2015 Issue

SciENcv is NCBI’s new online tool for generating biosketches for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Unlike previous versions of the biosketch, now only the investigator writes key elements of the biosketch, such as personal statements and contributions, as they must be tailored to each grant application. However, a delegate can manage many other details and produce a biosketch formatted to the new NIH specifications.

My Bibliography is a critical component of the biosketch creation process. There is currently no other automated, reliable method to enter publications into a new biosketch: thus every investigator’s My Bibliography must be updated before beginning the biosketch process. Too busy? Add a trusted delegate to your team to manage both My Bibliography and SciENcv.

To add a delegate, login to your My NCBI account, and then click on your username to access Account Settings. Scroll down to Delegates and click on Add a Delegate. Add the delegate’s e-mail address and then click on OK. The delegate will quickly receive a confirmation e-mail message from NIH. (If the message is not there, check the e-mail service’s spam filter.) The delegate must click on the “acceptance link” within the message to activate access.

A confirmation message will appear in the delegate’s My NCBI account. Click on Confirm Connection.

Where can the delegate find and manage the investigator’s My Bibliography and SciENcv? In their My NCBI account, they should look for the Collections portal—this is where My Bibliography for other investigators will appear. Each will be named “My Bibliography – [Last Name Investigator].” Click on that link for full management access. In the SciENcv section, links to investigators’ SciENcv biosketches will be listed. Include the investigator name in biosketch filenames to help maintain order.

For more information, email Andrea Ketchum or visit the SciENcv LibGuide.

~Andrea Ketchum

The Health Sciences Library System (HSLS), located in Falk Library on the second and mezzanine floors of Scaife Hall, offers premier services and a comprehensive collection of information resources. The vast majority of our books and journals are available to you electronically at any time, wherever you are. Use your computer or mobile device to do a literature search, read an article, or borrow an electronic book. If we don’t have what you’re looking for, request it through document delivery (now there’s no fee!).

Falk Library has casual seating, group rooms for collaboration, and quiet study areas with newly-reupholstered comfortable chairs. Pull over a traveling whiteboard to diagram your next project. Continue reading →

A robust core journal collection that meets the needs of the allied health sciences is crucial to a functioning health sciences library. Allied health professionals require literature to support evidence-based practice, curricula, and licensure activities.¹ A previous analysis between CINAHL, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and MEDLINE concluded that the number of unique nursing titles indexed in CINAHL but not covered in MEDLINE was small.^2,3 Hill’s 2009 study focused on the coverage of nursing and allied health subjects in CINAHL and Scopus and concluded that while there was significant overlap, there was not enough evidence to determine that CINAHL coverage is redundant. We compared the current allied health journal coverage in CINAHL with that of Scopus to determine the number and types of journals available exclusively through CINAHL. Continue reading →

In conjunction with the National Library of Medicine exhibit, From DNA to Beer, the HSLS Molecular Biology Information Service (MBIS) is presenting a special hands-on workshop profiling a recently developed Web-based tool that harnesses Internet technology to improve online searching and information retrieval.

As life sciences research becomes more interdisciplinary, the scientific papers we read increasingly include genes, proteins, microbes, methodologies, and biological concepts outside of our domain of expertise. It is necessary to learn more about these lesser-known terms to thoroughly comprehend such articles. Information is readily available in various molecular databases, but they are scattered throughout the Internet and can be challenging to locate. It would be immensely useful and time-saving to directly link online articles to these databases, thereby allowing readers to promptly gather information while actively reading articles.

To fulfill this unmet need, the Health Sciences Library System developed “InfoBoosters”—an easy to install Web browser widget that connects digital texts to databases and retrieves relevant information on demand. As an example, upon selecting a term for a gene/disease/drug/microbial organism and then clicking on the installed InfoBoosters button, pop-up windows appear with pertinent information retrieved from NCBI databases (Entrez Gene, PubMed, MedlinePlus, TOXNET, etc.) and Wikipedia. Application of this powerful tool will provide readers with revealing information not directly described in the text and potentially foster the creation of new hypotheses.

This workshop introduces attendees to InfoBoosters, shows how to create unique InfoBoosters, and covers various applications of this new tool.

What: “Delve into the World of Genes, Genomes, & Microbes with InfoBoosters”

Who: Ansuman Chattopadhyay, PhD, Head of MBIS

When: Monday, September 21, 1–3 p.m.

Where: Falk Library, Classroom 2

~Carrie Iwema

HSLS serves at the Regional Medical Library (RML) for the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Middle Atlantic Region (NN/LM MAR). As one of eight RMLs in the country, we work under a five-year, federal contract with the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to support their efforts to advance the progress of medicine and improve public health by providing U.S. health professionals with equal access to biomedical information and improving individual access to information to enable them to make informed decisions about their health.

One of the ways we accomplish this is by exhibiting at national, regional, and state meetings of health professionals, public health workers, library associations, and organizations that represent consumers. NN/LM MAR librarian coordinators provide information about biomedical and health information products produced by NLM and available online at no cost.

In the past year, NN/LM MAR staff introduced NLM resources to nearly 3,000 professionals throughout our four-state region of Delaware, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania by exhibiting and offering continuing education programs at 39 meetings or conferences. Many of the attendees provide services to minority, immigrant, rural, and underserved communities without access to library services and in need of quality, evidence-based resources for clinical decision making and patient education.

Most recently, NN/LM MAR exhibited at the 116th National Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Conference, a five-day event held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh. In addition to conversing with VFW and Ladies Auxiliary members from all over the world while staffing the exhibit table, NN/LM MAR offered a health information workshop twice each day titled, “Combatting Information Fatigue: Health Information Resources for Veterans.”

Soldiers, veterans, and military families are a priority outreach group for NN/LM MAR. We have partnered with groups such as the Veterans Mental Health Coalitions, Delaware Military Community Partners, VA health system, as well as various social service agencies and public, academic, and hospital libraries to provide health information education and programming to this important population. We are in the process of forming a regional working group to promote NLM resources and encourage health information programs that connect libraries with organizations providing services to soldiers, veterans, and their families.

If you are interested in learning more about NLM resources for soldiers, veterans, and their families, or if you know of organizations that would benefit from education on such resources, contact us at nnlmmar@pitt.edu.

~Renae Barger, Executive Director, NN/LM, Middle Atlantic Region