|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Biomedical Library recently added three new EBSCOHost Collections:
the Biomedical Reference Collection: Comprehensive; Nursing and Allied
Health Collection: Comprehensive; and Health Business FullTEXT Elite.
With these collections, the Biomedical Library has added 217 new titles
to the electronic journals collection. Some of the new titles include:
Angiology, Clinical Pharmacokinetics, Disease Management
& Health Outcomes, Human & Experimental Toxicology,
Human Antibodies, International Journal of Infectious Diseases,
Journal of Child Neurology, Journal of Deaf Studies &
Deaf Education, Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology,
Journal of Otolaryngology, Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis,
Statistical Methods in Medical Research, Surgical Products,
Toxicology & Industrial Health, and Vascular Medicine.
To explore the new databases, follow the EBSCO link from the library’s
Resources pages (http://southmed.usouthal.edu/library/resources.htm). The new EBSCOHost Collections can be accessed from off-campus through
the Biomedical Library’s proxy server. For more information about
remote access to the Biomedical Library’s electronic resources,
please visit the library’s proxy server instruction page (http://southmed.usouthal.edu/library/
medgate1/index.html). The Biomedical Library’s Electronic Journals page continues to grow, and in an effort to provide faster loading time we have divided the page into 4 separate pages. A clickable alphabet allows the user to go directly to the list of electronic journals beginning with that particular letter. Users can move easily from one page to another by simply clicking on a letter in the clickable alphabet. The new format provides quicker access to the electronic journals in the Biomedical Library collection. To view the page go to: http://southmed.usouthal.edu/library/epub.htm
|
|
|
||
The following titles will be added to the Biomedical Library collection
starting in January 2002:
In order to make the journal collection more responsive to the needs of the faculty, staff and students in the Colleges of Medicine, Nursing , and Allied Health Professionals, the Biomedical Library analyzed statistics from the journal use study and developed a list of titles that would be discontinued. This list was submitted to faculty for feedback and adjustments were made. The print version of some titles was eliminated if we had the title in electronic format and some duplicated print titles were discontinued. Some print titles that showed very little usage in the last three years were also discontinued. Responses from the faculty indicated that electronic was more valuable than the print if a choice needed to be made. If you have a journal title you would like to see added to the collection, contact your Library Liaison or Judy Burnham at 460-6888 or jburnham@jaguar1.usouthal.edu
|
|
|
|||
|
In reviewing the faculty evaluations for the 2000-2001 academic year we were pleased to note that the Biomedical Library’s marks remained in the “A” category, with a combined score of 4.04 out of a possible 5 from the campus-wide survey. With just the libraries faculty surveyed, that number jumps to 4.73. It is believed that this continued success is due to a number of factors; dedicated and professional staff, strong skills among the faculty and staff, continued professional involvement by the faculty and staff, the ability to respond to expressed or perceived needs in an expeditious manner, continuous growth in the areas of technology, especially the acquisition/upgrading of units and software and large leaps forward in the area of online journals and books in full text, the ability of the Library to generate extra income to support its services by means of its outreach programs, and more. We thank all who took the time to complete the survey and appreciate the support received from you all. More of the same only better, for 2001-2002 and beyond...
|
||
|
|
| •Sally Murray and Kathy Wheeler presented two sessions
at the first South East Voyager Users Group Meeting in Auburn. The presentations
taught other librarians and computer staff from southeastern colleges
and universities how to configure ‘their SOUTHcat’ web version.
Sally and Kathy also moderated a user group meeting dealing with the Online
Public Access Catalog. Other library faculty and staff attended the conference
and learned how their colleagues use Voyager so they could improve our
own work flow and help others by sharing how we do things here. •The Biomedical Library observed Blue Jeans for Babies Day on August 24, 2001. Library faculty and staff participated in this March of Dimes event, purchasing shirts and button with all proceeds going to the local chapter of the March of Dimes. |
| Errata: In Biofeedback #52 (Summer 2001) Kathy Wheeler was inadvertently omitted as one of the authors of the “Magic of Prospero” paper. |
|
|
|||
| The Biomedical Library has added a number of new resources
that should be available by the time you read this. Below is a list of
these resources accompanied by a brief description and a sampling of their
contents. To access these tools go to http://southmed.usouthal.edu/library/resources.htm
PDR Online
Books@OVID
Stat-Ref |
|||
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
Committee Members for 2001-2002:
|
|
|
|
||
|
On August 22 the library conducted orientation sessions
for the freshman College of Medicine students. The students were divided
into groups and rotated through three orientations. One group toured
the facility, hearing about library policies and services, another learned
how to use the Multimedia Lab for studying and testing in the Radiologic
Anatomy class, and the third group received passwords and instructions
for using the COM Microcomputer Lab. To request a similar orientation
session for your group or class, contact the library at 460-7044 or
medlib@jaguar1.usouthal.edu
|
|
|
|
