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Articles:
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Communications,
the Newsletter of the
School of Medicine Library,
Summer 2002
2001-2002 In
Review
On behalf of the Library faculty and staff, I would like to
welcome all new students, faculty, and staff to the School of Medicine and welcome
back our returning students. As we begin the new academic year, it's appropriate to
reflect on the Library's accomplishments during the past academic year.
Second floor
renovation
- The first part of the academic year was spent moving
3,700 boxes of journals out of storage and unpacking them onto the newly painted
shelving. This was a massive task for staff in the Library and Support Services. The
Support Services staff also moved and reassembled all the study carrels and other
furniture in temporary storage.
- As soon as the four new group study rooms had furniture
in them and the carrels were back in place, the students eagerly settled in and began
studying.
- Work on the History of Medicine room was recently
completed and we're in the process of moving the rare book collection into the
bookcases.
Digital library
expansion
- Implemented a proxy server that finally eliminated the
access barrier for our students and faculty at the Palmetto Health Richland campus.
- Expanded the e-journal collection by over 100 titles.
- Significantly improved functionality and speed of Ovid
database system with migration to Ovid Online. The need for passwords has been
eliminated. The Medline database is now updated weekly rather than monthly. Users
may now search the entire Medline database from 1966-present all at once. Access
to full text articles in Medline is also much faster.
- Added the database Health and Psychosocial Instruments
(HAPI) to Ovid.
- Added access to Reprotox, a database that contains
information on the potentially harmful effects of environmental exposure to
chemicals and physical agents on human pregnancy, reproduction, and development.
- Added a section on PDA resources on the
Library's website and revamped and updated the Biomedical Sites
section.
- Improvements to the Library's electronic document
delivery service were begun through collaboration with Thomas Cooper Library on the
ILLiad system. ILL
Express! will be made available to users in Fall 2002.
Educational services
growth
- Expanded monthly class offerings
to include classes on new information tools, including ScienceDirect and
Evidence-Based Medicine.
- Participated in the problem-based learning curriculum.
One library faculty member served as a group facilitator.
- Initiated an individual consultation service for School of
Medicine faculty. A librarian will work with a faculty member one-on-one on solving
an information problem, provide training in using e-journals or databases, or assist
with complex searches.
- Sponsored a teleconference presented by the Medical
Library Association entitled "Sync or Swim: Surviving the Flood of PDAs in
Healthcare." Over thirty medical librarians, medical students, residents, and
physicians attended the two-hour program that explored current trends of PDA use in
medical practice, education, and information delivery.
Increase in partnerships and
grants
- Won a grant from the National Endowment for the
Humanities and completed a preservation needs assessment of the rare book
collection.
- Led the Bioinformatics Core for the South Carolina
Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network (BRIN) grant proposal. Created website
at http://brin.sc.edu/, sponsored GenBank
workshop attended by 56 researchers from across South Carolina, convened two
meetings of SC BRIN library directors, and coordinated consortial purchase of Nature
online e-journal for 20 SC BRIN institutions.
- Expanded Center for Disability Resources
Library collection and aggressively promoted the Library to state agencies and
professionals in the state through exhibits at numerous professional meetings,
including the SC Medical Association annual meeting.
- Continued partnership with the Medical University of
South Carolina Library on the Hands-On-Health grant project funded by the Duke
Endowment.
- Participated in the Association of Academic Health
Sciences Libraries LibQual+ research project. The user satisfaction survey was
completed by 244 faculty, staff, and students and provided the Library with valuable
feedback on its services. The Library is presently reviewing the survey results.
School of Medicine LCME self
study/site visit
- Several Library faculty members served on self-study
teams and participated in the site visit.
- In spite of the "elevator incident" in which the site visit
team became stuck in the Library's elevator, the Library received excellent reviews
in the initial report from LCME.
I would like to thank the Library faculty and staff for their
excellent work this past year. As evidenced by the above accomplishments, they
performed at a very high level and helped strengthen the Library's resources and
services for our users.
Ruth Riley, Director of Library Services
ruth@med.sc.edu, 733-3353
Return to the Table of Contents
Library Hours
Change
Beginning with the Fall 2002 semester, the
Library's regular hours will be as follows: |
| Mon. -
Fri. |
8:00 a.m.
