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The need for a Bioinformatics Program became apparent after repeated requests from researchers for bioinformatics resources and the University's announcement of BioMed 21, a $300 million biomedical science initiative to bring 'new knowledge of the human genetic blueprint to the patient's bedside and change how illnesses are understood, diagnosed, and successfully treated.' A Bioinformatics Specialist with a strong background in the fields of Molecular Biology and Biostatistics was hired. Program development started in 2003. Initially, three core courses were developed: Sequence Similarity Search, Genetic Variation, and Human Genome Resources. Each of these courses was offered twice per semester. Additionally, partnerships were established within the University Medical School Community (e.g., the Genome Sequencing Center) to license and teach Spotfire's DecisionSite for Functional Genomics, a software package used to analyze microarray data. From March to May 2005, seven Spotfire classes were taught. Each Spotfire class consisted of seven hours of classroom work. Also, in-depth consultations were scheduled with faculty and researchers to address their specific needs. These consultations led to requests for other software packages to purchase and manage, including Lasergene and CSD (Cambridge Crystal Structure Database). Efforts to reach outside of the University Community were made through the development of a Bioinformatics Web site. doi:10.1300/ J115v26n02_08. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biomedical and psychosocial literature on health issues related to minorities has been growing over recent years, but it appears that serious attention to collection development activity of this type of literature has been lacking. With the upsurge in diversity and multicultural discussions in academia, this topic now becomes an item on which collection development librarians in the health sciences should focus their attention. This article puts forward a list of recommended materials that can form the core of a collection for academic health sciences libraries on health issues of people of color. It does not preclude more extensive collection activity in this area as suited to specific libraries' needs. These recommended materials may be the germ from which the collection activity may begin or expand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]