The University Library has subscribed to NetLibrary III, a collection of approximately 7000 electronic books (more will be added later). Here you will find books from such publishers as John Wiley, Columbia University Press, MIT Press and McGraw-Hill, among others.

You can access books from NetLibrary in two ways. Go directly to the collection through the Electronic Books link on the University Library’s homepage at http://library.southalabama.edu/ or you can search for individual books through our catalog. Since we recently loaded the records for these books into our catalog, they will be available whenever you do a subject, title, author or keyword search. A book can be recognized as a NetLibrary book by the location in your results list “University Library Electronic Books.”

Books in the NetLibrary collection can be either browsed or checked out, just like books in the “regular” library. To browse a book, you do not need to create a NetLibrary account or login. Browsing allows you exclusive access to a book as long as you are actively looking at it. If 15 minutes goes by without any active use, the book will be put back into circulation.

NetLibrary books can also be checked out. To do this, you first need to establish an account on the NetLibrary homepage and login to that account. Currently, the checkout period for books is 4 hours. While the book is checked out to you, you are guaranteed access to it for those 4 hours whether or not you are actively using it.
Whether you are browsing a book or checking it out, printing is limited to one page at a time. For help with NetLibrary, contact the University Library Reference Department at (251) 460-7025 or webref@jaguar1.usouthal.edu.

- Kathy Wheeler

Dietary supplements have become a way of life for many Americans, with an estimated $3 to $4 billion spent yearly. These supplements may interact with prescriptions or may cause side effects that would interfere with treatment protocols. Clinical Pharmacology (http://cpip.gsm.com/) contains coverage of herbal products such as St. John’s Wort, Ginkgo and Ephedra. Information given on each listed supplement includes indications, classifications, adverse reactions. With the Drug Interaction Reports, users can identify possible interactions between supplements and prescription drugs. Patient education sheets are also available.

- Judy Burnham

A new front end to ChemIDplus was released on October 10, 2003. This new version, called ChemIDplus Lite, allows users to search compound identifiers such as chemical name or CAS Registry Number on the NLM ChemIDplus database of over 370,000 chemicals. Unlike the original ChemIDplus database, the Lite version does not allow structure searching and thus needs no plugins or special display software. Chemical structures are displayed as GIF images.

ChemIDplus Lite is available at: http://chem2.sis.nlm.nih.gov/chemidplus/chemidlite.jsp, a search page similar to other TOXNET search pages. Just type the name of a substance of interest to you, or its CAS Registry Number, into the search box. Right truncation (“starts with”) is available by using the asterisk (*) at the end of a search term. More advanced data and structure searching can be done at the main ChemIDplus page http://chem.sis.nlm.nih. gov/chemidplus/. More information about ChemIDplus Lite can be found at http://chem2.sis.nlm.nih.gov/chemidplus/html/help.jsp

For exact name searches that retrieve no hits, ChemIDplus will now try a type of ‘fuzzy’ match. If available, a list of near match chemical names will be presented. You can chose one of these and browse the record directly or redo the search. (Note: the name-matching software is designed to help users in the case of close misspellings. There are situations in which it will not be able to find a match. Also, the desired name may not be first on the list.)

- Judy Burnham

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 Bush Staggs

For the third consecutive year the University of South Alabama Biomedical Library hosted a Cyber Café at the Medical Association of the State of Alabama (MASA) annual meeting. Librarians Justin Robertson, Judy Burnham, Clista Clanton and Geneva Staggs and IT specialist Robert Runderson attended the meeting to set up and run the exhibit. The program was funded through a National Network of the Libraries of Medicine/Southeastern Atlantic Region grant specifically earmarked for promoting technology awareness among health care professionals. The Cyber Café provided meeting attendees with free Internet access as well as a series of specially designed, 20-minute workshops: PDA’s and PDA Resources, CME on the Web, and Free Full-Text Journals on the Web. The meeting was held at the Marriott Grand Hotel in Point Clear Alabama on May 21-23. For more information check out the MASA Cyber Café site at: http://southmed.usouthal.edu/library/masasite/index.htm

 

-Justin Robertson

Elsevier Publishers have signed an agreement with the Network of Alabama Academic Libraries (NAAL) to provide access to electronic journals via the ScienceDirect database. This agreement provides all USA faculty, staff and students access to over 1800 scientific and medical journals going back to 1995. The previous agreement with Elsevier only provided electronic access to those titles subscribed to by an Alabama academic library, so the new agreement extends the availability of these titles that are so important to scholarly research. ScienceDirect can be accessed at http://www.sciencedirect.com/

