Try BMJ Case Reports, which “publishes cases in all disciplines so that healthcare professionals, researchers, and others can easily find clinically important information on common and rare conditions. All articles are peer reviewed and copy edited before publication.”
The trial runs until March 31, 2012. Please send your feedback to Christa Modschiedler, Biomedical Bibliographer.
Try Natural Standard, an online resource that provides evidence-based information about complementary and alternative therapies, diets, exercise and nutrition. Send your feedback to Christa Modschiedler, Biomedical Bibliographer.
Natural Standard is an international research collaboration that aggregates and synthesizes complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) data. It provides evidence-based, peer-reviewed, decision-support tools and assigns grades that reflect the level of available scientific data for or against the use of each therapy for a specific medical condition.
The trial runs until March 11, 2012.
H-Index, or Hirsch index, is a number which is assigned to you based on the number of articles you publish and the number of times those articles have been cited by other people. There are several ways in which you can find this number. The three most commonly used are the number reported by ISI Web of Knowledge, SCOPUS and Google Scholar. ISI and SCOPUS are both paid services which the Library provides, while Google Scholar is a free service.
Would an H-Index by any other name?
Google Scholar has a tendency to report everything an author publishes while SCOPUS and ISI only use journal articles. If you are an author who blogs a lot, Google Scholar may be a better number for you than the number reported by SCOPUS or ISI. Also, SCOPUS only reports numbers on publications made after 1995. If you are a scholar whose body of work is mainly before 1995, you may not have an H-Index in SCOPUS. ISI reports on authors going back to the 1940s.
Problems with the H-Index
Aside from reporting problems, the number favors authors who have worked on large projects, with more than one author, rather than individual work. The H-Index can be manipulated through self-citation (that is an author citing herself). The H-index also does not differentiate between books and articles, or between types of articles (introductory articles versus more substantive treatises).
What to do if you need to report an H-Index
Report more than one number, identifying where the number was found and explain that there is a large body of work behind the author which really cannot be reduced to an individual number. For more information about the H-Index, please contact the Library.
RefWorks is a Web-based citation management tool that makes creating bibliographies or citing resources quick and easy.
The RefWorks workshop will be held at the Crerar Library in a computer classroom. Attendees may use the computers in the classroom. To register, select the website below.
March 1, 2012 12:00-1:00pm in the Crerar Library room 018.
Register at: https://training.uchicago.edu/course_detail.cfm?course_id=401
Faxing is now available at Eckhart Library. Our Printing/Copying/Scanning machine now offers option to fax. Faxing costs 25 cents a page and confirmation will be sent to users using a uchicago.edu address. More information is available here and general information about printing services are here.
Crerar Library offers online research guides to all major science disciplines: chemistry, physics, astronomy, mathematics, statistics, computer science, biology and medicine.
They include information such as the best article databases for research in each discipline, relevant new apps and mobile websites available and information on citing sources.
We also offer guides on topics related to science such as bioinformatics, health statistics and patents.
Take a look!
The Beilstein-Institut (an organization dedicated to communication and dissemination of information about chemistry) has launched a portal for a scientific videos project:
Here you can see videos of scientists demonstrating methods and experiments in their own laboratories, as well as taking part in interviews and other presentations. The lab videos in particular have been produced to accompany selected papers from the Beilstein-Institut’s two open access journals, Beilstein Journal of Organic Chemistry and Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology
New UBorrow service provides campus delivery of books from regional research libraries in less than a week
The Library is launching a new service called UBorrow that offers rapid access to over 90 million books from the collections of 12 university libraries in the Midwest and the nearby Center for Research Libraries. Books requested through UBorrow will typically arrive on campus within a week and can be checked out for 12 weeks, with an option for a 4-week renewal.
Like Interlibrary Loan, but faster and more predictable
University of Chicago faculty, students and staff can search for books directly at lib.uchicago.edu/h/ub or by following the UBorrow link in the FindIt menu within many Library resources, such as WorldCat and ArticlesPlus. In addition, Lens will display a “Request via UBorrow” link for any item that is checked out from the Library’s collections.
UBorrow searches the catalogs of participating libraries simultaneously. If it finds that the University of Chicago Library already owns a copy of a desired title, it will give you the location and call number, so that you can retrieve the copy. If a UBorrow library can supply a copy, you will be allowed to place a request for the item. If a book is not available through UBorrow, you will be given the option to request it from additional libraries via traditional interlibrary loan.
