Back to Basics : What's the Difference between Affinity's Health Science Libraries and The Public Library?

Question : What’s the difference between the Public Library and Affinity’s Health Science Libraries?

Answer : A Health Science Library is a “special library” that focuses its resources in the areas of health and medicine. Our mission is to help health professionals, patients, consumers and community members find the quality information they need to make informed health care decisions.

Therefore, most of what we have focuses on health, medicine, nursing, allied health, patient education and consumer health.

What we do NOT have :

You won’t find blockbuster movies, romance novels, westerns, car magazines, dog-training, gardening or quilting books in The Affinity Libraries. While these subjects have a great mass appeal, it is beyond the scope of our special health science library focus.

Public Libraries typically have a much broader mission that covers entertainment, cultural, educational and informational needs. Public Libraries often have SOME health and medical resources, but not to the extent and depth that a health science library has. This is our business.

Here are examples of some health-related questions we can help answer :

For health care consumers
Do you have cookbooks with recipes for diabetics?
What are the latest treatments for asthma?
My father’s doctor prescribed a new heart medication for him. What are the possible side effects and drug interactions?

For Health Professionals (Doctors, Nurses, and others …)
Where do I find current drug information on ABC drug?
Best practices for patient care
Patient Education Materials
Policy Updates
Patient Safety Initiatives
Continuing Education

In short, if you want to research a health topic, Affinity Library Services is the place!

Used Book Sale at Mercy Medical Center Library

We just put out a new batch of used books at the MMC Library. These are old editions (In most cases new editions are available for checkout, but are not for sale).

Prices are $1 per volume.
Limit 5 books per person.
First come, first served.

Subjects this time include the following :
Surgery (heart and chest)
Nursing Nursing Nursing
Quality
Obstetrics / Gynecology
Neurology
and many more...

Stop in to see the selection!

As always NEW books can be checked out for 2-4 weeks at a time.

In addition, we still have a decent selection of the old AudioDigests free to a good home. Series that remain are :
Family Practice
Ophthalmology
Internal Medicine
Gastroenterology
Anesthesiology
Obstetrics / Gynecology

OvidSP Transforms Searching

OvidSP, Ovid’s up-n-coming search interface, boasts new features and functionality that will make working in Journals@Ovid faster and easier than ever before. Sophisticated search technology and time-saving workflow tools help you quickly pinpoint relevant issues or article content, and refine and manipulate search results for better, more productive research. Benefits include:

Natural Language Processing (NLP)
NLP fuels the new Basic Search mode, where all types of users—not just beginners—can simply use everyday natural language to find precise, relevant results.

eTOCS via RSS or Email
Electronic tables of contents keep you up-to-date on new journal issues as soon as they’re available in Journals@Ovid. Subscribe to an RSS feed or have them delivered via AutoAlert email.

Issue Covers and Numbers Now Visible
Covers (where available) and numbers of each issue now appear in the journal issues list to help users instantly identify the source of their information.

Inline Article Abstracts
Expand or collapse abstracts inline—you don’t have to go to another page!

Click on the Try OvidSP! link in Ovid Medline or CINAHL to see for yourself just how much easier and faster journal searching is in OvidSP. Remember – we’ll have dual access to both platforms until the old Ovid interface retires on February 4, 2008.

Contact Affinity Librarians (Margo Lambert at 8-2325 or Michele Matucheski at 3-0340) if you have questions on OvidSP.

Old AudioDigests Free to a Good Home

Once again, the MMC and STE Libraries have 1 year's worth of old AudioDigest tapes available for FREE.

Although these tapes are too old to apply for CE credits, they do still offer a lot of good information for Physicians, PAs, Nurses, and other health professionals.

Subject areas include the following :

Urology, Psychiatry, Pediatrics, Otolaryngology, Orthopedics, Ophthalmology, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Gastroenterology, Family Practice, Emergency Medicine, Anesthesiology.

Look for them on the book sale tables at each library this month.

Why are we giving them away?

• --limited shelving space for audiovisuals
• --CE credits are available only for 3 years since date of publication
• --Our libraries emphasize the most up-to-date info, so we want to make room for more recent issues.
• -- Newer editions are available on AudioCD and MP3 files that can be downloaded to your computer or MP3 player.

Contact Michele Matucheski for more details on accessing recent AudioDigest MP3 files.

CDC's Holiday Health Song

Enjoy a little holiday cheer from The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) :

The 12 Ways to Health Holiday Song
http://www.cdc.gov/family/holiday/12ways.htm

Introducing OvidSP : New Interface for Medline & CINAHL

Ovid has announced a new interface for MEDLINE and CINAHL. Click on the Try OvidSP! link on any page in the current Ovid databases for immediate access to the new platform.

Now is the time to check out OvidSP! You’ll notice the easy-to-use interface, now with multiple search tabs geared to different types of searching.

Basic Search (see screenshot below), ideal for novice or occasional users, employs natural language searching and generates relevance ranked results.

Ovid Syntax allows you to search just like you do now in Ovid Gateway’s Advanced Search. New search refinement, results management, and alerting tools really do speed and streamline searching.

We will have dual access to both OvidSP and Ovid Gateway until February 4, 2008. As always, if you have any questions, please contact your Affinity Librarians :

Michele Matucheski at 3-0340 (MMC) or Margo Lambert at 8-2325 (STE).

World AIDS Day : December 1

Established in 1988 by the World Health Organization, World AIDS Day is observed every year on December 1st.

Resources for AIDS awareness are available from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) website, http://www.hhs.gov/aidsawarenessdays/days/world/index.html .

Included are links to fact sheets, customizable posters, downloadable public service announcements (PSAs) and videos. AIDS.gov provides access to U.S. government HIV/AIDS information on prevention, testing, treatment, research, policies and resources.

--From the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, 2007.

Find Drug Information for Health Professionals

Find Drug Information for Health Professionals
Visit the above library web page on the Affinity Intranet for the following listing of recommended drug resources.

DailyMed (Drug Information) : Provides high quality information about marketed drugs. Includes FDA approved labels (package inserts). Provides health care providers and the public with a standard, comprehensive, up-to-date, look-up and download resource of medication content and labeling as found in medication package inserts (similar to the PDR).

FDA's Drug Information Pathfinder : Pathfinder from the Food & Drug Administration

MDConsult : Includes full-text Medical Books, Journals, Patient Handouts, Practice Guidelines and more. Includes excellent drug information from Gold Standard with images for identification and verification.

Drug Information (MedlinePlus) : Information on thousands of prescription and over-the-counter medications.

Micromedex Drug Information : Drug and Toxicology Information, Drug Interactions, Dosing Tools, AltMed Leaflets, PDA Resources. Includes access to the PDR.

How to Find the PDR Online : Step-by-step screenshots to navigate your way to the PDR online.

