December 2003/January 2004 (Vol. XI, No. 2)
Published: December 15, 2003 (Revised November 2004)
Rather than put a trademark symbol at every occurrence of trademark names, we state that we are using the names only in an editorial fashion with no intention of infringements of the trademark.
Changes coming to North Campus Library
Several changes will be coming to the North Campus Library during December and January. These changes include construction of new walls and reductions in both the print journal collection as well as the library's hours of operation.
Library Construction
A significant portion of the North Campus Library will be under construction during December and January to create new offices for the Clinical Research Office. The specific changes to the existing space are:
- A wall will be built just beyond the computer commons.
- The area currently devoted to monograph and journal stacks and study space will become the new offices.
Construction of a new emergency exit and the new wall is expected to begin during the week of December 15. Once the wall is completed, disruption to the remaining library space should be minimal.
Print Journal Collection
Bound journals that are not already located at the South Campus Library will be relocated to the South Campus, but they are also available electronically. (Duplicate titles have been offered for donation to other local libraries.)
The monograph collection will remain at the North Campus Library as well as print journals that have been specifically requested by north campus faculty and researchers and do not have an electronic version available. These collections will be housed along with study tables in two rooms located directly behind the information desk, which were previously occupied by library staff.
Hours of Operation
Effective Jan. 2, 2004, the North Campus Library will begin closing at 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. (The library is currently open until 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7 p.m. Friday.)
The decision to close early was regretfully made to accommodate recent staffing reductions.
E-Learning for Microsoft products is a great investment
Your department is upgrading from Windows 98 to XP or you want to advance your Word skills. You've never really delved into PowerPoint but you have been asked to put together a presentation. Client Services offers e-Learning with these scenarios in mind.
Client Services Training has used Global Knowledge for nearly a decade to create the manuals for our instructor-led classes. The e-Learning for Microsoft Office products available to UT Southwestern faculty and staff is a subsidiary of Global Knowledge called Knowledge Pathways. The titles currently offered are GroupWise, FrontPage, PowerPoint 2000 and 2002, Word 2000 and 2002, and Windows 2000 and XP. Some of the reasons to use Global Pathways e-Learning are:
- Topics are displayed in detail enabling you to pick a specific lesson, and learn what you need when you need it.
- Global Pathways e-Learning is complete from basic usage to advanced skills. The titles available can be a part of staff development. Results of testing and progress can be e-mailed to management.
- Pre-testing helps save time by determining which topics to cover based on skills you already have.
Whether your goal is to quickly learn a technique or to build career skills, the e-Learning offered by Client Services can make you more productive. The e-Learning classes are being offered for free until August 31, 2004.
For more information or to view available classes, go to the e-Learning Web site at http://inside.utsouthwestern.edu/elearning.
Other E-Learning Topics Available
Other e-Learning topics offered by Client Services include MEDNET Basics, Introduction to OAS, and GroupWise Tips for new users. Client Services plans on continuing to enhance the e-Learning library.
Custom e-Learning is scheduled to be developed for GroupWise 6.5 and several of the OAS forms including IDU, ENR, Memo IDR, and the TEL form. Look for announcements for new topics in the spring.
Electronic journal updates
The Library now provides access to more than 5,000 electronic journals in our continually growing collection, and we continue to work on improving service and access for UT Southwestern faculty, staff and students for existing subscriptions such as The New England Journal of Medicine and journals published by Wiley Interscience.
Changes to The New England Journal of Medicine
The New England Journal of Medicine is now available through a UT Southwestern Medical Center site license, effective Nov. 14, 2003. Under the conditions of the new license, on-campus users can access the full-text articles at any time without being prompted for a specific username and password.
Affiliated users who have Virtual Private Networking (VPN) software installed on their remote computers will also have full-text access from off-campus. The username and password that formerly was necessary to access the full-text content no longer works from any location.
Update to Wiley Interscience Web Site
Several users reported problems accessing Current Protocols and various electronic journals published by Wiley Interscience in October, and these problems were caused by the release of a new Wiley Web site.
To correct this problem, users may need to delete any existing Wiley cookies on the Internet Explorer browser, exit the browser completely, and then try to access the specific resource again. This should take care of most of the problems.
Users who have previously registered for access to Wiley Interscience journals may also need to delete their "fast track cookie." This may be done by going to http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/logout.
Any additional problems accessing these resources may be reported to the Library by completing the Web form at http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/library/reference/referenceRequest.cfm.
New Electronic Journals
The following electronic journal titles have been added to the Library's electronic journals collection since Nov. 6, 2003:
Free literature searches, citation verifications and reference work
The Library offers three free services — literature searches, citation verifications and reference work — to help our affiliated clients with their research and patient care. Affiliated clients include faculty, staff, students, residents, and fellows of UT Southwestern and its affiliated institutions (Parkland Health & Hospital System, Children's Medical Center, Zale Lipshy University Hospital, and St. Paul University Hospital).
Literature Searches
Receive free searches and search consultations on biomedical literature and the Internet. This service is valuable because it:
- Saves time and money.
