The New York Academy of Medicine Library, one of the largest biomedical research libraries in the world, offers a wide variety of special services to the Fellows and Associate Fellows of the Academy. Some of these benefits, described in detail below, are:

• Telephone hotline service
• Information services
• Document delivery services
• Borrowing from the Library's monograph collection
• Advance preparation of materials
• Direct online access to the Library's catalog

Fellows and Associate Fellows do not need an appointment to use the Rare Book Room during regular Library hours. The Hartwell Room, when not in use, is also available for the Fellows and Associate Fellows. Please call (212) 822-7367 to check on the room's availability.

Telephone Service

Fellows and Associate Fellows are welcome to call the Library for rapid document delivery and information assistance.

For delivery of journal articles, Fellows and Associate Fellows are invited to call the Document Delivery Department directly: (212) 822-7296.

For information assistance, please call the Reference Department at (212) 822-7315. A detailed explanation of information services available to Fellows follows.

Information Services

1. Fellows and Associate Fellows have unlimited use of the Library's ready reference services (questions involving less than 15 minutes of research time to be resolved). Fellows and Associate Fellows are given, at no charge, up to two hours of in-depth reference assistance annually. A question is considered in-depth if it takes more than 15 minutes of staff time to be resolved. An in-depth request could include a complicated bibliographic verification or searching of detailed biographical and historical materials from the collection. Fellows and Associate Fellows requesting additional hours of in-depth assistance will be charged at the rate of $75.00 per hour (minimum $40 for 1/2 hour).

   To request a search, please call (212) 822-7315 and ask to speak with a librarian.

2. The reference department has access to a number of proprietary databases, from which searches can be requested. Fellows and Associate Fellows are required to pay any fees incurred by the use of these databases; these database fees cannot be determined in advance of the search. Fees for staff time will only be charged IF the Fellow or Associate Fellow has gone beyond their two hours of free research time. For detailed information on the available databases, please consult the reference department.
3. Fellows and Associate Fellows are invited to visit The New York Academy of Medicine's Web Page at http://www.nyam.org. Information about the Academy and the Library are available, as is access to the Library's online catalog.

Document Delivery Services

Photocopy Services/Inter-library Loan

1. Fellows and Associate Fellows may order, free of charge, twenty-five photocopied articles a year a maximum length of fifty pages per article. Additional photocopies, beyond the twenty-five limit, will be charged at a rate of $10.00 per article. (Fellows and Associate Fellows visiting the Library can take advantage of our photocopying services at the regular rate of 25 cents/page.)

   For Document Delivery service, please call the Document Delivery department at (212) 822-7296 or fax your requests to (212) 722-7650 or send by email to docdelnyam@nyam.org.

2. Articles can either be held for pickup or sent by first class mail. Delivery by fax or email is available for an additional fee of $4.00 per article. Articles can be sent via Fedex using the recipients account.
3. Materials obtained from other institutions (Interlibrary Loan) will be charged on a cost-recovery basis. These charges vary depending upon the location of the materials to be borrowed.

   For ILL service, please call Rochelle Castillo at (212)822-7337.

Borrowing Privileges

Fellows and Associate Fellows may borrow books from the Library collection for a period of four weeks, renewable for an additional four weeks. Although journals do not circulate, articles can be photocopied. Items not owned by the Academy may be ordered via Interlibrary Loan. (Fellows are required to pay applicable fees.)

Advance Preparation of Materials

Fellows and Associate Fellows may call to request that books and/or journals be pulled from the shelves for their use. Items pulled prior to a visit will be held in either the Hartwell Room or in the Information Services Office. Lengthy lists of items should be submitted far enough in advance to allow time for items to be retrieved. (In non-emergency situations, please limit requests to ten items per day). Normally, items are reshelved after five business days; however, special arrangements can be made for books needed for longer periods of time.

Online Services
The following online databases are available free via the Internet:

Online Catalog A web catalog which allows access to the Library's holdings of books, journals, and pamphlets.

PubMed National Library of Medicine's database used for locating journal articles written for the healthcare professional.

NLM Gateway Includes another interface for NLM's MEDLINE database, as well as access to other NLM databases of books, serials, audiovisuals, meeting abstracts, and consumer health information.

NOAH (New York Online Access to Health) This site provides health-related information to the consumer in both English and Spanish.

Fellows have access to the following online services while in the Library:

Health Reference Center A health-related database directed to the consumer.

Alt-HealthWatch A full-text database devoted to alternative medicine.

Restrictions

Designations
Fellows and Associate Fellows may, on occasion, designate a representative to use the Library on their behalf. These designations need to be made in advance and in writing; those privileges that are to be accorded to their representative need to be specifically outlined. Designated privileges will be extended for a maximum of three months, and must be renewed at three-month intervals.

Assistance to family members
Special assistance for the research projects of family members of Fellows and Associate Fellows can only be granted with advance, written authorization of a Fellow or Associate Fellows. All charges which ensue will be billed to the Fellow's or Associate Fellow's account at the rate charged to the general public. If, however, the work is being done specifically on the Fellow's or Associate Fellow's behalf, charges will be at the Fellow's rates. The letter of authorization should delineate this.

Corporate Services
If a Fellow or Associate Fellow needs online bibliographic searches, photocopies, or detailed reference assistance on behalf of a commercial enterprise, s/he should contact the Library's Special Projects Coordinator at (212) 822-7324. Requests for further information regarding library policies and fees for service should be directed to the Information Services Department. Please call (212) 822-7315.