This tutorial is for the physician, staff and employees at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center/Miller Children’s Hospital. Users will learn how to search the Parks Medical Library’s online catalog and A – Z lists to locate journals and books by title. Information is also included on how to order journal articles and books through the library’s Document Delivery(aka ILL ) Service for materials the Parks Medical Library does not have.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Blog # 9
Our last blog? Wow. This semester really flew by quickly.
I’ve heard about blogs for a few years but never visited one and when I saw that we had to set one up for the class I kind of panicked. I think I am pretty gosh darn computer literate – one has to be working in a library with an online catalog – but setting up and maintaining a blog? Eek!
Turns out it wasn’t quite as frightening as I imagined it to be. It is still strange to me to post assignments to a blog instead of turning in a paper as I did through all my school years. When I graduated from CSULB they had just implemented e-Reserves and my professors were not accepting papers via email or blogs. This online course has really opened my eyes to newer technologies and I must say I enjoy them.
My life is so busy right now that I doubt I will continue blogging between the end of the Fall 2008 and beginning of Spring 2009 semesters. Besides working, my sister and I are completing the (what seems like) millions of paperwork, repairs and all the other fun things that go with selling a house. But at least we had it on the market for only 2 weeks before we got a reasonable offer. Yippee! Instead of blogging I plan on spending time with my hubby and our two mutts. I can't wait. :-)
Happy Holidays to one and all!
I’ve heard about blogs for a few years but never visited one and when I saw that we had to set one up for the class I kind of panicked. I think I am pretty gosh darn computer literate – one has to be working in a library with an online catalog – but setting up and maintaining a blog? Eek!
Turns out it wasn’t quite as frightening as I imagined it to be. It is still strange to me to post assignments to a blog instead of turning in a paper as I did through all my school years. When I graduated from CSULB they had just implemented e-Reserves and my professors were not accepting papers via email or blogs. This online course has really opened my eyes to newer technologies and I must say I enjoy them.
My life is so busy right now that I doubt I will continue blogging between the end of the Fall 2008 and beginning of Spring 2009 semesters. Besides working, my sister and I are completing the (what seems like) millions of paperwork, repairs and all the other fun things that go with selling a house. But at least we had it on the market for only 2 weeks before we got a reasonable offer. Yippee! Instead of blogging I plan on spending time with my hubby and our two mutts. I can't wait. :-)
Happy Holidays to one and all!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Blog Reflection 8
I feel the need to rant! So many people assume that we sit around all day and read books or twiddle our thumbs because the computer does all the work for us. If only I got paid to read. If only computers did all the cataloging, reference and circulation work for us.
When I tell people I work in a library their eyes usually glaze over with a look that says “poor thing” or “oh…that’s nice. I guess”. I swear this happens a lot. The average person just doesn’t get it and I sincerely doubt they ever will. They see a person or two at a Circulation desk and maybe someone shelving and think that is all one needs to run a library.
For instance, teaching is such a large part of what I and fellow employees do on a daily basis. My library happens to have an OPAC available on the intranet only and accessibility to most of our resources are IP authenticated. Day after day we are asked questions that are easily answered with a little training and I have found that I enjoy teaching people how to use our resources. They are so thankful and happy to learn the correct way to do their research or studying and there are different ways we train.
One way we assist people is by participating in our hospital’s monthly new hire orientation where one of the librarians gives a short presentation outlining our library followed by a Q & A at the end of orientation. It is a great way to get people to know we exist and that we’re here to help them.
Our librarians created a PowerPoint tutorial that is posted on our intranet page with step by step directions on using the OPAC, Journal and Book A – Z Lists and Single Search. The tutorial is available to 24/7 and from anywhere in the hospital.
But by far the greatest way we teach people is one on one. Every day I am asked questions that lead to educational opportunities. The number one thing people learn is that they need to use our library’s intranet page to access databases, journals, books and evidence-based resources (among other things).
As I was suggesting before I get a little frustrated from times when people assume that “everything is on the computer”. It is my job to make sure patrons know other wise and to get the word out that working in a library is actually work. I feel better now.
When I tell people I work in a library their eyes usually glaze over with a look that says “poor thing” or “oh…that’s nice. I guess”. I swear this happens a lot. The average person just doesn’t get it and I sincerely doubt they ever will. They see a person or two at a Circulation desk and maybe someone shelving and think that is all one needs to run a library.
For instance, teaching is such a large part of what I and fellow employees do on a daily basis. My library happens to have an OPAC available on the intranet only and accessibility to most of our resources are IP authenticated. Day after day we are asked questions that are easily answered with a little training and I have found that I enjoy teaching people how to use our resources. They are so thankful and happy to learn the correct way to do their research or studying and there are different ways we train.
One way we assist people is by participating in our hospital’s monthly new hire orientation where one of the librarians gives a short presentation outlining our library followed by a Q & A at the end of orientation. It is a great way to get people to know we exist and that we’re here to help them.
Our librarians created a PowerPoint tutorial that is posted on our intranet page with step by step directions on using the OPAC, Journal and Book A – Z Lists and Single Search. The tutorial is available to 24/7 and from anywhere in the hospital.
But by far the greatest way we teach people is one on one. Every day I am asked questions that lead to educational opportunities. The number one thing people learn is that they need to use our library’s intranet page to access databases, journals, books and evidence-based resources (among other things).
As I was suggesting before I get a little frustrated from times when people assume that “everything is on the computer”. It is my job to make sure patrons know other wise and to get the word out that working in a library is actually work. I feel better now.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Blog Reflection # 7
At work I frequently have people ask me where they can find information on many different subjects. Although I work in a medical library with a great clinical medical collection I am still surprised that people use Yahoo! or Google for "answers".
Thankfully the majority of our patrons know to use PubMed or one of our subscription databases such as Ovid or MDConsult to do research, but some people still don't get it.
We refer almost everyone to our catalog where there is access to journals from EBSCO & Elsevier, among others. Don't get me wrong. I use Yahoo! and Google to search for many things...but the longer I work in a library the more I understand these search engines do not have all the answers!
I steer people clear of wikis as I don't think they can be trusted to find true, reliable information. After I inform people of the "dangers" of a wiki I demonstrate reputable sites for them to visit. LII.org is good source, as are encyclopedia.com and Encyclopedia Britannica.com (although one has to pay for this resource). If someone needs statistics I think the Center For Disease Control (www.cdc.gov) is a great one as it contains more than just medical statistics and facts.
Library employees are there, in part, to guide patrons to the appropriate resources for their needs and we need to know the pros and cons of various resources to better inform them.
Thankfully the majority of our patrons know to use PubMed or one of our subscription databases such as Ovid or MDConsult to do research, but some people still don't get it.
We refer almost everyone to our catalog where there is access to journals from EBSCO & Elsevier, among others. Don't get me wrong. I use Yahoo! and Google to search for many things...but the longer I work in a library the more I understand these search engines do not have all the answers!
I steer people clear of wikis as I don't think they can be trusted to find true, reliable information. After I inform people of the "dangers" of a wiki I demonstrate reputable sites for them to visit. LII.org is good source, as are encyclopedia.com and Encyclopedia Britannica.com (although one has to pay for this resource). If someone needs statistics I think the Center For Disease Control (www.cdc.gov) is a great one as it contains more than just medical statistics and facts.
Library employees are there, in part, to guide patrons to the appropriate resources for their needs and we need to know the pros and cons of various resources to better inform them.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
The last few weeks have been a bit crazy. Between work, school and putting my house on the market I’ve been pretty gosh darn stressed out.
This is my first experience with an online class it has been a really interesting experience with my work schedule it is a better fit for me. What can be difficult is finding the time to sit down and complete an assignment. I find that an online course forces me to much more self motivated than a traditional class.
I have learned about so many new, great resources. I had never heard of Bartelby.com or looked at a Factbook before but I have found myself looking up information that has nothing to do with school work. So many people I know (and I’m guilty of this as well sometimes!) use Google or Yahoo! to search pretty much everything. Wikipedia can’t be trusted but I know plenty of folks who get there ‘information’ from them. I try to tell them that anyone can put whatever they want on a wiki without any solid references or bibliographies to back them up but they still use it.
What else can I do but give them a little information and cross my fingers?
This is my first experience with an online class it has been a really interesting experience with my work schedule it is a better fit for me. What can be difficult is finding the time to sit down and complete an assignment. I find that an online course forces me to much more self motivated than a traditional class.
I have learned about so many new, great resources. I had never heard of Bartelby.com or looked at a Factbook before but I have found myself looking up information that has nothing to do with school work. So many people I know (and I’m guilty of this as well sometimes!) use Google or Yahoo! to search pretty much everything. Wikipedia can’t be trusted but I know plenty of folks who get there ‘information’ from them. I try to tell them that anyone can put whatever they want on a wiki without any solid references or bibliographies to back them up but they still use it.
What else can I do but give them a little information and cross my fingers?
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Proposal for a Consumer Health Library
Creating a New Reference Library
Malibu, California has a population of 12,575 citizens and a good size public library as well as two libraries at Pepperdine University. I lived in Malibu over 20 years ago (and it isn’t what it is cracked up to be, believe me) and I can not recall ever walking into the public library nor the Pepperdine University libraries. I think a consumer health library would be of valuable assistance to the 12,757 citizens of Malibu.
I decided to see what health information at Pepperdine University Library’s website - http://library.pepperdine.edu/ and the Harnish Law Library - http://law.pepperdine.edu/library/. Both libraries are open only to current students, alumni, dependants of faculty and staff and Friends of the Pepperdine University Library. I attempted to get into some of the Medicine and Health databases but was unable to access any information which was not a surprise. Most citizens of Malibu would be out of luck as well if they were trying to find information on a drug or a disease.
I searched the Malibu public library’s catalog at http://www.colapublib.org/libs/malibu/ using “medicine” as a search term and received 100’s of results. Most of the results were not consumer health related – many history of medicine texts, information on how to get jobs in healthcare and alternative medicine books were available. I was happy to see they had Dorland’s Medical Dictionary and an English/Spanish medical dictionary. I then clicked on the Collection link and found out this library has a large mountaineering collection, a Jewish history collection and a nautical collection but could not find any information on consumer health.
Using information I obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau for 2000 American Community on www.factfinder.gov I found out that 94.4% or 11,876 of Malibu’s citizen them are “white alone or in combination”; the median income for a household is $102,031; the majority have a obtained Bachelor’s degree (32.7%) & 11.5% have a Master’s degree; only 3.5% did not receive a high school diploma.
My proposal for a consumer health library in Malibu would include most if not all of the reference resources from the Brandon/Hill selected list as the majority of citizens of Malibu have a college education and would probably be able to grasp the information. The majority, 75%, of the collection would consist of print resources with 25% available online. In print I would include some these books: The Official ABMS Directory of Board Certified Medical Specialists; Dorland’s and/or Steadman’s Medical dictionaries; Dictionary of Medical Syndromes by Magalini et al; Steadman’s Abbreviations, Acronyms & Symbols; Mosby’s Medical, Nursing, Allied Health Dictionary; The Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine; A Breast Cancer Journey: Your Personal Guide by the American Cancer Society; Merck Manual, Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment and the American Cancer Society Consumer’s Guide to Cancer Drugs and the last few editions of PDRs (Physician’s Desk Reference).
I would also include most if not all of the Brandon/Hill list journals in print like the American Family Physician, American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, JAMA, Journal of the American Dental Association, Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, and the New England Journal of Medicine.
Electronic resources would include PubMed including LinkOut in PubMed so patrons doing research and be able to get full text of articles and links to the journals available at www.freemedicaljournals.com and www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov. I would also include links to free consumer health information at resources like www.MedlinePlus.gov and www.healthfinder.gov
For library staff I would like to have at least four full time librarians with at least two of them medical librarians, 3 technicians and a clerk.
I believe that with the print and electronic resources as well as the right staff the people of Malibu would be able to find the reliable health information they need.
Malibu, California has a population of 12,575 citizens and a good size public library as well as two libraries at Pepperdine University. I lived in Malibu over 20 years ago (and it isn’t what it is cracked up to be, believe me) and I can not recall ever walking into the public library nor the Pepperdine University libraries. I think a consumer health library would be of valuable assistance to the 12,757 citizens of Malibu.
I decided to see what health information at Pepperdine University Library’s website - http://library.pepperdine.edu/ and the Harnish Law Library - http://law.pepperdine.edu/library/. Both libraries are open only to current students, alumni, dependants of faculty and staff and Friends of the Pepperdine University Library. I attempted to get into some of the Medicine and Health databases but was unable to access any information which was not a surprise. Most citizens of Malibu would be out of luck as well if they were trying to find information on a drug or a disease.
I searched the Malibu public library’s catalog at http://www.colapublib.org/libs/malibu/ using “medicine” as a search term and received 100’s of results. Most of the results were not consumer health related – many history of medicine texts, information on how to get jobs in healthcare and alternative medicine books were available. I was happy to see they had Dorland’s Medical Dictionary and an English/Spanish medical dictionary. I then clicked on the Collection link and found out this library has a large mountaineering collection, a Jewish history collection and a nautical collection but could not find any information on consumer health.
Using information I obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau for 2000 American Community on www.factfinder.gov I found out that 94.4% or 11,876 of Malibu’s citizen them are “white alone or in combination”; the median income for a household is $102,031; the majority have a obtained Bachelor’s degree (32.7%) & 11.5% have a Master’s degree; only 3.5% did not receive a high school diploma.
My proposal for a consumer health library in Malibu would include most if not all of the reference resources from the Brandon/Hill selected list as the majority of citizens of Malibu have a college education and would probably be able to grasp the information. The majority, 75%, of the collection would consist of print resources with 25% available online. In print I would include some these books: The Official ABMS Directory of Board Certified Medical Specialists; Dorland’s and/or Steadman’s Medical dictionaries; Dictionary of Medical Syndromes by Magalini et al; Steadman’s Abbreviations, Acronyms & Symbols; Mosby’s Medical, Nursing, Allied Health Dictionary; The Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine; A Breast Cancer Journey: Your Personal Guide by the American Cancer Society; Merck Manual, Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment and the American Cancer Society Consumer’s Guide to Cancer Drugs and the last few editions of PDRs (Physician’s Desk Reference).
I would also include most if not all of the Brandon/Hill list journals in print like the American Family Physician, American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, JAMA, Journal of the American Dental Association, Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, and the New England Journal of Medicine.
Electronic resources would include PubMed including LinkOut in PubMed so patrons doing research and be able to get full text of articles and links to the journals available at www.freemedicaljournals.com and www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov. I would also include links to free consumer health information at resources like www.MedlinePlus.gov and www.healthfinder.gov
For library staff I would like to have at least four full time librarians with at least two of them medical librarians, 3 technicians and a clerk.
I believe that with the print and electronic resources as well as the right staff the people of Malibu would be able to find the reliable health information they need.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Print vs. Online
If I woke up tomorrow morning and I was magically given $5,000 to spend on reference materials what would I do? Hmm… Would I spend it all on online books? Would I spend it on print books? Should I divvy the money 50/50? Or 100/0?
There are so many great things about print books. Images, photos, graphs, charts and the like are much easier to read. The price of print materials is usually less expensive, especially in these difficult budget times, than online content. Print books do not require patrons to be computer literate. And as far as library staff goes there isn’t the hassle of update/changing/deleting links. I also happen to believe that most people still
However, print books do have a few cons: they aren’t accessible anywhere but in the physical library and only one patron at a time
If I went with all online content patrons would able to get access from anywhere with Internet access. I have to say that accessibility is the only thing I like about online books. Some of the downsides about online books: print content, as I mentioned before is usually less expensive; photographs, charts, graphs and other images can be thumbnail size, or you have to click 2 or more links to print them out full-size or an image may not be included in the online content;
I realized I said that one of the cons to print is that it can only be viewed by one patron at a time but some online databases allow one or maybe two people to view an e-book at a time. As a library employee I know all too well that e-books frequently have their URLs change which means you have to change the link in more than a few places most likely.
Not to mention that there is a lot of patrons who are not computer literate or even if they know how to use the computer they are not always familiar with using an OPAC/IPAC to get to the content they need.
So if someone miraculously gave me $5,000 to spend on reference materials at my library I would use 75% of the money on print and 25% on e-books. That might seem crazy in this computer-centered world but I believe it makes the most sense.
There are so many great things about print books. Images, photos, graphs, charts and the like are much easier to read. The price of print materials is usually less expensive, especially in these difficult budget times, than online content. Print books do not require patrons to be computer literate. And as far as library staff goes there isn’t the hassle of update/changing/deleting links. I also happen to believe that most people still
However, print books do have a few cons: they aren’t accessible anywhere but in the physical library and only one patron at a time
If I went with all online content patrons would able to get access from anywhere with Internet access. I have to say that accessibility is the only thing I like about online books. Some of the downsides about online books: print content, as I mentioned before is usually less expensive; photographs, charts, graphs and other images can be thumbnail size, or you have to click 2 or more links to print them out full-size or an image may not be included in the online content;
I realized I said that one of the cons to print is that it can only be viewed by one patron at a time but some online databases allow one or maybe two people to view an e-book at a time. As a library employee I know all too well that e-books frequently have their URLs change which means you have to change the link in more than a few places most likely.
Not to mention that there is a lot of patrons who are not computer literate or even if they know how to use the computer they are not always familiar with using an OPAC/IPAC to get to the content they need.
So if someone miraculously gave me $5,000 to spend on reference materials at my library I would use 75% of the money on print and 25% on e-books. That might seem crazy in this computer-centered world but I believe it makes the most sense.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Blog Reflection 2
I can definitely see how blogging would work in a public library. I know I've use patron reviews for bestsellers on Amazon.com to see what others think about books. However I don't view them in Amazon.com for Cd's because I know what I like (80's New Wave!) and don't care what others think.
I'm still not sure if blogging/reader reviews would work in my library which has a clinical medical collection. Most of our print and electronic books are well known in the medical field, like Nelson's Pediatrics or the PDR. Our patrons know these books and ask for them by name.
But as I said in my previous blog time will tell if a blog will work in my library.
I'm still not sure if blogging/reader reviews would work in my library which has a clinical medical collection. Most of our print and electronic books are well known in the medical field, like Nelson's Pediatrics or the PDR. Our patrons know these books and ask for them by name.
But as I said in my previous blog time will tell if a blog will work in my library.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
My 1st Blog
Hi one and all -
This is my first blog (as if you couldn't tell by the title). Heck, I've never even visited a blog before.
I can't see, at least yet, how a blog could work in a library setting but I know time will tell. I'm enjoying online learning. The best part for me is that I don't have to miss work and use my vacation time to attend class on campus. :-)
Until next time...
Elizabeth
This is my first blog (as if you couldn't tell by the title). Heck, I've never even visited a blog before.
I can't see, at least yet, how a blog could work in a library setting but I know time will tell. I'm enjoying online learning. The best part for me is that I don't have to miss work and use my vacation time to attend class on campus. :-)
Until next time...
Elizabeth
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