July 2025 Issue

Whether you are an instructor working to create reading assignments or a student digging into a research subject, it’s important to know how many e-book licenses are available. At Pitt and other university libraries, electronic versions of books are often purchased with a set number of user licenses.

In both the HSLS E-Books by Subject page and PittCat, you will notice that our links use the term “concurrent users.” This refers to the number of users that may view and read the book at the same time.

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As we wrap up the fiscal year and take time to reflect, we’d like to hear from you! Has the Health Sciences Library made a difference in your research, teaching, learning, or well-being? Your feedback helps us understand what’s working and where we can do better.

Let us know how we have supported you and how we can improve to better meet your research and academic goals by completing this brief feedback form. The form will be open through Thursday, July 31.

Helena VonVille, who served as a Reference and Instruction Librarian and liaison to the School of Public Health since 2019, has retired from the University of Pittsburgh. Helena brought a wealth of experience and some practical tools to HSLS, including an Excel workbook series for study selection in systematic reviews and a website focusing on health/determinants of health data. She also played a role in the structural changes to the HSLS systematic review (SR) program, resulting in an exemplary and unique SR program. Since coming to HSLS, she has had 11 reviews published and two more are in the manuscript stage.

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Join us for this class:
Wednesday, July 23, 2025, noon-1:30 p.m., Online
Taught by Rachel Suppok
Register for Find and Get the Research Funding You Need*

Does finding funding feel like finding a needle in a haystack? While this class can’t write your grant proposals for you, it can show you where to look for funding opportunities, using the Pivot database and other resources. This class will also introduce you to reporting guidelines that can help guide the preparation of grants.

Upon completing this class, you should be able to:

• Search the Pivot database for relevant funding opportunities.
• Employ reporting guidelines and guideline extensions to guide the preparation of grants.
• Identify contacts for grant proposal assistance.

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Learn the most effective way to include links to resources in your syllabus, presentation, Canvas site, or other course content. This article will also cover forming and sharing durable library URLs, ensuring that students can access materials on campus or at home.

Durable URLs

A “durable” URL, sometimes referred to as a permalink or permanent URL, is a direct, stable link to a specific resource or document. Using a durable URL ensures proper access.

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These HSLS staff members celebrated significant employment anniversaries in the 2025 academic year. In honor of their milestones, we asked each of them to tell us about themselves and their work with HSLS.

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Visitors to Falk Library, located in Alan Magee Scaife Hall, are encouraged to check out these displays:

On Display

70 Years of “Scope and Scalpel” (Display Cases, Main Floor and Lower Floor)

Scope and Scalpel is a unique Pitt Med tradition in which graduating students produce a full-length musical production parodying their medical school experience. Memorabilia ranging from the first med student production of “PSM IV” in 1955 to the most recent productions are on display in honor of the Pitt Med Class of 2025’s spring production The Little Murmur. Playbills, posters, video, and audio recordings from the Special Collections of Falk Library show off the spoofed movies and TV series over seven decades.

As the Years Go By – Scope and Scalpel Poster Retrospective (Wall Gallery, Lower Floor)

Newly framed posters from the Scope and Scalpel collection adorn the new gallery walls outside the Rare Book Room and Quiet Study Rooms. Braille descriptions are available below each poster.

Scope and Scalpel memorabilia accompany an array of digitized production materials. Selected ones are presented in the Scope and Scalpel online exhibit, and more digitized materials are available through the Scope and Scalpel collection finding aid.

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

News

Congratulations to research and instruction librarians Kelsey Cowles, Rebekah Miller, and Rachel Suppok, whose article When Seeing Isn’t Believing: Navigating Visual Health Misinformation through Library Instruction was selected by the American Library Association, Library Instruction Round Table as a “Top Twenty” library instruction article of 2024. The article was published in Medical Reference Services Quarterly in February 2024.

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