LactMed : Drugs and Lactation : Includes information such as maternal levels in breast milk, infant levels in blood, potential effects in breastfeeding infants and on lactation itself, the American Academy of Pediatrics category indicating the level of compatibility of the drug with breastfeeding, and alternate drugs to consider.

Online Books on Drugs and Medications : A selection of 20+ items from the Affinity Electronic Bookshelf.

New and Improved Electronic Bookshelf

Did you know that Affinity Library Services subscribes to over 350 online textbooks in medicine, nursing and allied health? We track all of them in a QuickBase application called The Electronic Bookshelf.

You can get a sneak peak here. This new version will replace the old version on December 17th, 2007.

How to get there :
Library Home Page > Find Books > Electronic Bookshelf (old version) > New and Improved eBooks on QuickBase

The Electronic Bookshelf is a DIRECTORY, or index, of the eBooks Affinity-ites can access in various free and subscription sources. It does not (and will not) search the full-text of these eBooks.

Since most of our vendors are IP-authenticated, you'll need to be at an Affinty computer in order to access the eBooks. Use outside Affinity will result in broken links.

Users will be able to search or browse by subject, title or keyword.
The eBooks database will present a direct link into any of the eBooks we track.

Sources covered include eBooks from the following :
Books@Ovid
Stat!REF
MDConsult
NCBI Bookshelf

If you have questions, comments, or want to report broken links, contact Michele Matucheski via Outlook email or via phone at 3-0340.

New and Improved Electronic Bookshelf

Winners Announced from NMLM 2007

Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate National Medical Librarian’s Month 2007.

We appreciate your participation and enthusiasm!

Winners of our October Contests are as follows :

How Many Life Savers in the Jar? (Winners received the candies.)
Susan Harris, Radiology, MMC
Marilyn Binder, Radiology, STE
Donna Schultz, Cardiology/AMG Heart and Lung

Word Search Prize Drawing for a Gift Shop Gift Certificate :
Patricia Jolin, MMC Environmental Services
Nanette Williams - Nursing
Kendra Rios - STE Foundation

Find Past Entries

Did you know … The Library articles that appear in The Weekly are archived on The What’s New at Affinity Libraries Blog?

Visit us here!

Or Affinity Intranet > Library > What’s New?

Wish you could find a particularly helpful article from 6 months ago?

Use the “Search this Blog” feature (Above).

Or browse back in time on the archive of past posts (Left).

Archives Week : National Medical Librarians' Month

Photos from The Tank Family Farm, Oshkosh, WI.

Sneak a peak at some of our archival scrapbooks and photo albums online.

Affinity Archives Web Albums on Picassa

These days, many of the pictures we’re acquiring for the Affinity Archives come in digital format. While this poses some unique preservation challenges (Will they be around 100 years from now? Think about the fate of 8-track tapes from the 1970s …), it does allow us to make these pictures much more accessible to people.

If you have pictures (digital or paper) that you would like to donate to the MMC or STE Library Archives, contact us :

Michele Matucheski at MMC mmatuche@affinityhealth.org
Margo Lambert at STE mlambert@affinityhealth.org

What are we looking for?
People, places, and events from around Affinity, and Affinity in the Communities.
Examples :
Nurses Week
Heritage Days
Retirements
Affinity Packer Picnics

Anything that captures the spirit, culture, and times of Affinity.
If you’ve got pictures, we’d love to have copies for the Archives!

How is this useful?
At MMC, the Hallmarks of History exhibit includes photos from The Tank Family Farm, the farm that was on the building site of the present Mercy Medical Center. Not long ago, some neighbors of the Tanks from years ago asked about the Tank Family Farm Pictures. They had been removed from the exhibit. By making the pictures available as a web photo album, we were easily able to share the photos. The family was very pleased!

What's New at Affinity Libraries? Audio Book Drive

By Margo Lambert, MLIS

If you regularly listen to recorded books and are wondering what to do with that rapidly growing collection of tapes and CDs to which you’ll never listen again, please consider donating them to the Affinity Libraries and help to enhance our patients’ experiences.

The Affinity Libraries wish to develop a collection of general interest recorded books to be made available to patients. Since the purchase of non-medical materials falls outside the scope of acceptable uses for library funds, we are inviting AHS staff members to donate gently used books on cassette or CD. We would welcome fiction, history, humor, biography, or any other titles that might entertain and help pass the time for those facing longer periods of hospitalization or for those who must undergo lengthy treatments. It is our hope that, by providing this type of material to our patients, we will be able to increase patient satisfaction with our facilities.

Of course, staff members would also be welcome to check out these materials.

We will be accepting donated audio books at the following locations:

Mercy Medical Center, Oshkosh
The Clark Family Library
920-223-0342

St. Elizabeth Hospital
Health Science Library (near the ER)
920-738-2324

Thank you very much for your participation in this project.

Looking for Answers? : Your Librarian has the Key to Quality Information!

What does a Health Science Librarian do all day?

It’s a lot more than just circulating and shelving books.

In between helping people to use the computers, unclogging paper jams in the MFD, giving tours of the library and website, writing articles for The Weekly …

First and foremost, Librarians help people find the information they need to make well-informed health care decisions.

Who do we help?
Physicians, Nurses, Physical Therapists, Transcriptionists, Administrators, other health professionals, Patients and their families, community members, and students.

What are they looking for? Articles and information on :
Current updates in their specialty areas
Continuing Education and Training
Best Practices for Patient Care
Consumer Health and Patient Education Information
Policy Updates
Patient Safety Initiatives
Drug Info
Research for student papers (Many employees have gone back to school.)

How do we do help?
* By organizing and making accessible libraries of information in both physical (real-world books and journals) and online environments (internet).
* By training people to use the library tools to find what they need
* By doing the research in the form of database and internet searches
* By delivering the articles and information to our patrons
* By helping people use technology efficiently

Does our work make a difference?
YES! Information can help a patient or family member deal with a new diagnosis or treatment by alleviating anxiety, and by empowering them to take part in their own health care. It can also help them to cope, and develop a game plan.

One woman says, “At the age of 35, my brother was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome. The helpful staff at The Mercy Library provided several books and handouts on the topic. For years my family had been wondering why this otherwise smart person (my brother) just wasn’t able to function in the world (He couldn’t hold a job, made poor decisions, didn’t have many friends, made inappropriate comments …) With this information, the pieces of the puzzle are coming together. Now, we understand that his brain is literally wired differently. We have a whole new understanding of what to expect, what situations to beware of, how we can support him, what he needs to work on, and what he might still be able to accomplish with his life. We know what we’re dealing with now, and we’re ALL learning to cope with this form of high-functioning autism. My brother is currently in counseling to learn the social skills he couldn’t pick up on his own. Thus starts the road to recovery.”

Your Medical Librarian : The Key to Quality Information

October is National Medical Librarian's Month

Celebrate with Affinity Library Services.

