Health Sciences Library Situated at Mater Dei Hospital, the Health Sciences Library (HSL) is one of the branches of the. Before migrating to the new hospital, the HSL consisted of two separate libraries, namely the Institute of Health Care Library and the Medical School Library. Currently the HSL caters for approximately 2,000 students from the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry and Faculty of Health.
The Library is divided into 5 collections: Main collection Melitensia collection Reference collection Short-Loans collection Thesis collection
Main collection The Main Collection comprises books which can be borrowed for a period of three weeks. Shelfmarks are displayed for each range. The Health Sciences Library is organized by subject areas according to the Library of Congress classification. This system uses a combination of letters and numbers. On each shelf one can find the shelfmark relevant to each row.
Melitensia collection The Melitensia collection at HSL is a special section of the Library incorporating works related to health topics written by Maltese authors, medical conferences held in Malta, and any such other material with a Maltese connection. Reference collection The Reference collection houses medical dictionaries, encyclopaedias, atlases and handbooks. Reference works are consulted for specific bits of information, and cannot be checked out of the Library so as to ensure their constant availability.
Short Loans collection Books in heavy demand are found in the Short Loans collection. This material can be checked-out for two hours during the day, overnight or the weekend. Theses collection Students are requested to hand in a copy of their theses to the HSL when terminating their studies. Theses are colour coded by degree, by diploma and by course, and shelved in alphabetical order by the surname of the author.
SUBJECT LC SUBJECT LC Philosophy and Psychology B-BJ Public aspects of medicine RA Religion BL-BX Pathology RB Social Sciences H Internal medicine RC Economics HB Surgery RD Management, Accountancy, Finance HD-HG Ophthalmology RE Sociology HM Otorhinolaryngology RF Criminology HV Gynecology and obstetrics RG Law K Pediatrics RJ Education L Dentistry RK Music M Dermatology RL Language and Literature P Therapeutics. Pharmacology RM Mathematics Physics QA-QC Pharmacy and materia medica RS Chemistry Biology QD-QH Nursing RT Anatomy QM Botanic, Thomsonian, and eclectic medicine RV Physiology QP Homeopathy RX Medicine (General) R Other systems of medicine RZ
Students have to consult the Online Public Access Catalogue, also known as OPAC, to search for books. The library OPAC can be accessed through the website. http://www.um.edu.mt/library When you identify a book ensure you take note of the book details below : the Shelfmark all books have a shelfmark which indicates their subject matter and gives the book an exact position on the shelves the Barcode number required to reserve a book if it is on loan. Demonstrations on how to use the catalogue are given by the librarians.
Journals The HSL is subscribed to over 200 printed journals, covering subjects related to medicine, dentistry and nursing. The latest issues are displayed on racks and arranged in alphabetical order by title. Back issues are sent to the journals depository at the Old Medical Library. In addition, the Library subscribes to a substantial number of electronic journal packages and online databases, offering thousands of full-text articles, which can be accessed at http://www.um.edu.mt/library/elibrary Demonstrations on how to perform online searches are offered to students by appointment.
IT Facilities To access your esims account you have been provided with UoM IT account. The same UoM IT account should be used to access the Library's electronic journal packages and to carry out your OPAC online transactions, including renewals and requests for books on loan. The HSL Library has five (5) workstations offering access to the University of Malta (UoM) website and (UoML) website. Through your UoM IT account username and password you can access the electronic journal packages. You can bring your own computers and connect through the WI-FI system within the Library. Printing credits can be bought from the circulation desk or from the IT Services on campus. Photocopying Black and white photocopies of material in the Library can be made against a per-sheet charge and subject to Copyright restrictions.
For further information you are welcome to contact us by calling on telephone number 2340 1867 or by e-mail healthsciences.lib@um.edu.mt