Carol G. Jenkins, AHIP, President of the Medical Library Association, issued the following statement regarding the June death of a woman participating in a medical research study: The tragic death of a young woman participating in a medical research study has raised difficult questions about how to ensure the safety of study participants. While human volunteer studies are essential to advance medicine, every precaution must be taken. This event has brought to light the complexity of finding and evaluating biomedical literature. The Medical Library Association (MLA) represents more than 5,000 members who are specially trained to access a depth and breadth of information from resources that might not be readily apparent to other health care professionals. The need for utilizing the expertise of medical librarians grows exponentially with the sheer volume of medical information available today. Currently, the Internet itself is not a comprehensive source of all the biomedical literature nor is it organized in general for retrieval at the level of confidence required for medical research. Medical librarians are expert searchers who are trained to perform complex searches of the literature and, as such, are valuable assets to the research team. They use carefully constructed search strategies and other approaches that go well beyond simple Internet searches. Their expertise, combined with that of the researcher and other health professionals, is critical to finding and effectively evaluating relevant research in the literature. MLA recommends that better guidelines or standard practices be developed to assist research review boards in evaluating whether searches are sufficient and will work, along with other interested groups, in helping to develop them. The Medical Library Association is an educational organization of professionals, providing quality information for improved health. Founded in 1898, MLA represents more than 1,100 institutions and 3,800 individual members in the health sciences information field. For more than a century the Medical Library Association has served society through its members and programs, by providing quality information for better health care, the education of health professionals, the conduct of research and the public’s understanding of health care issues. [The preceeding article originally appeared on the
MLA website (http://www.mlanet.org/press/2001/aug01.html).
|
|
|
||
|
A recent article in D-Lib Magazine (http://www.dlib.org)
discussed the dilemma librarians face with what is frequently referred
to as the “Big Deal.” Frequently librarians are given the
opportunity to purchase large collections of full-text journals directly
from publishers or independent aggregators. Examples include full-text
packages from sources such as ScienceDirect, EBSCO and Springer-Verlag
Link. This scenario has several advantages including lower costs, less
collection maintenance and an easier billing/payment process. But the
“Big Deal” also comes with its own, distinct problems. Bundled
collections often make it difficult or impossible to cancel individual
titles, bundles may include titles of little relevance to the library’s
users, and, perhaps most significantly, pre-aggregated collections effectively
remove librarians from consciously shaping library collections giving
publishers and/or aggregators greater power over the selection process.
The Biomedical Library continues to evaluate electronic resources, both
from aggregators and from individual publishers, in an effort to provide
access to a library collection that best suits the needs of the University.
|
| “If information is the currency of democracy, then libraries
are the banks.”
-Wendell Ford “The library is the temple of learning, and learning has
liberated more people than all the wars in history.”
|
 |
|
|
Bibliographic instruction classes are offered year-round by the Biomedical
Library. All classes will be held at the Biomedical Library Campus site
unless other arrangements are made. Advanced registration is required.
To view a list of classes currently offered, as well as other information
pertaining to library instruction go to: http://southmed.usouthal.edu/library/ref/classes.htm
|
|
|
|
| The Biomedical Library has recently added the Lippincott Premier Nursing
journals to our OVID full-text collection. The collection includes 14
core titles and serves as a compliment to the original OVID full-text
nursing collection. The full text journals are available through the OVID
database either via links found in specific citations or through links
found in SOUTHcat. The new titles include: |
|||
|
|
||
|
|
||
The library is beta testing a new survey form to elicit feedback on
your satisfaction with our services and resources. After the test period,
the library will do periodic surveys, using the collected data as the
basis for future changes and additions in collections and services. Please
let us know how satisfied you are with the library when asked to complete
a survey form.
|
|
|
||
| These titles are available through searching SOUTHcat (http://southcat.usouthal.edu),
from the Biomedical Library Electronic Books web page (http://southmed.usouthal.edu/library/ebooks.htm)
or from URL listed after each selection. (Some titles may require passwords.)
CLINICAL
PATHOLOGY
|
|
|
|||
 |
The systems department of the Biomedical Library has
added Microsoft Office 2000 to the computers in the second floor Instructional
Lab. PowerPoint, Word, and Excel will all be available
for use by faculty, staff and students of the university. At the present
there is no instruction offered, but look for specific training sessions
to be developed and offered in the future.
|
||
|
||
|
October is National Medical Librarians Month,
and to spread the cheer the Biomedical Library will be having a fine-free
week from October 22 – 28, 2001. A great opportunity to return
those overdue library books and visit a friendly medical librarian for
help with your information needs.
Have you been wondering how to access full-text medical journals from home? Wish that someone could show you how to perform a Medline search that gets you targeted, to-the-point results? Medical librarians at the Biomedical Library are experts in enhancing your access to high-quality health information. We are waiting to help you – just ask!
|
|
|
||
| Patrons are increasingly using our electronic request forms to submit
requests for library materials. Electronic forms save patrons a trip to
the library and streamline the request process. Currently the library
utilizes several different electronic request formats, and staff checks
our email accounts throughout the day for all incoming requests.
