SCOPA Grant Proposal

The PDA Pilot Project

Proposal: On an almost daily basis we are seeing patrons in our library using Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs)-small, hand-held, customizable computers. We wish to study if high-use library and Medical Center electronic resources can be accessed on th ese low cost computers. If approved, this SCOPA grant would provide us with partial funding for a larger project.

Project description/goals/timeline:

Development for this project will proceed on five fronts, while the larger project will involve the broader testing of what we create in this first phase:

1. Library databases: Connecting a PDA to an application is done through "conduits," a software link that allows a PDA to talk to a program and allow data transfer. We will examine the feasibility of creating such conduits to Ovid, Web of Science, and ORBIS. (Feb-July)
2. Reference Resources: We have existing reference resources that we will make viable via a PDA interface: e.g. the YNHH Drug Formulary, Micromedex, electronic textbooks, etc. (Mar-Aug)
3. Information repository: We will create a web-resource to disseminate what we learn and develop. (Aug-Dec)
4. Education: A natural offshoot of this project will be a class teaching the technical and scholarly aspects of using PDAs and library resources. (Sep-Nov)
5. "Docking Station": We will examine feasibility of providing a way for patrons to plug into the campus network from one or more of our public terminals for downloading/uploading data, printing, and email (Mar)

Impact of this project:

• On our patrons: By creating library-related programs and resources we will be enabling our patrons to, in a sense, carry their library in their pockets. Medical students, residents, and School of Medicine faculty have unique needs for rapid access t o large amounts of information: e.g. immediate access to drug reaction databases. Additionally, Yale-New Haven Hospital, home to a large segment of our patron population, is considering moving towards PDAs to augment their clinical workstations. Our pro ject would allow us to prepare ourselves for delivering information to this large group of patrons.
• On library staff: The staff will develop a practical knowledge base on the standard uses of PDAs, as well as the more innovative application of PDAs for accessing library resources. Some staff will gain valuable experience in developing useful appli cations and in learning programming languages. We will also have the opportunity to further collaborate with non-library units within the School of Medicine.
• On the Library and the profession: Based on literature and web searches, we know of no other library in the country that is examining the feasibility of using PDAs to access library resources, with the exception of a Stanford Digital Library project that is examining the feasibility of connecting PDAs to a wireless network. We will be helping to fill a gap in the profession's knowledge base and we will disseminate the results of our evaluation as widely as possible, either through publishing or pres entations at professional meetings.

Who would be involved:

We have already met with representatives from ITS-MED and the Center for Medical Informatics-both groups are intrigued and eager to work with us on this project. In the library, the project will involve more than six librarians, one of whom is a programm er.

PDA device we will use:

After extensive research, we have selected the Palm Operating System (OS) platform (popularized by the PalmPilot and Palm III) for this project for several reasons. First, in our experience we have not seen any of the Windows CE devices in use by student s, staff, or faculty-something that reflects the predominant market share that the Palm OS enjoys. Second, the Palm OS has an open source code that will allow us to develop applications with greater ease. Finally, there are thousands of programs current ly available for this OS, some of which are bio-medical in nature, that we can learn from and test.

Costs:

ITEM	NUMBER	COST	JUSTIFICATION
3Com Palm III	2	$740	Two are necessary so that we can develop and test ideas in more than one area and by more than one person at a time.
HotSync Cable	1	$25	Allows for cradle-less connecting to a desktop computer.
MacPac	1	$15	To connect the Palm IIIs to a Macintosh.
Palm Modem	1	$130	Enables Internet access.
Conduit Development Kit for Java	1	$170	Software needed for developing connections to existing library databases and applications.
TOTAL		$1080