LIBRARY BULLETIN

December 2000

Library Field Testing Newly Developed  Hardware and Software for Environmental Monitoring

Jack E. Termine, Archivist

The Medical Research Library of Brooklyn is participating in the field testing of newly developed hardware and software for the continuous monitoring of temperature and humidity (RH) developed by the Image Permanence Institute (IPI), a nonprofit preservation research laboratory.

Founded in 1985, IPI is a department of the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT); their mission is to advance the technology and practice of preservation of recorded information and cultural property in general.  The field trial begins in December and will go on for two years.  The $1.2 million grant for the research, design and production of hardware and software was provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities-Division of Preservation and Access, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

The Field Trial technology includes two Preservation Environment Monitors (PEMs), an advanced data logger, and Climate Notebook, a WindowsR-based software application with which to manipulate the data read from the PEM's.  All technology was developed by the IPI at RIT.  The PEMs will take temperature and RH readings every 5 minutes, then average those readings every 30 minutes; the PEMs will then average the 30 minute readings every 4 hours, thereby producing readings every 30 minutes and 4 hours.   This information is then downloaded into software where the data can be manipulated and compared in several meaningful ways.  The software also utilizes algorithms developed by IPI to measure the effect of climate conditions on the decay rate of organic materials in collections and estimates the likelihood and severity of mold growth. It uses a "notebook" metaphor in which all temperature and RH data, as well as various kinds of generic and material-specific analysis, are organized into one computer file.

A unique feature of the Climate Notebook is the use of a database of environmental requirements for specific types of collection objects. The software analyzes temperature and RH data from an area and can determine if conditions are problematic for any type of material that is present in the database.  The software incorporates a number of reporting functions that provide both generic and object-specific recommendations.  Reports will be generated and sent to the necessary personnel responsible for the overall operation of the library's HVAC for necessary adjustment.

Downstate is the only SUNY campus involved in this field test.  Some of the other NYC institutions involved in the field test include: the American Museum of Natural History, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, Columbia University, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of the City of New York, and the New York Public Library.

By Julie Semkow

For the last six years various units of the Library have been engaged in a major effort to conserve the Library's journal print collections. The Medical Research Library of Brooklyn contains one of this country's most extensive retrospective collections, and during the 1970s, was among the ten largest collections in the United States. In 1994 Archivist, Jack Termine, and then Head of Interlibrary Loan, Debra Randorf, began the effort by moving all pre-1900 holdings into the Archives where special temperature and other conservation controls provided an enhanced environment.

By 1997 the accumulating remaining print volumes were rapidly filling available shelving. After a period of considerable research, discussion and consultation, a major shift that would span three years, began. Then Head of Access Services, Luis Gonzalez, and a small number of paraprofessional support staff, shifted all pre-1940 volumes to the Library's compact storage, a closed shelving, temperature-controlled area that would conserve this portion of the journal print collection.

The final phase of the shift, under the guidance of Associate Library Director, Julie Semkow, the new Head of Access Services, Juannetta LeGree, and the Evening/Weekend Supervisor, Val Morris James, the Access Services clerical staff committed to moving the remaining titles so that several important
measures toward collection conservation were accomplished: the top and bottom shelves are now free of volumes which means more easily viewed and located materials for our patrons and easier reshelving for the staff; each current library title has been reshelved to permit 10 years' growth space; and shelving ranges now have several empty shelves to accomodate new or reinstated titles.

We hope that patrons will find these changes helpful and feel proud, as we do, of a complex job well done, and of a collection more carefully shelved and more easily available.

By Christopher Stewart

New York Health Connection

The New York Health Connection contains the full text of New York State and City Health Codes.  Clicking on each title provides the table of contents for each item.  You can also search the site for statutes related to your topic.  Contents include: New York Public Health Law, New York State Department of Health Rules and Regulations, New York City Department of Health Rules and Regulations, and the New York City Health Code.

netLibrary

Available through SUNYConnect, a multi-year, University-wide project creating a virtual library to meet the needs of SUNY's students and faculty, netLibrary provides full-text electronic access to a variety of books.  While many of the books are centered on the humanities, SUNY Downstate users will find many resources of use in patient education.  The search interface allows users to search for a particular title or author, or to search for keywords within the text.

How to register for Library Informatics classes:

1. Pick up a registration form at the Library's Information Desk, M-F, 9-7, OR click on any of the classes under "Online Instruction" on the Library's web page and print out a form.
2. To reserve your seat in a particular class: a check in the amount of $25 is a required deposit which will be returned to you at the end of the class. CHECKS FOR "NO SHOW" REGISTRANTS ARE NOT REFUNDABLE.
3. Please indicate the classes for which you are registering, by course and section number, ON YOUR CHECK.
4. Make check payable to: SUNY IFR 900410
5. Submit your registration form with check attached: M-F, 9-5, to Ms Jessica Blackstock in room 110. If she is unavailable, take the registration form and check to staff at the Reference Desk.
.
Registration MUST be received three business days prior to the date of the class. Registration is NOT confirmed until you have heard from Library staff.