- Can provide a comprehensive review of relevant research.
- Can confirm the results of a search already done.
To request a literature search, complete the Web form at http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/library/reference/searchForm.cfm, or call 214-648-2003 and leave a voice message.
Citation Verifications
Have a manuscript to prepare? Don't get caught with an incorrect citation.
Library staff members are available to search citation databases to ensure that your reference sources are cited correctly (e.g., journal title, article title, volume number, issue number). To have a citation verified, complete the reference request form at http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/library/reference/referenceRequest.cfm, or call 214-648-2001.
Reference Work
Librarians will be glad to answer reference questions with a variety of resources. Call the Library at 214-648-2001 or use the reference request form at http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/library/reference/referenceRequest.cfm.
These services are often praised:
- "I have used the services of the [UT Southwestern] Library frequently, both literature searches and classes offered, and am grateful to have these outstanding resources."
- "I would try myself but there is a grant at stake, and I want to be sure I don't miss any article."
- "The research ... has been tremendously helpful on multiple occasions. Generally, I find the services useful when I'm delving into a new topic and need an overview of the extant literature. The abstracts sent my way (conveniently via e-mail) provide me with the exact information I need to further focus my search, and they often save me hours of leg-work [sic]."
- "The service provided by this library is excellent ... I must commend you."
Library no longer collects Social Security numbers
The latest enhancement to your privacy rights on campus is the elimination of Social Security numbers (SSNs) from non-essential databases. (Essential databases include personnel and financial aid files. As a result, the Library is systematically eliminating Social Security numbers (SSNs) from Library card registration files for faculty, staff and students of UT Southwestern.
Registered Library users from Parkland Health & Hospital System, Children's Medical Center, Zale Lipshy University Hospital, and St. Paul University Hospital, as well as from the general public, may also request their SSNs be purged.
For UT Southwestern employees and students, an individual's SSN is being replaced with his/her Person Number (assigned by UT Southwestern Human Resources). Because the SSN could formerly be used as an "ALT ID" (or alternate identification to the entire library bar code number) in the online renewal process for library materials, an individual's Person Number may now be used, if known.
Please note: Because of this change, library staff will no longer accept SSNs over the phone for renewing. For those who do not have their library bar codes handy, Person Numbers or personal name plus a secure piece of information will be required. We do apologize for any extra step required.
We would like to take this opportunity to reassure our users that we take their privacy rights seriously. For more information, see our policy at http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/library/about/policies/privacy.cfm.
New home page and URL alert
On Nov. 14, 2003, the UT Southwestern Office of Internet Services (OIS) released a new version of the campus Web site at http://www.utsouthwestern.edu. This new version — called the campus extranet — is intended to provide general information about the university to external audiences while also allowing access to selected resources for campus personnel.
As part of this release, a new Library home page has been prepared for persons not affiliated with UT Southwestern and is available by clicking on the "Library" link on the new campus home page (on the right-hand side under "Campus Services").
But if you're wondering where you might locate the Library home page with which you are familiar, it has now become part of the campus intranet, which provides full access to resources and services to authorized campus users.
Currently, you can access this familiar Library home page by either clicking on the "Library (Intranet)" link on the new Library home page (on the right-hand side under "Quick Links") or going directly to http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/library.
Be aware that the former URL for the Library page (http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/library) now directs you to the new extranet version so you will need to update your bookmarks with the new intranet URL as soon as possible.
As a reminder, the new URLs you need to remember are:
Please note: There are plans to restrict access to the familiar Library home page soon, which means that only computers using campus and affiliated IP addresses will be able to access it. Affiliated users will then need the Virtual Private Networking (VPN) software client installed on their home computers to view the page from off-campus.
SciFinder Scholar upgrade now available
A new version of the SciFinder Scholar (SFS) software, SFS 2004, is now available. SFS provides graphical access to both MEDLINE and the databases of Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) and covers the full spectrum of chemical and biomedical information.
Note: If you are using the 2001 version of the software, you will need to upgrade to the current version before March 31, 2004, to continue to receive access to this valuable research tool. The 2001 version will cease to work after March 2004.
SFS 2004 features:
- Including or excluding specific substance classes, such as alloys and polymers, from your structure searches
- Refining substances based on new options, such as the presence or absence or isotopically labeled atoms or specified properties
- Analyzing reactions by a choice of criteria, such as catalyst used, solvent involved or product yield
- Searching CAS databases, including reaction searching, back to 1907 and MEDLINE back to 1958
- Searching by topic, reaction, substructure, molecular formula or substance name
- Experimental and calculated properties for more than 825,000 substances, including boiling point and melting points, density, optical rotary power and refractive index
- Information from catalogs of chemical suppliers
Unlike other databases available through the Library's home page, the SFS software must be downloaded to each user's computer before the database may be accessed. The software is available in both PC and Macintosh versions.
To apply for SFS 2004 download and access, fill out the Web form at http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/library/sciFinder/sciFinder.cfm. You will receive download instructions via email by the next working day.
