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Books & Bytes

Volume 7, Number 5      February 1995

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

Table of Contents

  1. Hard Budget Choices Require Changes in Services
  2. DXplain Trial
  3. Search Services at the Health Sciences Libraries
  4. Current Contents Now Exclusively on CD-ROM
  5. OMIM and Material Safety Data Sheets: Electronic Resources for the Classroom
  6. Internet Resources for Molecular Biology
  7. Biotechnology Resources in Reference
  8. Biotechnology Citation Index
  9. Library Liaisons Facilitate Access to Library Services
  10. Goodbye to Ellie Marsh!
  11. Recent Gifts
Contributors to this issue: Terry Ann Jankowski, Debbie Ketchell, Lisa Oberg, and Paula Palmer.

Hard Budget Choices Require Changes in Services

The Health Sciences Libraries face the same hard choices as other departments which are facing mandatory budget reductions for the coming biennium. Over the last year we have been evaluating our services and how we provide access to information in order to prepare for a required three percent cut (almost $190,000), which will require a significant reduction in purchased materials and additional reductions in staff. We must at the same time address our extremely serious space shortages.

Of major concern is the cost of journals, which continues to increase at a rate of 9 to 13 percent a year. There is serious concern about how such inflationary increases from publishers will be funded in the next biennium. Our planning to date assumes that inflation will be funded by the University. If not, the Libraries will need to make much deeper cuts in collections and services.

Streamlining of Services

Since September, we have moved from a Reference Desk staffed by librarians to an Information Desk staffed by various staff who provide initial direction and guidance in use of the library and its electronic services. The Information Desk concept provides librarians with more time for teaching and consultation with faculty, staff and students in Health Sciences departments and schools. Librarians are assigned to each department or school to work with UW clients to insure a well-connected office in the networked information environment and to integrate information retrieval and management skills into courses.

We have spent three years cleaning up the records of journals and other serials in the library. We now have an automated check-in system; titles shelved by correct title in the correct order; barcoding of all materials to provide faster check-out and accurate usage counts; enhanced notes in the Libraries Catalog to determine availability and location; additional photocopiers; and expanded document delivery services. We are using our collection budget proactively to insure that you can request any item and receive it quickly at a standard cost ($4-$4.90), regardless of its physical location, whether onsite or in another country. This has been our approach to the "ownership versus access" issue.

Improvements in Database Access

Responding to user comments, we have spent over five years developing campus access to key health sciences databases (e.g., MEDLINE®, NURSING & ALLIED HEALTH®, PSYCINFO®), and networking CD-ROM products to provide uniform access for the K.K. Sherwood Library at Harborview, the Social Work Library, and the Health Sciences Library. We have heard repeatedly that access to MEDLINE without charge from office, lab and home is an essential and integral part of your clinical care, research and teaching. We have also heard that you require additional electronic resources from your desktop. Purchasing access to additional resources and providing over 30 in-library workstations for accessing this growing electronic collection has stretched both the space and budget resources of the Libraries; but it is essential to our mission. In coping with this information and technological revolution in an environment of budget reductions and space shortages, we welcome your comments on balancing ownership versus access, print versus electronic access, and workstations versus shelves.

Resource Conservation Through Collection Management

Managing the library's "virtual" collection is an ongoing process. A review of space and staff time devoted to receiving and sorting journal gifts has shown that accepting such donations is neither cost- nor space-effective, since less than 2% of the serials offered to the library are needed for the collection. A more effective model is to actively solicit through this newsletter and other sources those journal issues which are needed to replace missing or damaged issues. Thus, under a new gift policy, we will no longer accept unsolicited serials gifts. We will continue to accept book gifts which enhance the collection.

We are completing a year-long review of our journal and index collections. A lengthy list is being compiled of low use journal titles, selected foreign language materials, and print indexes that receive little use or which are not directly in scope for the health sciences. We welcome any suggestions you have for this "potential cuts" list. All department chairs and library collection development advisors will receive this "Suggested List of Journal Titles for Deletion" in March. The final list will also be posted on HealthTracks, HealthLinks, and in the library for review and comment by all users. We anticipate that the list will be reviewed by each department to provide us with feedback on how we can best maintain a balanced budget and use valuable floor space.

We have received inquiries about sponsoring a journal title for the library. To sponsor a title requires guaranteed annual funding by interdepartmental transfer or contractual agreement of the annual cost for an institutional subscription, which is of ten substantially higher than personal subscription rates. If you or your department are interested in this option, please send a message to hsl at u.washington.edu.

