Online book reviews now available
HealthSTAR to replace old HEALTH database
Library halts subscription to costly abstracts
National Medical Librarian's Month promotes services
1997 library week repeats popular attractions
Rowland Profile: Claudia Garrett
DIRECTOR'S NOTE
FAQs On File
RoMeO's Web
FOCUS ON FRIENDS
UMC faculty, staff, and students have easy access to two new electronic book review sources, MD Consult and Doody's, through the library's Web page. Both provide 24-hour access to peer reviews which offer authoritative and reliable analysis of books in their respective specialities. The hallmark of the services is timeliness, with reviews that are available as early as six (6) weeks after the books are published. There are two components to each service: 1) a database with bibliographic information and full text reviews and 2) a weekly e-mail bulletin with news and reviews of the new books added to the database.
| The MD Consult Book Review Service monitors approximately 3,000 new professional and student-level health sciences books in more than 90 speciality areas published each year in a systematic and efficient way. The database consists of more than 8,000 titles and 4,500 expert reviews for books published since 1993 from 140 publishers. Approximately 50 new books with reviews for about 30 of these titles are added to the database each week. The University of Mississippi Medical Center is one of 50 key academic centers in North America which have been given a one-year complimentary site license to this service by MD Consult. | |
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Doody's Review Service
keeps up with nursing book literature published by more than 200 publishers
covering more than 30 specialities. It offers a database of thousands of
titles with 1,000 reviews. The weekly updates average 50 new books with
reviews for about 10 of these titles.
To access these new services, users must first logon to the library Web page (http://library.umsmed.edu). For MD Consult, click on the Health Sciences Book Reviews (MD Consult) icon; for Doody's, click on the Nursing Book Reviews icon. Next, visit the "Guest Area" for general information about the service and an online registration form to indicate areas of interest. Once registered, users will receive the weekly newsletter by e-mail and a unique ID to search the comprehensive book databases. |
The library has replaced the old HEALTH database with a new database: HealthSTAR. This is available on the library OVID computer system and also through remote dial-up and ethernet connections on campus.
HealthSTAR is the result of the merger of two separate databases by the National Library of Medicine: HSTAR and HEALTH. It is approximately three times larger than HEALTH and focuses on both the clinical and non-clinical aspects of health care delivery. The database includes bibliographic citations to journal articles, monographs, technical reports, meeting abstracts and papers, book chapters, government documents, and newspaper articles. Abstracts are included when available.
HealthSTAR indexes literature about health services, technology, administration, and research. It features topics such as: The evaluation of patient outcomes; effectiveness of procedures, programs, products, services, and processes; administration and planning of health facilities, services, and manpower; health insurance and health policies; health economics and financial management; health laws and regulations; personnel administration and quality assurance; licensure and accreditation.
Produced by the National Library of Medicine and the American Hospital Association, HealthSTAR is divided into a current file and a backfile. The latter contains references back to 1975.
- Claudia Garrett
Library subscriptions to print copies of Biological Abstracts, Biological Abstracts/RRM, and Chemical Abstracts ceased with the 1996 issues. The library's total cost for these subscriptions is $31,000 per year. Because both publications are readily available online, the library deemed it economical to discontinue the subscriptions.
The library's FY97 information budget remains the same as for last fiscal year. There are no funds to cover the increased costs for publisher's inflations rates. This has severely threatened the library's ability to maintain the current level of journal subscriptions and, as a result, a thorough re-examination and evaluation of all current subscriptions was conducted by the library faculty. Suggestions and recommendations from the academic faculty has been requested as well in this process.
Beginning with the 1997 issues, print copies will not be available. To provide access to information published after 1996 in these sources, the Reference Department will conduct computer searches for UMC faculty, staff, and students at no charge. If the time period for the requested search covers years prior to and including 1995, that part of the search will be charged at the standard rate of $5 plus online costs. Only the section beginning with 1996 will be free to UMC affiliates. The year 1996 is included since some articles written in 1996 will be indexed in 1997 and print indexes for these will not be available in the library.
All searches completed for non-UMC requestors will be charged a standard base rate plus online costs.
- Ardis Haaland
Medical Librarian's Month was officially inaugurated at Rowland Medical Library, October 15-17, 1996. Projected as an annual national event sponsored by the Medical Library Association, the purpose of the program is to promote the services and expertise medical librarians provide to the health care community.
The
event at the library this year was co-sponsored by the Friends of Rowland
Medical Library and coincided with the first membership meeting of the Friends.
It also served as a fund raising activity for the organization through the sale
of popcorn, RoMeO t-shirts, and chances for valuable prizes.
Grand prize winners were Hope Younger, a first year dental student, who won a three-volume set of pocket size medical reference books, and Dr. Beth Hoskins, professor of pharmacology and toxicology, whose prize was a $50 library copycard. The Friends hosted a reception honoring the library faculty and staff on October 17. The library's departments were showcased at that time.
