Library and Information Services

The Society's Library has been actively providing information services to members since 1996, when it developed from a repository for books and journals to a proactive library and information centre. The library collections cover a wide range of subjects in the areas of pharmacy, medicine and health.

Collections and access:

The Library contains over 2700 book items. Approximately 80 are held as reference only texts, accessible only in the Library, with the remainder available to members for loan. The Library currently subscribes to 30+ journals from NZ, Australia, USA and the UK. The Library maintains databases which provide access to material held by the library, which can be searched by the librarian on request. The Library can also be visited in person by any member living in or visiting Wellington.

Opening hours: 8.30am - 5pm Monday-Friday

Contact: Caroline Joyce - Librarian

Tel. 04 381 8354   Fax. 04 382 9297

Email: c.joyce@psnz.org.nz

• Loans
• Information enquiries and photocopying
• Current Awareness Update (CAU)
• Other resources - speaker's kits, and videos

Library loans 

There are over 2700 books held in the PSNZ Library, and most can be borrowed for a loan period of 4 weeks. The exception is those books held as reference only, which do not leave the library.

PSNZ members: no charge

Non-members: $10.00

Interloans

Both books and journal articles not held by the PSNZ library can, in most cases, be obtained from another library, using the inter-library loan scheme. There is a minimum charge for all interloan requests of:

PSNZ members $10.00 per item, non-members $20.00 (where one item only is requested)

NB. In some cases, there is an extra charge from the supplying library. If the customer wants to go ahead with the request, these charges will be added to the base charges above.

International interloans can be requested for items not held in New Zealand. Charges start at $25.00 per item.

NB. CPC pharmacists:

In most cases, these charges do not apply to those pharmacists who are currently paying CPC support fees.

Information Enquiries and Photocopying

All Society members can request information from the library. There is a nominal charge (see below) for all enquiries involving a literature search or significant staff time. In general, the in-house databases of books and indexed journal articles are searched first, with Internet-based databases and websites being searched if necessary, or if requested. The response depends on the type of enquiry presented. It may take the form of photocopied information from journal articles and/or books for a very specific enquiry, or a database printout of relevant article abstracts for a more general enquiry. MEDLINE (using the free PubMed site) or other Internet database search printouts will, in many cases, refer to articles not held by the PSNZ library. In these cases, the items in question can usually be interloaned from another library (see Loans). 

• Information enquiry/literature search request: basic charge: PSNZ members $10.00; non-members $20.00.

• Urgent surcharge (where information required same day) + $10.00

NB. CPC pharmacists:

The basic information enquiry charge does not apply to those pharmacists who are currently paying CPC support fees.

When making a Library/Information enquiry please specify the following:

• Information required - please be as specific as possible    (Please note that the librarian is not a pharmacist. The library can provide information, and literature on a subject, but cannot give clinical advice or recommendations, or analysis of clinical information supplied.)
• Any books or other sources you have already checked    (Please make use of the resources you already have before contacting the library)
• Date by which you would like/need to receive the information
• Whether you are currently paying CPC support fees
• Address/contact details

The Current Awareness Update (CAU) is a list of 35 references (with brief abstracts) to articles selected from recent issues of journals that the library subscribes to. Its purpose is to provide a means of keeping up-to-date with what is happening in pharmacy, as published in the literature. It is produced 4 times a year, each issue covering 3 months, and is distributed on a subscription basis, at $22.50 (GST incl.) per issue. The subscriber is able to request photocopies of the full text of any articles of particular interest. Photocopying charges apply for requests for 6 or more articles (up to 5 article copies are supplied free of charge).

This service has been suspended, due to time constraints. It is hoped that we will be able to offer it again at a later date.

Other Resources

These include videos, and speakers kits, which are available for loan, and can be used for continuing education, or for presentations. There are charges for the use of some of these resources. Lists of these and applicable charges are available from the library.