Skip to content | Skip to search box

Books & Bytes

Volume 6, Number 1    September 1993

Books & Bytes is produced by the HSLIC Library Staff for Health Sciences Center personnel. Copyright University of Washington.

Table of Contents

  1. Welcome Back to Returning and New Faculty, Staff and Students
  2. From the Director: Budget Constraints are Affecting the Library
  3. Welcome From the Social Work Library
  4. Course Reserve Circulation Automates!
  5. Reference Manager Updates
  6. Teaching Learning Center Fills Instructional Needs
  7. Database Searching in HSLIC
  8. Back to the Future: Library System Milestones
  9. National Library of Medicine Catalog Now Available Online
  10. Research Funding Service
  11. FirstSearch: Menu-Driven Searching for Easy Database Access
  12. HSLIC Factsheets
  13. Construction is Complete!
  14. NLM Committee Appointments
  15. Serial Title Changes: September 1993
  16. Recent Gifts and Contributions to the Collections

Welcome Back to Returning and New Faculty, Staff and Students

by Elaine R. Martin, Associate Director for Education Clinical and Research Services

The Health Sciences Library and Information Center (HSLIC) is the University of Washington's primary resource for information in the biomedical sciences. The collection includes over 300,000 bound volumes and almost 4,000 serials subscriptions, as well as computer and nonprint resources. The library's mission is to promote excellence in health education, research and patient care by addressing your information needs. Specialized services for Health Sciences faculty, staff, and students are available at three different locations: the Health Sciences Library (T-227); the K.K. Sherwood Library at Harborview Medical Center; and the Social Work Library, Social Work Room 252.

Library staff help users locate and retrieve information and provide assistance in making efficient use of the library's collections and resources. Self-service searching on a variety of databases, including medline, is available without charge on computers or x-terminals located in the Libraries, or through your personal computer via the campus computing network. Special searching assistance is available Monday through Friday from 1 pm to 3 pm in HSLIC's self-service searching area near the Reference Desk. If you prefer, librarians can also perform searches for you from more than 500 databases covering a wide variety of subjects.

Each Health Sciences department or program has a designated Librarian Liaison who serves as a contact for current information about library services and resources. See HSLIC Factsheet #6 for the name, email address, and phone number of your liaison.

A wide variety of educational opportunities such as tours, literature searching seminars, and personal files management software demonstrations is available. Customized library orientations for new faculty and students have been scheduled throughout Autumn Quarter. Check with your department's library liaison to see if an orientation is currently scheduled for your group, or consult the Information Management Education calendar for current offerings.

A valid University of Washington identification card is required to check out library materials. The loan period at HSLIC is two weeks for books. Journals published before 1981 circulate for one week. Recent journals are library use only. The Circulation Desk staff can help you locate quick information about library holdings.

Document Delivery services are designed to simplify access to materials located in the UW Libraries collections. You may request items to be pulled and copied for you, with copies either held for pickup or mailed or faxed to your office or home. Photocopy services include a "you pull and we copy" service and self-service photocopy machines which accept prepaid debit cards or cash.

Materials not owned by the UW Libraries can be obtained for you from another library through Interlibrary Loan. The process takes 7-10 days, so please plan ahead.

The library offers a variety of services and programs to help you identify and access information from any location, manipulate that information, and create new knowledge. A suggestion box is available for you to tell us how we are doing. We'd love to hear from you!

[Return to Table of Contents]

From the Director: Budget Constraints Are Affecting the Library

by Sherrilynne Fuller, Director, Health Sciences Libraries

As with all other campus departments, the Health Sciences Library has had to make some significant changes over the summer in service priorities and operating procedures to cope with budget constraints, including staffing reductions. We are still working through service priorities and staff reallocations, and will keep you posted on service changes as they occur.

A major change effective Autumn Quarter is restricting reference desk service to standard business hours, 9 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday. A user survey during the last academic year confirmed that while UW faculty, staff, and students are not our primary users during the evening and weekend hours, they often encounter lines for services during peak weekday hours. Since our first priority is to support the information needs of UW's faculty, staff, and students, we will enhance reference service for this primary constituency by scheduling two Information Services librarians on duty during peak weekday hours and will eliminate weekend reference service, effective Autumn Quarter.

Access to HSLIC's Rare Books and Special Collections is now available by appointment only, from 8 am to 4 pm, Monday through Friday. All materials in these collections are listed in the Online Catalog. To make an appointment, call Colleen Weum at 543-3439, or send an email message to weum@u.washington.edu.