- 10:00 p.m. |
| Saturday |
8:00 a.m.
- 8:00 p.m. |
| Sunday |
1:00 p.m.
- 10:00 p.m. |
|
| This slight
reduction in hours will allow the Library to eliminate one graduate assistant position
and help balance the Library's reduced budget in 2002-2003. School of
Medicine students and faculty will continue to have after-hours access privileges
which provide 24x7 access to the Library. |
Return to the Table of Contents
Evidence-Based Medicine
Workshop
At the request of Dr. Ronald Prier, Director, General
Residency Training, Neurospychiatry and Behavioral Science, Ruth Riley and Roz
McConnaughy presented an Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) workshop for the
psychiatry residents in May.
Roz presented Resources to Support Evidence-Based Practice, one of the monthly training classes offered
at the Library that provides an introduction to EBM. Ovid's EBM Reviews, PubMed's
Clinical Queries, the National Guideline Clearinghouse, and the TRIP database were
some of the resources covered. Four sample patient scenarios, which were derived
from some of the residents' experiences this year, were presented.
Ruth demonstrated how to use an EBM approach to search Ovid MEDLINE for therapy
articles, and Roz searched EBM Reviews and Clinical Queries to show a different
approach. Finally, one lucky resident took a turn at explaining how they would
approach finding an answer to one of the patient scenarios.
Return to the Table of Contents
Rare Book Appraisal
Ron Bridwell, a local book dealer and appraiser from
Bridwell Books, recently appraised the Library's 500-volume collection of rare
medical books. Mr. Bridwell examined each book in the collection and, taking into
consideration their condition, used standard references to determine their current
market value. In his Report on the Rare Book Collection, USC School of
Medicine, Mr. Bridwell states:
This collection is very important to the
history of medicine in South Carolina because the books contained therein give an
indication of the kinds and numbers of medical books in the hands of physicians in the
state during the 19th and 20th centuries. With these books available for
examination, students of medical history could learn much about the education and
training of South Carolina's doctors.
We are very pleased with the results of the appraisal. Below
is a list of the most valuable books in the collection.
- The medical and surgical history of the war of the
rebellion. 1870-1888
- Elements of surgury for the use of students.
1783-1818 (2 volumes)
- An essay concerning the nature of ailments.
1731
- Surgical papers by William Stewart Halsted.
1924 (2 volumes)
- Stereoscopic studies of anatomy. 1929 (10
volumes)
- Cyclopedia of the practice of medicine.
1874-1881
- Lecons de physiologie experimentale. 1855-56
For information concerning the donation of books to the
collection, contact Laura Kane at 733-3352.
Laura Kane
Head of Cataloging & Acquisitions
Return to the Table of Contents
Library Committee
News
The Library gratefully acknowledges the service of the
following people for their service on the Library Committee during 2001-2002:
- Margaret Shugart, Neuropsychiatry & Behavioral
Science, Chair
- Janet Fisher, Pharmacology, Physiology &
Neuroscience
- Margaret Hunt, Pathology & Microbiology
- Laura Kane, Library
- Suzanne McDermott, Family & Preventive
Medicine
- Alexander McDonald, Pharmacology, Physiology, &
Neuroscience
- Lynn Thomas, Family & Preventive Medicine
- Phil Watson, Computer & Communication Resources
(ex officio)
- Caleb Wheeler, medical student
Special thanks to Dr. Shugart, Dr. Hunt, and Dr. McDermott
for their service as they rotate off the committee. New incoming members for
2002-2003 will be:
- Holly Lavoie, Cell & Developmental Biology &
Anatomy
- Tu Lin, Internal Medicine
- Karen Rosati, Library
The Library Committee roster and meeting
minutes are available for viewing on the Library's website under Library Information.
Please let your representatives know if you have issues that you would like to have
discussed by the Library Committee.
Return to the Table of Contents
Library
Reaches Milestone
Would anyone like to take a guess at the number of book and
journal volumes currently housed within the School of Medicine Library? Give up?
The number is 100,000! See, print resources DO still exist! Make SCarlit, our online
catalog, a routine starting point in your search for health sciences materials.
