image courtesy of pixabay

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello all!

Wishing everyone a successful and peaceful end to your semester/exam period. The Hirsh Health Sciences Library will have some adjusted hours for this holiday/winter season: on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week, the Library Service Desk will close at 8pm. On Thursday, we will be closing at 5pm. The service desk will remain closed from Friday, December 22nd until Tuesday, January 2nd, when we will resume at 7:30am with our normal hours. The MedEd building will be open for tap access during this time, but the service desk will be closed, so feel free to reach out to hhsl@tufts.edu with any requests for assistance, and we will get back to you when we return to the office. Have a fun and safe break, and see you all again in the new year!

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screenshot of new homepage

We are excited to announce that we will ring in 2024 with a brand new homepage design! You may also notice some new informational pages on our site, and fun features like a pop-out chat widget. We hope that these changes will help you get to the information you need in a quicker and more streamlined way. We will be offering some workshops on how to navigate the new site next semester, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for those.

We value your feedback, so please feel free to share your thoughts as you navigate the new homepage, and please let us know if anything is not working!

 

 

It’s that time of year again – time for a round-up of what we learned during our semiannual affiliation survey! As you may recall, Hirsh staff walked around with clipboards this October trying not to interrupt your studying too much to ask what school you were from (thanks again for that). Even if you don’t, let’s go over our interesting results!

Total Numbers

It is no surprise that the library feels busy, but do the numbers bear that out? Well, over the course of seven days and 96 rounds, we talked to 2,214 people, nearly 500 more than in March. Of those we captured, 868 were from the Dental School – almost 40% – and 835 were from the Medical School, including PA students – about 38%. There were a lot of MBS students using Hirsh this fall; the 350 we counted represent a 95% increase from our March count! We also counted 67 Nutrition students, 55 MPH students, 3 PT students, 18 GSBS students, 11 folks from Tufts Medical Center and a few affiliate members. Remember, Hirsh warmly welcomes everyone from the Tufts community, so we love seeing so many groups represented! The total breakdown is below.

Vertical bar chart showing total patrons organized by program type

Total Patrons by Program

Okay, so we have a sense of who was using the library, let’s look at where and when the library was being used.

Floors

In a statistic that I’m sure will shock exactly no one, the 7th floor remained our most popular space with almost 1100 visitors. This time around, the popularity of the 7th floor grew; it was almost two and a half times more popular than the next closest floor, the 5th, which had 464 visitors. The 4th floor at 365, saw 99 fewer folks than the 5th, and the 6th floor had the fewest visitors with just under 300.

Vertical bar chart showing total patrons organized by floor

Patrons by Floor

Days

Hirsh starts out strong on Monday, with patronage dropping off as we move into the weekend. Our most popular day was Monday, followed very closely by Wednesday. Tuesdays and Thursdays were the next popular. Not surprisingly, Saturday was our least busy day with Sunday close behind.

 

Vertical bar chart showing total patrons organized by days of the week

Patrons by Day

Times

In another unsurprising statistic, 3pm remains the busiest time of day at Hirsh. 11am is the second busiest time. 11am and 6pm have nearly the same amount of traffic, but it drops off a cliff in the evening; 9pm is our least busy time by far at nearly 4x less busy than 3pm!

Vertical bar chart showing total patrons organized by time of day

Patrons by Time of Day

Total Floor Usage by Time of Day

While I can’t fully answer how the library is being used, we can glean some insight from looking at floor use by time. For example, not only is the 7th floor the most popular floor considering total visitors across the survey, it’s also the most popular floor at any given time of day. My guess is the 7th floor’s popularity comes from having the most study space; we know the study rooms are a hot commodity! Again, the full breakdown is below. Maybe you have some insights of your own? I’d love to hear them!