Before you recall, UBorrow
In many cases, UBorrow provides a better option than recalling a checked out book from another user. You are likely to receive a book faster through UBorrow than by recalling it, and you can use the book without worrying that you are inconveniencing someone else. Perhaps best of all, books obtained from UBorrow will not be recalled before their due date, except under unusual circumstances (e.g., a book is needed for course reserve at the lending library). UBorrow has the potential to dramatically reduce the frequency of “recall wars” that occur when multiple Library users vie for the same titles.
It is particularly easy to use Lens to request a book that has been checked out, as the “Request via UBorrow” link in the Lens record will automatically launch a search for that item in the UBorrow catalog. Since links to UBorrow are contained in Lens but not in the Library Catalog, users of the Library Catalog who discover a book is checked out are encouraged to visit UBorrow at lib.uchicago.edu/h/ub to search for the item.
Who is loaning the books?
University of Chicago has established this consortial borrowing program with the University of Illinois, Indiana University, University of Iowa, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, University of Minnesota, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Northwestern University, Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, Purdue University, and University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as the Center for Research Libraries. The relative proximity of our partners, as well as the commitments made by each institution, allow books to be delivered through UBorrow far more rapidly than they usually are through our traditional interlibrary loan program.
Get started with UBorrow
To start using UBorrow, simply go to lib.uchicago.edu/h/ub. For more information, visit our online guide to UBorrow.
A new Scan & Deliver service, being piloted beginning on January 18, will allow UChicago faculty, students, and staff to request that articles and book chapters from the Library’s print collections be scanned and made available online. Requested material will be made accessible within four business days.
The Library expects that faculty and students who are conducting research outside Chicago, who are taking classes only at University centers outside Hyde Park, or who rarely come to campus for other reasons will find that Scan & Deliver helps bring the University of Chicago Library to them.
Library users may make as many requests as they like, but the Library expects to be able to process no more than five requests per person each business day during the pilot period, depending on the overall volume of requests. Scan & Deliver replaces a similar service called Gargoyle Express, which provided scans for a fee. This new service is being launched at the request of faculty and staff. Similar services are increasingly being offered at peer research institutions such as Harvard University.
The pilot will continue through June 2012 and is subject to modification as usage patterns emerge. At the end of the pilot period, the Library will assess the value and sustainability of the service.
How to request a scan
Library users can make requests by clicking on the Scan & Deliver link in Lens for items that are currently available from the Library. If an item is checked out or otherwise unavailable, the material can be requested through Interlibrary Loan. For other requesting options see the Library Guide on Scan & Deliver.
Copyright
Due to copyright guidelines established in consultation with University Legal Counsel, the Library will not scan more than:
The copyright law of the United States (Title, 17 U.S. Code) governs the making of the photocopies or other reproductions of the copyright materials. Under certain conditions specified in the law, library and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than in private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproductions for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. The University of Chicago Library reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order, if, in its judgment fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.
Questions
For information, visit our Library Guide on Scan & Deliver.
If you have additional questions or would like to provide feedback about Scan & Deliver, email scan-and-deliver@lib.uchicago.edu.
The National Library of Medicine announces a new online and traveling exhibit on Shakespeare and the four humors that were thought to define peoples‘ physical and mental health. The online exhibit can be visited at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/shakespeare/introduction.html.
The John Crerar Library has a number of works related to this exhibit in the collections, including the following selection of titles:
Medicine & kindred arts in the plays of Shakespeare / by John Moyes. Glasgow : MacLehose, 1896.
Crerar, Dewey Collection 610.9281 M874 c.1
Also available online at HathiTrust: http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001367009
How Shakespeare cleaned his teeth and Cromwell treated his warts : secrets of the 17th century medicine cabinet / Katherine Knight. Stroud, Gloucestershire : Tempus, 2006.
Crerar, Bookstacks R486 .K55 2006 c.1
John Hall and his patients : the medical practice of Shakespeare’s son-in-law / Joan Lane ; medical commentary by Melvin Earles. Stratford-upon-Avon : The Shakespeare Birthday Trust, 1996.
Crerar, Bookstacks R489.H25 L36 1996 c.1
From the exhibit description:
“The language of the four humors pervades Shakespeare‘s plays, and their influence is felt above all in a belief that emotional states are physically determined. Carried by the bloodstream, the four humors bred the core passions of anger, grief, hope, and fear—the emotions conveyed so powerfully in Shakespeare‘s comedies and tragedies.
Today, neuroscientists recognize a connection between Shakespeare‘s age and our own in the common understanding that the emotions are based in biochemistry and that drugs can be used to alleviate mental suffering.”
