Representatives of BIREME attended the I Curso Internacional de Bibliotecas Médicas y Promoción Científica, which occurred virtually in January 11 to 13. The course, promoted by the Unidad de Desarrollo de Investigación, Tecnologías y Docencia del Instituto Nacional de Salud del Niño de San Borja of the Ministry of Health of Peru, aimed to develop skills and competencies in medical library management, editorial processes, open science, data management, information literacy and evidence-based medicine with the support of services and resources of specialized librarians. The program of the event included three thematic blocks: Bibliotecas Médicas Nacionales e Internacionales; Herramientas para la Investigación y Publicaciones; and Alfabetización en Salud y Difusión Científica.
Sueli Suga, supervisor of the area of Reference Sources of Information, presented the topic Scientific Literature in the Americas: getting acquainted to the LILACS database, in which she highlighted the LILACS mission of strengthening research institutions, management and practice in health on information management, editorial processes, publication and visibility of the scientific and technical output of Latin American and Caribbean countries. She also presented the selection criteria and the importance of LILACS as a source of information contextualized to the reality of the local population and highlighted the difference between LILACS and VHL.
Juliana Sousa, supervisor of the Monitoring of Instances and Projects area of the Virtual Health Library (VHL), presented the theme The Virtual Health Library model for the organization and dissemination of scientific and technical information and evidence in health. The presentation highlighted the importance of the VHL as an information and knowledge management model that contributes to promote access to scientific and technical information in health and helps to reduce the gap between knowledge and practice in Latin American and Caribbean countries. The course was attended by representatives of Latin American institutions dedicated to research and teaching in the area of Health Sciences. According to Juliana, “events of this nature are an opportunity to disseminate the information products and services developed by BIREME, thus expanding the access to scientific and technical information in health”.