Unlock Strategic Research Insights with Dimensions Analytics

Dimensions Analytics is now available to University of Pittsburgh faculty, staff, and students. This multi-disciplinary research discovery and analytics platform is designed to go beyond traditional literature search tools, integrating scholarly publications with linked data on grants, clinical trials, patents, policy documents, and datasets.

Before you begin using the platform, review the Quick Start Guide for a short overview of its navigation and functionality. If you have used the free version of Dimensions in the past, Pitt’s new subscription allows access to much more data and additional tools.

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New Year, New Wiley OA Article Limit

For 2026, ULS and HSLS negotiated with Wiley to receive a higher annual institutional limit on the number of articles eligible for open access (OA) article processing charge (APC) coverage. Unlike our Elsevier agreement, this agreement does cover all hybrid and gold open access journals (use Wiley’s journal finder for the most accurate title listing – journals may change publishers).

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Changes to the HSLS Online Collection for 2026

With the addition of NEJM Clinician (formerly known as NEJM Journal Watch) for 2026, HSLS now subscribes to all five journals in the prestigious NEJM Group portfolio. Also for 2026, HSLS upgraded to the full BMJ Journals Collection, providing access to nine additional journals. HSLS also continually adds new open access journals from numerous publishers. Visit our E-journals A-Z list and click on “Show Select Subject” to view more titles in your area of interest. New eBooks have also recently been added to our collection, while some resources will no longer be available in 2026 – all changes to a dynamic collection that supports current learning, teaching, and research needs.

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Filipino Nurses, Empire, and Gender

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Filipino nurses accounted for 25-33% of nurse deaths, although Filipinos are only 4% of the nursing workforce and 1% of the U.S. population. How did this come to be? Their disproportionate mortality in hospitals and long-term care homes underscores a history of uneven labor migration and exposure to workplace risks. More broadly, their deaths raise the persisting specter of American imperialism over the Filipino government, education, economic, and healthcare sectors, dating back to the U.S. colonial period in the Philippines from the 1890s until World War II. The violence during this period, however, remains obscured by discourses of care tied to American benevolence and modern nursing’s cultural association with altruism. Ren Capucao’s talk on February 24 will delve into the underbelly of care by foregrounding the subjectivities and lived experiences of Filipino nurses, who variously accepted, resisted, or succumbed to the standards and strains of a racialized modernity. He will discuss these nurses’ agency amidst the institutionalization of nursing in the Philippines and the racialization of Filipinos’ caring ability.

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Happening at Falk Library in February

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

Reading Between the Lines: Blackout Poetry at the Library

Wednesday, February 11, 12-2 p.m.

Sources for poetry are all around us: newspaper articles, scientific and law journals, junk mail… Explore found poetry through the blackout process in this drop-in session. No previous writing experience is necessary!

All health sciences students, faculty, and staff are welcome. This informal hands-on session is with a facilitator from the Center for Creativity but will mostly be self-directed or could work in a group. All materials will be provided.

Registration is encouraged; walk-in participants are welcome.

This is a drop-in event held in the Library Classroom. You’re encouraged to arrive when your schedule allows and stay for as long as you like!

Make Your Own Trail Mix: Valentine’s Day Edition

Wednesday, February 11
Lunchtime Session: 12-2 p.m.
Evening Session: 4-6 p.m.

Take a custom-made snack with you. Select from a variety of small snack foods with some Valentine’s themed treats. Pack your own tight-seal bag with your favorite goodies and enjoy throughout the day.

Make Your Own Trail Mix is offered as both a lunchtime and an evening session – pick which time works best for you.

Look for our Guess-the-Candy game at the snacks table. Whoever has the closest guess to the number of candy pieces wins a prize!

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HSLS Staff News

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

News

Congratulations to Alexis Cenname who has accepted a faculty librarian position at HSLS. Since joining the library in 2023 as a data scientist, Alexis has expanded our data science support for health sciences researchers, delivered specialized instruction on R and Python, and become a key contributor to our research support services. With her doctoral training in Human Genetics, MS in Biostatistics, and experience with the All of Us Research Program, Alexis is exceptionally well suited for this role as a Data Science Librarian.

Stephen Gabrielson, Scholarly Communication Librarian, has left HSLS to become the Research Support and Impact Librarian at UCLA Library. After joining HSLS in 2020, Stephen supported countless faculty, staff, and students, helping them evaluate and select appropriate journals for publication, enhance the discoverability and visibility of their research outputs, and promote the responsible use of research impact metrics.

Cassie Nespor, History of Medicine and Special Collections Coordinator, has been appointed as a core faculty member for the Pitt Institute for Bioethics. In this role, she will contribute to the diverse group of faculty who are shaping and participating in the Institute’s programs, mentoring trainees, and representing the Institute within and beyond the University of Pittsburgh. Continue reading →