Return to the Table of Contents
Cleaning Rare Books:
A Team
Effort
by Laura Kane, Head of
Cataloging
It's amazing what can be accomplished with a little
teamwork and cooperation. The cleaning of the Library's 500-volume rare book
collection, a project we thought would take all summer, was completed in only three
weeks. A preservation consultant was recently hired, through grant funds, to
evaluate the condition of the rare books and provide us with recommendations
regarding the long-term care of the collection. Giving the books a thorough cleaning
was the first recommendation. We did just that, and, frankly, we're glad it's over
with!
So how was it done? Well, the books were fairly soiled,
considering most are over 120 years old. They're also pretty fragile. You can't just
take a fuzzy duster and run it over the books. Nor can you use an industrial vacuum
to suck up dust and dirt. (I can see it now: PHOOP! There goes a delicate page of
Hippocrates Upon Air, Water and Situation, copyright 1734 -- gone forever
into the bowels of the vacuum. Gives me shudder just thinking about it.) There was
also the problem of dust and dormant mold on the books -- both of which can be
serious health hazards. What we needed was a high filtration HEPA vacuum cleaner
that would capture hazardous particles without releasing them into the air, and that
would be powerful yet gentle enough not to damage the delicate books. Such a thing
does exist, and it's known in preservation circles as a "Nilfisk." Well, we don't have
a Nilfisk. The things cost thousands of dollars. What to do, what to do?
Enter Carol Crawford, Senior Conservator from USC's
Conservation Facility. She graciously agreed to let us borrow a Nilfisk from her
facility for the project's duration. She also came to the Library to give us a
demonstration on how to properly clean rare books. We are indebted to Carol for her
generosity and expertise!
Armed with the proper equipment, know-how, and
official-looking protective gear, we began the dirty, monotonous task of cleaning the
collection, book by book. As always in times of need, many members of the Library
staff volunteered to help out. A cleaning schedule was drawn up, and things went
smoothly. Now the books are ready to be moved into their new home: the second
floor History of Medicine Room.
 |
 |
Roz McConnaughy (left) and
Erica Peake (right) are pictured hard at work cleaning the rare book collection.
Pictures courtesy of Ellen Reynolds. |
Return to the Table of Contents
Organizational Culture
in the Library
As the guest speaker at the Library's July staff meeting, Dr.
Libby Baxley, Director of Faculty Development, Office of Continuing Medical
Education & Faculty Development, provided a thought-provoking presentation on the
concept of organizational culture. Earlier this spring, the Library staff completed a
questionnaire about the Library's organizational culture as part of Ruth Riley's
participation in the School of Medicine Executive Leadership Institute. Dr. Baxley
helped the Library staff review the results of the questionnaire and understand how
organizational culture affects the Library's level of solidarity and sociability and its
ultimate success in meeting its goals and objectives. Many thanks to Dr. Baxley for
taking time to share her expertise with the Library.
Return to the Table of Contents
ILLiad
Update
In mid-August Interlibrary Loan management will be moving
from a paper-based system to a new web-based system called ILL Express!
We expect this to streamline ILL processes for individuals requesting service and for
the Library staff as well. Following an initial registration procedure, you will no
longer have to enter personal information when requesting a document and, after
submitting a request, you will have the capability of logging into the system to check
your request's progress. Notifying you when materials are available will also be
simplified and the new system interfaces smoothly with electronic document delivery
systems. You will be required to establish a username and password when you
register and you will need to retain that information to access the system. You will
still enter the system by clicking on "Interlibrary Loan" on
the Library's
homepage at http://uscm.med.sc.edu. If you do not have web access you may
complete the initial registration using the computer stations in the Library or you can
call Erica Peake at 803-733-3347 for assistance. We can still accept requests
submitted through Loansome Doc, Ovid, phone, e-mail or fax, but you must
be a registered user. We have enjoyed serving you in the past and we
look forward to offering you improved service through the use of ILL
Express!
Return to the Table of Contents
Staff
News
- Karen Rosati attended the North American Serials
Interest Group (NASIG) June 20-23, 2002 at the College of William and Mary. This
independent organization promotes sharing of ideas amongst all those involved in
serial/journal publishing and acquisition. Each year the meeting hosts over 600
participants from all over the US and Canada at a different college campus.