[Return to Table of Contents]

Welcome From the Social Work Library

by Ellie Marsh, Social Work Librarian

The Social Work Library staff extends a warm welcome to new Social Work faculty Larry Icard, Karen Fredriksen and John Longres, and to all new students, as well as to returning faculty and students. We encourage you to contact Ellie Marsh, Social Work Librarian, to discuss your information needs.

You may learn how to conduct your own online searches using a host of locally-mounted databases through uwin or Willow. Class and individual training is available by appointment in the library, your office, or your classroom. Terminals for self-service searching are available in the library.

Social Work Library orientations to information sources and services are scheduled during the first two weeks of Autumn Quarter:

Friday Oct. 1, 3:00 pm- 4:00 pm
Monday Oct. 4, 8:30 am - 9:30 am
Tuesday Oct. 5, 3:00 pm- 4:00 pm
Wednesday Oct. 6, 5:00 pm- 6:00 pm

Class-related or assignment-specific library orientations are also available for classes upon request.

psycinfo and medline demonstrations are scheduled throughout the quarter in the Social Work Computer Lab. Social Work Abstracts Plus demonstrations are scheduled in the library.

Document Delivery and courier services are available for easy exchange of materials between the Social Work and Health Sciences Libraries. In addition, Interlibrary Loan services for Social Work faculty and students are provided by the Health Sciences Library.

Social Work Library hours will change during Autumn Quarter. The total number of library service hours have not changed; but the schedule now reflects students' request for more weekend accessibility.

Contact Ellie Marsh at emarsh@u.washington.edu or 685-2180 for more information about Social Work Library services.

[Return to Table of Contents]

Course Reserve Circulation Automates!

by Philip Arny, Teaching Learning Center Coordinator

Beginning with Autumn Quarter, much of the Course Reserve circulation in the Teaching Learning Center (TLC) will be done using an automated system which allows the use of standard barcoded UW staff and student ID cards for identification. We are gradually eliminating that cumbersome manual check-out system which requires borrowers to write their names and ID numbers on cards.

Since the automated system is being phased in gradually, not all items will circulate on the automated system at the beginning of the quarter. High-demand items are being converted first, and everything should circulate using the new system by the end of Autumn Quarter. The new system will provide faster user service, and will offer more accurate, up-to-date and attractive listings of items on reserve for classes.

Because the automated reserve system just became available to staff in late August, there may be some delays at the beginning of the quarter. It may initially take us a little longer to get materials on reserve and to circulate materials; but once the new system is debugged, it should be much faster and more convenient for users and staff alike.

[Return to Table of Contents]

Reference Manager Updates

Research Information Systems (RIS) has released Splicer for Windows, a true MS-Windows implementation of the retrieval portion of the Reference Manager bibliographic management software. Splicer for Windows allows you to access Reference Manager, search for references and "cut and paste" the reference identifiers into the text of a Windows word processing document. It uses a new graphical user interface and is compatible with Reference Manager 5.0 databases. For additional information contact RIS at (800) 722-1227.

[Return to Table of Contents]

Teaching Learning Center Fills Instructional Needs

by Philip Arny, Teaching Learning Center Coordinator

The Teaching Learning Center (TLC) provides access to a variety of educational resources for Health Sciences courses, including the Health Sciences Microlab and Course Reserves.

Health Sciences Microlab

The Microlab supports both individual computer use and group instruction. Health Sciences students and staff can use either IBM PS/2s or Macintosh IIs to run educational programs, analyze statistics, or write papers, using the TLC's collection of over 200 software packages. Health Sciences instructors can schedule the Microlab for hands-on group instruction.

The lab is divided into separate IBM PS/2 and Macintosh II classrooms, both of which are equipped with computer projection systems. Contact Paul Ludecke (685-8994 or ludes@u.washington.edu) to reserve the Microlab, or to place software on reserve for student use. In many cases, the TLC can purchase software needed for instruction. The TLC Coordinator (Philip Arny, 685-3125 or parny@u.washington.edu) is available to discuss your instructional needs.

Course Reserves

Course Reserves include course-related books, photocopied articles, and media. These heavily used or expensive materials are placed on reserve to allow more students to use them. Each quarter, HSLIC processes approximately 1,000 reserve items for more than 100 courses. Reserve circulation averages approximately 25,000 items per year.

