MAKING THE CONNECTION
Aug 25, 2006
SUNY Integrates Sixty Campus Libraries; Downstate Takes Leadership Role
The State University of New York’s new SUNYConnect program linking 60 SUNY libraries
is a great boon to students and faculty, says Dr. Richard Winant, chairman of the
SUNYConnect Advisory Board and director of the Medical Research Library of Brooklyn
at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University.
SUNY Connect users can now access a list of statewide electronic information resources
through an agreement between the libraries and the SUNY Provost’s Office of Library
& Information Services (OLIS). A multi-year effort to create a central catalog of
all SUNY libraries holdings has been completed. Students and faculty are able to borrow
print materials from this catalog through interlibrary loan.
“When you consider that the holdings of the SUNY libraries include more than18 million
volumes—and the entire Library of Congress has 20 million—you get some idea of the
scope of this project, “ said Dr. Winant, who is also dean for academic information
access at Downstate. “I am thrilled to be part of a group of librarians, university
administrators, and the OLIS staff that has accomplished what we have to date.”
The Medical Research Library of Brooklyn alone offers more than 200 databases, 3000
electronic full-text journals, more than 75 electronic books, an historical archive,
and a constantly expanding collection of additional resources.
The 12-member SUNYConnect Advisory Council that Dr. Winant chairs was established
to manage the project and develop greater access to electronic resources.
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University is the only academic medical center in Brooklyn,
Staten Island, or Queens, serving the area’s more than three million people.
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About SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn is one of four academic health centers (AMCs) in The State University of New York (SUNY) 64-campus system and the only SUNY AMC in New York City dedicated to health education, research, and patient care for the borough’s 2.7 million residents. Its flagship hospital, University Hospital at Downstate (UHD), is a teaching hospital and benefits from the expertise of Downstate’s exceptional medical school and world-class academic center research facilities. With a staff of over 800 physicians representing 53 specialties and subspecialties, Downstate offers comprehensive healthcare services to the community.
UHD provides high-risk neonatal and infant services, pediatric nephrology, and dialysis for kidney diseases and is the only kidney transplantation program in Brooklyn. Beyond its clinical expertise, Downstate houses a range of esteemed educational institutions, including its College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, School of Graduate Studies, and School of Public Health. Downstate fosters innovation through its multifaceted biotechnology initiative, the Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT, which support early-stage and more mature biotech companies.