The University Libraries' migration to the OvidSP platform, scheduled to occur Tuesday, 1/15, has been postponed for a week until Tuesday, 1/22. The short delay will give Ovid technical staff more time to work on the seamless transition to the new platform for current users who have saved searches.
As always, if you have any questions about this please contact me.
Lisa
612-626-3643
lmcguire@umn.edu
The University Libraries' migration to the OvidSP platform, scheduled to occur Tuesday, 1/15, has been postponed for a week until Tuesday, 1/22. The short delay will give Ovid technical staff more time to work on the seamless transition to the new platform for current users who have saved searches.
As always, if you have any questions about this please contact me.
Lisa
612-626-3643
lmcguire@umn.edu
OVID Technologies, the University Libraries platform for citation databases like MEDLINE, BIOSIS, and PsycINFO is making a major change to its search interface, called OvidSP. The University Libraries will be migrating to OvidSP the morning of Tuesday, January 15, 2008.
This new user interface features multiple search modes with classic features such as term Mapping, Explode, and Scope Notes carried over in the Ovid Syntax mode, while the Basic mode uses natural language searching which allows for searching across databases. Users will also notice an improved results display.
One of the major changes is that users will now need to create "personal accounts" in order to save searches or create AutoAlerts. On the day of the migration, current Ovid users with saved searches or AutoAlert SDIs will receive an Ovid system generated e-mail with their user names and temporary passwords to access their saved content. New users wishing to save their searches or to customize the user interface will have to create a new user account.
Try OvidSP, which can be previewed in the current interface and if you have questions or difficulties with the new OvidSP please send email medref@umn.edu (our email reference service), or call the Reference Desk at 612-626-3260.
The Bio-Medical Library has begun a pilot project answering reference questions via Instant Messaging (IM). Anyone with an AIM, MSN, Yahoo, or Google account can send our reference staff a question via IM.
This pilot project will run through December 2007. For more information on this service, or to send us a question, go to: this page
Alternatively, you can send a direct question to me via IM at any of my account names:
AIM: lmcguire301
Yahoo: lisa_mcguire301
MSN: lmcguire301@hotmail.com
Google: mcgulisa@gmail.com
Happy Instant Messaging!
Lisa
In response to a request from an AHC student group for additional options for safe and comfortable study spaces, the Bio-Medical Library and AHC deans will conduct a pilot project to provide extended 24/7 access to a portion of the second (tunnel) level of the library in Diehl Hall. Beginning May 5th, after the library’s usual closing time, an area of the second floor will be accessible only to those who present a UCard. This area encompasses the public computers, some study tables, the small group study rooms, the casual seating near the entrance, and the rest rooms. There will be no library services, such as photocopying, printing, circulation, or reference assistance provided during these extended hours. There will also be no access to the print collection of journals and books in the stacks. Access control will be provided by a UM Security Monitor stationed at the entrance to the second level. The library is also in the process of adding security cameras which we expect to be installed during the summer. This pilot project will run through Fall 2007 finals, with progress evaluations of the project after Spring finals, May Session, Summer Session and Fall finals. Please direct any questions to Linda Watson (lwatson@umn.edu; 626-7039).
I've created a spreadsheet which lists Bio-Med's serial subscriptions in public health for 2007 here.
I've listed the journal name/publisher/format for which the journal is available (print, online) for 2007. I've also listed online availability, however, these dates are subject to change.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments about our journal subscriptions.
Regards,
Lisa
The Maternal and Child Health Library has posted on its Web site a new
resource, Maternal and Child Health History, which is available at
http://www.mchlibrary.info/history. This resource brings together
documents and reports related to the history of maternal and child
health in the United States and health services for children and
families that are part of the Maternal and Child Health Library
Collection and also links to significant resources at other libraries
and federal agencies.