Libraries-Wide Reductions Will Impact HSLIC

The University of Washington Libraries overall is planning for a cut of $1.36 million, about half of which will be taken from the library materials budget. Planning is under way to ensure extensive consultation with faculty about the focus of the library materials budget reduction and for identification of priorities in support of the various subjects, departments, and programs. In an interdisciplinary world, cuts in the Libraries as a whole will inevitably impact HSLIC's decision-making.

We have talked to many faculty members in the last six months, and most of you are aware of the need to actively prune our collection for new growth and to trim our specific services to fit our current space and budget. We appreciate your support and feedback as we refit library services to changing times and make the hard budget choices.

Debbie Ketchell
Deputy Director

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DXplain Trial

For a two-month period beginning in February, the Health Sciences Libraries will offer Internet access to a diagnostic reference system called DXplain. Produced by the Laboratory of Computer Science of the Massachusetts General Hospital, the program is designed to provide plausible explanations for a given set of signs and symptoms, not the one "right answer." It should not be used as an automated substitute for a physician's judgment.

You can participate in the trial by sending an email message to iaims@u.washington.edu to request the userid and password. Please provide your name, email address, and UW department with your request.

Your feedback is essential in deciding whether to purchase extended use of this clinical tool after March 31. Please send any questions or comments about DXplain to ketchell@u.washington.edu.

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Search Services at the Health Sciences Libraries

Database searches are available on either a self-service or staff-mediated basis. If you wish to run your own searches of MEDLINE® and other databases that are available on the campus network or on self-service stations in the Libraries, you can get assistance with search strategy and techniques by making a consultation appointment with your library liaison. Weekly demonstrations are offered on basic search techniques, and quick help is often available from the service desks. Mediated searching is available through HSLIC's Database Search Service if you wish us to run searches for you.

Since no library can afford to collect all materials which may be needed by its clientele, HSLIC's service philosophy is to provide access to information regardless of its physical location or ownership. We therefore offer a basic level of mediated se arching to primary clientele at no charge. UW Health Sciences faculty and staff may receive a librarian-performed search of up to 25 citations with abstracts at no charge in support of research, clinical, academic, or administrative responsibilities at U W. UW graduate students may also request this basic search service in preparation of their thesis or dissertation; UW Medical School students working on an ISMS project qualify as well. Any appropriate database for the topic will be searched. Requesters may obtain larger retrievals (more than 25 citations) upon payment of standard search service charges. See Factsheet #13 for details.

Librarians can also work with you to set up a current awareness search for recently published articles in your area of research. For databases which are available on the campus network, e.g., MEDLINE, you can save a search strategy and execute it yours elf at no charge. Library staff will run searches of other databases weekly, monthly or quarterly, as the databases are updated. Monthly user fees apply for search profiles using outside vendors, e.g. the National Library of Medicine or Knight Ridder Dialog. There is no charge if the search profile uses one of our CD-ROM databases, e.g., BIOETHICSLINE PLUS or CURRENT CONTENTS, when the results are delivered via email. For details regarding charges and services see HSLIC Factsheet #13, Database Search Service, and Factsheet #20, Email Alert Services, as well as the article on Current Contents.

To request a search strategy consultation or a mediated search, send email to hsl at u.washington.edu, or call the HSLIC Information Desk (543-3394), the Social Work Library (685-2180) or the K.K. Sherwood Library at Harborview (223-3360). Search request forms may also be picked up at any of these locations or downloaded from HealthTracks and HealthLinks. Initial search results (50 references maximum) are available for delivery within one working day from submission; additional citations are usually ready within a week. Clinical emergencies or patient care requests receive priority handling. Individuals not affiliated with the UW should contact the Health Information for You service (543-7478) to request search services.

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Current Contents Now Exclusively on CD-ROM

Effective January 1995, HSLIC's printed subscriptions to Current Contents have been replaced by electronic versions on CD-ROM. A full year's coverage is now available of CC: Life Sciences, CC: Clinical Practice, and CC: Agriculture, Biology and Environmental Sciences.

The printed Current Contents, a weekly "table of contents" service published by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), has long been a favorite current awareness publication for scientists and researchers who need to identify the latest publications in their field. Two years ago, HSLIC introduced the computer-readable version of CC: Clinical Practice and CC: Life Sciences, but only a month's worth of data could be retained on the computer due to the large amount of memory required. The new CD-ROM format allows us to offer a full year's coverage as a replacement for the printed subscriptions, which have been canceled.

