toll-Free: 1-888-963-7111 ext. 7559
Fax: 512-776-7474
Email: library@dshs.texas.gov
Physical Address:
Medical and Research Library, Mail Code 1955
Texas Department of State Health Services
1100 W. 49th Street, Moreton Building, M-652
(see Central Campus-Austin map)
Austin, TX 78756-3199
Postal Service Mailing Address:
Medical and Research Library, MC 1955
Texas Department of State Health Services
P.O. Box 149347
Austin, TX 78714-9347
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Mission Statement
To fulfill the health-related information needs of researchers, counselors and medical practitioners working for or through the Texas Health and Human Services Enterprise (HHS), enabling them to make knowledgeable decisions, resulting in better health for Texans and good stewardship of public resources.
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Stakeholders
MRL primary stakeholders are employees of the Texas Health and Human Services Enterprise (HHS). Secondary stakeholders are other public health professionals, the library community and Texas citizens.
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Library Staff
Anne Tarpey, Senior Librarian/Team Leader, 512-776-7559, anne.tarpey@dshs.texas.gov
Reference questions, literature searches, MRL newsletters, training, collection development, donations, circulation services and cataloging.
David McLellan, Librarian, 512-776-2882, david.mclellan@dshs.texas.gov
Document delivery, inter-library loan, electronic collection, reference questions, journal collection, circulation services and cataloging.
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Collection
The MRL collection consists of more than 5,000 books and ebooks, 230 electronic and a limited number of print journals. They cover subjects ranging from public health and medicine to business and management. The MRL provides access to three Texas online newspaper subscriptions - Austin American-Statesman, Dallas Morning News and Houston Chronicle. It maintains a large collection of Texas Department of Health legacy documents and other government publications. Public access computers are available at the MRL and may be used to access the internet and electronic resources.
Borrowing privileges are limited to HHS employees and to other libraries. Employees may borrow library books for four weeks. Access to materials owned by other libraries is available through the inter-library loan process.
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Journal Collection Policies
MRL journal collection provides timely information to support HHS employees in their public health efforts. The journal collection consists mainly of electronic journals that can be searched and viewed online.
Other libraries interested in making inter-library loan requests may contact 512-776-7559 or email library@dshs.texas.gov. The DSHS library is a DOCLINE participant.
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Reference Services
MRL librarians answer reference questions using electronic and print resources. They also provide information referral services, granting library stakeholders access to experts within the Texas Health and Human Services Enterprise (HHS) and to other specialized libraries outside of HHS.
MRL librarians cannot provide medical or legal advice. They cannot respond to questions about individual medical cases, provide second opinions or make specific recommendations regarding therapy. Those issues should be addressed directly with your healthcare provider.
Reference questions may be submitted by email or by telephone at 512-776-7559.
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Literature Searches
MRL librarians conduct bibliographical searches for Texas HHS employees using a variety of databases and other electronic resources. The searches generate a list of journal citations, available with or without abstracts. The requester reviews the lists and then requests relevant full-text articles (see Document Delivery below).
Search requests may be brought to the library, mailed, telephoned or emailed using the Literature Search Request Form.
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Document Delivery
MRL librarians provide free document delivery services to all Texas HHS programs and employees.
Request for books or articles filled by first consulting the MRL journal collection. If the MRL collection does not provide access to the requested materials, then a request is submitted to the inter-library loan services.
The MRL is a member of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine and is a DOCLINE participant.
Please allow appropriate time to process requests, though most requests are filled within 1-10 business days.
Requests may be delivered in person, by mail, by telephone or by email using the Document Delivery Request Form.
Copyright Restrictions: The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship or research. If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of fair use, that user may be liable for copyright infringement. MRL reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in the judgement of library staff, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.
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Email Distribution List
Texas HHS employees may join in the MRL email distribution list to receive periodic notices of new resources in the MRL collection, new services, and upcoming training sessions or events. Websites, electronic reports and abstracts of interesting journal articles are also included in the Medical and Research Library News. To join, go to the Join Email List.
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Current Awareness Services
MRL librarians provide two current awareness services in support of the research activities of Texas HHS employees.
- Electronic Search Service: Employees involved in ongoing research may request that the MRL librarians run an electronic search periodically on topics of interest, providing a listing of newly published materials.
- Tables of Contents Service: Upon request, MRL librarians will send Table of Contents (TOCs) from journal titles selected by HHS employees to HHS email addresses. For more information about the Table of Contents service, go to the Table of Contents Request Form.
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Tours and Training
MRL librarians provide MRL orientation tours upon request to HHS employees.
Training sessions on MRL information resources, such as PubMed, are provided upon request to HHS employees.
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External links to other sites are intended to be informational and do not have the endorsement of the Texas Department of State Health Services. These sites may also not be accessible to people with disabilities.