According to the publishers of Science Citation Index (ISI), journals published in the new Open Access model are beginning to register impact in the field of scholarly research. Of the 8,700 selected journals currently covered in Web of Science, 191 are open access journals. ISI recently conducted a study of the overall performance of Open Access journals, using ISI citation metrics such as impact factor and cited half-life. The study focuses on determining whether open access journals perform differently from other journals in their respective fields. The study’s initial findings indicate that there was no discernible difference in terms of citation impact or frequency with which the journal is cited. A list of Open Access titles in the health sciences can be found at http://www.doaj.org. The full report of the study from ISI can be found at http://www.isinet.com/media/presentrep/acropdf/impact-oa-journals.pdf

 

-Judy Burnham

In case you hadn’t noticed…There have been some major changes with our electronic journals list over the past year. Late last year, the library replaced the previous electronic journals index with EBSCO’s A-Z title listing service. This service offers many advantages over the previous system, and is accessible from the library’s web page (Online Journals & Books, under the RESOURCES heading). In upcoming issues, I’ll share other search tips on how you can get the most out of this powerful new tool. 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 (251) 460-6894.

Tips on Navigating in A-Z: FAQ

Q: What is A-Z?
A: A-Z is our new interface for accessing our electronic journals.  It can be accessed from the Biomedical Library’s home page by clicking on “Online Journals & Books.”
Q: What is the fastest way to get to an electronic journal?
A: Probably the fastest way to get to an e-journal is to perform a search on the journal name.  At the far right, below the header, you will see a little search box, with the word “Find” in front of it.  Type the electronic journal’s name in this box, click Search, and you should find the resource you are looking for.  Another tip: There is a link marked “advanced search” directly below the Search box.  Use this link to find additional search options.  The advanced search can also be accessed by clicking the tab marked “Search.”  You can search on Title, Publisher, or ISSN.  You can also limit your search by clicking the “Exact Match” button to make sure that the journal title exactly matches your search.
Q: Can I browse for titles in A-Z?
A: Yes.  When you are browsing for a title, please direct your attention to what A-Z calls the alphabetical wherelinks, each letter of the alphabet is listed below the tabs.  Click the letter that your title begins with, or the letter where you wish to begin to browse. For example, to search for the title “Psycho-neuroendocrinology,”  select the letter “P” to begin.  Notice that below the letter “P” which is now highlighted, there is another alphabetic list beginning with P and including the letters of the alphabet after P (PA, PB, PC, etc.). Select PS, because “S” is the second letter in the title.  Then you will get a listing of the number of pages of results.  Further, in the box above the alphabetical list of links, there is a range of titles.  This box is a drop down list, and you can scroll down this list to find the page on which the title will be.  Psychoneuroendocrinology is on page 3, the first listing on this page.

If you have any other questions about the A-Z interface,  please click on the tab entitled “About this site.” Or contact me as directed above.

-J. Michael Lindsay

At the end of June, MDC Mobile will be upgraded and will be delivered via the new handheld platform, Pocket Consult. Pocket Consult is the user’s gateway to accessing and managing all MDC handheld products and services in one place. MDC Mobile on Pocket Consult offers you these new features:

• Access to Mosby’s Drug Consult with over 900 drug monographs including brand name indexing and the all- new Mosby’s Drug IX, a drug interaction tool
• 20 Free Medical Calculators including BMI, Glasgow Coma Scale, Sodium Deficit, Metric Unit Conversion and more

Pocket Consult will continue these features of MDC Mobile:

• Ability to store and record searches of MD Consult from your PDA and initiate them upon Hot Sync
• Access to Abstracts and Tables of Contents from over 400 Journals on PubMed
• Health news and Drug Updates from MD Consult

The transition to Pocket Consult will be easy, as you simply link to Pocket Consult by clicking the “My PDA” button located in the upper right of the MD Consult homepage screen. First time users of Pocket Consult will be asked to create a new Pocket Consult account, with all their profile information automatically being pre-populated for them. They will then manage all of their MDC Mobile content and features at Pocket Consult. Note, any existing journal selections and saved searches will be transferred to Pocket Consult as well.

-Judy Burnham

In spite of Alabama’s current financially challenging situation, the Biomedical Library remains committed to providing 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 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

If you have any questions regarding book requests, please call Michael Lindsay at (251) 460-6894.