#109 Medline Tutorials
Description: An introductory tutorial in how to use the OVID search system. While we use OVID'sMedline database as a teaching tool, principles learned are applicable to other OVID databases.60-minute, hands-on tutorial.
Offered: Fri., Dec. 8 1:00-2:00 (sec. l09.12)

#100 Internet Basics
Description: A one-hour presentation encompassing: what the Internet is; how to use the various
protocols; what kind of information is available on the Internet; a brief introduction to directoriesand search engines.
This presentation is designed for beginners who have had little, if any,experience with the Internet.
Browser discussion focuses on the Netscape browser.
Offered: Weds., Dec. 6  2:00-3:00 (sec. 100.12)

#103 Computer Basics
Description: A one-hour, hands-on presentation discussing the basics of using an IBM-compatible personal computer.
Offered: Tues., Dec. 5 2:00-3:00 (sec. 103.12)

#101 Searching The World Wide Web
Description:  A 60-minute presentation on searching the World Wide Web.  Attention is paid to the ways of locating information: directories (Yahoo) and search engines (AltaVista and InfoSeek). Includes information on evaluating web resources.
Prerequisite:  Internet Basics course, or some Internet experience.
Offered: Mon.,  Dec. 11 3:00-4:00 (sec. 101.12)

#104 Basic Word Processing (Microsoft Word)
Description: A one-hour, hands-on presentation discussing the basics of using Microsoft Word. Includes creating, opening and saving files; typing in information; formatting text; cutting, copying and pasting text within and between files, and adding graphics.
Offered: Tues., Dec. 12   3:00-4:00 (sec. 104.12)

#119 Introduction to Citation Management using End Note
Description: A 60-minute, hands-on tutorial on using End Note to manage references. Includes how to create a bibliography and how to incorporate footnotes into word processing software.
Prerequisites: Computer Basics and familiarity with word processing software (Word or Word Perfect)
Offered: Weds., Dec. 13  2:00-3:00 (sec. 119.12)

NEW!
#120   Searching with SwetsNet Navigator
Description:  Searching with SwetsNet Navigator provides the user with the ability to use one easy and powerful interface for searching electronic journals from a wide variety of publishers. It facilitates access to full-text journals, abstracts, TOC (Tables of Content) alerts.
Offered: Tues., Dec. 19 3:00-4:00 (sec. 120.12)

#121 Spreadsheets (EXCEL)
Description: A one-hour, hands -on presentation discussing the basics of using EXCEL. Includes: spreadsheet layout; entering date; manipulating cells; and basic functions.
Offered: Fri., Dec. 15   2:00-3:00 (sec. 121.12)

The following journals have been reinstated in the Library's collection as of January, 2001:

The Anatomical Record
The Annals of Otology, Rhinology & Laryngology Archives of Dermatological Research
British Journal of Ophtlamology
British Journal of Urology
CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal Clinical and Experimental Dermatology Contact Dermatitis
Critical Reviews in Microbiology
Critical Reviews in Oncogenesis
Current Opinion in Endocrinology & Diabetes Cytogenetics and Cell Genetics
Dermatology
Drug Metabolism Reviews
European Urology
Foot & Ankle International
Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology
Head & Neck
Human Genetics
Immunobiology
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science Journal of Cellular Physiology
Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
The Journal of Foot and Ankle Surgery Journal of Medical Genetics
Journal of Morphology
Journal of Neurosurgical Anesthesiology Journal of Nuclear Cardiology
Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of London Life Sciences Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
Matrix Biology
Medical Decision Making
Medical Education
Medical Journal of Australia
Microbiology
Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology News in Physiological Sciences
Pharmacogenetics
Protein Profile
Psychophysiology
Radiation Research
Urological Research
World Journal of Urology