We'll be having special features all month. Stay tuned!

October is National Medical Librarians' Month : Enter Our Drawing

How many Life Savers in the jar?

Enter your guess online by visiting the library website, or use this web form.

Or stop by the libraries at :

· Mercy Medical Center Library
· St. Elizabeth Hospital Professional Library
· St. Elizabeth Hospital Resource Café
· Affinity Health & Wellness Center at the20th Ave Oshkosh YMCA.


Contest ends October 31.
One entry per person, please.

The winning entry wins all the candy!

As always, it is our pleasure to serve you.

Word Search Chellenge for NMLM!

Complete this Word Search (Word doc) for a chance to win a gift certificate to the MMC or STE Gift Shops.

By Popular request, Margo made this year's puzzle a little more difficult than last year.

Have Fun!

Download and Listen to AudioDigest MP3s

Download and listen to AudioDigest MP3s on your computer or player.
Use this tutorial [Affinity access only] with screen shots to learn how.
Includes our institutional username and password.
We’ve already subscribed, so you don’t have to!

Affinity Libraries subscribe to the AudioDigest continuing medical education series in the following areas :

Anesthesiology
Emergency Medicine
Gastroenterology
General Surgery
Internal Medicine
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Ophthalmology
Orthopaedics
Otolaryngology
Pediatrics
Psychiatry
Urology

New issues are made available once or twice a month.

If you would prefer, we still have AudioDigest programs available as AudioCDs.

Contact Your Librarian, Michele Matucheski, at mmatuche@affinityhealth.org or 920-223-0340 with any questions.

Affinity Full-Text on Google Scholar

What is GoogleScholar?
Instead of searching the wide-open internet, Google Scholar allows you to search the scholarly literature, online journals from reputable publishers. It's the scholarly (smarter) version of Google.

In theory, Google Scholar provides better quality results than just searching the wide-open internet.

Where is Google Scholar?
In Google, Click on “More.”
From the list of options, select Scholar.

Or go directly to : http://scholar.google.com/

Affinity Full-Text through Google Scholar
Did you know that if you use Google Scholar at any Affinity computer, you’ll be able to access the library’s stock of full-text articles. Just look for the “Affinity Full-Text” link with each entry.

Clicking on the Article Title (In this case “Creative Space”) will take you to the article on the publisher’s site. In this case, Affinity does have access to the journal Headache, so getting to the full-text is easy!

To see other options, click on the Affinity Full-Text link. This will take you to our A-Z Journals List. The Article Linker will provide all the links for where we have full-text access to that article. There may be more than one source.

Keep in mind, we don’t have online access to everything on the internet, but it’s a lot more than you’d see on your own.

Sometimes our only access is in a print journal. In most cases, if you make the request, we can email you a PDF copy of the article from a print journal. If we don't have it, we can also usually get copies of articles from other libraries via Inter-Library Loan.

Do Mandrakes Really Scream?

The exhibition, Do Mandrakes Really Scream?: Magic and Medicine in Harry Potter showcases seven treasures from the National Library of Medicine's History of Medicine Division, featured in the Harry Potter series. This special exhibition is open until November 30, 2007, and is located in the History of Medicine Division Reading Room, on the first floor of building 38 of the National Library of Medicine on the campus of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

The exhibition's web site is now available to all at
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/mandrakes . ENJOY!

"Save Patients from Media Hype"

Pector EA. Save Patients from Media Hype : How to Help Them Make Sense of the “Research” they Bring to You. Medical Economics. August 17, 2007 ; 84(16)). Available at http://www.memag.com/memag/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=448061

This article discusses how patients read medical studies, and some of the typical interpretations such as “Risk is imminent” or “If it’s published, it must be true.” It also includes a section on interpreting medical statistics and where to access the best evidence (EBM results).

DailyMed - Current Drug Information

DailyMed – Current Drug Information
http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/about.cfm

* From The National Library of Medicine.
* Provides high quality information about marketed drugs.
* Includes FDA approved labels (package inserts).
* Provides health care professionals and the public with a standard, comprehensive, up-to-date, look-up and download resource of medication content and labeling as found in medication package inserts (similar to the PDR).
* Easier to get to than the PDR online through Micromedex
* Free on the Internet

For more info on DailyMed, view the PowerPoint Presentation from The NLM Theater.

How do I find it on the Affinity Intranet?

Method 1 : Use the Search box atop any intranet page . Type in : DailyMed.

Method 2 : Affinity Intranet > Library > Drug Info for Health Professionals > DailyMed

Method 3 : Affinity Intranet > Library > What’s New at Affinity Library Services? > Use the Search Box at top of page > Type in DailyMed

Method 4 : Use Google (or other favorite search engine) > Type in DailyMed.

Health : US News

Health: US News

A treasure trove of consumer health information, including US News’
Health Rankings and Hospital Search. Feature stories like "Avoid a Summer Visit to the Emergency Room," and "Keep Moving With Injury-Free Workouts,” and “How safe is Your Drinking Water?” and much more …

Hospital Directory
See Affinity listings with statistics :
Calumet Medical Center

Mercy Medical Center

St. Elizabeth Hospital

Best Health Plans – See where Network Health Plan ranks.

Announcing the Affinity CME Video Blog!

The Affinity Health System CME Offerings (aka The Affinity CME Video Blog) via your computer.


What is it?
* A regularly updated website where you can access video presentations of continuing medical education (CME) programs previously presented at Mercy Medical Center. We hope to add other programs from around Affnity soon.
* Access is 24/7 - on your own schedule
* Access from your work or home computer
* Better use of time (not spent in travel to the presentation site)

* So more of you can "attend" these lectures without physically being there

For an intro about the CME Video blof itself, visit the sites below.


CME Video Blog FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

CME Video Blog and Library Orientation (Documentation and Handouts), July 11, 2007

CME Video Blog and Library Orientation Video

CME Video Blog System Requirements

Liberating the Evidence : Take a TRIP

The TRIP Database is one of the better known meta-search engines for Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM). It lets clinicians search several EBM Tools at once, saving valuable time.

Find a link to TRIP on the Affinity Library Pathfinder, Find the Best Evidence.

TRIP is listed under Meta-Search Engines.

TRIP Database : Turning Research Into Practice
http://www.tripdatabase.com/

Top 10 Search Tips for TRIP
By John Brassey

Want more? Here’s a more comprehensive list of tips for TRIP, also by Mr. Brassey.

Credit goes to David Rothman for “discovering” these sources and sharing it on his medical librarianship blog.

MDConsult's New Look

Did you know … a smarter, easier, better MDConsult has been available for about 6 weeks.

Take a Tour! View the revised MDConsult training presentation.

Still all the great full-text info you're used to :

• Books
• Journals
• Drug Information
• Patient Education Handbouts
• Guidelines
• News, and more ...

