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Graduates and Professional Student Council (GPSC)
The Graduate and Professional Student Council is the umbrella student government organization for Duke’s
nine
graduate and professional schools. GPSC represents and advocates on behalf of graduate and
professional
students; serves as a liaison between graduate and professional students and the University
Administration;
serves as a liaison among the student governments of the graduate and professional schools;
nominates graduate
and professional student representatives to University committees; programs events of
interest to the graduate
and professional student community; and provides financial support for
programming of graduate and pro-
fessional student groups. GPSC functions are accomplished mainly through
the General Assembly, in which rep-
resentation is allotted to each degree-granting program according to the
number of enrolled students. Repre-
sentatives of each program and officers of the council are selected
annually. School of Nursing students
participate actively in this organization.
Information about the GPSC is available from the Graduate and Professional Student Council
website.
Students interested in representing the School of Nursing should inquire through the DUSON Student
Government (Student Council) regarding election to GPSC.
7.5
The Libraries
The Duke University Library system, with more than seven million volumes, ranks among the top ten private
research
libraries in the United States. Its collections also include extensive holdings of serials, electronic
resources, digital
collections, and media, and more than fifteen million manuscripts. The system includes the
Perkins/Bostock main library
and the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library/University
Archives on West Campus; Lilly Library
(fine arts, philosophy, film and video, performing arts) and the Music
Library on East Campus; and the Pearse Memorial
Library at the Duke Marine Laboratory in Beaufort, North
Carolina. The Duke University Library system also includes
four independently administered libraries: the
Divinity School Library, the Ford Library at The Fuqua School of Business,
the Goodson Law School Library, and
the Duke University Medical Center Library. For more information about the re-
sources and hours of operation
of each of the libraries, visit the Duke University Libraries website.
7.5.1
The Duke University Medical Center Library (DUMCL)
Located adjacent to Duke Hospital in the Seeley G. Mud Building, DUMCL supports patient care, teaching, and
re-
search activities of the Duke University Medical Center by providing its users with consistent and efficient
access to
timely, relevant biomedical information. The DUMCL collection has approximately 183,500 volumes.
Users have ac-
cess to more than 4,300 biomedical electronic journal subscriptions, including more than 375
full-text online nursing
journals.
DUMCL maintains a robust online presence, thereby extending access to library resources and services
beyond
its physical location. The library also offers reference and educational services (consultations and
training in
database searching and information management), as well as a wide variety of tutorials and
Internet subject
guides on its website. The Duke University Medical Center Library website
provides access
to licensed and locally
created databases, electronic books and journals, and online learning and reference
tools. Databases include
PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL Plus with Full Text, Cochrane Library and the
Cochrane Database of Systematic
Reviews, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Nursing Consult, and many
others. The library website also includes
hundreds of free Internet resources organized into subject guides
that are searchable by keyword. Electronic
resource guides such as Nursing Tools provide quick and easy
access to important tools and evidence-based
practice information as well as other library services.
Interlibrary loan services fill requests for materials not avail-
able in the Duke Libraries or online, and books
and journal articles can be requested from libraries across the
state and the country. A desktop delivery
service provides digital copies of materials directly to the requester’s
workstation.
Medical Center Librarians provide in-depth consultations to faculty, staff, and students. These consultations
can
include individualized training in resources, identification of the best resources to meet the user’s need,
develop-
ment of effective search strategies, assistance with bibliographic software, and advice on other
information
management skills and resources. The Library staff also provides educational sessions customized
to the needs of
School of Nursing users.