The Texas Department of State Health Services Medical and Research Library's hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday except for State of Texas holidays.
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 Tower Building, Room 404 and the telephone number is (512) 776-7559, toll-free 1-888-963-7111 ext. 7559, library@dshs.state.tx.us. (See Visitor Information)
Physical Address:
Medical and Research Library, Mail Code 1955
Texas Department of State Health Services
1100 West 49th Street, Tower Bldg., Rm. T-404
(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
The Medical and Research Library exists primarily to serve researchers, counselors, and medical practitioners working for or through the Texas Health and Human Services Enterprise (HHS). Significant emphasis is placed on services to HHS employees pursuing job-related needs and interests and to other libraries that call upon the resources of our staff and collections to assist them in meeting their customer needs. The library also addresses the general reference and information needs of HHS employees and assists students and members of the public in Texas who require health-related information.We meet our customers' needs by:
providing reference services;
acquiring, organizing, and maintaining a collection of materials;
locating and retrieving documents; and
providing assistance and training necessary to access and use information resources and services.
The timely and reliable delivery of the information and services we provide enables our customers to make knowledgeable decisions and to work more efficiently, resulting in better health for Texas citizens and financial savings for the taxpayers of the State.
The Medical and Research Library's primary customers are employees of the Texas Health and Human Services Enterprise (HHS). Secondary customers are other public health professionals, the library community and the general public in Texas. Our customers need reliable and complete information in the most timely manner possible. They need to access statistical, bibliographical, or full-text data either physically located in the Medical and Research Library or accessible electronically, through document delivery or inter-library loan.
Sandra Teft, Librarian (512) 776-7559 ~ sandra.teft@dshs.state.tx.us ~ Team leader, reference questions, literature searches, training, collection development, donated journals, circulation services
David McLellan, Librarian (512) 776-2882 ~ david.mclellan@dshs.state.tx.us ~ Document delivery, interlibrary loan, electronic collection, reference questions, journal collection, circulation services
The Library collection consists of more than 5,000 books and 230 print and electronic journals on subjects ranging from the Internet and management to public health and medicine. Several newspapers are received daily. Telephone directories and maps from many Texas communities are available. The Library maintains a large collection of Texas Department of Health legacy documents, as well as other government publications. Public access computers are located in the library and may be used to browse the Internet and to access electronic materials. Two photocopiers with scanning capabilities are also available in the library.
Borrowing privileges are generally limited to HHS employees and other libraries. Employees may borrow Library books for four weeks. HHS employees located on the main campus may borrow library journals for three days. HHS employees located off campus may add an additional week to allow for mail time.
In addition to the materials owned by the Library, access to the immense collections of The University of Texas General Libraries is available. Library staff travel to UT once a week to retrieve books and articles for HHS employees. Employees may access UT directly by obtaining a TexShare card or borrowing the library's courtesy card. Please contact the DSHS Medical and Research Library at (512) 776-7559 for more information.
The journal collection of the Medical and Research Library provides timely information to support HHS employees in their public health efforts. HHS employees located at the central complex in Austin may make copies of articles using two copy machines located in the library or check out journals for a three-day loan period. Library staff will make copies of articles for HHS employees located outside the Austin central office complex. Electronic copies of articles are provided whenever possible.
Other libraries interested in making interlibrary loan requests may contact (512) 776-7559 or email library@dshs.state.tx.us. The DSHS library is a Docline participant. The DSHS Medical and Research Library is open to the public and library materials may be used in-house.
Medical and Research Library staff answer reference questions using in-house materials such as dictionaries, handbooks, textbooks, encyclopedias, and resources on the Internet. In addition, information referral services are provided, granting library customers access to experts within the Texas Health and Human Services Enterprise (HHS) and to other specialized libraries outside of HHS.
The library staff cannot provide medical or legal advice. We 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 to library@dshs.state.tx.us, by telephone at (512) 776-7559, or brought to the Library.
Medical and Research Library staff conduct bibliographical searches for Texas HHS employees using a variety of databases as well as the Internet. These searches generate a list of journal citations, available with or without abstracts. Customers review the lists and then may request relevant full-text articles (see Document Delivery below).
Search requests may be delivered to the Library, sent through the mail, telephoned in, or e-mailed using the Literature Search Request Form. If you have any questions about this service, please contact the Library at (512) 776-7559.
Medical and Research Library staff provide document delivery services to all Texas HHS employees. Requests for articles or books are filled using the following process:
- The Library's own collection is consulted first.
- If not available in-house, a library staff member picks up materials at other local libraries.
- As a last resort, inter-library loan services are used. The DSHS Medical and Research Library is a member of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine and is a Docline participant.
Although most requests are filled within one to ten days, requesters should allow as much lead time as possible. There is no charge to a Texas HHS program or requester unless overdue fines are incurred or materials are lost.
Requests may be delivered to the Library, sent through the mail, telephoned in, or e-mailed using the Document Delivery Request Form. If you have any questions about this service, please contact the Library at (512) 776-7559 or email library@dshs.state.tx.us.
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. The Texas Department of State Health Services Library reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in the judgment of library staff, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.
Texas HHS employees may join the library's e-mail distribution list to receive periodic notices of new resources in the library's 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 e-mail List Form.
Medical and Research Library staff provide three current awareness services in support of the research activities of Texas Health and Human Services Enterprise (HHS) employees.
- Electronic search service. Persons involved in ongoing research may request that the DSHS library staff run an electronic search periodically on the topic of interest, providing a listing of newly-published materials.
- Tables of contents service. Upon request, library staff will send table of contents pages of journal titles chosen by the requestor directly to HHS e-mail addresses, if these contents are available electronically. For more information about the table of contents service, go to the request form at https://www.dshs.state.tx.us/library/TOC-form.aspx.
HHS employees interested in obtaining more information about any of these current awareness services may contact the Library at (512) 776-7559 or email library@dshs.state.tx.us.
The Texas Department of State Health Services Library and Information Services Program, of which the Medical and Research Library is a part, conducts orientation tours for HHS employees on an as-needed basis. For more information on tours, contact us by email at library@dshs.state.tx.us or (512) 776-6492.
Training sessions on some of the information resources, such as PubMed, are offered as needed to HHS employees. For more information on library training, contact us at library@dshs.state.tx.us or call (512) 776-7559.
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.