Official kick-off of National Medical Librarian's Month will be in October. Plans are in process now for Rowland Medical Library's celebration.
It's time again to "Call! Visit! and Logon!" to the Library.
Rowland Medical Library's annual celebration of National Library Week has been scheduled April 13-19. This will be the seventh year the library has participated in this national event which promotes the many services libraries and librarians offer for users. National activities are targeting services for children and youth this year. RML will continue with the traditional theme "Libraries Change Lives: Call! Visit! Logon!" and focus on the new and existing services available for UMC users.
Activities during the week will include the daily drawings for door prizes of pocket medical dictionaries, copy cards, key chains, and RoMeO t-shirts. Changes and new features on the RML Web page will be demonstrated. Friends of Rowland Medical Library volunteers will be in the lobby recruiting new members and selling popcorn and t-shirts for their fundraising efforts. The Friends are also considering holding a paperback book sale during the week, however that will depend on the availability of donated books. Call the Friends at 1268 for more information.
The popular Fine Amnesty Days will return, allowing users to have overdue fines erased by donating new adult or children's books to benefit the UMC hospital patient library and the Children's Hospital. One donated book will erase one overdue fine. This is offered during National Library Week only and does not include fees for lost items, processing charges, or other library services.
On Thursday, April 17, the Friends will sponsor the fourth Dean Billy S. Guyton Lecture on the History of Medicine. Dr. Robert J. T. Joy, Professor Emeritus, Section of Medical History, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine, Bethesda, Maryland, will be the lecturer. A reception honoring Dr. Joy will follow.
Many more exciting activities have been planned. Mark calendars now to "Call! Visit! and Logon! at Rowland Medical Library" during National Library Week.
Claudia Garrett has been named Librarian II in the Reference Department with the academic rank of instructor in academic information services.
Prior to her appointment at UMC, she was government services librarian, medical subject specialist, at the Alaska State Library in Juneau. She also worked as a volunteer medical librarian at Bartlett Memorial Hospital in Juneau where she cataloged the hospital library, assisted hospital staff and physicians perform subject searches on medical and health administration topics, and provided on-call and emergency research services to hospital physicians. She has previously worked as a volunteer medical librarian at the San Antonio Community Hospital, Upland, California, and a librarian and research analyst at the Ogg Medical Clinic in Tucson, Arizona.
Garrett holds a master of library science from San Jose State University and a master of business administration from the University of Redlands. She has a BA from San Bernardino State University, a paralegal degree from the University of West Los Angeles, and attended two years of physician training at the Mexican-American University of the North.
She is a member of the Medical Library Association, American Library Association, American Health Information Management Association, Alaska Library Association, and serves on the board of the Literary Award Committee of the Napoleonic History Society of America.
SOURCE begins its 11th year of publication with this issue. During the past decade, it has successfully served as the library's primary communications channel to inform users about new and existing services, materials acquisitions, library automation progress, faculty publications, Friends activities, as well as library policies and procedures. In April, 1996 the library initiated the full text electronic version of SOURCE through the library's Web page to expand the communications capability with users. As the Medical Center meets the challenges of the managed care environment, the integration of health information systems, including knowledge-based literature, mandates more effective and efficient communications to increase access to and management of health data for improved health care delivery. To this end, improved articulation of library sources and services through print and electronic editions of SOURCE is essential to meet UMC demands for easy and convenient access and retrieval of knowledge-based information. In order to better achieve this objective, the library is pleased to introduce the new contemporary design for SOURCE.
The updated format includes several new features. "RoMeO's Web" highlights the most recent additions to the library Web page. "FAQs On File" provides answers to the most frequently asked questions to improve dissemination of this needed information. "Selected New Titles" has been expanded to include recent additions to the Consumer Health Collection initiated in July, 1994, which provides information sources for patient education requirements. Other changes include revised headers, page design variations, and modified text arrangements.
The library gratefully acknowledges the expertise and assistance of public affairs staff in publishing SOURCE. Library staff are commended for authoring the many news articles and instructional pieces which have informed and assisted users in accessing innumerable biomedical information sources. Suggestions and comments are welcome and should be submitted to the library director at extension 1290.
FAQs On File is a new feature in SOURCE beginning with this issue. It is designed to provide answers to the most frequently asked questions about the library's resources and to help users who have similar needs.
"Why doesn't my password work?"
Users now have access to many computer-based systems both on and off campus. Care should be taken to differentiate between the various logins and passwords to the different systems. Until the time a single login and password allows access to the different campus systems, the library must issue its own passwords for its commercial journal database system in order to comply with site license agreements. Users passwords may not work today because the library has switched from a Novell to a UNIX server. Users are required to apply for new passwords for the new system.
The UNIX system is case sensitive. When entering passwords, users should be careful to enter all characters in lower case. Do not capitalize any words. Dial access users should be sure to type LIBSRCH at the "Select Destination" prompt to initiate the login and password prompt on the new system.