The TLC provides the space and equipment necessary to use reserve materials; this is especially important since many items can only be used in the library. Available equipment includes VCRs, slide projectors, X-ray viewing boxes, and Microlab computers. The TLC also has two small viewing rooms equipped with VCRs and slide projectors.

The Library purchases books, audiovisual materials (videotapes, slides, etc.) and computer software needed for course reserve or instruction. The TLC Coordinator can assist in locating AVs for possible purchase and arranging for previews. For more information, call Philip Arny at 685-3125 or send an email message to parny@u.washington.edu.

Items which are repeatedly placed on reserve or are in frequent demand by students may be added to the TLC Core Collection. These high-demand materials circulate for short periods (typically 2 hours) to allow as much use as possible. To place items on reserve for a class, call the TLC desk (543-3435) or stop by to pick up the necessary forms.

[Return to Table of Contents]

Database Searching in HSLIC

by Terry Ann Jankowski, Information Services Librarian

A number of different databases are available for self-service searching using the public workstations in the reference area on the second floor of HSLIC. Databases currently online through the campus computing network include the full medline database from 1966 to date, the UW Libraries Online Catalog (LCAT), the Gallagher Law Library Catalog (GCAT), eric, psycinfo and inspec. In addition, several CD-ROM systems are available, including CINAHL (Current Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), Biotechnology Citation Index, and Entrez, among others. There is no charge for using any of these systems. Workstations are available on a first come, first served basis during the hours the library is open, with priority to UW faculty, staff and students. Single purpose workstations, such as the CD-ROM's, may be reserved for up to two thirty-minute sessions daily. Staff are available nearby for assistance, and tutorials are regularly scheduled. See HSLIC Factsheet #3 (Self-Service Databases) and Factsheet #8 (Information Management Education) for more information.

HSLIC also has access to over 500 librarian-mediated databases covering many subjects. UW faculty and staff may receive up to 25 citations at no charge on any appropriate database for work-related searching. Medical students working on their ISMS projects or UW graduate students working on their theses or dissertations may also receive 25 citations at no charge. More extensive searches are available for a nominal charge. See Factsheet #13 (Database Search Services) for a complete listing of prices.

Individuals with ongoing research needs may wish to set up a current awareness profile for regular updates in their areas of research. Search results can be delivered in person, by fax, by mail, or by electronic mail. See Factsheet #20 (Email Alert Services ) for more information.

Database searches may be requested in person, by telephone, by fax or by electronic mail (hsl at u.washington.edu). Librarians are also available for self-service searching strategy consultation as well as training in search techniques and database management.

[Return to Table of Contents]

Back to the Future: Library System Milestones

by Terry Ann Jankowski, Information Services Librarian

September 7, 1993, marked another milestone in the life of the Libraries databases. On that day background circulation, acquisitions, and cataloging processes switched from the Geac system to Innovative Interfaces, and all 26 years of medliner became accessible via the campus network. Since library users have been participants with staff in growth and development of the online systems, we thought you would appreciate a short review of the past as we take the next step forward.

In July 1989, a headline in Books & Bytes read "Unlimited Database Access in Your Future!" HSLIC thus announced that we had signed an agreement with the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and UW Computing & Communications (C&C) to make the most recent five years of medliner citations available on our local campus network. This was paralleled by HSLIC's participation in a pilot project with NLM to provide unlimited access to medlars databases for $100 annually, using Grateful Med software.

On April 1, 1990, the first version of medline (at that time under UW Reference Library) was made available for beta testing on the campus IBM 3090 computer. Using a modified version of BRS OnSite software, the most recent five years of medliner was accessible by anyone with an account on the IBM machine. In June 1990, medline went public. Simultaneously, HSLIC received a grant from DEC Corporation to begin development of a graphical user interface based on ANSI standard Z39.50. By November 1990, a prototype interface called Willow (Washington Information Looker-Upper Layered Over Windows), was being tested by selected health sciences faculty.

Early in 1991, the online coverage of medliner was expanded to ten years, and the "Unlimited Access to medliner" project through Grateful Med was terminated. Over the summer, development on the locally-mounted system continued, and by fall 1991 the UW Reference Library system was moved from the VM/CMS (UWAVM) platform to the AIX platform on Byron.

Willow was released for general use in July. C&C developed a new menu system called uwin (University of Washington Information Navigator) which permitted use of the UW Reference Library and general information sources such as full-text reference books, local and national weather, and news services. In September of 1992 UW Reference Library left Byron, and became the UW Libraries family of databases. uwin and Willow access no longer required a personal account for users with a campus network connection.

