The Library is proud to announce that we have activated EBSCO’s A to Z title listing service for our electronic journals. This service will replace the electronic journals pages previously used, offering many advantages over the previous index. Access is from the library’s web page, as before, and is now searchable by title, subject, or publisher name. On the A to Z’s front page, there is a set of tabs across the top. Clicking the “Search” tab will retrieve a search screen with options for searching title, publisher, or even International Standard Serial Number (ISSN). Clicking the “Subjects” tab retrieves browsable a list of subjects, broken down into categories. Questions about this new service can be directed to J. Michael Lindsay, Electronic Resources/Collection Development Librarian, via email at
jmlindsay@ bbl.usouthal.edu or via telephone at 460-6894.

- J. Michael Lindsay

MERLOT, Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching has been developed to allow sharing of online learning materials. The Health Sciences section includes learning resources on auscultation, management of diarrhea, respiratory physiology, breast cancer, meningitis, and physical exams. Membership is free and members can contribute materials. MERLOT can be found at:
http://www.merlot.org

- Judy Burnham

Dale Prince (Outreach Coordinator, NN/LM Southeastern Atlantic Region), will be conducting a class on PubMed Expert Searching on January 22nd from 8am to 12pm at the Biomedical Library.

Expert searching includes more sophisticated use of PubMed tools such as field qualifiers, the preview/index feature, creation of hedges in cubby, and creating links for a library web page.

Greater knowledge of the Medline database and indexing vocabulary is also necessary in making expert search decisions.

The class takes on a train-the-trainer focus to help participants translate these advanced searching techniques to other users. The class builds upon the user’s own knowledge of searching to use PubMed more effectively. (Approved for 4 MLA CE contact hours.)

Call the Library Reference Desk at (251) 460-7044 to make a reservation to attend this training session.

- Clista Clanton

Following a three-year dormancy the Biomedical Library’s Newspaper Vertical File is once again being actively updated. This project, conceived as an online collection of full-text Mobile Register articles related to the USA Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, or Allied Health as well as their hospitals and/or libraries, was discontinued when the university libraries temporarily lost access to the Register’s online database. The article selection begins with January 1992 and goes up to the present day, with a temporary gap from October 2001 to January 10, 2003.

Currently the library is backtracking through the database collecting those articles that have appeared in the Mobile Register during the past three years. The database will be updated regularly, as new articles are published and older ones are found. To browse the Biomedical Library’s Newspaper Vertical File go to the following address: http://southmed. usouthal.edu/library/news/index.html

University students, faculty and staff interested in searching the full Mobile Register database can go to: http://www.usouthal.edu/univlib/other.html

The library strives to maintain as comprehensive a database as possible, but occasionally relevant articles may slip by. If you feel that we missed something that should be included please send e-mail to: medlib@bbl.usouthal.edu or call (251) 460-7044.

All articles are reprinted with the permission of the Mobile Register.

- Justin Robertson

The accuracy of references in these documents is as important to future research as it is to the academic credibility and reputation of the author and the University.
In order to insure the accuracy of your references, bring your reference pages by the library to have them checked by a librarian before submitting your paper for the final approval process.

For more information contact Geneva Bush Staggs at (251) 460-6890 or gbush@jaguar1.usouthal.edu.

- Geneva Staggs

The cost of resources (especially journals and electronic resources) has continued to rise, while the budget for the Biomedical Library has remained static. Therefore, we found it necessary to discontinue some journal subscriptions effective January, 2004. Before cuts were made, a list of targeted titles was given to members of the Biomedical Library Advisory Committee for discussion with their colleagues. Based on feedback, some titles were retained. Eighty-three titles were cut for a savings of over $65,000. The titles that were discontinued are listed by location below:

-Judy Burnham

Statistics for the Biomedical Library were recently submitted to the Association of Health Science Libraries. Along with statistics from other medical school libraries, these statistics will be compiled and made available for comparison purposes. A future issue of Biofeedback will show how the USA Biomedical Library compares with other health science libraries. Here are 2002-2003 statistics from the USA Biomedical Library that may be of interest.

