In the second half of 2024, BIREME is holding a series of five technical sessions especially aimed at the public in English-speaking Caribbean countries. The activities were launched on July 23, with the theme “Indexing documents using the LILACS Methodology”, and a presentation by Sueli Suga, BIREME’s Referential Information Sources Supervisor. The complete schedule of meetings is now available, with a calendar up to November, covering other topics, such as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in the editorial process of scientific journals; Reference Librarians Network; and Marketing Strategies for the MEDCARIB Network.
The initiative is part of the Center’s 2024-2025 Biennial Work Plan and aims to strengthen the MedCarib Network and the Caribbean Virtual Health Library (VHL), promoting access to scientific and technical information in health produced in the region. Focal point for technical cooperation projects with the countries of the Caribbean region, Marcia Barreto stressed that the technical sessions are also aligned with the strategic plan drawn up jointly with the MedCarib Network during the Virtual Health Library (VHL) Meeting held in November 2024 in São Paulo, Brazil. “Our goal is to support the strengthening of the MedCarib Network and cooperatively build the VHL for the Caribbean countries, promoting BIREME’s mission of facilitating access to scientific and technical information in health, supporting the decisions and guiding the practices of professionals, researchers, students and managers in the region”.
The first session opened with comments and a welcome from João Paulo Souza, Director of BIREME, Victoria Cruickshank-Taylor, Regional Coordinator of the MedCarib Network, and Verônica Abdala, Information Sources Manager at BIREME. The event welcomed 30 participants from five countries: Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. Check out the details of the program below.
About the Caribbean VHL
BIREME’s cooperation with the English-speaking Caribbean countries began in 1989 with the creation of the MedCarib database, a database of bibliographic references in the health sciences. This initiative saw the participation of 17 countries, forming the MedCarib Network, which uses the LILACS Methodology to promote the dissemination of scientific and technical information produced in the region.
Currently, the VHL Network and the MedCarib Network have the following instances from countries in the region: the Belize VHL, managed by the Belize National Library Service and Information System; the Guyana VHL, managed by the University of Guyana Library and the Ministry of Health of Guyana; and the Puerto Rico VHL, which operates under the responsibility of the Conrado F. Asenjo Library, Medical Sciences Department of the University of Puerto Rico.
Among the products and services available is MEDCARIB, a bibliographic database that includes documents such as books, book chapters, theses, technical reports, conference proceedings, journal articles and gray literature.
Another important resource is the CARPHA Evidence Portal, a continuously updated repository of research, syntheses and policy documents relevant to the Caribbean. In addition, VHL users in the region also have access to the Belize Database and the Guyana Library Catalog, both of which bring together national health sciences literature.