Once users became comfortable with the software used to search medliner and the Libraries Catalog, additional databases were added: Eric, the Law Library catalog, psycinfo, and (most recently) inspec in April of 1993. Additionally, Willow access from one's campus office became an option.

Access to the full medliner database is just a taste of projects to come which are dedicated to improving access to information for UW students, staff and faculty. Work continues on adding more databases and improving the search software; and we are several steps nearer to our goal of providing "Barrier-Free Access to Databases."

For information on searching the Libraries databases, call 543-3394 to request a copy of various searching guides, or attend one of our regularly scheduled demonstrations. Public workstations are available throughout HSLIC with staff nearby to assist you.

[Return to Table of Contents]

National Library of Medicine Catalog Now Available Online

by Louise Pray, Information Services Librarian

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) Online Catalog is now accessible online at no charge through the Internet. The catalog lists books, audiovisuals, and journal titles owned by NLM.

Especially of interest to medline users is the journal portion of this catalog, which lists journals by full title, journal title abbreviation, and subject. You may search by journal title abbreviation to find its full title (which is essential information in any library such as HSLIC which shelves serials by title), or by the full name of the journal to locate the abbreviation. To access the NLM Catalog from your personal computer, from the network prompt send a telnet message to locator.nlm.nih.gov, e.g. carson% telnet locator.nlm.nih.gov. At the login: prompt, type locator. The catalog contains more than 16 million records and is available 24 hours a day.

[Return to Table of Contents]

Research Funding Service

by Diana Hall, Research Funding Service Librarian

The Research Funding Service (RFS), a partnership of the Health Sciences Library and the UW School of Medicine, offers specialized information resources, services, and events for faculty, postdoctoral scholars, and staff in the Health Sciences who need to identify funding opportunities, understand funding processes, and write better proposals.

Grantseekers can take advantage of a range of funding-related information resources, including RFS files on funding organizations, grantsmanship directories and guides in the HSLIC reference collection, and increasingly, electronic databases and publications available on the campus network and the Internet. Investigators can also request subject-specific searches of computerized databases of funding sources and summaries of current federal research projects.

To keep researchers aware of deadlines and grant possibilities, RFS publishes the monthly Funding Bulletin announcing selected funding opportunities. RFS also has published a guidesheet entitled "Fundamentals of Grantsmanship" and is developing additional guides on topics such as the National Institutes of Health, the application review process, UW procedures, and electronic information resources.

On October 26, RFS will cosponsor, with the School of Medicine and the Office of Technology Transfer, an all-day symposium on university-industry research relationships. See the next issue of Books & Bytes for details. RFS also hosts informal noontime discussions of grantsmanship topics of particular interest to new investigators and postdocs.

RFS is directed by Janet Rasey, Ph.D., professor of Radiation Oncology, and staffed by Patricia Carlson, Coordinator, and Diana Hall, Librarian. Located in HSLIC Room T-311, the office is open 1 PM to 5 PM, Monday through Friday. For more information or to make an appointment, please call 685-8036, send email to rfs@u.washington.edu, or write to RFS at mail stop SC-64.

[Return to Table of Contents]

FirstSearch - Menu-Driven Searching for Easy Database Access

Louise Pray, Information Services Librarian

Frustrated because medline lacks enough veterinary or comparative medicine coverage? Need access to financial data on companies related to your research? Consider using firstsearch, a menu-driven system providing access to a wide variety of databases outside the health science disciplines.

UW users may request a firstsearch card from the Libraries for Internet access to databases such as gpo (government documents); biosis (biological sciences); georef (geology); pais (public affairs); Sociological Abstracts; Disclosure (company financial data); and worldcat, a database of library holdings of more than 3,500 libraries nationwide. Each firstsearch card provides ten searches at no charge.

The UW Libraries commitment to affordable information sources makes firstsearch a logical choice for many library users due to its range of topics and its ease of use. Contact Lou Pray at lpray@u.washington.edu or 685-2180 to obtain cards and searching instructions.