MDConsult brings the leading medical resources together into one integrated online service to help physicians efficiently find answers to pressing clinical questions and make better treatment decisions.

Available through Affinity Library Services.

Wildlife at Mercy

Nature helps many people heal and re-energize. Patients, families, and staff members have been enjoying the abundance of wildlife living in and around the pond at Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh.

Visit the Wildlife at Mercy webpage.
This page tracks the wild animals that have been seen on the grounds at Mercy. Visit
* If you want a glimpse of the Great Blue Heron and the White Egret
* If you want to see what other wildlife has been spotted there
* If you don’t get to Mercy very often to see these animals live.

There’s also a link to a Submit a Critter Form. Iif you spot something not already listed, we'll add it to the list.
* Have any of the Pelicans at Menomonee Park ventured over to the Mercy Ponds?
* Seen the Eagles in Winneconne at Mercy?
Let us know!

The World @ Affinity Libraries

Affinity Librarians, Michele Matucheski (MMC) and Margo Lambert (STE), are available to give you and/or your department a personalized library orientation covering the physical and online library collections and services we offer.

We’re here to help you find the info you need to make well-informed clinical and business decisions.

Ask us! We can show you :
* How to use the Library web page and resources
* How to find full-text journal articles
* How to find drug info
* How to find Patient Education Handouts
* How to find Evidence-Based Practice materials

You’ll be amazed at what’s available to you!

Michele Matucheski, MLS, AHIP
Library at Mercy Medical Center, Oshkosh
3-0340 mmatuche@affinityhealth.org

Margo Lambert, MLS
St. Elizabeth Hospital Library & Resource Café
Appleton
8-2325

Did you know you can borrow the following equipment from the MMC Library?

* Boom Box
* CD Player (Personal)
* Digital Camera
* Digital Voice Recorder
* Display Board (up to 4 panels)
* DVD Recorder
* Tripod

Contact Michele at 3-0340 or mmatuche@affinityhealth.org to put in your reservation. Or submit your request online at Borrow Library Equipment.

We’re partnering with The Affinity Learning Center (formerly Training & Development) to make some of this equipment more readily available to employees needing it for work-related purposes at MMC.

At STE, you may reserve a Digital Camera, DVD Recorder and Tripod.
Complete this form to request : STEs Equipment Request Form

Laptop Computers and data projectors are available from the IS Dept.
Call the Help Desk for assistance in reserving items, ext. 8-9400.

What Does 200 Calories Look Like?

Food portions seem to be a lot bigger than they used to be.
That’s why I was delighted to discover the following website :

What Does 200 Calories Look Like?
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-does-200-calories-look-like.htm



An instructive visual comparison of 200 calories worth of broccoli,
cheeseburger, Doritos, flax bread, Fruit Loops, peanut butter, and many
other common foods. You might also enjoy exploring the rest of the site, whose purpose is to provide "clear answers for common questions."

Discovered by Marylaine Block on her NeatNew on the web weekly email newsletter.

What's Next for Library Services?

We will continue to offer excellent Library Service at all the Affinity Library locations.

Margo Lambert, MLS, will assume the role of professional Librarian at St. Elizabeth Hospital. She will split her time between the professional library and the Resource Café. She can be reached via Outlook, by phone, or in person.

Michele Matucheski remains at MMC Library.

Many tools and resources are available through the Library Intranet website as well.

Do not hesitate to contact Affinity Library Staff. We are here to serve YOU!

Farewell, Mary Bayorgeon!

Mary B. with the "Book Ends" Memory Quilt I made for her. It is now filled with autographs and messages of gratitude and encouragement.

Read more about the Making of the Quilt.

It is with sadness that we bid Mary Bayorgeon farewell on April 30, 2007.

In a recent re-organization of Affinity Health System, Mary's position was eliminated. She has been Library Director based at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton, WI, for nearly 35 years.

She has been a wonderful mentor, and Library Leader throughout her career. She has designed and built 2 Hospital Libraries (St. Elizabeth Hospital and Mercy Medical Center), and 3 consumer health libraries. In 2004, she was elected Wisconsin Health Science Librarian of the Year by her professional peers.

One physician recently said that Mary has saved the lives of his patients over the years by the information she has provided him over the years. Our work makes a difference!

When the job at Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh became available in 1999, I jumped at the chance to work with such a Leader for Wisconsin Libraries. I am honored and humbled to have had the opportunity to work with Mary for the last 9 years. I've learned so much under her guidance, I can't even begin to list the lessons learned here ...

Mary states this is not a retirement. She will continue to advocate for ALL types of libraries in her 3rd-term appointment to COLAND, a committee that advises the Governor of Wisconsin on Library Issues for the State.

Farewell, Mary. You have made a difference! Thank you.

Mary Bayorgeon in 2004 as WHSLA Librarian of the Year.

AHS Offers A.D.A.M. A-Z Health Library in Spanish

by Maria Myers, Affinity Web Development Manager Freelancer

Generous grants from the St. Elizabeth Hospital Community Foundation and the Mercy Health Foundation will help Affinity’s health providers better communicate with our Spanish-speaking customers. Affinity Health System now offers our online ADAM A-Z Health Library in Spanish. The St. Elizabeth Hospital Community Foundation grant supports Spanish language QuickSheets for internal provider use. The Mercy Health Foundation grant supports the public Internet version of our ADAM A-Z Health Library.

You may view or use the Spanish version of the A-Z Health Library in several ways.

To view the A-Z Health Library on the web, go to affinityhealth.org click Health Resources, and select the library. Click on any document and in the navigation on the right select “Read Spanish version” link. You may select the same link to change the language back to English.



Also, you may select the A-Z Health Library Spanish from the Health Resources Drop down or on the left navigation in the Health Resources section, as shown below.



To get to QuickSheets use Affinity’s intranet search “QuickSheets”. QuickSheets is a great tool that allows providers to put their name and contract information at the top of their patients’ reference. From QuickSheets start page, you can quickly and easily change articles already in your favorites list to Spanish simply by clicking the Sp icon as shown below:


If you’re selecting a new QuickSheets article you can view it in Spanish by selecting the print in Spanish icon. The article will not print immediately but will appear in Spanish, formatted for printing. You need to click print from the File Menu to make the document print.


Any questions or comments regarding the Spanish Health Library may be directed to Maria Myers at 720-1747 or mmyers@affinityhealth.org

Question : What’s our Username & Password for Ovid?

Answer : None needed. Just click the red “START OVID” button. If you ever see the following screen from Ovid while at an Affinity computer :

If you are using an Affinity computer, ignore the ID and Password boxes.
Simply click on “START OVID.” We are IP-Authenticated with Ovid, so as long as you are using an Affinity computer (or Affinity Remote Access), you won’t need an Ovid ID and password.

