The South Dakota Med-Fax network.

Health sciences librarians established a statewide medical information network in South Dakota to provide rural physicians with database access and rapid document delivery. A private grant funded equipment for interactive simultaneous remote searching (ISRS) and telefacsimile transmission, as well as for a coordinator for training and follow-up support. In less than one year, telefacsimile technology has become an integral part of library information transfer among sixteen network sites, and ISRS is gaining acceptance among physicians who lack local access to online databases.

Accessing the biomedical literature: the South Dakota Med-Fax Network.

Librarians developed a plan for a medical information network based upon the needs of South Dakota physicians as revealed in a 1984 survey. The South Dakota Med-Fax Network received private funding in 1987 and became operational in 1988. The Network incorporates interactive simultaneous remote on-line database searching (ISRS) and telefacsimile transmission to expedite the identification and delivery of medical literature to South Dakota physicians. At present, the Network is composed of sixteen institutional sites. Individual physicians may establish their own sites if they provide an IBM compatible personal computer with a modem and purchase a telecommunications software package. The Network will provide training and follow-up support. Use patterns to date demonstrate that telefacsimile transmission is instrumental in reducing significantly the time necessary to deliver journal literature and that ISRS searching is the method of choice in the Network's remote sites.

Physicians' perceptions of library services in a rural state.

A survey was disseminated to learn physicians' perceptions of library/information resources and services available in South Dakota. It sought their reactions to various information sources, their assessment of available library services, and their opinions as to which services should be promoted. Descriptive data provided by the respondents (geographic location, affiliation, specialty, years of service, and local institutional availability of library services) were correlated against responses. Only the last variable (which indicated whether the physician was unserved, underserved, or served by library information services) provided significant differences in group responses. The survey, results, and implications for library services in other rural states are discussed.