The Current Contents databases, located on three computers in the self-service searching area on the second floor of HSLIC, use a menu-driven, user-friendly search interface. Users may search for authors, specific journal issues, CC issues, institutions, CC subject categories, or keywords. Search results may be printed to the attached printer or saved to floppy disk. Profiles may be saved and used to generate a weekly update on a topic, either directly by the user or through HSLIC's Current Awareness Service.

A weekly update service on these sections of Current Contents is available to the faculty and staff of UW's six health sciences schools. The user and a librarian work together to build a search strategy profile, which is saved and run each week, with the results delivered by email. Online delivery of searches reduces the direct costs of the service to the library, allowing us to provide it at no charge. The service also allows us to meet one of our primary goals - providing access to information on the user's desktop - for a product that we are unable to offer as a networked option at this time.

Several people have already tested this service, with good results. Toby Bradshaw, Biochemistry, tells us, "The CC service is far and away the most efficient mechanism for keeping up with the scientific literature. I save my emailed search results and sort through them on a laptop when I have some time to spare, such as on the airplane traveling to meetings. I delete those references in which I have no further interest, load the rest directly into Reference Manager for Windows, and generate a short list of papers to retrieve from the library in person or via a copying service. One of the most useful features of the CC is that the search terms can include keywords, author names, and even the entire table of contents for journals with articles of interest outside my area of specialization. The search terms can be modified quickly to reflect changes in research emphasis or direction. Without the CC, I'd be another pothole in the infobahn."

For more information about the CC email service, please send an email message to hsl at u.washington.edu.

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OMIM and Material Safety Data Sheets: Electronic Resources for the Classroom

Each quarter students come into the library to do research for classroom assignments and papers. As more and more resources become available electronically, students can get much of the information they need without ever entering the library.

A good example is OMIM Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (http://www3.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Omim/), a catalog of genetic disorders that is accessible via both HealthTracks and HealthLinks (see related article.) The online version is updated on an ongoing basis and is potentially more current than the print edition available in the Reference Collection, Mendelian Inheritance in Man (Reference ZQZ 50 M159m 1992). Entries from the online database can be emailed to yourself and printed or downloaded to a disk.

Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) (http://msds.pdc.cornell.edu/msdssrch.asp) are other tools regularly used in class assignments. Like OMIM, they are available via HealthTracks or HealthLinks. The MSDS are arranged alphabetically in individual entries. Students can email or download the Data Sheet for the chemical of interest to their personal accounts. MSDS are also available on Micromedex, a CD-ROM system in HSLIC's self-service searching area. Send email to hsl at u.washington.edu for more information.

Electronic access to OMIM and MSDS is available to any user with a UW email account, or from any of the Library's self-service workstations. Instructors are encouraged to contact the library if they have an assignment that involves the use of the Library's resources. We will be happy to work with you to make the library experience a positive one for your students.

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Internet Resources for Molecular Biology

The UW Health Sciences Center's HealthTracks gopher and its World Wide Web site, HealthLinks, both point to a wealth of information for researchers in the basic sciences.

Researchers in molecular biotechnology can reach key genetics databanks online. From the main UWIN menu, follow the path HealthTracks -> Biomedical sciences -> Molecular biology & genetics. This path points to searchable databases such as OMIM or Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, the National Center for Biotechnology Information and other government agencies, and numerous bibliographic resources, including library catalogs, tables of contents and electronic journals. Molecular Biology & Genetics

|-----------------------------------------------------|
| 1.  Basic science research resources at             |
|       Johns Hopkins/                                |
| 2.  Biogophers (UCSF)/                              |
| 3.  Biology and gene related information/           |
|       GENBANK (NIH)/                                |
| 4.  Databanks - Sequences, structures,              |
|       gene mapping, etc./                           |
| 5.  Global biological information servers -         |
|       alphabetical list/                            |
| 6.  Global biological information servers -         |
|       subject list/                                 |
| 7.  Literature databases and library catalogs/      |
| 8.  Molecular biology software archives (via GDB)/  |
| 9.  National Center for Biotechnology Information/  |
| 10. Resource guides and locators/                   |
| 12. Search Materials & methods (Indiana) [?]       |
| 13. Search OMIM and the Genome Data Base (GDB)/     |
| 14. Search the EC Enzyme Database [?]               |
| 15. Strains and stocks, culture collections,        |
|       enzymes, and reagents/                        |
|-----------------------------------------------------|

To connect to HealthLinks, point your World Wide Web browser, Mosaic, Netscape or Lynx, to http://healthlinks.washington.edu. Once connected to the HealthLinks Home Page, select the Subject Index link to access resources arranged by topic, such as Molecular Biotechnology. As in HealthTracks, you will find a variety of resources available under this category.

