RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The Group for Research in Pathology Education (GRIPE) is an organization of pathology educators whose purpose is to promote and facilitate excellence in pathology education. One important function of GRIPE is the maintenance of image and multiple-choice test question data banks. These resources have recently been made available online via the GRIPE Digital Library Web site. The purpose of the GRIPE Digital Library project was to develop an online searchable database that would facilitate access to the GRIPE resources for pathology education. DESIGN: The GRIPE image bank--containing approximately 3000 peer-reviewed gross and microscopic pathologic images along with textual descriptions--was linked with the GRIPE test question bank using Gossamer Thread's DBMan Web database management program. The search and display templates create a functional user interface that integrates images, image descriptions, and test questions into a single online digital library. Using any Web browser, faculty can access the GRIPE Digital Library and search for images and/or test items that can be used in teaching. RESULTS: In the first 18 months (February 2000 through July 2001), users at 40 GRIPE member institutions signed up and used the GRIPE Digital Library to perform more than 6000 individual searches and view more than 37500 images. These digital images were used to produce lectures and laboratory modules that were posted on Web pages and made available to students remotely. CONCLUSIONS: The GRIPE Digital Library provides a unique resource that can facilitate development of educational materials for pathology instruction and helps to fulfill the educational mission of GRIPE.