If problems persist, some minor troubleshooting at the user workstation might be helpful. Has the system, computer, monitor, etc., been activated? Is the telecommunications software establishing connection with the campus modems? If the password continues not to work, please contact the library reference department at 1231.
"Why do I need a password to search the library databases?"
The fee for a site license of commercially developed literature databases is based on the number of users the license covers. The library purchases the most economical site license agreements which limits use to UMC faculty, staff, and students only. To provide expanded access to the databases, UMC would be required to pay higher fees. Passwords provide the security necessary to comply with the site license agreements.
"How can I print an abstract from a MEDLINE search?"
The "Print" command for the library system which offers MEDLINE defaults to the following data fields: author, title, source, unique identifiers, and local messages. In order to print any field not included in the default, the user must specify the fields in the print command. The library has developed step-by-step instructions on how to print an abstract from MEDLINE. Copies are available in the reference department or by calling 1231.
The Web page is the library's vehicle for delivering electronic information directly to its users. Since its establishment in April, 1996, it has maintained a strong commitment to constantly expand its sources and information. To keep users informed about the most current activity on the Web page, SOURCE has created "RoMeO's Web." In this column, the library will regularly call attention to the many changes and additions to the Web page so that its users may be able to take full advantage of new resources more efficiently and effectively.
In recent weeks, the Web page has been expanded to the point that scrolling from screen to screen has become cumbersome. The most significant improvement to the site to note in this issue is the division of the Web page into two parts. For experienced users, there are new selection buttons which allow access to all sections simply by clicking the appropriate section button located at the top half of the page. On the lower half of the page, selection buttons with annotations outlining the contents of the sections are available for the newer, inexperienced users.
For the first time, direct access to full text journals is available. A new section, "Electronic Journals," links users to JAMA, Archives of Family Medicine, Archives of Surgery, and other peer review journals, by clicking on the journal title. "RoMeO's Web" will continue to announce new journals as they are added.
"Recent Developments," has been renamed "Instant Updates," to better reflect the concept of this section as a source of the most current information of interest to health care professionals.
Under "Information Services," a new category titled, "Electronic References Sources" provides links to three important sources: Merck Manual for Diagnosis and Therapy, AMA Physician Select, and Doctor's Guide to Medical Conferences and Meetings. Print copies of this information are available in the library, however by using the library's Web page, these sources can now be accessed remotely.
Wanted: Friends, friends, and more friends.
That's what we need!
Where would any of us be without friends?...probably down in the dumps and rather insecure. But with friends, we feel confident, needed, and ready to launch out and do our best. The word "friends" brings to mind warmth, favor, support, and help for a person or cause one favors and knows well.
Friends of Rowland Medical Library is dedicated to fostering and supporting the library's programs, resources, and facilities in every way we can. The organization, started in 1994, has many member friends, but not the number it should have from an institution the size and scope of the Medical Center. If we could somehow convince potential members of the strong impact they could have in helping lift the library, we feel many more would join.
The Rowland Medical Library is our source of recorded knowledge, modern databases, and outreach to the world. We want it to be a superior health sciences library, among the best in the nation.
The Friends group is especially interested in helping build up the library's endowment fund. Funds placed in the endowment, as one example, those raised from membership dues, are never spent, but interest generated from them can be used to promote the library year after year. Hence, endowment funds are examples of gifts that keep on giving. To date, the Friends has added $20,000 to the library's endowment fund.
At the end of last academic year Friends membership included approximately 200 persons. There are representatives from all schools and the graduate program on campus, the administration and staff, full-time faculty, clinical faculty, students, alumni, and eleven professors emeriti. At-large members, both community-based and outside Jackson, also take part.
Recently the Friends's Membership Committee chaired by Jeanette Waits and including Dr. Billy Bishop, Zelma Cason, and Jane Tallant began working on a membership drive directed toward bringing more of the faculty and administrative staff on board. Fewer than 10 percent of the full-time faculty on campus are members. Not all the faculty has been approached at this point. The committee is working to update the database for a major mail-out effort in the spring.
The degree of success of Friends of Rowland Medical Library is directly dependent on the number, level of participation, and caring of the members. Together, we can really help the library reach its goals and be part of insuring its excellence.
As initially stated, we want friends, friends, and more friends.
The road ahead is full of promise!
Harold B. White, Ph.D.
President, Friends of Rowland Medical Library
Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry
New Members
STUDENT/HOUSE STAFF
Mary Elizabeth Serpa
INDIVIDUAL
Dr. Jon Hosler and Dr. Susan Andrews
Faira L. Bishop
Dr. Ron Drabman
Mary K. Hartman
Darnyl M. King
Dr. William L. Roberts
Dr. Edsel E. Thrash
Dr. and Mrs. Garfield Tourney
Gongchao Yang
DONOR
Dr. Edwin and Dr. Marsha Eigenbrodt
Dr. Howard Roffwarg
Dr. William F. Russell
Dr. Douglas A. Wolfe
PACESETTER
Dr. John Donald Bower