- Roz McConnaughy and Sarah Gable exhibited at the South Carolina Medical
Association meeting in Charleston, S.C., April 26-27. The exhibition promoted the
services of the Center for
Disability Resources Library and the National Network of Libraries of Medicine
(NNLM). Costs for exhibiting were covered by NNLM.
- Ruth Riley, Sarah Gable, and Roz McConnaughy attend the 102nd annual meeting
of the Medical Library Associaton in Dallas, May 18-23. Ruth has worked for the past
year on the planning and coordination of a post-conference symposium, "Leadership
Reconsidered: Developing a Strategic Agenda for Leadership in Health Sciences
Libraries." The symposium was sponsored by MLA's Leadership and Management
Section and the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries. As a member of
the 2004 National Program Committee, she also attended the NPC's first planning
meeting. Roz attended the meeting of the Grants and Scholarships Committee. She
also completed a course on Evidence-Based Medicine. Sarah, in her role as Chapter
Council Representative of the Southern Chapter of MLA, attended the annual meeting
of Chapter Council. She also attended the meeting of the Honors and Awards
Committee as Chair of the Majors/MLA Chapter Project of the Year Award Jury.
- In May, Library faculty attended a Columbia Area Medical Librarians Association
(CAMLA) meeting planned by the Chair, Laura Kane. Karen Rosati presented a copy of
the "Columbia Medical Libraries Union List" to the group.
- Roz McConnaughy has been appointed to the Scholarship Jury of the Medical
Library Association.
- 2002-2003 SOM and USC Committee appointments for Library faculty:
- Sarah Gable: SOM Student Services & Publications
Committee.
- Victor Jenkinson: USC Thomas Cooper Library OPAC Team.
- Laura Kane: SOM Library Committee, USC Faculty Senate.
- Ruth Riley: USC Faculty Senate, SOM Admissions Committee, SOM Computer &
Communications Resources Advisory Committee, SOM Continuing Medical Education
Organization Steering Committee, SOM Curriculum Committee, SOM Executive
Committee.
- Karen Rosati: SOM Library Committee, USC Thomas Cooper Library Electronic
Resources Forum.
Return to the Table of Contents
Update on
Bioinformatics Core of the SC BRIN
The South Carolina Biomedical Research Infrastructure
Network (SC BRIN) is rapidly approaching the end of the first year of the three-year
grant period. The Library directs the Bioinformatics Core portion of the BRIN.
Following is a list of the Core's activities to date:
- The Core has assumed primary responsibility for the creation and maintenance of
the SC BRIN website at http://brin.sc.edu. The
site, available online since December 2001, provides information about SC BRIN, the
SC BRIN Competitive Research Program, undergraduate research opportunities, and
NIH-funded researchers in South Carolina. You can also find the minutes of the
Steering Committee meetings, PowerPoint presentations from SC BRIN Statewide
meetings, the SC BRIN "This Week" newsletter, and links to related organizations and
a feedback button. A really nice feature is the interactive, clickable map of SC BRIN
institutions with a pop-up window for each school that links to the campus website,
giving the BRIN contact information and a description of the school.
- Working with the South Carolina EPSCoR office, the Core co-sponsored the In
Silico Biology Symposium on December 10, 2001 at the Medical University of
South Carolina.
- Ruth Riley, Core Director, has met twice with the library directors at the six
mentor and mentored institutions to assess the current state of access to key
biomedical information databases and electronic journals. Consortial purchase of a
number of resources is under consideration, including the Nature weekly and
specialized research electronic journals, Science, Springer-Verlag titles, and the
American Chemical Society electronic journals. The library directors are currently
evaluating quotes from the vendors.
- The Core sponsored A Field Guide to GenBank and NCBI Molecular Biology
Resources. The workshop was held at the University of South Carolina, Columbia
on March 12-13, 2002. A total of 60 faculty and students from 14 institutions
attended. Following the workshop participants were asked to complete a
questionnaire to assess their need for bioinformatics software tools and services.
- Austin Hughes, Professor of Biological Sciences and Director,
Biotechnology/Bioinformatics Institute, University of South Carolina, will work with
the Core on options for extending access to GCG software to other SC BRIN
institutions as well as creation of a website with links to bioinformatics tools.