The entire collection of Scientific American issues is now available online. The recently added 1845-1909 collection completes the existing Scientific American archive and provides online access back to the very first issue (page one of the first issue shown at left). This collection brings together 75,000 articles and chronicles major inventions, including the Bessemer converter and the telephone.
http://www.nature.com.proxy.uchicago.edu/scientificamerican/archive/index.html
Photo by Jason Smith
Treat Yourself to New Technology’
Wednesday, February 8, 3 pm – 5 pm
TECHB@R
Regenstein Library, Room 160
Drop by the TECHB@R in Regenstein Library to learn about the wide variety of news tools available from your desktop, laptop, iPad, or mobile phone. Learn about databases like LexisNexis and Factiva, which provide access to hundreds of U.S. and international newspapers. Or try out news apps such as Flipboard, which allow you browse newspapers and magazines virtually in a way that resembles print.
Refreshments will be served.
Tech Treats: News Services is co-sponsored by the Library and IT Services. Look for additional Tech Treat events in the coming months.
In celebration of Black History Month, the Waring Historical Library of the Medical University of South Carolina announces the opening of a new web exhibit:
“Hospital and Training School for Nurses/McClennan-Banks Memorial Hospital”
http://waring.library.musc.edu/exhibits/mcclennanbanks/
In 1897 the Hospital and Training School for Nurses opened at 135 Cannon Street in Charleston, South Carolina. The opening of the Hospital and Training School for Nurses provided a place of dignity and respect for African-American patients to go for treatment and for African-American doctors to practice. It was also known as the Cannon Street Hospital and grew out of the need to provide practical experience for nursing students who were denied access at the (Charleston) City Hospital and Old Folks Home. The Hospital and Training School for Nurses was the first hospital in South Carolina established for nurse training and the ninth black institution of its kind in the country.
This exhibit tells the story of the Hospital and Nurses Training School and its successor the McClennan-Banks Memorial Hospital. Included in the website for the exhibit are links to the digitized issues of The Hospital Herald, the official organ of the Association of Colored Physicians of South Carolina.
For more information, please contact Susan Hoffius, Curator, Waring Historical Library, Hoffius@musc.edu.
Learn how to use the bibliographic software EndNote. Topics covered include creating and managing libraries, importing references from online databases, and creating formatted bibliographies and citations in Microsoft Word. Registration is required.
Register here:https://training.uchicago.edu/course_detail.cfm?course_id=320
The Library has teamed with the Social Sciences Division to bring access to the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) to the entire UChicago community. Access to ICPSR had been limited to some Divisions of the University. This new arrangement allows access from any computer on campus. Off-campus access is coming soon.
ICPSR is a repository of over 500,000 data sets that have been compiled by researchers in a broad range of disciplines. These data sets can be downloaded for analysis with major statistical packages, such as SPSS and SAS. Data sets range from broad topics like the U.S. Census to very specific topics, such as “Voting Results Under a Single-Transferable-Vote System in Malta, 1921-1996“, “The Evangelical Voter in the United States, 1983” or “Collective Memory in Lithuania, 1989“
You can learn more about ICPSR at an upcoming webinar, hosted by their training department.
Photo by Lloyd DeGrane
Have you found that your students aren’t using the academic sources you expect for their assignments? Do your students seem to lack basic library research skills?
TAs, instructors, and faculty are welcome to attend the Library’s upcoming workshop:
Deepening Student Learning with Library Research Skills
Thursday, February 2nd
1:30 – 3:30 pm
Regenstein Library, Room A-11
In this program, University of Chicago librarians will highlight ways you can integrate library research instruction into your courses to promote the acquisition of the skills necessary to complete research assignments. We’ll demonstrate ready-to-go online tools that can be integrated into your Chalk site, and discuss the different types of in-class instruction the Library can provide. At the end of the session, we’ll work together to create some sample assignments designed to help students learn how to use the Library’s collections and online resources.
Presenters:
Julia Gardner, Head of Reader Services, The Special Collections Research Center
Rebecca Starkey, Librarian for College Instruction and Outreach, Regenstein Library
Debra Werner, Librarian for Science Instruction and Outreach, Crerar Library
We hope you can attend. Registration is recommended.
Persons with disabilities who need an accommodation in order to participate in this event should contact Rebecca Starkey at 702-4484 for assistance.
Past, Present, Future: the Evolution of Medicine at the University of Chicago’s Hospitals
Lecture by Mindy Schwartz, Associate Professor of Medicine at the Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago
The lecture will begin at 4:00 pm in Crerar Library and a
reception with light refreshments will follow.
Please RSVP here.
Description: A hospital and medical school at the University of Chicago were envisioned by the university founders. That plan, initiated with a joint medical program with Rush Medical College, was followed by the development of the world-class University of Chicago Medical Center on campus. At this lecture, Dr. Schwartz provides an overview of the history and evolution of the medical school program, the hospital facilities and their technology, and medical partnerships with other Chicago area hospitals.
