May 2008 Library News

May 2008

Suggestions, questions and comments should be directed to AskaLibrarian@uthscsa.edu

Finding healing at BAMC: Nurse/author Madeleine Mysko to read at P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library brown bag program

John P. Howe Presidential Conference Room
Briscoe Library, 5th floor
Thursday, May 8 at noon

Madeleine Mysko will read from her novel, Bringing Vincent Home, at a brown bag lunch program and book signing sponsored by the Friends of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library, on Thursday, May 8 at noon. The event will take place in the Howe Conference Room of the Briscoe Library.

One critic has written that Bringing Vincent Home "reads like… memoir, so authentic and convincing that at times I found myself turning back to the title page to be sure it was a work of fiction." Mysko, who served in the Army Nurse Corps in San Antonio during the Viet Nam war, draws on a rich store of personal experience, as well as years of training as a writer, to fashion a portrait of life on the burn ward at Fort Sam Houston in the late 60s and early 70s. Soldiers, families, friends and care givers stand forth in Mysko's story as ordinary people in the midst of extraordinary circumstances. The San Antonio skyline, San Fernando Cathedral, Earl Abel's on Broadway, the airport, even the city's public transportation system, provide the backdrop for a local story that is rich in pathos and not often told with such careful detail.

In addition to the May 8 reading in the Briscoe Library, Mysko will also read from her novel on Wednesday May 7 at noon, in Room 1.222 of the nursing school. That event is sponsored by the Center for Medical Humanities and Ethics.

Copies of Bringing Vincent Home will be available for purchase at both events, in the library's collection, and afterward in the UT HSC bookstore.

UT HSC's Laredo Campus Extension Library opens its doors to the public

UT HSC President Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D., and Rajia Tobia, Executive Director of Libraries, presided over a ribbon cutting ceremony in April that officially opened the Laredo Campus Extension Library to the public.

The 3400 square foot facility houses books, a computer classroom with 20 public access computers, and online access to bibliographic databases that link to more than 9000 medical journals, as well as databases of medical images, consumer health and pharmaceutical information.

The Laredo Campus Extension Library has been available to faculty, students and staff working in Laredo since October 2007. With the addition of one new staff member in March it is now possible for the library to extend its health information resources and services to the Laredo community during library operating hours.

Briscoe Library will remain open until 2 a.m. during Spring finals

The Briscoe Library will be open for extended hours during final exams: We will remain open until 2 a.m. daily from Friday, April 25 through Wednesday, May 14. The exception will be Saturdays during this period, when we will close at midnight.

We reviewed library use data from December 2007, when we kept the building open 24 hours during finals. Between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m., the average number of people in the building was 5 per hour. Based upon overall use data on weekdays and weekends, we decided upon the following schedule:

Library services will be available, and all floors of the building will be open for study. If you have questions or comments, please contact Rajia Tobia, Executive Director at tobia@uthscsa.edu.

Exhibit on autism spectrum disorders continues through June

A library exhibit mounted in April, in observance of National Autism Awareness Month, includes information on environmental factors implicated in the disorder, early intervention, and community resources. Inspiring stories of people on the spectrum testify to their ability to lead fulfilling lives. The exhibit will remain on view in the lecture hall foyer through June. For more information, contact Special Collections Librarian Pennie Borchers at borchers@uthscsa.edu.

eJournal linking: Most problems can be quickly resolved

Have you ever found that perfect article but were unable to access the electronic copy? The proliferation of electronic journals and the implementation of the library’s link resolver – the software behind the blue FIND at UTHSCSA button found in many of the library's frequently searched databases – have significantly improved access to journals.

Linking to electronic content is still a relatively new technology. With the growing number of electronic journals and the variety of publishers hosting them, the possibility for errors increases. Library users occasionally encounter access problems, many of which are the result of the following situations: incomplete or incorrect data used in the linking process, content changes, and lengthy licensing procedures.

Corrupt metadata can lead to problems
The linking process requires accurate and complete data to identify the needed article. Linking can sometimes be blocked when the data involves items such as pre-publication articles, non-standard page numbering, or an "&" in the title of the journal.

Content can go missing on the publisher's end
A variety of content problems can also affect electronic linking. These problems can range from missing issues or articles, publishers that do not post journal supplements online, or coverage of a journal which changes without warning.

