PAHO Library Reference & Information Services

The PAHO HQ Library Reference Service receives many messages through electronic mail or phone each month. Reference staff provide answers concerning PAHO and WHO documentation that is readily available and guide users to relevant web resources.

Visitors are reminded that the PAHO HQ Library is neither a public nor a medical library. Users are encouraged to do their own bibliographic searches. Research for thesis or clinical medical subjects will be redirected to other specialized libraries. We ask that you direct original research, literature searches, or document delivery services to your organizational or local library for guidance. Local document delivery options should first be used to obtain photocopies of articles indexed and found in international databases.

Normally, questions are answered immediately or within a week, but sometimes in the case of absences, or if a query has to be redirected to other technical offices or regions, it may take us several more days to answer. Answers are provided in English or in Spanish.

Before asking us a question:

See if the subject you are looking for is listed in the following sites:

• PAHO Public Health Topics list
• or try searching the PAHO Library Institutional Memory Database for bibliographic references and selected documents in full text,
• search the Online Bookstore for publications for purchase
• or search in our corresponding PAHO Web Site.

Likewise, for WHO information, search the:

• WHO Topic List
• or try searching theWHOLIS (WHO) Database
• search in the WHO Publications Catalogue
• or search in the corresponding WHO Web Site.

If you cannot find the answer you need, please send your query by email to: library@paho.org