2016 Issue

ImpactStory.org has released the first altmetrics report for researchers needing a simple, concise way to illustrate their immediate scholarly impact. Also known as altmetrics, measures of current online interaction with publications, such as tweets, blog posts, and open access statistics are summarized in the Overview by Global Reach, Greatest Hit, and Follower Frenzy. For example, under Global Reach, “Your research has been discussed in 7 countries. That’s high: only 29% of researchers have their work as widely discussed.” Curious? Click to drill down to the text of every message. While the Overview is an excellent screenshot for altmetrics and can be used as a summary for a performance review, don’t miss the other sections: Achievements, Mentions and Publications. ImpactStory.org has partnered with ORCID.org to make this service free, fast, and accurate.

Follow these steps to get your ImpactStory:

1. If you do not already have an ORCID iD, get a free ORCID iD through Pitt’s ORCID portal. (Please register for your ORCID iD through Pitt’s portal so that it will be connected to Pitt’s information systems for future services.)
2. Visit ImpactStory.org. Click on the blue button “Join for free with ORCID.”
3. Enter your e-mail address and ORCID password in the ORCID authorization form for ImpactStory, and click on the Authorize button in lower right.
4. Done! Your new ImpactStory will now appear!

If you have any questions about ImpactStory or ORCID, please contact Andrea Ketchum at ketchum@pitt.edu or 412-648-9757.

~Andrea Ketchum

For a quick and easy way to find out what services Falk Library’s Research, Instruction & Clinical Information Services Department has to offer, visit the HSLS home page and take a look at the new infographics for research support, instruction support, and clinical support. Click on any of the images and you’ll go to the infographic for that service. From the infographic, you can then click on any of the links and go directly to the related part of the HSLS Web site for more specific information about that service. Continue reading →

Group Study Rooms in Falk Library are a popular service, providing space for quiet study or group collaboration. A new online system was implemented in February to make online booking more robust. Powered by LibCal, the new online booking Web site provides a new look and features, including:

• A quick view of open time slots (green) and booked time slots (red)
• The option to sort by large groups (2-8 people) or for single users (1-4 people)
• Pop-up information about each room
• The ability to book up to five days in advance
• A list of confirmed bookings by name or nickname
• A summary of FAQ policies upon choosing a time slot
• An e-mail confirmation of your booking, with an option to cancel

To schedule a room for yourself or a group:

1. Find a room with the correct capacity. Rooms are for either 1-4 people, or 2-8 people.
2. Click on a green square corresponding to the start time, and click on subsequent squares for each additional half hour. A total of 4 hours (8 slots) can be made per person at a time.
3. Review the policies for room use to ensure that you are eligible. Once confirmed, click on Continue.
4. Fill out your information, including your name, e-mail address (Pitt only), name on booking, number of people in your group, your school; and then click on Submit.
5. You will receive an e-mail with a link to confirm or cancel your booking.

The Technology Help Desk manages the online room booking system and also circulates the keys to access the rooms. For questions about booking or using a Group Study Room, call the Technology Help Desk at 412-648-9109, or stop by the desk on the Falk Library upper floor.

~Julia Dahm

The National Library of Medicine’s (NLM) PubMed was born in the month of January 1996 when it was released as an experimental database under the Entrez retrieval system. Its experimental status was dropped in April 1997 just before its christening. On June 26, 1997, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) held a press conference to announce free Web-based access to MEDLINE through PubMed and Internet Grateful Med. At this briefing the honors to demonstrate PubMed fell upon Vice President Albert Gore.

PubMed’s gestation took many decades. Beginning in 1962, the MEDLARS project began to investigate digital computers as a way to publish Index Medicus, PubMed’s print predecessor, as well as create a method to do on-demand online searching of the same computer data. Punched paper tape was used to input the bibliographic data onto magnetic tapes stored onto room-sized mainframe computers that could handle batch-processing. Currently, NLM’s History of Medicine Division’s Circulating Now blog is highlighting a series of posts on the birth of PubMed, MEDLINE, digital printing, and instantaneous searching of online citations. To learn about this fascinating history, read NLM’s National Digital Stewardship Resident Nicole Contaxis’ blog posts:

• “MEDLARS I & GRACE: The Early Mainframe Experience”
• “MEDLARS II: MEDLINE & Instantaneous Search”

~Charlie Wessel

The National Library of Medicine recently announced the launching of MedPix®, a free online medical image database. The MedPix® collection categorizes and classifies the image and patient data for each of several subsets of image database applications (e.g., radiology, pathology, ophthalmology, etc.). The content includes both common and rare conditions. Contributed content may be copyrighted by the original author/contributor.

MedPix® is in the early stages of development and many features will be added over time.

~Jill Foust

The HSLS Staff News section includes recent HSLS presentations, publications, staff changes, staff promotions, degrees earned, etc.

News

The NN/LM Middle Atlantic Region (MAR) is pleased to welcome Elaina Vitale as their new Academic Coordinator. Vitale will have primary responsibility for increasing awareness of, and providing training in the use of NLM’s information resources to librarians, faculty, and staff at academic institutions, with an emphasis on community colleges and colleges/universities with programs in the health sciences, health and science education, library science, emergency management, and environmental health. She will also assist in coordinating MAR educational programs that create opportunities for information professionals to increase their skillset and support various phases of research data management.

Publications

Author names in bold are HSLS-affiliated

Research and Instruction Librarians Mary Lou Klem and Rebecca Abromitis published their case study “Undead PubMed at the University of Pittsburgh” in Marketing for Special and Academic Libraries: A Planning and Best Practices Sourcebook (pp. 112-114), P. Higgenbottom and V. Gordon, eds. Rowman & Littlefield, 2016.

Presentations

Presenter names in bold are HSLS-affiliated

Lydia Collins, consumer health coordinator, NN/LM Middle Atlantic Region, presented “Creating a Culture of Care: Health Outreach @ Your Library” at the New Jersey Library Association Annual Conference in Atlantic City, NJ, on May 17, 2016. Co-presenter was Karen Parry, manager of information services, East Brunswick Public Library, East Brunswick, NJ.

Kate Flewelling, outreach coordinator, NN/LM Middle Atlantic Region, presented “Information Resources to Support Farmworker Health” at the Pennsylvania Public Health Association and State Office of Rural Health Conference in Lancaster, PA, on April 7, 2016. Flewelling also presented “LGBT-Friendly Patient Education” at the LGBT Health Workforce Conference in New York, NY, on April 30, 2016.

HSLS offers classes on database searching, software applications such as Prezi, bibliographic management, and molecular biology and genetics. For more information, visit the online course descriptions.

Classes are held on the first floor of Falk Library (200 Scaife Hall) in Classroom 1 and on the upper floor of the library in Classroom 2. All classes are open to faculty, staff, and students of the schools of the health sciences at the University of Pittsburgh, who will need a valid Pitt ID or e-mail account. They are also open to UPMC residents and fellows, who will need to show their UPMC IDs. Continue reading →