The electronic forms used most frequently are on the library’s web page (http://southmed.usouthal.edu/library/docdel/forms.htm). In addition to these forms, the order function in OVID was activated recently, allowing patrons to order articles directly from within OVID. One obvious advantage of this feature is that the bibliographic information is transferred directly on to the form, thus eliminating typing errors. Yet another electronic request form is found in Loansome Doc. Many faculty and students have established Loansome Doc accounts with the Biomedical Library allowing them to order articles while searching Medline via PubMed. Much like ordering through OVID, this service also imports the bibliographic information directly to the form, eliminating typing and automatically adding pertinent patron information. In order to use Loansome Doc, you must first set up an account with the Biomedical Library. Practically speaking, the Library will happily receive requests in any format as long as it is on an approved form. For the library staff the most important things are that requests are legible, that bibliographic information is correct and that patron contact information is correct and up-to-date. If you have any questions about how to use any of the electronic request forms available, contact the Biomedical Library at 460-6891 or 460-7044.
|
|
|
|||
| You may have noticed something
new if you recently used OVID – a link called Weblinks. By clicking
this link, OVID will automatically do a SOUTHcat search for the journal
indicating where it is located and if it is currently available. In the
case of full text online journals that we own that are not OVID full text,
weblinks will point to the library record where there is a link to go
to the journal or database. We should have all of these links put into
SOUTHcat soon. If you don’t see a link, go to http://southmed.usouthal.edu/library/epub.htm
to link to the journal. A screen will appear with “Your search resulted
in no hits” if we do not own the title at all. |
 |
||
|
|||
| OVID online has a new long-awaited feature that will be familiar to many of you that used the CD-ROM version! When searching OVID, it is now possible to limit to ‘Local Holdings.’ This means that at least one site of the University Libraries has some copies of that journal. It does NOT mean that we own that particular volume and issue. To check whether we own a particular volume and issue, click the Weblinks button! This is the most accurate way to tell which volumes and issues we own. Do remember, if you need the best article, don’t limit to local or full text. Only use these features for the quickest access. |
|
||
|
|
|||
|
|||
| The Kaiser Family Foundation’s State Health Facts Online (http://www.statehealthfacts.kff.org/) contains the latest state-level data on demographics, health and health policy - including health coverage, access, financing and state legislation. Users can choose the 50 State Comparisons to evaluate data for each state in any of the following categories: | |||
|
|
||
Users can also choose individual state profiles to access
information about the state as well as see how it compares to the US overall.
Additionally there is a complete list of all the categories, subcategories,
and topics available on the site. Finally, State Health Facts Online site
also provides links to over 40 Kaiser Family Foundation Reports and Related
Resources, many of which are available as downloadable PDF files.
|
|||
|
|
||
|
In a recent ceremony the University of South Alabama
recognized employees who have been with the university for five or more
years. Pictured below are the Biomedical Library and Media Production
Services employees recognized for their ongoing contributions to USA.  A. A. Biomedical
Library (Campus Site)(front row, l to r): Evelyn Reed-20 year pin, Roberta Barclay-25 Year Medallion and pin, Bonnie Seibert-10 year pin (back row, l to r): Sarah Murray-10 year pin, Earl Thompson-20 year pin, May Kountz-15 year pin, Belinda DiSario-5 year pin, Barbara Lewis-20 year pin, Judy Burnham-10 year pin (not pictured): Kathleen Boling-25 Year Medallion and pin, Loretta Johnson-10 year pin, Geneva Staggs-20 year pin, Diane Williams-15 year pin, Tom Williams-5 year pin
B. Media Production Services C. University Medical Center Hospital Library
|
| “I must say that
I find television very educational. The minute somebody turns it on, I
go to the library and read a book.”
-Groucho Marx |
|
|
|
|
| While license agreements restrict direct access to some electronic resources
by our SOUTHmed members, librarians can use these tools to search for
information for the members. Elsewhere in this issue are announcements
of new electronic resources that have been added to the collection. These
tools can be searched for information on a specific topic. Reference assistance
is only one of the resources provided to SOUTHmed members. Others include:
training, online literature searches, article delivery, and material check-out
privileges. SOUTHmed was developed to provide easy access to medical information for health care professionals who do not have ready access to a medical library, for hospitals without a medical library and for hospitals with libraries that need additional resources. For further information on SOUTHmed, contact Judy Burham, (251) 460-6888 or jburnham@jaguar1.usouthal.edu |
|
| BIOFEEDBACK,
New Series, Issue #53, Fall 2001 Biofeedback, the Biomedical Library Newsletter, a publication of the University of South Alabama Biomedical Library, is published at irregular intervals. Editor: Justin Robertson. Additional contributors to this issue were Everly Brown, Judy Burnham, Jie Li, Sally Murray, Robbie Runderson, Ellen Sayed, Jana Slay, Geneva Staggs, Diane Williams, Tom Williams. Comments should be addressed to Justin Robertson, Biomedical Library, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688-0002 or by email at: jroberts@bbl.usouthal.edu |
|