Ask a Librarian

BY
RU

ONLINE HELP SERVICE "ASK A LIBRARIAN" aims to fulfill requests from remote users using the traditional and electronic help instruments of libraries and Internet resources.

Here you can:

get information about the availability of a certain publication in the library fund (book, electronic resource, journal, newspaper);
clarify the elements of the bibliographic description of the document - title, author, year of publication, etc.
find out specific factual information: the meaning of the term; decoding of the abbreviation; clarification of specific concepts, facts, people, etc .;
leave a request on the topic that interests you.

The procedure and conditions for implementation of the request:

Requests are accepted from all users of the VSMU library, citizens of the Republic of Belarus, foreign citizens and stateless persons, regardless of their age, level of education and place of residencein accordance with the status of the VSMU library (medical university) and the Provision on Online Library Help in VSMU Library.
One request per day is accepted from one reader. No more than 5 requests are processed per day.
Librarians reserve the right to delete incorrect questions and remarks.
No answers are given to questions related to the writing science projects and clarification of bibliographies for them.
Commercial and entertainment information is not provided.
Requests are accepted on a daily basis and are processed as they are received during the library's opening hours, with the exception of weekends and holidays.
The answer to the request is provided in the form of a bibliographic list (no more than 10 titles), consultations, links to an Internet resource.
Query execution time - 1 to 3 days (depending on the complexity).

Provision on Online Library Help in VSMU Library
General provisions

Online Library Help of Vitebsk State Medical University (VSMU Library) is intended for reference and information service of remote users with the help of Internet-technologies via collecting regulated amount of queries and publishing answers at the web-site of VSMU Library.

The main task of Online Library Help is operative and professional help of a bibliographer to a remote user in search of the needed bibliographic information in the mode “a query – an answer”.

VSMU Online Library Help Service functions according to legal system of Republic of Belarus, normative acts regulating relations in the field of librarianship, orders and bylaws of VSMU.

Categories of user

VSMU Library online help service is available to all users regardless their age, education, place of residence, and regardless of whether they are the actual readers of VSMU library or not.

Resources

Reference and bibliographer service is determined by the status of VSMU library as a medical university library.

The service is carried out on the basis of informational resources available in the Library including traditional reference resources and electronic catalog as well as Internet resources.

Main principles of service

Online Library Help Service acts on the basis of several principles:
- accessibility and free of charge for all the users;
- the efficiency of query run, depending on the types of requests received;
- compulsory completing of requests accepted for work and provision an answer even in the situation of absence of the required information;
- compliance with confidentiality regarding personal information provided by users;
- correctness of mutual communication.
The query run
- thematic queries, the implementation of which does not entail a complex bibliographic search;
- clarifying requests for the establishment and (or) clarification of missing or distorted elements of the bibliographic description;
- address queries - about the availability and (or) location of the requested document in the VSMU library.
Rules of the query run

Online Library Help bibliograhers do not consider users' requests that go beyond the thematic scope of VSMU Library, and these are as the following:
- clarification and interpretation of laws (Statutary) or other legal acts;
- providing ready-made reports, course and diploma papers;
- solving tasks in mathematics, physics, chemistry and other subjects;
- providing learning information;
- providing entertainment information (answers to quiz questions, crossword puzzles, etc.);
- providing document digital copy
- placing advertising information;
- providing information aimed at violating the current legislation of the Republic of Belarus.
Schedule and procedure of working

The reception of queries in the Online Library Help of VSMU Library is not limited by any time or quantitative framework. Requests are accepted daily and fulfilled as they are received during the opening hours of the library, except for weekends and holidays. Daily no more than 5 queries are accepted. Each user can send 1 query a day and no more than 4 queries per month. VSMU Library reserves the right to lower or increase this number depending on the user. In the case of more than 1 request in one query, only one to be fulfilled at the bibliographer's choice. Working language of the service is Russian.

Service results are provided to the user in the following types:
- text response, supplemented by references to information sources;
- links to information sources on the Internet;
- bibliographic consultation;
- list of Bibliography (no more than 10 bibliographic records);
- redirection to a specialized institution or organization with an e-mail address;
- negative answer with justification.
The queries are run from 1 to 3 working days (depending on the complexity). Queries are registered by VSMU library staff members (each query gets its reference number that is sent to a user's e-mail). Answers to queries are posted in the “Archive of completed information requests” in reverse chronological order.

Rules of making a query
Rules of making a query:
- clearly define an accurate request in Russian;
- check if there is an answer to the same query in the “Archive of completed information requests”;
- fill in a special form of a query.
The work on the preparation and publication of answers to requests is carried out by the staff of Reference and information department of VSMU library, who have the right to involve employees of other structural divisions of the VSMU library in solving complex professional inquiries.

Ask your question

Note!
Form for filling the "Subject" field:
Category (student, teacher, undergraduate, graduate student, employee, health care organizer, city and regional doctor, mid-level medical worker of the city and region, student of advanced training courses, intern, clinical resident, etc. ... ) / Education (secondary, specialized secondary, higher, academic degree ...) / Purpose of the request (educational, scientific, service, cognitive)

Example:
City and region doctor / higher / scientific

* - required fields