In recent months, we’ve seen unparalleled collaboration across academia, various national and international organizations, and medical staff to help practitioners battle with the impact of the COVID-19 virus. The sharing of new knowledge, as it evolves, along with previous research is fundamental to overcoming medical conditions and helping patients recover.
In such times, the dissemination of relevant scholarly information, as well as evidence gathered from the field must be quick, concise, and targeted at the right audience. And everything needs to happen online, as access to libraries, archives, and physical sources of information is limited; and must combat the rapid spread of misinformation or “fake news”.
Online courses are one effective channel for training medical staff, and training surrounding COVID-19 is no exception. At the beginning of February, the World Health Organization (WHO) already reported that “more than 25,000 people across the globe have accessed real-time knowledge from WHO experts on how to detect, prevent, respond to and control the new coronavirus in the 10 days since the launch of an open online training.” By May 21, 2020, the WHO Emerging respiratory viruses, including COVID-19: methods for detection, prevention, response and control course page indicates over 202,000 enrollees in the course.
Empowering seamless access to critical research and training materials during pandemics requires robust digital library platforms like Alma. Alma’s open APIs and integration capabilities enable libraries to connect with diverse information sources, curate relevant content, and deliver it directly to medical professionals on the frontlines, ensuring they have the latest knowledge and resources at their fingertips.