NEW PRINT TITLES
List Compiled by Cheryl Perkins

Alcoholism sourcebook - 1st ed., c2000 [editor] Karen Bellenir
Atlas of infectious diseases, c2000 [by] David R. Stone, Sherwood L. Gorbach
[The] bottleneck: gamete and embryo mitochondria in..., c2000 [editor] Robert P.S. Jansen
Cellular mechanisms in airways..., c2000 [editors] Clive P. Page, Katharine H. Banner, Domenico Spina
CPR, resuscitation of the arrested heart, c1999 [editors] Max Harry Weil, Wanchun Tang
Effective document management: unlocking corporate..., [New ed.], c2000 [by] Bob Wiggins
Environmental asthma, c2001 [editor] Robert K. Bush
Epidemiologic trends in drug abuse, c2000  [editors] Community Epidemiology Work Group
Essence of anesthesia practice, c1997 [editors] Michael F. Roizen, Lee A. Fleisher
Exercise and the heart - 4th ed., c2000 [by] Victor F. Froelicher, Jonathan N. Myers
Female urinary incontinence, c2000 [editors] Nils-Otto Sjèoberg [et al.]
Fetal origins of cardiovascular and lung disease, c2001 [editor] David J.P. Barker
Functional imaging in the epilepsies, c2000 [editors] Thomas R. Henry, John S. Duncan, Samuel F. Berkovic
Gastroenterologic endoscopy: CD-ROM , Windows & Macintosh - 2nd ed., c2000 [by] Michael V. Sivak., Jr.
Gastrointestinal transport, c2001 [editors] Kim E. Barrett, Mark Donowitz
Guidelines for prescribing foot orthotics, c1995 [by] Mark A. Reiley Headache, c1997 [editors] Peter J. Goadsby and Stephen D. Silberstein
Illness and the environment:, c2000 [editors] Steve Kroll-Smith, Phil Brown, and Valerie J. Gunter
[The] intensive care unit manual - 1st ed., c2001 [editors] Paul N. Lanken, C. William Hanson III
Interactive case study companion to Robbins, pathologic basis of disease [computer file] - 6th ed., c1999 [editors] Vinay Kumar, Herbert K. Hagler
Learning disabilities:  implications for psychiatric..., c2000 [editor] Laurence L. Greenhill
Long-term mechanical ventilation,c2001 [editor] Nicholas S. Hill
Loving care for Alzheimer's patients: practical solutions for caregivers...,c1999 [by] Katie Lovette
Lymphoid organogenesis:, c2000 [editor] F. Melchers
Medical ethics at the dawn of the 21st century, c2000 [editor] Raphael Cohen-Almagor
Medical Spanish: an instant translator,c1996 [by]  Isam Nasr, Marco Cordero
Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy: state of the art, 2000, c2000 [editors] Gideon Koren, Raafat Bishai
Novel cytokine inhibitors, c2000 [editors] Gerry A. Higgs, Brian Henderson
Occupational therapy for children - 4th ed., c2001 [editor] Jane Case-Smith
[The] patella:  a team approach, c2000 [by] Ronald P. Grelsamer, Jenny McConnell
Primary care of the child with a ... - 3rd ed., c2000 [editors] Patricia Ludder Jackson, Judith A. Vessey
[A] primer of drug action : - 9th ed., c2001 [by] Robert M. Julien
Principles and practice of pediatric...,c1997 [editors] Sarah S. Long, Larry K. Pickering, Charles G. Prober
Principles of dermatology - 3rd ed., c2000 [by] Donald P. Lookingbill, James G. Marks, Jr.
Service learning: curricular applications in nursing, c2001 [by] Gail P. Poirrier
Short and long term effects of breast feeding on child health, c2000 [editors] Berthold Koletzko, Kim Fleischer Michaelsen, Olle Hernell
SUNY Downstate Medical Center, c2000 [by] Jack E. Termine
Textbook of clinical echocardiography -  2nd ed., c2000 [by] Catherine M. Otto
Textbook of critical care  - 4th ed., c2000 [senior editor] Ake Grenvik
Traveler's health sourcebook:  - 1st ed., c2000 [editor] Joyce Brennfleck Shannon
Tropical infectious diseases:  principles, pathogens & practice, c1999 [editors] Richard L. Guerrant, David H. Walker, Peter F. Weller
Using Microsoft Access:  how-to-do-it manual for librarians, c1997 [by] E. Sonny Butler

Farewell
By Dr. Richard Winant

Associate Library Director, Julie Semkow, has decided to take early retirement after 31 years of State service, the last 19 here at Downstate. Julie, a world traveler and bon vivant, will no doubt explore her many interests after retirement.  She will be one of those retirees who is more busy then ever.  My interaction with Julie began during my first visits to campus when she was serving as Acting Director.  The new Library was being completed, so we had to plan the move.  This was accomplished with no loss of service, thanks to Julie's and others' efforts.  Julie had begun our Learning Resource Center and was the person who got the generous endowment from the Alumni Association that continues to support the purchase of resources.  She is an excellent project manager.
Many improvements in the Library are the direct result of her leadership.  In the last couple of years she has lead our Access Services unit which continues to provide excellent circulation and interlibrary loan service.  Julie is the editor of this newsletter which has described services and programs in recent years.  I'd like to join our Library faculty, staff and patrons in thanking her for her service and input.