- Plans are underway to offer Making PubMed Work for You, a 3.5 hour
hands-on class that will be taught by staff from the National Network of Libraries of
Medicine. The class is designed to hone basic searching techniques and to provide
instruction in the development of search strategies that take advantage of the
PubMed interface to MEDLINE. The Core plans to offer a series of these classes at
various SC BRIN campuses.
Return to the Table of
Contents.
Fifth
Anniversary of PubMed:
Five Years of
Free MEDLINE
During June 2002, the National Library of Medicine marked
the fifth anniversary of PubMed providing free MEDLINE via the Internet. When
PubMed was launched in June 1997, it received approximately 2 million searches for
that month. Today PubMed receives about 1.3 million searches per day from over
200,000 users. Currently 54% of PubMed users search from within the United States
whereas the largest group of non-domestic users search from Japan.
Return to the Table of Contents.
Keep those comments
coming!
Fifty-six Library patrons provided very helpful feedback in
addition to filling out the LibQual+ Online Survey. We were gratified that the
majority of comments were positive as to the Library atmosphere, resources, and
staff.
However, as helpful as the positive comments are, the
concerns voiced regarding needed resources and services are the points we find most
useful for our short- and long-term goals of providing the best service to our
patrons.
Most concerns centered around electronic access to
information, be it easy access to journals without having to use passwords, learning
more about how to find and to use the electronic resources which are available, or
simply MORE journal and electronic access, either in general or in specific topics.
The following comments are verbatim from the first ten
received, showing needed emphasis on electronic resources and training:
- I congratulate the library on its progress in obtaining electronic resources and
making them available via the web from wireless points within the school or via
Internet proxy connections from elsewhere. I use the electronic resources avidly and
would be lost without that type of access now.
- I need better training on accessing databases from my office.
- Increased electronic access to journals and increased study areas should be the
primary goals of the library at this time.
- I am pleased with the quantity and diversity of the training classes that the
library offers. I find it hard to MAKE time to go to the training classes during the
school year though. Summer is a better time for me to take the training classes....
PLEASE contact us if you need general or specific training --
we do make INFORMATION HOUSE CALLS. If you cannot come to us we will come to
your office at your convenience. We offer all our training classes during Summer, so
please feel free to take them then.
Also, we are looking at increased and more convenient
access to our journal collection, despite the budget limitations this year, including
purchasing of access where possible to eliminate password entry, and continued
active collaborative purchasing of resources with Thomas Cooper Library.
Return to the Table of Contents.
E-Textbook Spotlight: HARRISON'S ONLINE
Harrison's Online, accessible through the
Library's E-Textbooks
page under the heading "Internal Medicine," delivers the complete
text and illustrations from the 15th edition of Harrison's Principles of Internal
Medicine. This electronic version is updated daily and offers additional
references and links to MEDLINE abstracts. The database is fully searchable and
includes late-breaking clinical trial data, updated therapies, concise reviews and
editorials, self-assessment questions, related sites, and more.
Return to the Table of Contents.
| Library
Departments |
| Administration (Director, Ruth
Riley): |
733-3350 |
| Circulation (Head, Victor
Jenkinson): |
733-3344 |
| Reference (Head, Sarah
Gable): |
733-3351 |
| Cataloging and
Acquisitions(Head,
Laura Kane): |
733-3352 |
| Serials (Head, Karen
Rosati): |
733-3355 |
| Systems (Head, Ed
Sperr): |
733-3347 |
| Interlibrary Loan (Head, Sarah
Gable): |
733-3347 |
| Center for Disability Resources
Library
(Head, Roz McConnaughy): |
733-3310 |
Return to the Table of Contents
Library Hours and General
Information
Hours:
Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Saturday - 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sunday - 1 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Telephone Number: (803) 733-3344
Fax Number: (803) 733-1509
Address:
School of Medicine Library
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208
Home Page:
http://uscm.med.sc.edu/LIBRARY/LIBRARY.SHTML
Return to the Table of Contents
Newsletter Committee
For comments or suggestions regarding the newsletter, please
call Laura Kane at 733-3352 or email laura@med.sc.edu.
Return to the Table of Contents
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of Medicine Library page