New Features for MedlinePlus

MedlinePlus is one of Affinity Library Services’ favorite sources for consumer health and patient education information.

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) recently introduced a number of new features to the MedlinePlus Health Topic pages.

Highlights include:
* Each page now displays a photograph or illustration.
* A brief summary of each disease or condition also displays at
the top of the page. Composed by experienced medical writers and reviewed by NLM staff, the summaries are based largely on NIH and other government information. They are written at an easy-to-read level and include links to related topics. As of March 28th, summaries appear on about half of English pages. All English and Spanish Health Topic pages will include a summary in the near future.
* Synonyms appear right under the health topic name.
* A new category, labeled Start Here, links users to overviews and
important information for first-time visitors.
* A centrally-located Table of Contents divides the MedlinePlus
categories into six boxes to show users everything on the page at a glance.

Take the guided tour at
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/faq/healthtopicredesign.html.

PDFs of Cochrane Reviews

Evidence-Based Medicine Reviews in PDFsPDFs for EBM Topic Reviews in The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews are now available. Affinity staff can click on clearly marked links on a Topic Review page and a Group Table of Contents page in the database, as well as in a Search Results page, to get to the PDFs.

To access The Cochrane Database through Affinity, follow this path :

Method 1 :
Affinity Intranet > Library > Find the Best Evidence > Cochrane

Method 2:
In the search box atop of any Affinity Intranet Webpage, type “Cochrane.”
The first two items in the results list will lead to The Cochrane Database.

Find the Best Evidence : Evidence-Based Practice Tools - (100%)Successfully navigate the many tools available for Evidence-Based Practice. Includes an easy-to-use framework for accessing Cochrane Systematic Reviews, practice guidelines, clinical trials, and more ...

Evidenced-Based Practice Resources (Ovid) - (100%)Access to our Evidence-Based Practice Reviews via Ovid. Includes The Cochrane Library (complete) and ACP Journal Club.

Article on LEAN as applied to Healthcare

Reducing waste in US health care systems. Bush RW.
JAMA. 2007 Feb 28;297(8):871-4. Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, Wash 98101, USA. PMID: 17327529 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Link to Full-text (This should work at any Affinity computer or through remote access.)

Drop-in Computer Labs Available to “Roving” Affinity Employees

Traveling throughout Affinity for meetings? Away from your office?
The Training & Development computer lab is booked with a class?
Got some spare time between meetings?
Need a computer to get some work done in the meantime?

Need a quiet place to do the online JCAHO Mandatories?
Just want to check your email?

Stop in at the computer labs at the MMC and STE Health Science Libraries.
No appointments necessary.

Access to Microsoft Office, Internet, Outlook email, and more …

2007 JCAHO Manual on Affinity Intranet

The 2007 version of the JCAHO Manual is now available on the Affinity Intranet.

There are several ways to find the No Login/No Password version :

Method 1 :
Follow this direct link :
2007 JCAHO Manual


Method 2 :
On the Affinity Intranet,
Use the search Box at the Top of the page
Type in JCAHO or CAMH
The 2007 version should appear near the top of the results list.

Method 3 :
Affinity Intranet > Library > Find Books > Electronic Bookshelf
Type in JCAHO
The 2007 version should appear 1st in the results list.

Method 4 :
Affinity Intranet > Library > General Reference Links > JCAHO Resources > JCAHO Manual

Whatever happened to SAM? Or What’s in a Name?

Are you wondering whatever happened to Scientific American Medicine (SAM)?

In the old days, the Libraries subscribed in print format. Then it moved to online-only access.
A few years ago, SAM changed its name to WebMD Scientific American Medicine. Soon after that, it changed its name again to ACP Medicine Online.

The Evolution : SAM > WebMD SAM > ACP Medicine Online

Through it all, Affinity Library Services has maintained access in one way or another to this valuable resource for high quality, peer-reviewed, current, evidence-based medical information and CMEs.

We currently have access to ACP Medicine Online with IP Authentication.
That means, NO username or password—just make sure you are at an Affinity computer (or using Remote Access) to get there.

Try it now : ACP Medicine Online


Want to find it again later?
Just type “acp” into the search box atop any Affinity Intranet Page. It should appear at the top of the results list.

Antique Wheelchair is Archival Acquisition

This antique wheelchair is over 100 years old. It belonged to Ms. Bertha (Wilhorn) Keip.

It was recently donated to the MMC Library Archives by her grand-daughter, Sue McIlraith. Sue is a Dietition who works for Affinity.

The wheelchair is currently on display in the Archival Reading Room at the MMC Library.

A Message from Affinity Library Services & The Print Shop

If you are in need of multiple copies or print jobs (more than 50 pages), please use the Affinity Print Shop.

Color MFDs are located in both the MMC and STE Health Science Libraries. They’ve become very popular places – and we are happy to see so many people using them. However, these machines are NOT designed for high volume duplication (no matter what Lanier says).

You’ll agree if you’ve ever :
Smelled an MFD overheat
Cleared multiple paper jams because the MFD is too hot
Gotten streaked pages (again) because it’s too hot
Had to explain to the 4 other people looking for their pages that they have to wait for that BIG job to finish
Waited for the MFD to reset color / toners, etc.
Filled a paper tray 3x in one hour (That’s 3 reams of paper, friends!)

By contrast, The Affinity Print Shop has the appropriate equipment, paper, and supplies for large print and copy jobs. It is also more cost effective for The Print Shop to fill these requests. In the interest of good stewardship, large print jobs should be sent to The Print Shop.

Time is of the essence!
The Affinity Print Shop has a fast turn-around time. You can email files to Print Shop Staff in the morning and potentially have your job delivered by the afternoon. You don’t have to send a paper copy of your original and wait for days for a reply. Mary Tyler and Heather Stenson offer fast and friendly service.

EBM Reviews Filter in Ovid Medline

Did you know … You can quickly and easily filter results from any of our Ovid Evidenced-Based Medicine (EBM) databases just by clicking on the “EBM Reviews” limit from the main search page in Ovid Medline.

Click here to see a screenshot.

Contact your Librarian, Michele Matucheski, with questions on how to use Medline or the EBM Resources. We’re here to help!

Old AudioDigest Tapes - Free to a Good Home

The MMC and STE Libraries have 1 year's worth of old AudioDigest tapes available for FREE. Although these tapes are too old to apply for CE credits, they do still offer a lot of good information for Physicians, PAs, Nurses, and other health professionals.

Subject areas include the following :
Urology, Psychiatry, Pediatrics, Otolaryngology, Orthopedics, Ophthalmology, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Gastroenterology, Family Practice, Emergency Medicine, Anesthesiology.

Look for them on the book sale tables at each library this month.

