August/September 2006 (Vol. XIII, No. 6)
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Library hosts NCBI Field Guide course and mini-courses
The Library will host instructors from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Sept. 26-27, 2006.
On Tuesday, Sept. 26, the instructors will present the "Field Guide to GenBank and Other NCBI Molecular Biology Resources," which covers GenBank and related databases, the effective use of the Entrez databases and search service, the BLAST similarity search engine, genome data and related resources. The course is divided into a three-hour lecture and a two-hour hands-on workshop. Attendance at the lecture is strongly recommended before attending the hands-on session.
On Wednesday, Sept. 27, two mini-courses will be offered:
- "Identification of Disease Genes," which covers the identification of a disease gene using NCBI's human genome assembly.
- "Entrez Gene QuickStart," in which attendees will learn how to obtain information about a human gene.
Each course is 2.5 hours in length, which includes a 1.5-hour overview followed by a one-hour hands-on session.
All courses are intended for UT Southwestern faculty, fellows, postdoctoral trainees, staff and students in the basic sciences, but others are welcome. There is no charge to attend any lecture or hands-on session. For more information or to register, call 214-648-2001.
If you wish to register online, go to the Library's class registration page at http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/libraryclasses and complete the form for the desired class. There will also be an opportunity to register for one-on-one consults with an NCBI scientist.
Early registration is suggested, as previous sessions have filled up quickly.
"No-Show Fee" set to begin in FY 2007
Effective Sept. 1, a "no-show" fee will be charged for training classes in situations where an employee registers for but does not attend a class. No-shows are a problem because in many cases there are employees on waiting lists for classes, and the training opportunity is lost to them because of the no-show.
For classes scheduled for four hours or less, the applicable fee will be $50 per occurrence; for classes longer than four hours, a $100 fee will be assessed. This change applies to classes offered in the following training areas:
- Administrative Services (ADMMGS)
- Clinical Information Systems (CIS)
- Client Services (CLISEV)
- Organizational Development & Training (HUMRES)
"No-show" fees may be avoided either by notifying the specific training department at least two working days prior to the class (Monday through Friday only) or by sending a substitute attendee. Exceptions may be requested up to one working day after the class and will be evaluated on an individual basis. One example of an exception could be an employee's injury or illness.
In addition to the implementation of the "no-show" fee, an additional change is also being made to registration fees, which will no longer be charged for the majority of the classes in these training areas. (Note: Client Services will continue to charge fees for Microsoft Access, Microsoft Project, Adobe Acrobat Professional and Microsoft Visio classes.)
To support these changes, a minor modification has been made to the Online Administrative System (OAS) and the Web-based class registration forms. Effective Sept. 1, all class registration forms will require a valid account number. For those classes with no registration fee, no funds will be encumbered against the account number the account will only be used if a no-show fee is charged.
These changes are being made to provide the best internal training opportunities for UT Southwestern employees. For information about available classes, please refer to the Employee Training Opportunities home page at http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/training.
Library announces new access to Current Contents Connect, BIOSIS Previews
The Library has secured access to the Current Contents Connect database through the Thomson Corp.'s ISI Web of Knowledge platform, which also provides access to the Web of Science and Journal Citation Reports databases. In addition, the Library has also acquired a subscription to BIOSIS Previews on the same platform.
Current Contents Connect is a multidisciplinary database that provides access to complete bibliographic information from current issues of the world's leading scholarly research journals in agriculture, biology, environmental sciences, clinical medicine and the life sciences. Coverage is available from 1998 to the present.
BIOSIS Previews combines journal content from Biological Abstracts with supplemental, non-journal coverage from Biological Abstracts/Reports, Reviews, and Meetings (RRM). Coverage is available for the current year plus five previous years.
To access these resources, type either "current contents" or "biosis" in the search box on the Library's intranet home page at http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/library.
Previously, access to Current Contents was available through the Ovid database system. Users with saved searches or autoalerts in the Ovid version may need assistance in setting up new searches/autoalerts in the ISI platform. If so, please contact Laura Wilder by phone at 214-648-3518 or by email at laura.wilder@utsouthwestern.edu.
A closed BIOSIS Previews file covering information from 1969 through 2003 will continue to be available through the Ovid system.
Public Wireless goes live in many areas
Wireless Internet access is coming to the UT Southwestern University Hospitals for patients and family members and across the UT Southwestern campus for guests of faculty and staff. The service will allow Web browsing, including access to Web-based email systems outside of UT Southwestern, as well as off-campus VPN access for guests wishing to access their corporate VPN services. Users will not have access to UT Southwestern's data resources and should be aware that access through the UT Southwestern wireless connection is not secure.
The service will be available on a limited basis beginning Sept. 1 on most of the North Campus, Clinical Building I, Clinical Building II, University Hospital - St. Paul, University Hospital - Zale Lipshy, and portions of the South Campus and West Campus. The goal is to have wireless available campus-wide by January 2007.
Wireless access to the Internet will require a username and password, which will have an expiration date. Patients or hospital visitors can call an internal phone number (available on leaflets posted throughout the hospital buildings) to receive the information necessary to log in to the network.
UT Southwestern faculty and staff can request wireless access for their guests or themselves by calling the Information Resources Call Center at 214-648-7600 to obtain login information.
Find allied health & nursing information in CINAHL Plus with Full Text
Effective in September, the Library will provide access to the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) only through EBSCOhost's CINAHL Plus with Full Text. The database was previously available through the Ovid database system.