[Return to Table of Contents]

HSLIC Factsheets

HSLIC Factsheets provide in-depth descriptions of many of the Library's services and programs. You can either pick them up from display kiosks in the library or request copies from Administrative Services, 543-5531. The following Factsheets are currently available:

  1. Summary of Services
  2. Purchase Recommendations
  3. Self-service Databases
  4. Teaching Learning Center
  5. K.K. Sherwood Library
  6. Library-Departmental Liaison Program
  7. Library Services Via Electronic Mail
  8. Information Management Education Program
  9. Document Delivery/Photocopy Services
  10. Services for Off-Campus UW Faculty, Staff and Students
  11. Brief Guide to NLM Call Numbers
  12. Services for Non-Affiliated Health Professionals
  13. Database Search Service
  14. Gift Acceptance Policy
  15. Loansome Doc Document Delivery Service
  16. Health Sciences Library Statistical Summary
  17. Consultation Service
  18. Interlibrary Loan Services
  19. Email Alert Services
  20. Social Work Library
  21. Deposit Account Agreement
  22. Rare Books & Special Collections
  23. Services to Users With Disabilities

[Return to Table of Contents]

Construction is Complete

by Carolyn Weaver, Associate Director for Administration

Those of you who were on campus this summer are aware of the construction which was under way in HSLIC, with Circulation and Document Delivery Services operating from behind a makeshift counter constructed of bookcases, and Technical Services staff and operations crammed into the former U-Search Area while their work areas were being remodeled. Users and staff alike coped with four months of construction noise and dust, asbestos abatement, strange traffic patterns, unexpected phone glitches, and general inconvenience -- all without a single library closure or slowdown in services.

This phase of remodeling is now complete, and library operations have for the most part returned to normal. The Circulation Desk and work areas are now reconfigured for more efficient operations of the combined Circulation and Document Delivery services, and the upgraded electrical and communications wiring in this area can fully accommodate the new Innovative Interfaces library system, as well as future technological demands. The former reference desk and U-Search areas near the main entrance are being rearranged as comfortable study and lounge areas. The self-service pickup area for prepaid photocopies, which was tried experimentally during construction, will be retained near the second floor entrance.

Remodeling of the Collection & Technical Services work area, though less visible to users, was critical to library operations. Its main purpose, like that of the circulation remodel, was to upgrade communications and electrical services in support of the new library system and other technological change. As a fringe benefit, however, we were able to rearrange the entire work area to provide efficient work space for all technical processes, including receipt and processing of large bindery shipments and gifts of library materials.

To all of you who lived with us through the remodel, our thanks. You tolerated the disruptions without complaint, put up with noise and inconvenience, and were understanding about the occasional glitch in the system. We appreciate your support and hope you will agree that the result has been worth the pain.

[Return to Table of Contents]

NLM Committee Appointments

The University of Washington is well represented at the National Library of Medicine (NLM) with two recent faculty appointments to key NLM committees.

Rita Altamore, M.D., Director, Master's of Public Health Degree Program, and Assistant Chair, Department of Health Services, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, has been appointed to the NLM Literature Selection Technology Review Committee, which selects journals for coverage in Index Medicus and related indexes.

Sherrilynne Fuller, Ph.D., Director, HSLIC, has been named Chair of the NLM Biomedical Library Review Committee (BLRC) for 1993/94. The BLRC is NLM's study section for extramural grant funding proposals.

[Return to Table of Contents]

Serial Title Changes: September 1993

Physiological measurement, v.14(1993)--.
Continues: Clinical physics and physiological measurement.

Provider studies research note, n.16(1992).
Continues: Research note (Hospital Studies Program [Agency for Health
Care Policy and Research]).

Resources for biomedical research technology, 1992.
Continues: Biomedical research technology resources.

Romanian journal of internal medicine, v.29(1991)--.
Continues: Medicine interne [Bucharest].

Stem cells (Dayton, Ohio), v.11(1993)--.
Continues: International journal of cell cloning.

Undersea & hyperbaric medicine, v.20(1993)--.
Continues: Undersea biomedical research.

WSDA membership directory & resource guide, 1992--.
Reference Books: WU 22 AW2 W319w.
Continues: WSDA membership roster (Washington State Dental Association).

[Return to Table of Contents]

Recent Gifts

Acknowledgment and appreciation are extended to the following individuals who have recently made contributions to the Library:

Ms. Betty Black; Ms. Carolyn Black; Dr. Ruth F. Craven; Dr. Margaret F. Dimond; Ms. Joyce Engle; Dr. B. Raymond Fink; Dr. Hjordis M. Foy; Dr. Sherrilynne Fuller; Dr. John P. Geyman; Dr. Thomas F. Hornbein; Dr. Linda A. Kent; Dr. Anne Loustau; Dr. Beryl J. Mason; Ms. Sharon A. Minami; Dr. Russell Ross; Dr. Thomas H. Shepard; Dr. Noel S. Weiss.

[Return to Table of Contents]