Eckhart Library will be closed on Monday, January 16th for Martin Luther King Day. We will reopen Tuesday with regular hours. Eckhart Library hours are listed here: http://hours.lib.uchicago.edu/index.php?hstr=chlmrs
Starting this quarter, Crerar Library is checking out AV equipment for use in Crerar’s study rooms. The equipment is available on reserve for faculty, students, and staff with current borrowing privileges.
If you’ve ever wanted to record a practice presentation to watch back later, you can now check out an HD video camera and tripod from the circulation desk. Once you’re finished, simply attach the camera to your computer with a USB cable and move the file(s) over.
If you’re giving a lecture and need a projector, a screen, and a moderate amount of space, you can now find all of those things at Crerar. Projectors are available to check out at the circulation desk, and four group study rooms have been equipped with screens. The projectors attach to most laptop computers, however some may require an adapter.
All equipment can be charged for up to 4 hours, but will be due 30 minutes before the circulation desk closes. Please see our circulation hours before checking out to make sure you’ll have the time you need. A full list of policies and instructions will be included with both the camera and projectors. If you’d like to ensure that the equipment will meet your needs feel free to contact us via our online form (choose Crerar Library from the list) to arrange a time for a demonstration; if you believe you may need help with set-up or have specific technical questions, we recommend contacting us ahead of time.
The John Crerar Library will be open for regular hours on January 16, including circulation services, however the Reference Desk will be closed. Because we will not have reference staff available to help, we will also be closed to members of the public. For more detailed hours please consult: http://hours.lib.uchicago.edu/.
The Ask a Librarian modules can be added to "My Chalk" or to specific course sites.
Connect to the Library’s instant message (IM) reference services directly from Chalk using the Library’s Ask a Librarian modules. The modules allow you to send questions or comments live via IM to a University of Chicago librarian directly from your “My Chalk” page or course site.
Choose from three modules:
Add an Ask a Librarian module to “My Chalk” for quick access to our services from your log-in screen. Instructors can add a module to course sites to provide students with seamless access to our librarians from the course menu.
Instructions for adding the modules to Chalk are available online, or drop by the reference desk at any campus library for a quick demonstration. Assistance is also available by appointment.
To learn more about other Library services available through Chalk, contact:
Rebecca Starkey
Librarian for College Instruction and Outreach
rstarkey@uchicago.edu
773-702-4484
Learn how to use the bibliographic software EndNote. Topics covered include creating and managing libraries, importing references from online databases, and creating formatted bibliographies and citations in Microsoft Word. Registration is required.
Register here:https://training.uchicago.edu/course_detail.cfm?course_id=320
Ever wondered what drives citations to research articles? This recent post explores the factors beyond the article content that help determine which articles will be cited more highly.
The University of Chicago Library will have reduced hours over the next two weeks due to the University holidays. Following is a list of building hours from December 24 to January 2.
Regular quarterly hours resume for all libraries Tuesday, Jan. 3.
For a complete list of hours by library and department, see hours.lib.uchicago.edu.
Saturday, Dec. 24 – Monday, Dec.26
All libraries: CLOSED
Tuesday, Dec. 27 – Thursday, Dec. 29
Crerar: 8:00 am – 10:00 pm
D’Angelo Law: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Eckhart: noon – 5:00 pm
Mansueto: 8:00 am – 7:45 pm
Regenstein: 8:00 am – 8:00 pm
SSA: 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
Friday, Dec. 30
Crerar: 8:00 am – 8:00 pm
D’Angelo Law: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Eckhart: noon – 5:00 pm
Mansueto: 8:00 am – 4:45 pm
Regenstein: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
SSA: 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
Saturday, Dec. 31 – Sunday, Jan.1
All libraries: CLOSED
Monday, Jan. 2
Crerar: 8:00 am – 10:00 pm
D’Angelo Law: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Eckhart: CLOSED
Mansueto: 10:00 am – 12:45 am
Regenstein: 10:00 am – 1:00 am
SSA: CLOSED
The All-Night Study in Regenstein will re-open on Wednesday, Jan. 4 at 1:00 am.
With Lens, you can now browse the titles that are shelved near a title you have found. This feature is useful if you are looking for similar books to the one you have found since books are arranged by topic in our stacks.
Here is how to do it:
1) Find a title and navigate to the record
(example of title record: http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/6654383)
2) Find the call number at the bottom of the record. Underneath the call number should be a link “browse the shelves”
3) Click the link and titles with nearby call numbers will display!