Time required to negotiate licensing agreements can slow access
License agreements between the UT HSC and publishers are now more frequently required in order to document the access rights of the institution and ownership rights of the publisher. The licensing process can take months to complete. During this time, publishers may suspend access to their journals. The library makes every effort to obtain temporary access until the license is finalized.

Library staff regularly tests journal access; however, with journals purchased from many different publishers in many different formats, we are not able to find every problem. When library users contact us to report inaccessible or missing materials, access can be restored more quickly.

UT HSC Libraries staff understand the importance of electronic journals to library users. A future article will provide tips for troubleshooting specific linking problems users may encounter. If you experience any problems accessing our electronic journals, please do not hesitate to contact us, and please include your email address and phone number so we can follow up with you.

John Weed, Electronic Resources/Serials Librarian
Phone: 567-2479
email: weedj@uthscsa.edu

Jude Lynch, Library Assistant III
Phone: 567-2416
email: lynchj@uthscsa.edu

On Saturday, June 7, the library will host a one-day conference focusing on school health. The getHIP: Health Information Plus event will convene school librarians, school nurses, teachers and others to promote collaborative approaches to school health. The specific goals of the meeting are to:

In addition to keynote and panel presentations, an "experience fair" will allow attendees to exchange ideas with colleagues from a variety of schools, libraries and other organizations engaged in schools and public health. Attendees will work together in small groups to generate specific ideas for collaborating across professional lines to promote a team approach to school health, following the CDC's "coordinated school health program" model (http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/CSHP/).

This conference is jointly sponsored by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine – South Central Region and the South Central Area Health Education Center. Additional information is available from the library's events page (http://www.library.uthscsa.edu/events).

Keith Cogdill, Director of South Texas Regional Information Services

Friends' brown bag lecture - "Perspectives on Aging in Ancient Greece" coming in June

Richard F. Ludueña, Ph.D., Director of the Medical Biochemistry course and Distinguished Teaching Professor, has a long-standing interest in history, with the classical world one of his favorite areas.

The Friends of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library will host a brown bag lunch presentation by Dr. Ludueña on June 11 at noon. Dr. Ludueña's presentation will focus on four "elderly" individuals, all of whom embarked on major leadership enterprises at ages ranging from 82 to 90: Sophocles, Isocrates, Agesilaus, and Philochorus. Would people over 80 in our own society be entrusted with such responsibility? And what factors in ancient Greek society contributed to the high degree of functionality found in its senior citizenry?

Look for more information about this program in the June issue of HSC Libraries News, or contact Pennie Borchers at borchers@uthscsa.edu.

Library classes for May

The following hands-on workshops are scheduled to take place in May at the Briscoe Library. These workshops are taught in Room 2A except where noted. They are free and open to all. Advance registration is appreciated but walk-ins are welcome.

Class descriptions can be viewed here. To register for a workshop, go to http://www.library.uthscsa.edu/ consultation/schedule.cfm and click on the button next to the course title. Registration is also available through the UTHSCSA Knowledge Centre at https://kc.uthscsa.edu/kc/

If you would like to take a workshop that is not offered in May, please contact the Library at (210) 567-2450 or email AskaLibrarian@uthscsa.edu to schedule a one-on-one consult or small-group session.

Susan Buentello is named Associate Library Director for Collection Resources

Susan Buentello, M.L.S., formerly Head of Technical Services, has been named Associate Library Director for Collection Resources at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Libraries. The Division of Collection Resources selects, acquires, catalogs and processes books and journals, in both electronic and print formats, and manages the electronic resources of the library.

Ms. Buentello, who received her M.L.S. from the University of Texas at Austin, has been a member of the Briscoe Library staff since 1984. During that time she has served in a number of different positions including Archivist/Information Services Librarian and Head of Cataloging.

Ms. Buentello had served as the Interim Associate Director for Collection Development since January of this year.

Katie Prentice is appointed Education and Information Services Coordinator

Katie Prentice, M.S.I.S., has been appointed Education and Information Services Coordinator for the the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Libraries. In this position, she will administer the libraries’ instructional programs, including developing and teaching classes and promoting use of evidence-based research. She will lead orientations, provide faculty and staff consultations, lead campus liaison initiatives, and coordinate services provided at the Briscoe Library information desk.

