LIBRARY BULLETIN

December 1998

SELF-LEARNING SOME COMPUTER BASICS: THE LIBRARY'S
KIOSK #2
By Julie Semkow and Christopher Stewart

Becoming proficient with computers requires basic knowledge that not all users possess.  Kiosk #2 on the first floor of the library provides self-learning options that are directly applicable to using both the library's and one's home computer.  The Windows 3.1 and Mouse Tutorial together take about 15 minutes to complete.  The Mouse tutorial is particularly good for very beginning "mousers" and takes only 5 minutes. Teach Yourself Word Perfect 6 includes an introduction, screen tools, formatting documents, document tools and graphic tools. The EBM (Evidence Based Medicine) tutorial, while based on a text-version of OVID that we no longer support, is still highly useful for teaching the principles of EBM and includes: Purposes of EBM, Guide to Research Methods, Searching the Biomedical Databases, Applying EBM to Online Searches and Evaluating Research Results.  It can be completed in about an hour, and it will soon be upgraded for the Web-based version of OVID.  Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing uses games and humor, as well as serious assessments of one's current skills to teach keyboarding in a highly motivating way.   The software also keeps track of one's progress and automatically adjusts continuing lessons to growing competency.  Pine Help Documents supplies answers to the library's PINE e-mail users.  It includes Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS): how do I send a WordPerfect, Excel, etc file through PINE; how do I open WordPerfect, Excel, etc. files sent to my PINE e-mail account; how do I automatically save a copy of what I send; what do I do when a CC:Mail users sends an attachment to my PINE account; how do I transfer files from BMEC to the desktop and how do I forward from BMEC to another machine.  Another feature of this kiosk is the Virtual Library Tour, a web-based tutorial that explains, through maps and pictures, the various services and service points in the Library.  If you are new to the Library, the Tour helps orient you to the wealth of information resources available in the Library.  If you've used the Library before, the Virtual Library Tour is another way to familiarize yourself with changes in services and resources.  In addition to its place on Kiosk #2, the Virtual Library Tour is available under the Pull-Down Shortcuts under "Library Services" and also under "Tutorials" on the Library's Web Site.

The November, brown bag lunch meeting of the Internet Users' Group provided the occasion for lively discussion.  Among the issues considered were conflicting software (Communicator 4 with Internet Explorer), how to locate, set, and clear the Netscape cache (which stores copies of all Web pages as you visit them), how to get a file from one's computer and send it over the Internet as an e-mail attachment, efficient methods for searching the Web for books on particular topics (check out the online catalogs of Brooklyn Public Library or New York Public Library, or try the HotBot search engine, or check Amazon.com), and a presentation of the Library's new Home Page.  Said one satisfied participant, "This was useful!"  Why not plan to attend the next meeting to be held January 11 in Lecture Hall 1B, from noon to 1 pm.

A new resource located on the National Library of Medicine's website is MedlinePlus at: http://medlineplus.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/.  As its name implies, this site offers access to Medline (both through Pubmed and GratefulMed) as well as a wealth of other information valuable to both consumers and medical professionals.  Here is a sampling of content from MedlinePlus: