It’s that time of year again—summer is over and it’s time to get back into the swing of things. This special issue of the HSLS Update, an online newsletter, is an introduction to the services and resources available at the Health Sciences Library System.

The HSLS Update is distributed six times a year through email or RSS feed.  To subscribe, see the article in this special issue titled “Staying Updated.”

Do you have a question about how to search a specific database? Feeling overwhelmed and not sure where to begin researching a topic of interest? Ask for help from your school’s liaison librarian, contact information is listed below.

Liaison librarians provide a communication link between HSLS and the departments and programs in the schools of the health sciences and UPMC. Liaisons have in-depth expertise in retrieving, evaluating, and managing information in these subject areas.

Liaison librarians are available to:

• Make presentations to departments or courses regarding library programs, resources, and services;
• Incorporate library and information management skills into the curriculum.
• Provide instruction on the use of online information resources.
• Collaborate on research projects or grants.
• Perform professional-level literature searches.
• Review and validate your search strategies.
• Consult one-on-one on in-depth or specialized topics.

HSLS Liaison Librarians

Dental Medicine
Rebecca Abromitis, MLS
baa@pitt.edu
412-383-8984

Graduate School of Public Health
Charles B. Wessel, MLS
cbw@pitt.edu
412-648-8730

Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Linda Hartman, MLS
lhartman@pitt.edu
412-648-1479

Nursing
Mary Lou Klem, PhD, MLIS                            
klem@pitt.edu
412-383-9947

Pharmacy
Ahlam Saleh, MD, MLS
saleha@pitt.edu
412-648-2166

School of Medicine
Contact the reference desk
medlibq@pitt.edu
412-648-8796

Is Falk Library on your personal list of unknown territories? Get the lay of the land from our Web site. The library’s new virtual tour is a brief FAQ based on questions our patrons have actually asked us, plus others that they may be too…polite to ask. We hope that taking a few minutes to watch the tour will get you thinking creatively about how our resources and services can make your information life better and easier. And we can promise that the next time you stop by the library, some of the faces you see will already look familiar.

The HSLS home page provides access to library resources and answers to commonly asked questions. The main features of the site are detailed below.

Features
1. Remote Access – information about off-campus access to electronic resources
2. search.HSLS – simple search interface allows you to access HSLS and Pitt resources quickly
3. PITTCat – the University of Pittsburgh libraries’ online catalog
4. E-Book Full Text search – search the content of over 1,000 full-text electronic books instantly
5. Ask A Librarian – contact us in person, by phone, or e-mail
6. How Do I? – answers to common library and information-related questions
7. Journals & Articles – information about locating articles and accessing electronic journals
8. More Resources – links to online databases and other valuable resources
9. HSLS class descriptions and calendar – includes EndNote Basics, PubMed Basics, genetics-related classes, and many more

Selected Available Resources

If you are affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh, you should use Pitt’s Secure Remote Access service for access to most HSLS and other Pitt online resources.

UPMC employees should use the Connect@UPMC service to gain access to HSLS online resources.

All HSLS e-resources are directly accessible from all computers connected to the Pitt and UPMC networks.

For further information, please contact the Falk Library reference desk at 412-648-8796, the CMC help desk at 412-648-9109, or Ask A Librarian.

Because two heads are better than one, Falk Library offers four group study rooms—spaces to communicate and learn while still maintaining the library’s quiet atmosphere. The rooms may be reserved for up to 4 hours, and accommodate 2 to 8 people. Each group study room contains a table, chairs, a laptop (upon request), and a plasma display monitor.

You may reserve a room online or in person at the Falk Library Computer & Media Center (CMC) up to 3 days in advance. A valid University of Pittsburgh ID or HSLS Library Computer Account is required for online bookings. Those with a valid UPMC ID may book by calling the CMC help desk at 412-648-9109. Before booking a room, please take a moment to read the group study room policy.

At your reserved time, go to the CMC help desk to obtain the room key. You must provide your Pitt or UPMC ID to access the room.

After you’ve identified a journal citation, locating the full text of a journal article can be confusing. The most efficient route to the full-text of a journal article often depends upon the starting point. Two common starting points are described below with explanations on how to get from those points to the desired article.

Starting Point #1: from the PubMed Abstract, Abstract Plus, or Citation display screens

Click the Links@Pitt-UPMC button near the article citation. You may also see full-text links from journal publishers. But these links may or may not lead to full text and frequently request payment for access.

A new Web page will open that displays the article citation. Directly below the citation information you will see one of two options. One option allows you to access the full-text article by clicking on the name of the journal publisher.

Alternatively, you may be given a link to PITTCat for the Health Sciences, the online catalog for HSLS and other University of Pittsburgh libraries.

Clicking the PITTCat link launches a journal title search in PITTCat. Within the PITTCat search results, click on the full title link for the journal to access the electronic version or to find information about the location of the print version. If Pitt libraries do not subscribe to the journal, you will receive the message “PITTCat found no records that matched your search.”

Starting Point #2: List of citations but not in a database such as PubMed

Go directly to PITTCat for the Health Sciences. You have two options for searching PITTCat.
One option is to go to the HSLS home page and enter the journal title in the Pitt Resources Quick Search box.

This runs a keyword search in PITTCat. Electronic resources available from HSLS will be listed in a highlighted box at the top of your search results, and will include links to the fulltext. Other search results (for University Library System resources or HSLS print resources) will appear further down in your search results and contain links to the PITTCat record.

Alternatively, you can search for the journal title using PITTCat’s traditional search interface. On the HSLS home page, click on the Search PITTCat directly link.

In the traditional PITTCat search interface:
In the box Search Term(s), enter the journal title.
In the box Search Type, select Journal Title Begins with.
Click on the Search button.

Within the PITTCat search results, click on the full title link for the journal to access the electronic version or to find information about the location of the print version. If Pitt libraries do not subscribe to the journal, you will receive the message “PITTCat found no records that matched your search.”

If your search of PITTCat indicates that a journal is not available from any Pitt library, you can use the HSLS Document Delivery service to request a copy of the desired article.

HSLS supports the educational needs of health sciences faculty and students. Teaching faculty should be aware of the many ways HSLS can provide course assistance.

How the library can help:

Integrated Class Sessions
Reference librarians are available to provide integrated instruction in information skills as part of courses offered in the schools of the health sciences. Librarians can provide instruction on access to online resources, such as databases and full-text journals, and instruction on identifying and evaluating subject specific Web sites.

Web-based Curriculum Support
Web-based information resources can provide curriculum support to students on and off campus. Information resources include links to full-text journal articles, database searches developed by a librarian, chapters in electronic textbooks, and authoritative Web resources.

Course Reserves
Provide access to required or supplemental reading materials by placing books and journal articles on closed reserve.

Request Books to Supplement a Course
Faculty may request the purchase of materials that support teaching, study or research.

Computing Resources
The Computer and Media Center staff can assist in creating a CD-ROM that contains slides, PowerPoint presentations, image files and word documents to be used during a course. Instruction to improve presentations is available through classes such as PowerPoint or Photoshop. Faculty may request the purchase of software applications and videos to supplement a course. Please call 412-648-9109 for details.

The Computer & Media Center (CMC), located on the second floor of Falk Library, is open to health sciences faculty, students, and staff. Technology available at the CMC includes scanners, DVD burners, and Windows XP computers equipped with software for word processing, spreadsheets, statistics, graphics, video editing, and database management.

Other technology and services available at the CMC include:

Printing
Color, black-and-white, and double sided printing, are available from the CMC. Patrons must pay for printing through the use of HSLS Copy Cards. Copy Cards may be purchased at Falk Library. Medical students may use their subsidized accounts instead of a Copy Card on the black-and-white printer in the CMC only.

Circulating Technology
The CMC provides circulating technology, which currently includes 35 general purpose laptops that can be checked out by patrons for up to 4 hours. These laptops can connect to the University of Pittsburgh wireless system with a valid University Computing Account username and password, and can be taken outside the library.

The CMC also offers a collection of audiovisual materials including slides, audiocassettes, videotapes, CDs and DVDs, which may be checked out for one week.

The CMC opens at the same time as Falk Library, but closes 30 minutes earlier.  For questions regarding CMC technology or policies, please call the CMC helpdesk at 412-648-9109.

Are you looking for a specific book or DVD? Do you have a citation to an article and want to find the full text? Make PITTCat for the Health Sciences your first stop. PITTCat is the online catalog for HSLS and other University of Pittsburgh libraries.  PITTCat contains information on books, journals, audiovisual aids, and other items held in all University of Pittsburgh libraries.

PITTCat can be easily accessed from the HSLS home page, at the link shown in the illustration below.

There are four search tabs within PITTCat:

Basic Search: Search for exact titles of books, journals, audiovisual materials or other resources using the “Title Begins with” or “Journal Title Begins with” search type. You can also browse by subject heading or call number.

Guided Search: a form-based keyword search. Keyword searches may be especially helpful if you are looking for items on a topic, but are not sure of specific titles or authors.

Course Reserves: Browse current course reserves by instructor, department, or course.

New Items: View new items added to the libraries’ collections. Browse by library, call number, author, or title, for new items added in the last one to four weeks.

See the online help below the PITTCat search box for more detailed search instructions and examples. If you have questions or need assistance navigating PITTCat, please contact the Falk Library Reference Desk, 412-648-8796, or Ask A Librarian