For more information about using HealthTracks, HealthLinks, and other electronic resources, contact your library liaison or send email to hsl at u.washington.edu.

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Biotechnology Resources in Reference

Researchers in the Basic Sciences will find that HSLIC's reference collection is rich with specialized dictionaries of microbiology, immunology and virology, enzyme handbooks, and laboratory manuals. Take particular note of the following gems:

In coping with the dilemma of rising costs for books and journals and reductions in the collection budget, we need user feedback as to the types and formats of materials which are most useful to you. An increasing range of standard library resources is now available in electronic format, and libraries must often choose between print and computer-accessible versions. For example, we are considering adding Current Protocols in Human Genetics to the collection of loose-leaf laboratory procedure s manuals. Is this a title you would like to see added to the printed reference collection? If technologically and financially feasible, would you be willing to access the Current Protocols manuals via computer as an alternative to the printed versions?

We welcome your opinions about these issues and urge your recommendations of printed and electronic resources to be added to the collection. Please send your comments and purchase recommendations to hsl at u.washington.edu or discuss your concern s with your library liaison.

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Biotechnology Citation Index

Biotechnology Citation Index (BCI), a CD-ROM database created by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), is available on a dedicated terminal in the reference area at HSLIC. This database, which is updated bi-monthly, covers 150 major biotechnology journals from 1991 to date, along with relevant articles from journals in other ISI publications.

BCI is a useful tool for augmenting literature searches from MEDLINE® in this burgeoning research area. Among other functions, it can be used to verify incomplete citations, track down product reviews, or identify researchers in a particular area.

BCI offers author, subject and abstract searching, in addition to an index to cited references. The latter makes it possible to search by cited author, patent, or paper, thus discovering the impact of a particular paper on the discipline. A unique feature of this index is the system's ability to indicate any records related to your search. It lists papers that have at least one reference in common with the one you selected, along with shared references. Related records and shared reference s can in turn be traced to find additional relevant references.

Search results can be downloaded for transfer to your reference manager software. You can either download the references to a floppy disk yourself or arrange to have references downloaded and sent to you via email under HSLIC's Current Awareness Search Service.

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Library Liaisons Facilitate Access to Library Services

Do you need help locating Internet resources in your field? Would you like a weekly list of new articles from Current Contents delivered to you via email each week? Need assistance using a bibliographic citation manager such as ProCite , EndNote or Reference Manager? Call your library liaison, who will directly provide or facilitate access to services such as librarian-mediated database searches; consultation on self-service searching or research strategies; Pine and email use; and development of course-integrated information management seminars.

Lisa Oberg is the newly designated liaison to the Basic Sciences disciplines, including Biochemistry, Bioengineering, Immunology, Medical Genetics, Microbiology, Molecular Biotechnology, Pathology, Pathobiology and Physiology & Biophysics. Her objective in the coming year is to incorporate information management education and library instruction into all orientations for new graduate students in Basic Sciences departments or programs. Basic Sciences faculty are urged to contact Lisa at 543-7492 or by email to lisanne@u.washington.edu to schedule basic library orientations for their graduate students or to discuss options for the incorporation of in-depth information management education into classroom instruction.

See HSLIC Factsheet #6, Library-Departmental Liaison Program, for a complete list of library liaisons by department. Services are more fully described in Factsheet #8, Education and Consultation Services. Factsheets can also be picked up in the library or accessed on UWIN by following the path Health Sciences Track -> HealthTracks -> Library Resources -> UW Health Sciences Libraries.

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Goodbye to Ellie Marsh!

Ellie Marsh, Social Work Librarian since 1992, is leaving UW to accept the position of Associate Librarian for Public Services at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. Her last day at UW will be February 28. We wish her well in her new endeavors.

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Recent Gifts

Acknowledgment and appreciation are extended to the following individuals and organizations who have recently made contributions to the HSLIC collections:

and the following UW departments:

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