Ms. Prentice joined UT HSC Libraries as Web Services Librarian in 2005. She will continue to participate in library Web initiatives, including design and usability testing of the new UT HSC Libraries Web site.

Prior to joining UT Health Science Center Libraries, Ms. Prentice worked at the Legislative Reference Library of Texas in Austin, where she provided reference and research support to Texas legislators, state and legislative agencies and the public. She earned her B.A., as well as her M.S.I.S., at the University of Texas at Austin. She served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Republic of Latvia, where she taught English as a second language.

Kathy Carter joins the staff of the Ramirez Library in Harlingen

Kathy Carter has joined the professional staff of the Ramirez Library at the Regional Academic Health Center (RAHC) in Harlingen, effective May 1.

Prior to accepting her position at the Ramirez Library, Ms. Carter was employed as a librarian at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College, where she managed periodicals & interlibrary loan services, coordinated course integrated information literacy classes, and served as reference services manager.

Ms. Carter earned her M.L.I.S. from the University of Texas at Austin, and holds a B.A. in English, also from UT Austin. She is an active member the Library Instruction Roundtable of the Texas Library Association.

UT HSC Libraries partner for health outreach with public libraries in San Antonio and Laredo

In April two public libraries received funding from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine to collaborate with the UT HSC Libraries on health information outreach projects.

Led by Natasha Arguello at San Antonio Public Library, the "Promotoras and Libraries" project will foster a partnership among the public library, UT HSC, and Edgewood Family Network (EFN). The project's goal is to raise awareness of health resources available online. The project will engage EFN’s community advocates known as promotoras de buena vida as key informants on the health needs of the residents in four ZIP codes designated as high-priority areas for public health issues.

Rena Ren at Laredo Public Library is leading a highly collaborative project with the goal of promoting the health of children living in the US-Mexico border community. The project will begin with a children's health fair to be held at Laredo Public Library on Saturday, July 19. This fair will include health education and screenings provided by the City of Laredo Department of Health. KLRN will facilitate the appearance of the PBS character "Arthur," and staff from UT HSC's Laredo Library will provide information for parents about sources of good health information. This health fair at the Laredo Public Library will be followed by a series of five health-focused programs conducted using the public library's bookmobile. With wireless Internet connectivity purchased through this award, the bookmobile will visit five of the community health centers managed by the City of Laredo's Parks and Recreation Department as they each host neighborhood summer day-camps.

Keith Cogdill, Director of South Texas Regional Information Services

Featured resource

GreenFILE is a bibliographic database of information about environmental concerns recently released by EBSCO Publishing. This database indexes scholarly and general interest titles, as well as government documents and reports. Drawing on the connection between the environment and disciplines such as agriculture, education, law, health and technology, GreenFILE serves as an informative resource for anyone concerned about the issues facing our planet. The database contains nearly 300,000 records, full text for selected titles and searchable cited references for more than 200 titles as well. GreenFILE is freely available at http://www.greeninfoonline.com and may found on our databases page.

Libraries sponsor trial of Emerald Group Publishing products

The UT HSC libraries will sponsor a trial of healthcare management ejournals through Emerald Group Publishing until the end of May. Information about this trial will be on the library Web site.

Please look at the journals available through Emerald Group Publishing and let us know if this would be a valuable addition to the UT Health Science Center Libraries collection. Comments can be referred to John Weed, Electronic Resources/Serials Librarian, at weedj@uthscsa.edu.

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Finding healing at BAMC: Nurse/author Madeleine Mysko to read at P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library brown bag program

UT HSC's Laredo Campus Extension Library opens its doors to the public

Briscoe Library will remain open until 2 a.m. during Spring finals

Exhibit on autism spectrum disorders continues through June

eJournal linking: Most problems can be quickly resolved

UT HSC Libraries host school health conference June 7

Friends' brown bag lecture - "Perspectives on Aging in Ancient Greece" coming in June

Library classes for May

Susan Buentello is named Associate Library Director for Collection Resources

Katie Prentice is appointed Education and Information Services Coordinator

Kathy Carter joins the staff of the Ramirez Library in Harlingen

UT HSC Libraries partner for health outreach with public libraries in San Antonio and Laredo

Featured resource

Libraries sponsor trial of Emerald Group Publishing products