Why are we giving them away?
--limited shelving space for audiovisuals
--CE credits are available only for 3 years since date of publication
--Our libraries emphasize the most up-to-date info, so we want to make room for more recent issues.
-- Newer editions are available on AudioCD and MP3 files that can be downloaded to your computer or MP3 player. Contact Michele Matucheski for more details on accessing recent AudioDigest MP3 files.

Need a Test Proctor? Ask a Librarian ...

Did you know that Affinity Librarians can proctor tests for distance education courses? With so many staff people taking advanced courses via distance education, this is a valuable and little-known service that we provide.

Affinity Library Services also provides quiet study areas, and a multitude of print and online resources to assist in your studies. We’re here to help!

Contact one of our Librarians if you are in need someone to proctor a test.

Michele Matucheski, MLS, AHIP
223-0340 MMC Library

Mary Bayorgeon, MLS, AHIP
738-2325 STE Library

18 New Titles on Affinity's Electronic Bookshelf!

I just updated the the Affinity Library Services Electronic Bookshelf with the following new eBooks :

New eBooks in Stat!Ref:
AJCC Cancer Staging Handbook
Handbook of Fluid, Electrolyte, and Acid-Base Imabalances
Maternal-Newborn Nursing & Women's Health Care - 7th ed.
Nursing Diagnosis Reference Manual - 6th ed.
Nursing Assistant Illustrated

New eBooks in Books@Ovid:
Avery's Neonatology
Clinical Practice of Neurological and Neurosurgical Nursing
Colon and Rectal Surgery
DeGowin's Diagnostic Examination
Electroencephalography
General Thoracic Surgery
Hemostasis and Thrombosis
Hospital Epidemiology & Infection Control
Joslin's Diabetes Mellitus
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Principles and Practice of Gynecologic Oncology
Principles and Practice of Radiation Oncology
Principles of Ambulatory Medicine
Williams Obstetrics

All these titles should be available to Affinity staff and affiliates via any Affinity desktop computer or through remote access.
Use the link above, or visit the Library Services website on the Affinity Intranet :
Library > Find Books > Electronic Bookshelf

We now have well over 350 titles in our eBook collection!

Google Search Engine Customized for Consumer Health & Patient Education

The Consumer Health and Patient Education Search Engine was developed by Medical Librarian David Rothman.
Search the web for freely accessible, quality controlled consumer health information.

Includes MedlinePlus and other sites recommended by The national Library of Medicine and CAPHIS (Consumer and Patient Health Information Section of The Medical Library Association). The Good Stuff!

35 Years of MEDLINE

Happy 35th Birthday, MEDLINE!

NLM's flagship database debuted on October 27, 1971.

Read the October 23, 2006 NLM News and Events Announcement.

Winners of the 2006 National Medical Librarians Month Celebration

Thank you to everyone who participated.
We had over 200 online entries in our Guess How Many Kisses Drawing!
We welcome the wide participation!





STE Resource Café Winners
Candy Kisses - Jackie Mitchler of Info Systems
(She guessed 220…the actual amount in the RC Candy Jar was 203).

$10.00 Starbucks Gift Certificate (for the word search) - Jenny Westenberger, Resource Café "Barista"

$5.00 Starbucks Gift Certificates (Door Prize):
Cindy Remus - Medical Imaging
Laura Becker - NHP
Cynthia Wolf - Info Systems
Donna Gmur - Peds/Gyn STE

STE Professional Library Winners
Candy Kisses : Chuck Bichel, Library Patron

$10 Starbucks Gift Certificate (for the Word Search) : Donna Larson, Health Information

$5.00 Starbucks Gift Certificates (Door Prizes) :
Dr. Podlusky, Pathology
Maron Hauschel, Environmental Services
Debbie Beatty, Pain Clinic
Lisa Gorges, Radiation Oncology, Mercy

MMC Library
Candy Kisses – Cindy Jungwirth, Center for Women & Families
(She guessed 132…the actual amount in the Candy Jar was 131).

$10.00 Starbucks Gift Certificate (for the word search) – Mary Morelli, Vascular Lab

$5.00 Starbucks Gift Certificates (Door Prizes) :
Jane Martinez - Quality
Sean Bebiro – Radiology
Tracy Miller – Nuclear Medicine
Terrie Reitzner – Physical Rehabilitation

Affinity Health & Wellness Resource Center – Oshkosh YMCA
Candy Kisses - Sarah Fredrickson, Internal Medicine, AMG, Neenah.
She guessed 91 … the actual amount in the jar was 94 kisses.

$10.00 YMC Gift Certificate (for the Word Search) - Jennifer Schreiter - Rehab Services in Calumet Medical Center.

YMCA $5.00 YMCA gift certificates (Door Prizes) :
Melissa Borgen
Kris Bonlander (Pediatrics, St. E)
Liesl Storm – Physical Therapist at YMCA
Michelle Jerabek - Oshkosh Y member and part-time instructor.

Did you know … You can access the Affinity Library Collections right from your desktop?

The Electronic Bookshelf – Over 300 eBooks with full-text!

MMC Library Catalog (includes the 20th Ave YMCA in Oshkosh)
STE Library Catalog (includes STE Resource Café)

New Books at Affinity Libraries – Browse a few of our new selections. These featured items are also available for checkout.

Put in a request for a book, video, or audio, and we’ll send it to you, wherever you are within Affinity.

Visit the Affinity Library Services Website for more than you ever dreamed would be available online …

Contact us with questions :
MMC Library 3-0342 or mmclibrary@affinityhealth.org
STE Library 8-2324 or sehlibrary@affinityhealth.org
STE Resource Café 8-2857

Nuns on a Fishing Expedition : Affinity at Play - Archives Week 2006

This delightful picture is from Sister Anne Dresang’s personal collection of photos, now held in the STE Library Archival Collection. To see more in this series, click here.

If you were wondering what was contained in the latest Cornerstone time capsule recently “buried” at St. Elizabeth Hospital, check this list. You may be surprised by what it contains!

The MMC Library is seeking help in identifying unnamed employees in several of our photo albums. Stop in to reminisce, and help us give these people names! We’ll supply the post-it notes!

The Affinity Library Archives hold many more treasures. Visit today!

Improve Patient Education with Info Rx Pads

Medical Staff and Clinicians are encouraged to request Info Rx Prescription Pads from Affinity Library Services.

mmclibrary@affinityhealth.org 223-0340
OR
sehlibrary@affinityhealth.org 738-2857 or 738-2324

The simple act of writing down a diagnosis, a medication, or procedure can help patients get the info they need to make better health care decisions. Info Rx Pads make it easy!

Research has shown that patients recall only a fraction of what was discussed during an appointment with their health care provider. Library Staff often spend extra time with patients and family members who don't know what their actual diagnosis is, much less how to spell it. The Info Rx program seeks to save the valuable time of all involved.

