Bio-Medical Library Reference Blog

Hi everyone - via the AP list: SciEng has created a new online tutorial on searching patents:

Hi APers,

Our wonderful library intern, Julia Demasi has created another patent tutorial to go along with the link I sent out a few months ago: (http://www.lib.umn.edu/research/instruction/modules/eng/patent/)

This new tutorial is on Patent Searching. You can find it at http://www2.lib.umn.edu/research/instruction/modules/eng/patent_searching/

If you have thoughts, comments, or feedback we'd love to hear it!

Thanks much,
Jon

--
Jon Jeffryes
Biomedical, Civil and Mechanical Engineering, and Standards Librarian
Physical Sciences and Engineering Library
University of Minnesota Libraries
108 Walter Library
117 Pleasant Street S.E.
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Email: jeffryes@umn.edu
Phone: 612-625-3814
IM: umjonlib
Office: 335 Walter Library

Posted by Liz Fine at 8:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hi all,

This fall semester Chacko is piloting a program where he is providing curriculum support to students enrolled in PubH 6450, Biostatistics 1. This is a core course for all students pursuing an MPH degree. This pilot program begins on 9/21/09.

Chacko will hold office hours in room 350 on Mondays from 9-10 and on Wednesdays from 10-11. He'll be in room 274 on Wednesdays from 3-4 and on Fridays from 2-4. He'll also be available by appointment. Even though the pilot hasn't really begun, he's already been asked for help by students.

If you have any questions about this pilot, please contact Chacko.

LIsa

Posted by Lisa McGuire at 2:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Going along with Jim's note about getting Active Directory questions at the desk - if you are teaching classes in the Pit, remember, whenever possible, to notify students in advance to check their Active Directory status. That way, you hopefully won't end up with a class full of people who can't get into the computers. Here is a sample of an email I send to classes in advance:

"I'm looking forward to seeing your N8170 students on Tuesday at 2:20! The library computers require students to be registered with something called Active Directory to log into the machines, and if they haven't used computers in the library over the last semester, they probably aren't signed up. It's a really quick registration process, but it would make things go much more smoothly on Tuesday if you could have the students make sure their Active Directory accounts are enabled in advance.

Could you send an email to the class and ask them to complete this short process?
1. Go to www.umn.edu/dirtools.
2. Log in with your Internet ID/X.500 username and password
3. Click on "Active Directory Account Options"
4. Choose to activate your University of Minnesota Active Directory account
5. Click the Submit button
6. Close Window/Log Out

This is all they need to do, and they may find that their Active Directory account is already enabled. Let me know if you have any questions - I'll see the class on Tuesday at 2:20!"

Remember too that you can get guest logins from the circ desk, or talk to Peter for another solution if you know you'll have a big class where no one is registered. You can also have a laptop set up to quickly enable people's accounts on the fly.

Just a reminder to be prepared! Since it's been a year, I forgot that this might be an issue when teaching in the Pit, and it's a very miserable surprise to have. Thanks!

Liz

Posted by Liz Fine at 5:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It has been suggested that I post the weekly reference quizzes that I am giving to the student reference assistants on the Reference blog. Here are the first four quizzes for anyone who is interested in working through them. If you have any questions or wish to suggest questions that can be placed on future quizzes please let me know.

Del

Reference Quiz #1
Student Reference Assistants
05/11/2009

1) How many staffed-beds does Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis have?

Answer:

Source:

2) Look up the drug omeprazole in Micromedex. What are its U.S. trade names? Name two FDA and two non-FDA labeled indications. What are two common adverse effects and in what percentage of patients do they occur? What is its elimination half-life?

Answers:

3) What is the average length in centimeters of the small intestines in adults?

Answer:

Source:

4) What was the leading cause of death in the United States in 2005? How many deaths were there?

Answer:

Source:

5) Medline question: Is there evidence showing that effective doctor-patient communication improves patient care outcomes? Show and discuss search strategy with Del or Emily.

Reference Quiz #2
Student Reference Assistants

1) Protein-lipid Interactions, editor, A Watts. Amsterdam; New York: Elsevier, 1993. Does the Bio-Medical Library own this?

Answer:

Source:

2) In 1987 R. J. Gorlin published an article in volume 66 of the journal Medicine. How many people cited this article and what is the beginning page number of the article.

Answer:

Source:

3) What is the price of a complete kit of the Beck Depression Inventory II and who publishes the test?

Answer:

Source:

4) What is the molecular weight of dimethylmercury?

Answer:

Source:

5) Medline search: “I’m looking for research on moderate to high intensity/weight bearing exercise in people with rheumatoid arthritis – things like running. There’s lots on low impact exercise like water aerobics, but I’m wondering about higher impact things.”

Continue reading "Reference Quizzes" »

Posted by reedx013 at 5:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)