Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library Blog

The Biomedical Library and the Technology and Learning Center housed in the Biomedical Library will alter their hours between June 2 and June 22, 2008.

The Biomedical Library will remain open until midnight between June 2 - 12. On June 13, the Library will close at 6 p.m. and will have reduced hours of operation through June 22:
June 14: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
June 15: 1 - 5 p.m.
June 16-19th: 7:30 a.m. - 7 p.m.
June 20: 7:30 a.m. - 6 p.m.
June 21: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
June 22: 1 -5 p.m.

Summer session hours will begin on June 23.

Between June 9 - 22, reference desk hours will be reduced. During the work week, the desk will be open from 10 a.m. - noon, and 1 -5 p.m. The reference desk will be closed on the weekends.

For complete information, view a schedule of Biomedical Library hours.

The Technology and Learning Center (TLC) will be closed for maintenance between June 16 - 20. The TLC will reopen on June 21 with updated computers and software. Read the TLC web page to find out more about the closure.

Searching for an evidence-based decision support tool to download onto your PDA? Try DynaMed! The same great DynaMed content– clinically organized summaries of over 3,000 topics– that UCLA affiliates access online is now available for more PDA models, including BlackBerry, iPhone, Windows Smartphone, Pocket PC, and Palms. Read more about the technical specifications and request a serial number to download and set up DynaMed on your PDA today.

Do you find yourself going into databases to perform your search each week in order to find new items? There is an easier way. Make the resource work for you — not the other way around — by using these features of your favorite resources (databases, patient care tools, etc.):

• Save your search — this option usually provides a reminder that can be set for various intervals (weekly, monthly, etc.) and you can have the results emailed to you; 
• RSS option — look for the  within your favorite database, which means you can subscribe to your search and check it within your preferred RSS Feed Reader (FeedBurner, Google, Yahoo!, MSN, etc.)

Need assistance with setting up these tools? Connect with us at the Reference Desk, chat with us online using the “Questions” link on the top-right of the Biomedical Library homepage, call us at 310.825.4904, or email us at biomed-ref@library.ucla.edu. We would be happy to walk you through it! What tips do you have for keeping up? Please share with us and others using the Comments feature below.

Do you have a UCLA Logon I.D.? Did you know that you can access library online resources from off-campus using your UCLA Logon I.D.? Find out what you can do with the UCLA Logon I.D. and how to get one at an upcoming UCLA BruinTech seminar:

“The UCLA Logon I.D.:  Your Electronic Passport to the Campus and Beyond”
Wednesday, May 14, 2:30 – 4:30 p.m.
Jules Stein Eye Institute RPB Auditorium, 100 Stein Plaza

Perhaps you used to think of the UCLA Logon I.D. as the BOL (Bruin OnLine) I.D. — something for students — but the UCLA Logon I.D. is much more!  It has more capabilities, it’s available to more people, and it’s the future of online access at UCLA.  Do you have one?  Do you protect it?  Why is it so important?  What applications will it enable you to request access to?  How can you get one?

2:30 – 3:30 p.m.:  Presentation on the UCLA Logon I.D. and the UCLA Identity and Access Management (IAM) project and how they affect you, plus a demonstration of the request process.

3:30 – 3:30 p.m.:  Q & A.

4:00 – 4:30 p.m.:  Refreshments and meet the panel.

Admission is free!  There will be a gift for all attendees plus a raffle for prizes, so bring your business card. Space is limited so click here to RSVP today.

There is currently an intermittent problem with access with one of our electronic journal providers. The journals affected are on the Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW) via Journals@Ovid platform, which includes about 200 e-journals in the health and life sciences. The problem seems to be limited to off-campus users.

The problem has been reported to the appropriate staff and they are working to resolve the issue quickly. If you experience access problems with LWW via Journals@Ovid or other resources, please contact the Biomedical Library at biomed-ref@library.ucla.edu or 310-825-4904.

Have you ever wanted to save your PubMed search and come back to it later? Or how about having the terms you used to search highlighted in the abstract so you can read more quickly? These features and many more are available in MyNCBI, a feature of PubMed at UCLA.

PubMed offers general MyNCBI documentation, but continue reading this post for tips to get your account set up for using UCLA resources. If you have not registered for a MyNCBI account, you will need to do so first before attempting to follow any of the customization recommendations below.

Customization Tips

1. Add the UCeLinks to your MyNCBI Account
   Because your individual MyNCBI preferences overwrite any local institution preferences, you will lose the UC-eLinks icon if you don’t customize your MyNCBI account. After logging in, click on the Outside Tool link from the left hand blue bar. Select the University of California option and you’ll see a UC-eLink icon appear on the abstracts of your citations. Click the thumbnail image on the right for a detailed screen shot of this tip.
2. Add Filters for Commonly Used Limits
   Adding filters allows you to attach your favorite PubMed limits to your search every time you use your MyNCBI. Interested in articles only in English? Or how about only seeing clinical trials or reviews? After logging in, click on the Filters link from the left hand blue bar and select your preferred limits. Click the thumbnail image on the right for a detailed screen shot of this tip.The large image below shows a sample PubMed search using MyNCBI filters.
   Note: do not use the limits for full text on this MyNCBI screen or you will be severely limiting your results and not seeing many of the journals that UCLA has access to through UC-eLinks.
3. Save your Searches & Collections
   After setting up your MyNCBI account, you can save searches and collections through the drop down menus on the main PubMed search screen (see image below for an example). After saving your searches or collections, they persist in MyNCBI’s Search and Collections screen under the name you assigned to them. Click the thumbnail image on the right for a detailed screen shot of this tip.
   
4. Update your User Preferences
   User Preferences is the space in MyNCBI that saves your email address and lets you set highlighting of your search terms. Once your email address is attached to your MyNCBI account, you can set up your searches to run automatically in the Searches and Collections section (see step 3). The searches will send you abstracts only when new items appear in PubMed.
   

Have further questions about using MyNCBI with PubMed at UCLA? Contact the Biomedical Library!

The PsycArticles database on the CSA platform (which is part of the UCLA Library’s PsycInfo subscription) is undergoing a planned system reload. The reload will fix some small problems with the code of the database, but most importantly, it will delay the loading of new content into this database. Currently, PsycArticles includes articles published on March 3, 2008, and earlier. The reload is estimated to be completed by late April, 2008. Once the reload is completed, PsycArticles will return to its usual schedule of adding newly published content once a week.

You can still search PsycArticles during the system maintenance, but be aware that the very newest materials will not be retrieved in your search.

Effective Wednesday, February 27, the Library’s public workstations have been updated. Patrons will be able to browse the contents of and save to their USB drives or floppy diskettes. UCLA students, staff and faculty will be able to use CLICC’s Software Shortcut to access many software applications. Available software includes the Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access), Graphical Applications (Photoshop, Rhino), Statistical Applications (SPSS, Stata), and a Social Sciences Application (MapInfo Pro). More applications may be added in the future.

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Are you a UCLA graduate student who would like to help the UCLA Library improve UC-eLinks? 

Would you like the opportunity to receive a $25 gift certificate to the campus bookstore? 

If so, please share your opinions about UC-eLinks with us at the Young Research Library (YRL) Executive Conference Room on Thursday, November 29 between 9am-5pm, or Friday, November 30 between 9am-12pm.  It will take less than an hour and qualified students will receive a $25 gift certificate for participating!

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.