The Grunigen Medical Library, established in 1983, is one of the leading teaching hospital libraries in the country, with an impressive 25 year history. Housed in the Forest J. Grunigen, M.D. Library and Medical Education Center at the UC Irvine Medical Center, the library is the largest medical library in Orange County. The library provides access to thousands of journals and books, and an extensive array of bibliographic, reference, image, statistics, and video resources.
The Grunigen Medical Library serves the educational, research, and clinical needs of health professionals, students and researchers at the UC Irvine Medical Center and College of Health Sciences, and throughout the Orange County region. The Grunigen Medical Library is a Resource Medical Library (RML) for the Pacific Southwest Region in the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM).
Over 50 public computer workstations are located throughout the library and the Information Technology Center. These computers are equipped with a variety of academic applications and provide access to email, the Internet, a vast array of online resources, including ANTPAC (UC Irvine online catalog) and Melvyl (UC online catalog). Printing, photocopying, and color scanning are available using an electronic debit card system. Wireless network access is offered to UCI faculty, staff, and students, as well as loan programs for laptops and PDA devices. The Grunigen Medical Library's website is a gateway to the wealth of health sciences information resources and services available to UC Irvine students, faculty, and staff. Remote access to the library's licensed online resources is available 24/7 to current UCI faculty, students, and staff.
The Grunigen provides information, reference and research assistance by expert librarians, including identifying appropriate information resources, developing effective searching strategies, and accessing articles and books. The library also offers online assistance during reference hours, including email and real-time chat service. Instruction in the use of PubMed@UCI, the CINAHL database, EndNote, PDAs, EBM resources, and a wide range of online medical resources is available. Librarians provide one-one-one instruction, scheduled workshops, and departmental seminars. Additionally, librarians work with faculty to integrate research strategies and library information resources into courses, and to implement faculty development sessions.
The Grunigen Medical Library offers state-of-the-art computing, multimedia, and videoconferencing equipment, facilities, and services through its Information Technology Center (ITC). Staffed by technology specialists and student peer consultants, the ITC offers a computer lab, multimedia development workstations, networked electronic class/conference rooms, and media viewing spaces. Technical assistance and consulting services are available by phone or by appointment.
A range of services are available to help clients with disabilities use library resources, including a workstation with adaptive technology equipment. Access to adaptive and assistive technology is provided in partnership with the Disability Services Center.
The collection of the Grunigen Medical Library is shaped by the UC Irvine Libraries’ mission to “proactively assist UCI’s students, faculty, and staff in fulfilling the education, scholarship, patient care, and research goals of the University.”
The library collects current scholarly information, primarily electronic, which supports the clinical, educational, and research needs of its users. The collection covers health, the practice of medicine and related allied health care disciplines, nursing, research and methodological literature, and reviews or state-of-the-art reports. The library’s emphasis is on providing materials at the point of need. As a result, the collection includes thousands of electronic journals, electronic books, and databases.
Grunigen's large collection of print materials is housed in the library on the first floor of the Forest J. Grunigen, M.D. Library and Medical Education Center. Additional materials covering health, biomedical disciplines, public health and related disciplines, research literature, and areas influencing biomedical and health care are housed at the Science Library on the UC Irvine campus. These campus materials may be transferred to this library and will be delivered within 24 hours. The Grunigen interlibrary loan service provides access to materials not owned by the UC Irvine Libraries.
Library Statistics
Established: 1983
Staff: 11 FTE
Total hours open per week: 88
Collection Metrics (2007-2008)
Volumes: 49,496
Books: 94,682 (medical books at Grunigen & Science Libraries)
Journal Subscriptions: 4,277 (medical subscriptions at Grunigen & Science Libraries)
Online Books: 2193
Online Journals: 3,923
Service Metrics (2007-2008)
Visits to the Library (gatecount): 139,327
Virtual visits to the GML web site (approx.): 441,718
Page views of the GML web site (approx.): 491,352
Circulation of library materials: 5,400
In-house use of library materials: 9,110
Interlibrary Loans received from external libraries (borrowing): 1,830
Interlibrary Loans provided to external libraries (lending): 3,990
Transfers received from campus libraries: 247
Transfers provided to campus libraries: 212
Reference and informational questions answered: 6,121; 6,329
Library workshops/classes: 47
Library workshop/class attendence: 499
The current medical library that occupies the 1st floor of the Forest J. Grunigen, M.D. Library and Medical Education Center building was completed in 1984. The medical library underwent a major expansion and renovaton project in 1995, increasing study and computer space and creating the Information Technology Center. In 2001 the library was renamed the Forest J. Grunigen, M.D. Medical Library in honor of Dr. Forest Grunigen (1905-1999), UC Irvine School of Medicine founder, graduate, professor, and alumni.
As the largest medical library in Orange County, the Grunigen Medical Library serves the healthcare information needs of the UC Irvine Medical Center and College of Health Sciences, as well as providing service to area physicians, healthcare professionals and students, medical libraries, and the public.
Forest J. Grunigen, M.D., 1905-1999
Forest Grunigen was born in Sequoia National Park, California on July 31, 1905. He graduated from Woodlake Union High School in Woodlake, California in 1924 and diligently worked at a variety of weekend jobs to pay for his college education, including driving delivery trucks and roughnecking for Shell Oil Company. He graduated from the California College of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons in 1931 with a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree, obtaining his internship and residency training at the Los Angeles County Osteopathic Hospital. Early in his career he served as a physician to the MGM stars of Hollywood's golden era in the 1930s and then received further urology training in Nazi-occupied Austria as World War II approached. Returning to the United States two years later, he completed his urology specialty training at the University of Michigan Medical School. In 1962 he received his Doctor of Medicine degree from the California College of Medicine and served as honorary clinical professor at the University of California, Irvine until 1984. Following his retirement, he continued to serve the medical profession and the State of California with numerous appointments, including serving as President of the California State Board of Medical Examiners.
Dr. Grunigen was instrumental in the unification of the California Medical Association (CMA) and the California Osteopathic Association (CAO) and the successful state ballot initiative (Proposition 22) that made the merger of M.D.s and O.D.s official in 1962. He was also a leading voice in bringing the California College of Medicine into the University of California System, and then to its present home at the University of California, Irvine, in 1967. Dr. Grunigen was deeply committed to the education and training of physicians throughout his life and helped ensure the survival and success of what is now UC Irvine's School of Medicine.
Dr. and Mrs. Grunigen's dedication to the success of the UC Irvine School of Medicine was further strengthened through the establishment of a charitable remainder annuity trust to benefit the Forest J. Grunigen, M.D. Library Fund. In 2001 the UC Irvine Medical Center Library was renamed the Forest J. Grunigen Medical Library in honor of Dr. Grunigen's work as a School of Medicine alumnus, supporter and friend. The Grunigen Medical Library, a cornerstone of medical teaching and learning, has become part of the enduring legacy of Dr. Grunigen, who passed away in 1999 and serves as a reminder of his accomplishments and the leadership that influenced many generations of medical alumni.
His biography, A Strength Born of Giants: The Life & Times of Dr. Forest Grunigen by Dolores Grunigen and Jay O'Connell, chronicles nearly a century of adventures and accomplishments, as well as, his role in the history of UC Irvine's School of Medicine. It is available for loan from each of the Libraries, please see the Antpac record for the book's availability.
|
back
