This has been quite an active summer in the debates over publisher pricing, data sharing, and public access to federally funded research.

1. The summer began with the well-publicized dispute regarding the University of California System Libraries and Nature Publishing Group (NPG). The situation arose when the UC libraries were presented with a 400% increase to the cost of their system-wide site license to the 67 journals published by NPG – including their flagship title, Nature. This increase would boost the price per journal at UC from $4,500 to more than $17,000 per title. Faculty at the UC System has rallied behind the libraries in protest of this increase. More details can be found in this article from The Chronicle of Higher Education. At the HS/HSL and University System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions Library Consortium, we are closely monitoring this situation.
2. In October 2010, the National Science Foundation (NSF) will begin mandating the submission of a data management plan with all proposal submissions. More about this policy change is available at the NSF website. Later this summer, CIO and Vice President for Computing and Information Technology Services, Peter Murray; Vice President for the Office of Research and Development, James Hughes; and I will be meeting to discuss potential approaches to this mandate. Data curation and access will continue to be important issues as it is expected other federal agencies will eventually follow suit.
3. Finally, discussion continues regarding public access to federally funded research. Since 2008, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has mandated the submission and depositing of articles into PubMed Central when the research upon which the articles are based has been funded by the NIH. The Federal Research Public Access Act, which was introduced in the Senate on June 25, 2009 and in the House of Representatives on April 15, 2010, would require that 11 U.S. government agencies with annual extramural research expenditures over $100 million make manuscripts of journal articles stemming from research funded by that agency publicly available via the Internet. On July 29, the Information Policy, Census and National Archives held the first-ever hearing on the issue of public access. Ten witnesses representing a broad spectrum of the stakeholder communities testified. The spirited testimony can be found at the Republican Members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform website.

These are all items of interest to our scholarly community. Throughout the year, HS/HSL staff will be monitoring progress (or lack thereof) on these topics. If you have any thoughts on, or would like to discuss any of these issues, give me a call at 410.706.7545 or send me an email.

The staff of the HS/HSL welcomes UMB’s new president, Dr. Jay Perman in true library fashion. We have developed a resource guide entitled Childhood Obesity to honor his arrival and his special interest.

All Ovid databases, including MEDLINE, PsycInfo, and Evidence Based Medicine Reviews, now have a new interface. While there is a slight change to the look of these databases, searching within them remains the same. There are a couple notable changes. The Results Manager section, where you could previously email, print, and export citations, has been replaced by a streamlined toolbar. In addition, a new feature called My Projects allows you to share, comment on, and manage references.

RefWorks also has a new interface with a different look but the same basic functionality. Improvements to the interface include a new toolbar that allows you to easily create folders, generate bibliographies, or add new references, and quick access buttons for managing your references.  A citation viewer now allows you to paste citation place holders into a document without using Write-N-Cite.  Ref Grab-It and Write-N-Cite will remain unchanged.

Please contact the Reference Desk at 410.706.7996 or by email if you have any questions. The HS/HSL will also be offering RefWorks 2.0 Update Sessions where we review the new RefWorks features. Visit our Fall 2010 Workshop Schedule webpage to register.

Many of us rely on Google to find quick and relevant information, including research articles. But have you ever clicked on a link only to be faced with an annoying password screen? Drat! Now what? You can avoid this problem by starting your research at the HS/HSL homepage.

Publishers and database vendors only provide their articles to people with individual subscriptions or whose institutions pay large amounts of money per year for access. You CAN’T get directly in from the Google link to the publisher’s site because the site does not recognize that you are part of UMB. That’s why they ask for a password or payment. You CAN get in for free when you access the information through the Databases or Journals links on our webpage.

If you are connecting from an off-campus computer, you will only need to enter the UMB barcode from the back of your campus ID card and your last name. To avoid the frustration of being asked to pay for resources the Library already spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on, always begin your search from our website.

In addition you can try searching Google Scholar and configure it to link to UMB resources. At the Google Scholar homepage, click on the Scholar Preferences link next to the search box. There you will see a section called Library Links where you can search for the HS/HSL and save it in your preferences. Now when you search Google Scholar, the HS/HSL button will show up and link you right through! If you need assistance, please contact the Reference Desk at 410.706.7996 or by email.

The NIH has announced that as of July 23, 2010, Principal Investigators will be unable to enter citations manually into eRA Commons and must use My NCBI’s “My Bibliography” tool to manage their professional bibliographies. The goal of this change is to create “a more efficient, accurate and user-friendly way to manage their professional bibliographies, associate publications with their grant awards, and ensure compliance with the NIH Public Access Policy. Visit the eRA website and click on "Manage Your Professional Bibliography (My NCBI)" which will expand into step-by-step instructions and/or tutorials for both Applicants and Grantees.

Beverly Gresehover, former Associate Director for Resources, retired on July 31st. Not many library users knew Bev because she oversaw the division of the Library that acquires the materials, organizes the information, and supports the access to our vast array of resources. The Resources staff members are the unsung, unseen heroes of the Library. Bev led the Resources Division for about six years although her career here stretched back further and included stints in Circulation, the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, and Interlibrary Loan. During her time leading the Resources Division, she shepherded the team through some of the greatest changes the library community has ever seen. Through new library systems, automation of the interlibrary loan processes, the evolution of cataloging into metadata analysis, and most recently the planning for our digital archive and the next generation of discovery tools for our users. She worked with calmness, grace, and vision, learning with and being part of the team every step of the way. She was an excellent focus group facilitator and superlative note taker. Bev wanted to retire over a year ago but stayed on because she knew furloughs and freezes had had such a negative impact on the HS/HSL and that we would flounder with one more loss. What a colleague and friend! We will miss her but wish her all the best.

Each month the HS/HSL guide Cool Tools features a web-based application that can make your information gathering, tracking, and organization more efficient. July’s guide, Exploring Google Tools, provides helpful hints and tips on using some of the free web applications offered by Google.

Did you know that you can collaborate with a group by using Google Docs, a free web application that allows you to create, share, and edit documents, presentations, and spreadsheets online?

Keep updated on the topics of your choice by setting up Google Alerts. Google Alerts go directly to your email for easy access.

Want to know what The New York Times headlines are? Want to see the current table of contents for your favorite research journal? Google Reader manages your blog, news, and informational feeds through RSS.

In late October, the HS/HSL will feature a series of workshops focused on Google Tools. Visit our Workshop Schedule webpage to register.

Health literacy is defined as the ability to read, understand, and act on health care information. A number of important studies have linked low health literacy in the U.S. to low quality of health, low patient compliance, and disparities in the quality of health care. HS/HSL librarians have created a list of resources to guide you through the complex world of health literacy and clear health communication. Coverage includes assessment of literacy and readability, writing guides, and patient resources. The Cultural Diversity and Informed Consent sections include updated results from PubMed searches on those topics (via RSS feeds). Information is also offered as podcasts, videos, webcasts, and tutorials.

The HS/HSL recently received a WWI period photograph depicting the staff of Base Hospital #42, stationed in France during 1918. The item came to us through our collaboration with the University’s Medical Alumni Association, to whom the donor originally presented it. The Association graciously funded conservation work for the piece, which now hangs outside our Historical Reading Room. Base Hospital #42 originally was organized at the University of Maryland in June 1917 and subsequently mobilized at Camp Meade on April 1, 1918. The unit arrived at Bazoilles-sur-Meuse, Vosges, France on July 15, 1918 and began receiving and treating patients on the 19th. Our photograph is dated at Camp Meade on April 29, 1919, after the unit had returned from service and just a few days before being demobilized on May 2, 1919.