- Judy Burnham

To save additional funds, the Biomedical Library has chosen to cut the print version of journals published by Wiley and by Elsevier. $35,000-$45,000 will be saved by this measure. The Library will retain the electronic version, but discontinue the print. A list of those titles by location is below.

-Judy Burnham

In spite of Alabama’s current financially challenging situation, the Biomedical Library remains committed to providing our library users with the best collection possible. With that in mind, we want to encourage our students and faculty to suggest books that should be added to our collection. If you can think of a book that is related to the subjects we collect for and support, including medicine, nursing, and the various allied health disciplines, don’t be shy, feel free to make a suggestion.

There are a variety of ways in which you can make book requests. You can:

• Send an email to Michael Lindsay at jmlindsay@bbl.usouthal.edu, with the book’s name, author and publication date and why you think it should be added to our collection.
• Call our Reference Desk at 460-7044.
• Drop by the Biomedical Library and give us a note with the book’s information on it.
• Complete the materials request form at: http://southmed.usouthal.edu/library/docdel/forms/requform.html

MedRules
http://pbrain.hypermart.net/medrules.html
MedRules is an application featuring 40 useful clinical prediction rules taken from the medical literature. Medical rules are listed alphabetically and by category. Tap or check a box to select a value range to calculate the risks. Complete references for each rule may be found by clicking the question mark icon on the upper-right corner of the screen. MedRules was written using the NS BASIC runtime module, and the freeware NSBRuntime.prc and MathLib.prc are required. The intention of the application is for educational use only. MedRules and its libraries require 343 KB of memory. Last update, June 5, 2003.

My Patient
http://www.freewarepalm.com/medical/mypatients.shtml
This application allows users to track in-patients, labs, beam checkout, and print (with printboy or other print application). Available for Palm OS only, requires Palm III or higher, uses 40 KB of memory. Last update, March 2003.

Patient Tracker by Handheldmed
http://www.patienttracker.com/download_ptpalm.htm
Patient Tracker allows mobile access to patient records including patient demographics, laboratory results, medication/allergy lists, test results, and radiology reports. Patient Tracker includes the ability to print notes, checkout lists, and a patient log to any IrDA enabled printer. Available for both Palm OS and Pocket PC and takes 178 KB of memory. Last update, Version 5.11, September 27, 2002.

Peds Omnibus
http://www.freewarepalm.com/medical/pedsomnibus.shtml
This application calculates oral medication doses, intravenous medication doses, pediatric daily values, and neurological intensive care unit (NICU) daily values; tracks patients; and has developmental milestones, growth charts, and immunization schedules. Available on Palm OS only, uses 186 KB of memory, and requires Palm III or higher. Last update, March 23, 2003.

-Jie Li

The scientific, technical and medical publishing business is currently a $7 billion industry, characterized by relatively constant demand and individual journals that generally have a strong following within their particular niche. This industry is also characterized by increasingly expensive journal titles, with the average price of a journal having risen by 215% since 1986. As the budgets of academic and medical libraries shrink due to budget cuts and journal titles are eliminated as a result, several alternatives to the traditional ‘for-profit’ publishing model have emerged. Among these alternatives is BioMed Central, an independent publishing house committed to providing immediate free access to peer-reviewed biomedical research.