Diagnosaurus
http:// www.diagnosaurus.com/
Developed by Roni F. Zeiger, MD, this free differential diagnosis tool for PDA includes:

• 1000+  Differential Diagnoses
• Explore by disease, symptom, or organ system
• Authoritative, on-the-spot reference and case conferences
• Adapted from Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment
• Indispensable for use on rounds
• Includes all primary care topics
• Cross-linked to related entries by way of “See related DDx” feature Available for both PalmOS and PocketPC.

Archimedes
http://skyscape.com/EStore/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=227
Archimedes is an innovative specialty calculator. The calculator provides 70 preprogrammed formulas that include specialties such as Cardiology, Pharmacology, Hematology, FEN, Pediatrics, Pulmonary and Renal. It offers three methods of accessing formulas -- alphabetical listing, category listing, and historical listing -- enabling you to access formulas in a way that’s best for you. The built-in calculator assists with value field input, control of decimal point placement in formula results, and allows user to determine the input and output details for every formula. Also included is a help button giving you access to complete formula information. It occupies less than 660 KB, and runs on all Palm OS and Pocket PC devices.
-- Jie Li

-Jie Li

When the contract with Gold Standard Multimedia is renewed later this summer, Clinical Pharmacology OnHand, the PDA version of Clinical Pharmacology Online will be available to all USA students and faculty. (License agreement restricts access by hospital personnel.) The product is available for both the Palm and PocketPC platforms. Access codes can be obtained from any site of the Biomedical Library. CP OnHand offers the same drug information available via the online product, including drug descriptions, indications, interactions, precautions/contraindications, classifications, adverse reactions, pregnancy/lactation, administration and dosage forms/strengths; pediatric, adult, geriatric, hepatic and renal dosing, and dosage limits, specific to indication, including off-label uses; search capabilities by generic or brand name, indication, classification, precaution or adverse reaction; and a drug interactions report tool for checking combinations of prescription drugs, OTC, herbal and nutritional products for potential interactions.
Other recent developments for Clinical Pharmacology include:

• Athletic Classifications with information from NCAA and USOC on banned and permitted substances
• New nutritional monographs
• Multivitamin product comparisons
• Imprint/Marking for “Side 1” and “Side 2” of drugs for identification
• International drug products listing

Other helpful tools from Clinical Pharmacology include:

• Dosage Details
• Customizable patient education sheets, including Spanish language documents
• Drug look-up by adverse reaction
• List of prescription, OTC, herbal and nutritional products that interact with caffeine, enteral feedings, ethanol/ alcohol, food, grapefruit juice or tobacco

LIBRARY LOSES LONGTIME EMPLOYEE

Linda Ramm, a staff member at the Medical Center Library, passed away in February. Linda had worked for the University 15 years and for the Biomedical Library for 13 of those years. All who visit the Medical Center Library will miss her welcoming smile and gracious attitude.

NEW LIBRARY STAFF

Danna Cantrell has joined the Circulation staff of the campus library. She is replacing Kathy Glass who resigned to join the faculty of the Mobile Public School System. Sam Porter has recently joined the systems department to fill our PC Application Specialist position. Prior to coming to the library, Sam flew the SouthFlite helicopter for 17 years. Kimberly Williams joined the staff of the Medical Center Library in March. Kim has a degree in Communications from the University of South Alabama.

OTHER FACULTY/STAFF NEWS

At the Medical Library Association (MLA) Annual Meeting (May 2004), Jie Li, Judy Burnham, Justin Robertson and Tom Williams presented an electronic poster: “Delivering Distance Training to Rural Health Care Professionals.” Geneva Staggs also helped with the project. The project is part of the SAMNet project, which is supported by the NLM Internet Access to Digital Libraries award.

Also, at MLA, Jie Li co-organized the MLA program: “The Future of Iraqi Libraries.”

Tom Williams was recently elected Chair-Elect of the International Cooperation Section of the Medical Library Association.

Geneva Bush Staggs coordinated and moderated “Health Science Librarianship as a Career”, a panel discussion by members of Alabama Health Libraries Association (ALHeLA), presented at the Alabama Library Association, April 2004, Montgomery AL. Judy Burnham was a member of the panel.

Burnham J. “Best Practices #3: Collection Assessment for Curriculum Development”, a panel presentation at the Alabama Library Association, April 2004, Montgomery. Judy Burnham, who also presented a session in the program, coordinated the program.

Burnham J and Fell D. “Citation Analysis as a Collection Development Tool.” Poster presented at the Alabama Library Association, April 2004, Montgomery, AL.

