We invite you to join us in an exploration of social networking. Are you connect.ed? is a day long, community-wide symposium bringing together experts on technologies such as Facebook, YouTube, and Connotea.

The April 10, 2008 symposium will feature a morning session with a keynote speaker followed by a panel of experts. Panelists will discuss practical applications of Social Networking tools for collaborating, teaching & learning. The afternoon will feature hands-on sessions that allow time for experimentation in an informal setting. A reception at the Library will wrap up this thought-provoking event.

For more information visit http://www.hshsl.umaryland.edu/areyouconnected/

For many years we have wanted to produce a public annual report to let our constituents, colleagues, customers, and supporters know what we’ve been up to. This year we finally met that goal with the publication of Partnering Throughout the Campus and Beyond: The HS/HSL Annual Report 2006-2007. We struggled with what we wanted the report to be. All of us had seen reports we didn’t like but it was hard to nail down exactly what would convey the energy and excitement we feel within the HS/HSL as we work toward a new definition of what it means to be a library. As we reflected on our previous fiscal year, we discovered many of our activities embodied, at their core, partnerships. We will never lose sight of the fact our excellent staff, innovative services, and the quality information resources we provide underpin the education, research, and service programs at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Our strength and future lies in the partnerships, connections, and collaborations we establish with our faculty, staff, students, and beyond. Although the report includes some standard facts and figures, we chose to focus on stories that illustrate the variety of our partnerships ranging from supporting new resources to supporting the greater community.

The annual report is available online. If you would like a print copy, please contact Library Administration at 410.706.7545 with your request and we will mail one to you. Enjoy!

The Health Sciences and Human Services Library (HS/HSL) is conducting a usability study to examine navigation, organization and content of a new prototype of the HS/HSL web site. We want to know what our users think and how we can make our site a better resource. The Library is looking for volunteers to participate in the study. It requires a one-hour time commitment.

The study requires that a volunteer come to the Library and search for several items (tasks) on the HS/HSL web site. Participants are asked to verbalize what they are thinking as they try to locate requested information. Screen activity and the participant’s voice will be recorded. Two library staff members will observe the progress. There will be an opportunity for discussion after the tasks have been completed. The study will run from March 3rd through March14th.

Please take this opportunity to let us know what you think about this new prototype of the HS/HSL web site. If you are interested in participating, contact Patricia Hinegardner at 410.706.8863 or phinegar@umaryland.edu.

From the Women’s Medical College of Baltimore to modern movers and shakers, the story of medical women in Maryland is rich and varied. The forthcoming exhibit – Maryland Women in Medicine – celebrates the contributions of the women who have made medicine in Maryland what it is today. This exhibit, running March 3 through June 13, was developed to complement the very successful Changing the Face of Medicine, which the Library presented this past fall.

The exhibit is based upon an essay written by Larry Pitrof, Executive Director of the Medical Alumni Association of the University of Maryland, Inc., and was generously underwritten by the Alumni Association.

Please join us for the opening reception, held Wednesday, March 12, from 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. All are welcome.

For more information about upcoming exhibits and opening receptions please visit the Weise Gallery page.

A new suite of resources for volunteer faculty, clinical instructors, and alumni of the UMB Medical Campus is available for preview now through June 2008. It’s called Resources Plus!

Resources Plus! members can search Medline or full-text databases in medicine, nursing allied health, and the social sciences, or can search across them all using the 360 search! Beginning in July 2008, Resources Plus! members will also be able to schedule a consultation with a research librarian, borrow books, and register for any of the HS/HSL’s information management workshops.

The Library is eager to hear what potential Resources Plus! users think, and is currently recruiting volunteer faculty, clinical instructor, and alumnus to beta test the databases and web site. Beta testers will have free access to the databases and online journals through June 2008 and will receive a reduced subscription rate for the following year. In July 2008, Resources Plus! will be available by paid subscription only. For more information, or to register as a beta tester, contact Alexa Mayo, 410.706.1316.

If you haven’t visited the Library lately, you’re in for a surprise. Renovations on the first floor are complete, resulting in a beautifully transformed space. The reference desk is now conveniently located by the front elevators, with the current journals just a few steps away. The reconfigured space provides easier, more pleasant access to our computers, tables, carrels, and comfortable seating.

On the second and third floors you’ll find that construction is well underway, and should be completed by summer 2008. During this time, study rooms will remain available, as will the computers located above the art gallery and the circulation desk. Additionally, Resource Sharing Services will temporarily relocate from the third to the second floor during construction.

For your convenience, we will be offering construction updates on the Library website, signs throughout the Library, and the first floor digital display. Thanks for your patience!

With so much information available at our fingertips, it is important for physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and other biomedical professionals to have the most appropriate tools available on their PDAs. Below you’ll find information on three drug information resources you may find useful.

Thomson Clinical Xpert (formally known as Mobile Micromedex)

FREE to all UMB students, faculty, and staff, Clinical Xpert provides quick drug look-ups and clinical references and tools. This on-the-go, evidence-based application comes complete with clinical references and tools. You’ll also find access to lab test information, a disease database, toxicology information, and handy medical calculators.

Access instructions

ePocrates Rx

This FREE program provides a clinical drug database with approximately 3,300 drug monographs for the PDA. Each monograph includes information on pricing, adverse reactions, contraindications, and pharmacokinetics. The auto-update function, provides information on new drugs, new indications, and recalls.

Access instructions

Lexi-Comp PDA Software

A fee-based package, Lexi-Select is a comprehensive package of 17 Lexi-Comp brand-named databases and modules including Lexi-Drugs, Lexi-Interact, and Lexi-Natural Products. This package covers topics such as pharmacology, drug interactions, patient education, laboratory/diagnostic tests, and natural products.

Access & purchase instructions

Visit the HS/HSL PDA Resources page for additional information and a comparison chart of these three tools.

Interested in finding Open Access (OA) venues for submitting your manuscripts? Do you have a favorite BioMed Central (BMC) journal such as BMC Genetics or Epidemiologic Perspectives & Innovations? If so, we have good news!

The HS/HSL is committed to supporting UMB authors who choose OA publications. One of the many ways we accomplish this is by covering article processing charges for manuscripts accepted by BMC journals.

Visit our Scholarly Communication page to learn more about OA initiatives and opportunities, and to see where your UMB colleagues are publishing.

Evidence-Based Public Health has been defined as the use of current best evidence in making decisions about the health of communities or populations. This workshop will focus on defining clear questions and tips for finding the best evidence using a variety of online resources that address the multidisciplinary nature of public health. Resources covered will expand beyond the traditional journal databases to include grey literature from government documents, technical reports and other alternative sources. The workshop will take place Wednesday, February 27, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Workshops are held on Tuesdays from 10:00 p.m. – 11:00 a.m. and Wednesdays from 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. all semester. You can view the schedule or register for classes online.

We hope to see you there!

As many of you know, RefWorks is a fantastic tool that helps you keep your literature citations current and organized, collaborate with your on- or off-campus colleagues, and serves as a time saver when generating bibliographies for your course assignments, dissertations, or manuscripts. Recent RefWorks enhancements to Write-N-Cite and RefShare make it even easier to integrate RefWorks into your workflow.

As a UMB student, faculty, or staff member, RefWorks is FREE to use and can be accessed anywhere you can find an internet connection.

Visit the HS/HSL guide to RefWorks to learn more. Don’t forget, we offer free workshops for both new and more advanced RefWorks users.

Register Now!