Benefits of the Information Rx program :
* Helps improve patient communication
* Encourages compliance
* Reduces the number of poor quality internet searches patients sometimes do on their own
* Saves valuable TIME! (for medical staff, patient, and library staff)
* Empowers patients
* Enhances the quality and outcome of the interaction during an office visit and after the patient returns home.

For patients without ready access to the internet, Affinity's Professional Librarians can provide internet access and any needed instruction for finding health information. We have both the tools and the expertise to refer patients to accurate and trustworthy health information.

Team up with us!

Team Up! for Your Health

Did you know …
Our Libraries are open to the public and free of charge.
You’ll find an environment that is confidential, private,
and supportive of your health care information needs.

Visit us to find books and videos about health issues
for yourself or a family member.
You can check out the materials to take home
and share with your family and friends.

You can also use our computers to find health information online.

Resources you will find in our libraries include :
* Books
* DVDs
* VHS
* Audiocassettes
* CDs
* Magazines
* Newsletters
* Internet

If you can’t find what you’re looking for, just ask any of our friendly librarians for help.

Clark Family Health Science Library Health Information Center
Mercy Medical Center
500 S. Oakwood Rd.
Oshkosh, WI
920-223-0342
M-F 8 am -4:30 pm
Librarian : Michele Matucheski

Affinity Sports Medicine & Wellness Center
20th Ave. YMCA
3303 W. 20th Ave.
Oshkosh, WI
(920) 223-2479
Hours vary, so please call ahead.
Librarian : Ann Paulson

St. Elizabeth Hospital Resource Café
St. Elizabeth Hospital
1506 S. Oneida St.
Appleton, WI
(920) 738-2857
M-F 8 am – 4:30 pm
Librarian : Margo Lambert

Or visit us online :
www.affinityhealth.org and click on Health Resources.

October is National Medical Librarians' Month

Need health care information?
We've got everything under the sun!

Word Search Challenge for NMLM!

Complete this Word Search (Word doc) for a chance to win a Gift Certificate to the STE Resource Café or MMC Starbucks Coffee Cart. Good Luck!

October is National Medical Librarians' Month : Enter Our Drawing

How many Chocolate Kisses in the jar?
Enter your guess online by visiting the library website, or use this web form.

Or stop by the libraries at :

· Mercy Medical Center Library
· St. Elizabeth Hospital Professional Library
· St. Elizabeth Hospital Resource Café
· Affinity Health & Wellness Center at the
20th Ave Oshkosh YMCA.

Treats while they last!

Contest ends October 31.

The winning entry wins all the KISSES!


As always, it is our pleasure to serve you.

Flu - Patient Ed. Materials from CDC

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) has posted an array of downloadable patient and provider education materials to its influenza web section.

Visit the CDC's 2006-07 Flu Gallery for :
* Patient education materials for the 2006-07 flu season
* Provider education materials for the 2006-07 flu season
* Patient screening form for trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (TIV)
* Stop the Spread of Germs posters and flyers in several languages
* Fact sheets in several languages
* Influenza vaccine VISs.

Keyword Searching Skills Tutorial

Are you wondering why your last search brought up some less than stellar results? Or no results at all?

It could be that you were looking "in all the wrong places."
Or it could be your choice of keywords …

Selecting the proper keywords to pull up exactly what you seek is both an art and a skill.

Brush up on your keyword searching skills with this excellent online tutorial from McMaster University Library.
It covers the following :
· Choosing Keywords
· Phrase Searching
· Combining Words with And/Or/Not
· Nesting
· WildCards

It could mean the difference between getting a zillion hits on “poetry” and actually finding Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken.” In any case, you'll be a better searcher!

New 4-week Loan Period for Consumer Health Books

We’ve changed our policies on check-out loan periods : Consumer health and patient education materials (The Red-Dot books) are now routinely checked out for 4 weeks, instead of 2 weeks as in the past.

Although we’ve always been flexible with loan periods, this automatic 4 weeks allows our patrons more time to finish a book, and get it back to us on time without incurring an overdue notice.

The 4-week loan period is also comparable to Public Library check-outs. This is what our public patrons expect, so we feel good about anticipating their needs in this respect.

Please Note : Professional clinical and nursing books, BLS books, and other library materials still retain a loan period of 2 weeks.

Consumer Health and Patient Education collections are available at the following locations :

MMC Library (Oshkosh)
STE Resource Café (Appleton)
Affinity Health & Wellness Resource Center, 20th Ave YMCA (Oshkosh)

Can’t make it to a physical library? Search our catalogs from your desktop :
MMC Catalog STE Catalog

We’ll send requested items to YOU, wherever you are in Affinity. Just ASK!

What is The Cochrane Library?

The Cochrane Library is a mainstay of Evidence-based Practice. It is used to support health care decisions. It is produced by The Cochrane Collaboration, a group of clinicians, consumers, and researchers around the world.

Affinity has online access via Ovid from1996-to current. It is updated quarterly.
How to get there :
Affinity Intranet > Library > Find the Best Evidence > Cochrane
OR in the search box atop any Affinity Intranet page, type in “Cochrane”

Note: Limited number of simultaneous users - please logoff/exit when you're done.

There are 3 main parts to the Cochrane Library :
1) The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR)
2) Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness (DARE)
3) Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials Register (CENTRAL)

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR)
Also known as “Cochrane Reviews”
Growing collection of regularly updated summaries of the best available evidence prepared by members of The Cochrane Collaboration.
'Gold Standard' for high-quality systematic reviews
Full-text included in Cochrane Library. Includes :
1) Completed Reviews
2) Protocols (reviews that are still in preparation).
Cochrane Systematic Review abstracts are in PubMed but there is no link to full-text of the review.

The Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness (DARE)
Other high quality published reviews prepared by people outside The Cochrane Collaboration.
Prepared by the National Health Service Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York, England.
Complements the CDSR by offering a selection of quality assessed reviews in those subjects where there is currently no Cochrane review.
Brief critical appraisals of previously published reviews of the effects of health care.
Topics include therapy, prevention, diagnosis, rehabilitation and screening.
Structured abstracts, not full-text
DARE not indexed in PubMed, but original research articles may be
also available at no charge on the web from University of York
144.32.150.197/scripts/WEBC.EXE/NHSCRD/start

The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL)
Best source for tracking down the original studies.
Largest single source of controlled trials as part of an international effort to hand search the world's journals.
Includes reports published in conference proceedings and in many other sources not in MEDLINE or other citation databases.

Anatomy of a Cochrane Systematic Review
Cochrane Reviews are highly structured and systematic, with evidence included or excluded on the basis of clearly explained quality criteria.