Geneva Bush Staggs, representing ALHeLA, and Judy Burnham, representing the Library attended the Statewide Planning Meeting for Health Information Outreach, held in Birmingham, March 11-12.

In May 2003, the University of South Alabama Biomedical Library entered into a Sister Library relationship with Holberton Hospital Library in St. John’s, Antigua. The Sister Library Initiative was initially a pilot study of the International Cooperation Section of the Medical Library Association.

As a Sister Library, the Biomedical Library has coordinated book and journal donations and developed a content rich web page for the Holberton Hospital Library. As a result of these donations, the library now has over 4000 books and journals. The Holberton Hospital Library’s web page can be viewed at: http://southmed.usouthal.edu/library/antigua/index.html

At the Medical Library Association’s annual meeting in Washington, DC, May 21-26, 2004, Glendine Smith, Director of Holberton Hospital Library, Antigua, presented a paper on the Sister Library experience: “Sister Libraries: Moving Forward,” with Justin Robertson, AHIP and Ellen Sayed, AHIP from the Biomedical Library. Ms. Smith gave a vivid description of life in Antigua, and the positive effects the Sister Library Initiative has had on her library. After the meeting, Ms. Smith visited the USA Biomedical Library and spent time in the various departments and the two hospital libraries. She also toured the University Library and even found some time to go sightseeing.

-Ellen Sayed & Justin Robertson

TITLES
Total books (monographs)	18,064
--Campus	14,735
--C&W	671
--UMC	2,658
Total serials titles	2,468
Total current print serial subscriptions (includes duplicate subs.)	1,096
--Campus	540
--C&W	92
--UMC	464
Total current print serial subscriptions (includes duplicate subs.)	1,039
--Campus	522
--C&W	73
--UMC	444
VOLUMES
Total volumes (books and serials)	91,036
--Campus	69,984
--C&W	2,296
--UMC	18,756
Total serial volumes	71,463
--Campus	55,715
--C&W	1,538
--UMC	14,210
Total book (monograph) volumes	19,573
--Campus	14,269
--C&W	758
-UMC	4,546
ELECTRONIC RESOURCES	91,036
Books	264
Serial Titles	2,976

-Judy Burnham

$2,118,466	The annual budget requested for the Biomedical Library for 2003-2004.
91% ($732,410)	Percentage of BML's material budget allocated for periodicals for 2003-2004*
3411	Number of journal titles currently received by BML (print and electronic) (Sept 30, 2004)
$975	Average cost of one-year subscription to a health sciences journal in 2004**
25.63%	Percentage of average cost increase for journal subscriptions between 1999 to 2003.
29.4% U.S. 70.6% non U.S.	Projected increase for science titles for 2005
*Includes budget for periodicals and books only, not for databases.
**Van Orsdel L, Born K. Closing in on Open Access. Library Journal, 129(7):45-50, April 15, 2004.

Statistics provided by Judy Burnham, Assistant Director for Administrative and Regional Services. If you have questions contact her at (251) 460-6890 or jburnham@jaguar1.usouthal.edu

Internet Used for Healthcare Topics

The Institute of Medicine report, To Err is Human, resulted in a call by the federal government to improve patient safety. As a result, those involved in health care have begun searching for ways to make patient care safer. Recent reports in the literature indicate the importance of evidence-based information in patient safety. An article in Nursing Economics* suggests that working with a medical librarian can greatly improve access to the health care literature. As the article outlines, the medical librarian can assist with information retrieval by

• On-demand literature research and document delivery needed for patient care
• Support for educational activities
• Training on topics such as searching the Internet
• Promotion of evidence-based healthcare for clinicians
• Patient education resources

The SOUTHmed Information Network can help hospitals access the information needed for better patient care. With searches of the literature, supplying needed journal articles and training on evaluation of information resources, the Biomedical Library can help in the area of knowledge-based information. For more information on SOUTHmed, contact Judy Burnham, jburnham@jaguar1.usouthal.edu, (251) 460-6888.

*Williams L and Zipperer L. Improving access to information: Librarians and nurses team up for patient safety. Nursing Economics 21(4):199-201, July-Aug 2003.

-Judy Burnham

BIOFEEDBACK, New Series, Issue #61, Spring/Summer 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 Fletch Bowling, Judy Burnham, Clista Clanton, Jie Li, Michael Lindsay, Justin Robertson, Robbie Runderson, Ellen Sayed, Geneva Staggs, Kathy Wheeler, Diane 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.