Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library Blog

Friday, December 21, 2007, is the last day that users can transfer the value from old Copicards to BruinCards at the Biomedical Library. Value can be transferred Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Biomedical Library’s Administrative Office, CHS 12-007H.

A color and black & white planetary scanner is available at the Biomedical Library. The scanner is easy to use and offers many options. Images can be saved in a variety of file formats (JPG, PNG, PDF, or TIFF).  The scanner also provides options to crop and enlarge, lighten and darken, sharpen and smooth.

The scanner can accommodate oversized materials (up to 17″ x 24″) that are too large for photocopiers.  Preservation quality scanning is achieved because books are scanned face up which prevents wear and tear on bindings.

16¢ for each saved image
Users can scan, manipulate, and delete images and only pay for the images saved. Images are either saved to a flash drive or sent to an email address. Each image saved costs $0.16.

The scanner is located on the library’s first floor, near the entrance to the Current Journal Reading Room.  If you need assistance ask Circulation or Reference Desk staff or contact Bob Freel, Head of Access Delivery Services, bobfreel@library.ucla.edu, 310.206.3004.

It is late at night. The Library is not open. You need to use the library’s databases, or you would like to print the full text of an article that you have found. What can you do? If you are a current UCLA faculty, staff, or student, you can use your home computer to access the same electronic resources that you use on campus. (more…)

Our colleagues at CLICC (College Library Instructional Computing Commons) have launched Software Shortcut, a new service which allows access to selected CLICC software for UCLA affiliates on any computer connected to the Web. Available applications include:

• Stata
• Adobe Photoshop
• Microsoft Office 2003
• Microsoft Word 2007
• Rhino 4.0
• MapInfo

More applications will be added in the future. To use Software Shortcut, you must have a UCLA Logon ID and install the VPN client on your computer.

Regarding communication, library liaisons:

• understand the school, division, and/or institute’s information needs and represent those needs within the library; and
• promote the library’s resources and services to the school, division, and/or institute.

Regarding research, library liaisons are:

• well-informed on the subject matter and nature of the teaching and research conducted by the school, division, and/or institute; and
• proficient in print and electronic information resources within the given subject area.

Regarding instruction, library liaisons:

• work with faculty to develop course-integrated library instruction for classes; and
• hold one-on-one and group research consultations with current UCLA students, faculty, and staff.

Regarding library collections, library liaisons:

• evaluate collection strengths and weaknesses in designated areas; and
• purchase items for the collection, as well as evaluate purchase recommendations from students, faculty and staff.

Contact your library liaison to ask questions about library resources and services, schedule instructional sessions for your classes, or suggest materials to purchase. We want to hear from you!

Biomedical Library Liaisons
*=primary contact in this subject area

Effective August 27, 2007, the UCLA Library replaced the old copy card system used to pay for photocopies and prints with a new system that allows UCLA students, faculty, and staff to use their UCLA BruinCards.

UCLA faculty, staff, and students will now use their BruinCards to make copies, prints, or scans on the self-service equipment in campus libraries.
Campus visitors will be able to purchase a Visitor BruinCard to make copies, prints, or scans on the self-service equipment in campus libraries.   

The BruinCard can be used for purchases at other campus facilities and at more than twenty locations in Westwood.

Transferring the Balance of the Old Copy Card
Any user who has a BruinCard but still has value on an old copy card can transfer the value through the fall quarter 2007 at the Biomedical Library Administrative Office, Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

New Rates
Library Reprographics is not supported by any state funds and is required by the university to charge rates that recoup all of its costs.
This is the first rate increase for photocopies, prints from computer workstations, and microform prints in ten years.  In that time, costs for staff, equipment, and supplies have risen substantially.
The cost for each service was calculated based on the staff time, equipment, and supplies allocated to that service.  Library Reprographics makes no profit from these fees.  The UCLA Office of Academic Planning and Budget, which must approve all fee-based services at UCLA, has approved the new rate structure.

Purchase a visitor BruinCard for a one-time fee of 58 cents.

Questions or comments about the new BruinCard system should be directed to Bob Freel, Head of Access Delivery Services, at bobfreel@library.ucla.edu or 310.206.3004.

After three and a half months of hard work, the Biomedical Library migrated our web site content on August 2, 2007 to the UCLA Library Web site style. UCLA Library Web site style has been user tested and is designed to make our resources and services easier to locate.  Missing your favorite resources? They are still available! Here are a few answers to frequently asked questions about the new web site design:

Q: What happened to the Quick Links Menu?
A: It became the Key Resources tab.

Q: Where did the Help tab go and all of those class pages?
A:  See the Research Help tab for our subject guides.

Q: Where did the other tabs go?
A: Most of the content in the other tabs (General Information, FAQ, Requests, etc.) is contained in the Services Tab or in the About Biomed section.

Q: How do I get to the UCLA Catalog?
A: Use the Search and Find drop down menu to click on the catalog.

Need more help? Check out our quick guide to new Biomedical Library web site or contact the Biomedical Library reference desk at 310.825.4904 or by email at biomed-ref@library.ucla.edu .

Want to know if UCLA has the full-text journal article that you’ve found using Google Scholar and/or Scirus?  First, you must access the Internet either from on-campus or via the Bruin OnLine Virtual Private Network or Bruin OnLine Proxy Server. Then you need to set your search engine preferences so the  button will appear with your search results. Google Scholar and Scirus determine to which journals UCLA subscribes and link to the full-text articles of those journals when full-text is available.

UC-eLinks provides:

1. direct access to full-text articles, when available
2. ability to search the Library Catalog or Melvyl Catalog for print holdings; and
3. ability to submit an interlibrary loan or document delivery request.

   Google Scholar provides scholarly literature from many disciplines and sources. Follow these steps to activate UC-eLinks in Google Scholar:

1. On the Google Scholar home page, click Scholar Preferences:

2. Type “University of California Los Angeles” into the Library Links box, and select Find Library:

3. Click “Save Preferences” at the bottom of the page.

 Scirus is a comprehensive science-specific search engine that searches over 450 million science-related web pages.

Follow these steps to activate UC-eLinks in Scirus:

1. On the Scirus home page, click Search Preferences:

2. Enable the Library Partner Links:

3. Select “University of California Los Angeles” from the drop down menu:

4. Click “Save Preferences” at the bottom of the page.