Continue reading "New Resource - Maternal & Child Health Library" »
The Bio-Medical Library has initiated a subscription to the database Global Health. Global Health brings together the resources of two internationally renowned databases - the Public Health and Tropical Medicine (PHTM) database, previously produced by the Bureau of Hygiene and Tropical Diseases (BHTD), and the human health and diseases information extracted from CAB ABSTRACTS. Over 16,000 serial sources from more than 130 countries are scanned regularly for inclusion in the Global Health database, to produce approximately 25,000 new entries per year Coverage is from 1973-present.
Global Health is an Ovid database and can be accessed from the 'Health Indexes/Databases' section on our home page by clicking on the letter 'G.'
One tip for searching Global Health -- make sure you check the box called 'map term to subject heading.' As of this writing, the default way to search Global Health is with this box unchecked. I've asked our technical staff to change this but in the interim you'll have to check this box yourself so your serch term can be mapped against the CAB thesaurus.
Please send me any feedback about this new resource.
Users of MICROMEDEX, the full-text drug information system, will notice a new interface as of August 7, 2006. You'll find the same reliable drug information, with a new look. The new interface offers several enhancements including improved navigation and new features to go along with the new look, such as:
Side-by-side comparisons of two drugs using Comparative Drug Summaries or Therapeutic Class
Improved Drug Identification (imprint, color, shape, pattern)
Expanded drug interactions tools (single and multiple interactions)
Enhanced keyword and full-text search capabilities (including word stems)
Persistent document outline for improved navigation
Navigation based on tabs and drop-down menus
MICROMEDEX is available from the Bio-Medical Library's homepage by choosing the MICROMEDEX Quick Link or clicking on "M" in the alphabetical listing of databases and indexes.
The Library has created a help guide for the new version of MICROMEDEX
If you have any questions about the new interface, or MICROMEDEX in general, feel free to contact me.
Public Health Faculty/Staff/Students --
August is the time of year when librarians can add new journal titles, cancel titles, or add electronic access for new or existing subscriptions for the upcoming calendar year.
As part of this process, librarians at the Bio-Medical Library and the Veterinary Medicine Library are looking at their journal lists and identifying titles that we receive in both print and electronic formats, with the intention of cancelling print versions while maintaining (or sometimes enhancing) electronic access. This is being done to look for additional cost savings that can then be used to add additional electronic journals to the collections.
Continue reading "Public health journals - moving from print to electronic" »
The Libraries are currently conducting a trial of BioMedCentral’s "Faculty of 1000 Biology" and "Faculty of 1000 Medicine" products. These literature tools "highlight and review the most interesting papers published in the biological sciences and medicine, based on the recommendations of a faculty of well over 1000 selected leading researchers in each field." Currently 24 U of M faculty are F1000 reviewers.
The trials are available at www.f1000biology.com and www.f1000medicine.com through June 8.
Current users have found the Faculty of 1000 products useful in prioritizing their reading of the literature, particularly researchers entering interdisciplinary areas where they may be less familiar with "what’s important" in the crossover field. The products can also be a valuable tool in graduate and undergraduate education, helping to steer students towards high quality and/or novel articles for journal club presentations, class research papers, and other needs. The reviewer comments can also be helpful in demonstrating the peer review process, traditionally out of view of students and trainee scientists until they author papers.
In addition to searching for articles on the F1000 web sites, PubMed can now be set up to activate F1000 linkouts for articles which have been reviewed by F1000.
For example, see this sample record. Use this link to PubMed to activate the F1000 links during your search session: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?otool=umnbmlib&holding=f1000
Please take a look at www.f1000biology.com and www.f1000medicine.com from on campus, and let us know what you think. Comments can be submitted to Kevin Messner at messn006@umn.edu.
(One access caveat there have been some troubles accessing our trial of F1000 through a VPN over U of M wireless. Certainly this is something that would be hammered out if we purchase the product; for now, though, you may save yourself some trouble by accessing the trial site over a hard line on campus.)