Every Cochrane Review contains the following parts (See sample abstract) :

Abstract
Synopsis
Background
Objectives
Criteria for Considering Studies for this Review
Search Strategy for Identification of Studies
Methods of the Review
Description of Studies
Methodological Quality
Results
Discussion
Reviewers’ Conclusions
Potential Conflict of Interest

For a quick overview of the review’s findings, the following sections summarize the evidence :
Abstract - summarizes the objectives, methods, results and conclusions
Synopsis - a 100-word plain-language summary found directly beneath the abstract.
Reviewer’s Conclusions - an overview of the most important findings and discusses the implications for practice and research.

A Note before Printing the Complete Review : The full review may be 80 or more pages long and contain info not normally considered useful in a regular journal article. The reviewers include as much information as possible about the evidence they examined, and exactly how and why they arrived at their conclusions. They try to make everything as transparent as possible so that others can do their own evaluation of the evidence, if desired.

Unless you love slogging through metadata, the structured abstract will probably provide what a busy clinician needs to know about the evidence.

For more info :
Ovid Field Guide for The Cochrane Library
NICS Guide to The Cochrane Library

Questions? Contact your Librarian, Michele Matucheski at 223-0340.

Citation Style Guides

Are you updating Policies and Procedures?
Wondering what to do with the bibliography of references?

Long Island University provides a handy color-coded AMA Citation Style Guide at http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citama.htm

It’s easy to use, and easy to parse because of the color coding. It offers clear formatted examples for citing the following :

* Book
* Journal Article (with or without volume numbers)
* Book Article or Chapter
* Website
* Journal Article on the Internet.

If you don’t like that presentation, try The AMA Style Guide from The University of Washington at http://healthlinks.washington.edu/hsl/styleguides/ama.html .

Not impressed with the AMA Citation Style? Try other formats at

Citation Style for Research Papers – Long Island University
http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citation.htm

More questions on citation style? We’re here to help!
Contact Library Services at
MMC 3-0342
STE 8-2324

New Version of the PubMed Tutorial and Training Page

PubMed is the free version of Medline (plus a whole lot more) available to anyone with internet access. http://www.pubmed.gov/

The National Library of Medicine has released a new version of the PubMed Tutorial which is available from the PubMed sidebar. Here's your chance to learn to use PubMed like an expert!http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/pubmed_tutorial/m1001.html

Links to tutorial and quick tours http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/disted/pubmed.html

Tip : Use the PubMed link on the Affinity Libraries webpage, and you'll get the added benefit of Affinity Library holdings (print with some online) appearing as part of your PubMed results set.

Feel free to ask Library Staff your PubMed questions, too. We're here to help!
MMC Library 3-0340
STE Library 8-2324

Looking for Online Books? Try The Electronic Bookshelf

The Library’s Electronic Bookshelf tracks over 300 eBooks in medicine, nursing, and related fields.

How to get there :
Affinity Intranet > Library > Find Books & AV > Electronic Bookshelf

Or in the Search Box at the top of all Affinity Intranet pages, type ANY of the following keywords : ebooks, bookshelf, online books.

Our collection of eBooks hail from a variety of sources including the following : Books@Ovid, StatRef, MDConsult, The NCBI Bookshelf, National Academies Press, and other sources.

The Electronic Bookshelf brings them all together in a single index, or catalog, so there’s no guessing which source contains the eBook you want. In most cases, the eBookshelf provides a direct link to the table of contents for the referenced eBook. All eBooks should be accessible on your desktop from any Affinity computer.

The Electronic Bookshelf is searchable by keyword, or browsable by subject and title.

Please note, the keyword search does NOT search the fulltext of each online book. We’re still working on including these in the Central Search federated search engine. Stay tuned …

Ready.gov

From the Us Department of Homeland Security, Ready.gov (www.ready.gov) provides abundant disaster preparedness information aimed at educating Americans on an ongoing basis about how to prepare for national emergencies, including natural disasters, biological or chemical accidents, and terrorist attacks.

Its home page is simply arranged, consisting of three links : Ready Business, Ready America, ad Ready Kids. Health care institutions will find that the information and suggested guidelines can be easily adapted for their needs. -- MLA News, July/August 2006.

MedPage Today : Worth a Look

Co-developed by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine's Office of Continuing Medical Education and MedPage Today, an independent information services company, MedPage Today (www.medpagetoday.com) offers daily coverage of breaking medical news, accompanied by professional medical analysis.

It's aim is to "provide clinicians with the real-time information they need to address their patients' questions" and to help them understand "how new developments might impact their clinical practice."

The website features news by specialty and gives visitors the option of signing up for daily morning email updates. -- from MLA News, June/July 2006.

New Surgeon General's Report Focuses on the Effects of Secondhand Smoke

U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona recently issued a comprehensive scientific report which concludes that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke.

For more information and a copy of the report (downloadable as a PDF or request a print copy) use this link: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/secondhandsmoke/

Contact Affinity Library Services for information on smoking cessation.
MMC Library 3-0342
STE Library 8-2324
STE Resource Café 8-2857

Wildlife at Mercy

Nature helps many people heal and re-energize.

Patients, families, and staff members have been enjoying the family of Red Fox that live near the pond at Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh. The arrival of the Fox Family, however, seems to have driven off some of the birds we’ve grown familiar with in other years.

* If you miss the Great Blue Heron and the White Egret that used to visit the Mercy Pond …
* If you want to see what other wildlife has been spotted there …
* If you don’t get to Mercy very often …
Here’s your chance :

Visit the Wildlife at Mercy webpage at http://intranet.affinityhealth.org/object/wildlife.html . This page tracks the wild animals that have been seen on the grounds at Mercy. There’s also a link to “Submit a Critter” if you spot something not already listed. ENJOY!

Introducing Central Search

What is Central Search?
Central Search is a search engine that allows you to search any combination of Affinity Library catalogs, databases, and selected websites (including MedlinePlus and Google-Scholar) all at the same time.

Why is Central Search better than Google?
Central Search results will link to full-text articles (when available). If Affinity has access to it, Central Search will link to it in many of our full-text databases. Be aware, though, some articles will still need to be borrowed from other libraries the old-fashioned way.
Affinity Library databases are chosen for their high quality and relevance to health care. By contrast, anyone can publish to the web; the searcher/surfer needs to invest more time and effort in evaluating search results on the wide-open web.
Central Search is great for giving you a good overview of “what’s out there.”
It can also suggest the best sources to continue or refine your search (Medline vs. Micromedex). Where all the hits are …
It can help suggest search terms (myocardial infarction vs. heart attack)


When NOT to use Central Search?
When you need The JCAHO Manual, go there directly. It is not presently included in Central Search.
When your search strategy requires precision, and using limits and features specific to a particular database (ie subject subheadings or age limits in Medline).
When you know exactly what electronic resource you want to use, it’s best to use it directly.

Additional Search Tips for Central Search.
Start using Central Search right now.
You’ll also find a prominent link for it on The Affinity Libraries Intranet website.

Still have questions? Contact Affinity Library Services :
MMC Library 3-0340 or STE Library 8-2325