LIBRARY INFORMATION BULLETIN

December 2002

Medical Research Library of Brooklyn
http://www.library.downstate.edu

HOLIDAY GREETINGS FROM THE DIRECTOR

On behalf of the staff of the Medical Research Library, I extend to you and your families warm and sincere wishes for a very happy holiday and a joyous New Year. We look forward to working with you to provide your information, statistical, scheduling, and audiovisual needs in 2003! Pray for Peace. RW

MAJOR SERVICE UPGRADE

After over ten years of using CDPlus/OVID to access bibliographic databases such as Medline, CINAHL and PsycINFO, the library is making a major switch. As of 01/01/03, Medline access will be primarily through the National Library of Medicine’s PubMed database that automatically accesses Premedline. PubMed is a government- funded database that is universally available and increasingly easy to use. Over 60 % of our users prefer it to OVID. Two particularly valuable features that are available on PubMed include “Link Out.” This links out to full text of textbooks that have been added to PubMed, as well as fulltext journal articles. The other is “related articles” that will give a list of articles related to one that you have selected as valuable.

The other two databases available on OVID, CINAHL and PsycINFO will join the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and ACP Journal Club in being accessible directly.

Many of our patrons have been successfully using PubMed for literature searching for some time. For others, it may be something new. In either case, we feel that improvements in the PubMed search engine in the last few years, allow for excellent searching, even offering features not available on Ovid . Please make use of the online instruction available on the web page so that this change will be as painless and cause as little inconvenience as possible. MD/MH/CS

FELIX

Felix the Cat is the newest member of the library’s family to help you in your information quest. We realize that the volume of available electronic resources can be overwhelming. In response, the library will be providing periodic tips on our webpage concerning their optimum use. We will pose practical scenarios and provide recommendations as to the most appropriate resource to use. For example, one tip could answer the question, “Where can I obtain patient handouts?”
We hope that this will help you to sort out the numerous resources that have been added to the library’s electronic collection in recent years and choose the one(s) that best meet your needs within this treasure trove of information. MD

COMFORT IN THE LIBRARY

…and there was light

The lighting in the library has been changed. This was accomplished by the support of Dr. JoAnn Bradley, Mr Ivan Lisnitzer, and the campus administration. We also would like to thank Dr. Lorraine Terracina and the students for their continued interest in this project. The bright new lights will greatly enhance our learning environment. RW

…and comfortable chairs

During the last two years the library has refurbished the chairs througout the library.
This project was undertaken to enhance your seating comfort after students and faculty complained of the lack of soft seating. TMcP

…and a reminder

With all this comfort, however, do not forget the Food and Beverage Policy of the Library. NO FOOD IS ALLOWED IN THE LIBRARY. BEVERAGES ARE ALLOWED ONLY IN LIBRARY-APPROVED CONTAINERS. Library staff and other responsible library users will continue their vigilance. MH

REMINDER....ELECTRONIC RESERVES

Make use of the easy way to have handouts, quizzes and articles available for use by students. Stop making photocopies to hand out to students. Come to the Library and have us put the material on Electronic Reserve. In this way the information is available to the students 24/7 wherever they might be. See the library’s web page for copyright clearance information for material that is not the property of the instructor. The “Special Reserve Request Form” is available online on the Web page at:
Placing a Reserve link. Documents are password protected by the instructors who give these out to the students.
So, save time and make access to these documents easy for everyone. Call for more information at 270-7450. JL

OFFICE XP TUTORIALS

The Learning Resource Center of the Library now offers the How to Master Microsoft Office 2002 Tutorials. The suite consists of Microsoft Office Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Access. Each of the four discs has three levels of tutorials, ranging from Basic through Intemediate to Advanced. These interactive tutorials are aimed at users who have a basic knowledge, or no knowledge at all of the application.

Students, staff and faculty of SUNY Downstate have access to these tutorials which may be run in the LRC or charged out for home or office use. As an added-value service to the Downstate community, the LRC will make copies of the tutorials on user-provided CD-R discs free of charge.

Take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to upgrade your skills for the New Year.

System Requirements:
Windows 95/98/NT/2000 operating system. It is recommended that you have a minimum of
16 MB RAM, but 32 MB RAM is needed for optimal performance. A sound card is also required.

For more information, contact the staff of the Learning Resource Center. AM