CINAHL Plus with Full Text covers biomedicine, nursing, alternative/complementary medicine, consumer health and 17 allied health disciplines. The database includes full text for more than 560 journals and indexing for more than 3,000 journals with indexing and PDF backfiles from 1937 forward.
To access the database, go to the Library's intranet home page at http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/library and click on "CINAHL" under "Search Databases."
Additional content available through CINAHL Plus with Full Text includes Evidence-Based Care Sheets, Quick Lessons and Visual Search. Visual Search allows a broad, yet efficient search and produces a visual map of results, organized by topic. Users may also search a companion database Pre-CINAHL that includes current journal articles that will be added to CINAHL once they have been fully indexed.
UT Southwestern faculty, students and staff may access CINAHL from campus or remotely. Staff of Parkland Health & Hospital System and Children's Medical Center may access it from computers in the Library.
We invite you to request a class or consult on CINAHL Plus with Full Text. Just click on "Classes," "Consults," or the "Ask a Librarian" icon on the Library's intranet home page at http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/library.
For more information or to schedule an appointment, please call 214-648-2003.
UTUser and security issues
Information Security has identified the use of the UTUser account name on Windows workstations as a security issue.
Typically new Windows XP workstations are set up to require two logins:
- The Novell (Mednet) login
- The workstation itself
In the past, the UTUser account name and a generic password were set up for the Windows workstation login. However, Information Security has determined that such a practice does not conform to UT Southwestern's security standards.
Therefore, if you are currently using the UTUser account name and its generic password on your Windows workstation, you are being asked to change them to be in compliance with campus security standards. To find out more about how to do this, please view the "Changing Windows Workstation UTUser (Windows XP)" e-learning session at http://utsouthwestern.edu/elearning.
Library offers Web guide to animal research alternatives
The UT Southwestern Library recently created the "Animal Welfare Search for Alternatives Guide," which directs UT Southwestern researchers and staff to information on alternatives to the use of animals in research. It can be accessed from the Library's home page at http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/library by typing "Animal Alternatives" in the search box.
Searches for alternatives should incorporate the concepts of refinement, replacement and reduction (i.e., the 3Rs). These concepts seek to eliminate or reduce unnecessary pain and distress in animals, encourage the use of non-animal models, and reduce the number of animals used in research.
Federal regulations require that investigators requesting to use animals in research must demonstrate to the UT Southwestern Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) that they have searched for alternatives based on the 3R concepts.
The new guide includes tools to help researchers in this endeavor, such as:
- A list of alternatives databases and resources, including the three required sites: ALTWEB, AWIC and PubMed.
- Sample search templates.
- Guides/tutorials for alternatives searches.
Computer Protection reorganized
- How can you tell if your Sophos Anti-Virus software is working?
- How can you tell if your PestPatrol software is current?
- Do you know how to get your confidential or sensitive data off your hard drive or laptop and onto secure network drives?
- Could you use a computer protection checklist?
These questions and many others may be answered at the Information Resources' (IR) newly reorganized Computer Protection Web site. To access the site, just go to the IR home page at http://utsouthwestern.edu/ir and click on the "Computer Protection" button.
From the Computer Protection site, two new e-learning sessions are also available:
- Computer Protection for Windows XP.
- Migrating Data from Network Drives (in the "Data Storage" section).
Computer protection is vital to UT Southwestern clients, patients and equipment; review your computer protection practices today!
Medical Matrix: Quality Web-based clinical resources
The Library now offers access to Medical Matrix, a peer-reviewed directory of quality Web-based clinical resources selected by physicians and medical librarians. Click the link found on the Library's intranet home page at http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/library under "Medical Reference." You may search by keyword or browse subject categories to locate relevant Web sites.
Medical Matrix indexes both fee-based and free Web resources and ranks them according to their usefulness for point-of-care clinical applications. Rankings are based on features such as quality, peer review, full content, multimedia features and unrestricted access.
The rankings are indicated by one to five stars, which are assigned according to the following guidelines:
- 1 Star = Suitable, well-authored clinical content but lacking in substance or currency.
- 2 Stars = Clinical content is generally reliable and up-to-date. Site design is logical and easy to use. Limited usefulness as a regular clinical resource.
- 3 Stars = Well-authored, accurate, current clinical content. Good site design, well-maintained and extensive functionality. Easily accessed and navigated by the routine user. An overall valuable clinical resource.
- 4 Stars = Outstanding site across all categories and a premier Web page for the discipline.
- 5 Stars = An award-winning site.
GroupWise WebAccess upgraded
A recent upgrade to GroupWise 7.0 WebAccess allows access to GroupWise messages, folders and calendars from home or while on the road. Several new features are now available, including:
- Posted appointments, tasks, & notes.
- "Drag & drop" of mail items between folders.
- "Work in Progress" folder accessibility.
- QuickFind searching.
- Right-click menus.
- Resending capability.
- Enhanced item properties.
- Name completion for addresses in the "Frequent Contacts" address book.
GroupWise 7.0 WebAccess may be used in the following browsers:
- IE 6.0 (or later) and Firefox for Windows
- Safari 1.3 (or later) and Firefox for Macintosh
- Firefox and Epiphany for Linux
For special information about pop-up blockers and Java requirements for "Spell Checker," visit the GroupWise WebAccess home page at http://gw.swmed.edu. To review a quick session on the highlights of GroupWise 7.0 WebAccess, visit the e-learning home page at http://utsouthwestern.edu/elearning.