On November 1st, the University of South Alabama became an institutional member of BioMed Central, which is rapidly emerging as a well regarded, peer-reviewed alternative for faculty authors to publish without forfeiting copyright. Our institutional membership in BioMed Central enables faculty to publish without paying processing charges, currently set at $500 per article. BioMed Central also provides full text access to all original research papers published in its approximately 100 online journals that cover all areas of biology and medicine, as well as any journal that will be added over time. For list of journals see BCM titles at: http://southmed.usouthal.edu/library/epubb.htm

Publishing with BioMed Central offers a number of advantages, including free access to original full text research articles, authors retention of copyright on their work, a rapid peer review and publication process via an online submission system, and immediate indexing in PubMed. Articles are also deposited in CrossRef, CAS, BIOSIS, and ISI, to enable direct linking when they are cited in other journals. With a worldwide biomedical readership, published articles are currently averaging over 200 downloads per article each month.

To access the University of South Alabama's BioMed Central page, a link is available from the Biomedical Library's homepage at http://southmed.usouthal.edu/library/. Please let me know if you have any questions or feedback about this new resource ((251) 414-8210 or cclanton@bbl.usouthal.edu).

-Clista Clanton

The National Library of Medicine has produced the Household Products Database that includes the potential health effects and other safety and handling information for common household products.

This free database can be used to determine the toxicology of automobile and home products, pesticides and lawn care products, personal products, and hobby products.
The URL is http://hpd.nlm.nih.gov/index.htm

-Judy Burnham

In September, Geneva Bush Staggs was appointed to serve a three year term on the LSTA Advisory Council of the Alabama Public Library Service. The Library Services and Technology Act provides federal funds to assist states in the provision and enhancement of library programs in all types of libraries and for individuals of all ages.

Judy Burnham and Dennis Fell, chair, PT Dept., co-authored an award-winning poster presented at the annual meeting of the Southern Chapter/Medical Library Association in October. The authors won 2nd place in the poster category from the Research Committee for the poster titled: “Citation Analysis of Complementary Alternative Medicine in Physical Therapy.”

J. Michael Lindsay received a first time attendee award to cover his expenses for attending the Southern Chapter/Medical Library Association meeting in October in Coral Gables, FL.

Roberta Barclay, a university employee since the summer of ‘75, is seen at her retirement party held December 11 at the Terrace. Roberta has worked in several departments throughout her years at the university including Computer Services, College of Medicine and Systems in the Biomedical Library. Roberta has many friends scattered around the university; we will all miss her and wish her the best!

-Fletch Bowling

http://southmed.usouthal.edu/library/resources/index.htm

-Judy Burnham

A recent study conducted by Pew Internet & American Life http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/pdfs/PIP_ Health_Report_July_2003.pdf
found that:

• 80% of adult American Internet users have used it as a resource for healthcare information
• 63% have searched for information on a specific disease or condition
• 47% have searched for information on a particular treatment method
• 73% indicated that information found helped to improve their healthcare
• Women are more likely to use the Internet for healthcare information than men

These statistics suggest that physicians must also be aware of consumer health sites so they can help their patients distinguish good information from incorrect information. A list of reliable consumer health web sites can be found at http://southmed.usouthal.edu/library/outreach/ahec.htm#patient or contact your medical librarian. The Biomedical Library can also provide information on evaluation of web resources.

Training classes are just one of the benefits of membership in the SOUTHmed Information Network. Membership in SOUTHmed is available for individual health care professionals, for clinics and for hospitals. Other benefits of SOUTHmed include reference assistance and document delivery – all at reduced or no fee and consultation for hospitals. For further information on the SOUTHmed Information Network, contact Judy Burnham, (251) 460-6888, jburnham@jaguar1.usouthal.edu

-Judy Burnham

BIOFEEDBACK, New Series, Issue #60, Winter 2004
Biofeedback, the Biomedical Library Newsletter, a publication of the University of South Alabama Biomedical Library, is published at irregular intervals. Editor: Geneva Staggs. Contributors to this issue were Judy Burnham, Clista Clanton, Jie Li, Michael Lindsay, Justin Robertson, Geneva Staggs, Diane Williams, and Tom Williams. Comments should be addressed to Geneva Staggs, Biomedical Library, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688-0002 or by email at: gstaggs@bbl.usouthal.edu.