Horizontal bar chart showing total number of people organized by floor, with each bar divided by time of day

Total Floor Count by Time

 

So, on behalf of everyone at the Hirsh Health Sciences Library, thank you for your assistance! Getting an understanding of where and when the library is used helps us serve you best! And speaking of, if you have any feedback on what Hirsh could be doing for you, please reach out! The Library Service Desk is open 7 days a week and you can email us at hhsl@tufts.edu. Otherwise, we’ll be back at it again in the spring. Until then…

Warmly,
Katie

 

We are in the thick of it, so extended hours continue this upcoming weekend. The Hirsh Library Service Desk is opening earlier and staying open later so you can study longer. We will be open from 10am to 10pm the following days:

Saturday, December 9th
Sunday, December 10th

We will also be providing you with free coffee on Saturday around 4pm. Take a quick break, come down to the 4th floor, and commiserate while you caffeinate!

Clock and Sunflower in snow

Photo courtesy of Pixabay.

As a reminder, building access remains the same throughout finals – swipe access from 6am – 11pm. Extended hours are strictly for the Hirsh Service Desk. If you have any questions, feel free to swing by the desk, call us at 617-636-6706 or email us at hhslcirc@tufts.edu.

Happy studying!

 

collection of pom pom study buddies

Just in time for finals, these googly-eyed cuties are back to help get you through the next few weeks. Make one for yourself or a friend to take back to that study carrel! We’ll have all the supplies out at the Desk starting at 12pm on Thursday 2/7 and Friday 2/8. Hope to see you there!

 

Photo of Anna Milyaeva

Please join us in warmly welcoming our new Administrative Coordinator and Library Reference Assistant, Anna Milyaeva!

Anna (pronounced Awh-nuh) has a background in food justice advocacy and supporting immigrant communities in New York City and Baltimore. She is a prospective MLIS student and is excited to be part of the Tufts library community. In her free time, she enjoys biking along the Charles River, walking by interesting buildings at dusk, and wondering if the minutes of the day are the same as the minutes of the night.

We are so thrilled to have her on staff!

 

As I’m sure you’re well aware, exam season is upon us! This means it is time for our annual extended hours, where Hirsh Library opens earlier and stays later so you can study longer. We will be open from 10am to 10pm the following days:

  • Saturday, December 2nd
  • Sunday, December 3rd
  • Saturday, December 9th
  • Sunday, December 10th

We will also be providing you with free coffee both Saturdays around 4pm. Take a quick break, come down to the 4th floor Service Desk, and commiserate while you caffeinate!

A sunflower, a clock reading 12, and a weird doll lying in the snow

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

Building access remains the same throughout finals – swipe access from 6am – 11pm. Extended hours are strictly for the Hirsh Service Desk. If you have any questions, feel free to swing by the desk, call us at 617-636-6706 or email us at hhslcirc@tufts.edu.

Happy studying!

 

Turkey Day is nearly here, which means Hirsh will have altered hours this week. The Library Service Desk will be closing early at 1pm on Wednesday, November 22nd and will remain closed until Sunday, November 26th at 12pm noon. Building hours and access will remain the same.

Large turkey sitting on grass

Turkey Glamour Shot courtesy of Pixabay

So, whether you’re trying to figure out why there are so many wild turkeys in Massachusetts or simply enjoying eating the bird, the Hirsh Health Sciences Library team wishes you some rest, relaxation, and gratitude this long weekend. See you Sunday!

 

Congratulations to our Physician Assistant Program! Today, November 16th, is the 10th anniversary of our PA program.  We can hardly believe it, and we are very proud.

Class of PAs wearing their white coats

Some highlights about this program:

It is 25 months long, starts in January and has 50 students per class.  This year they got their own space at 136 Harrison Ave. The curriculum is one year of didactic and one year of clinical rotations. As with other programs, some students take on the dual MPH degree.  This is a very hard program to get into, and all must have had some clinical experience before arriving. Many are EMTs. As with other programs there is a mix of students; male (18 %)/female (82 %); under represented groups (26 %); first generation to go to college (18%) and even an active duty military member.

You also might be surprised to know that there is a 99% pass rate on their licensing exam!

So, HURRAH for our PAs!

Post contributed by Amy Lapidow

 

pinecone turkey

 

It’s our favorite time of year! Starting at 12pm this Thursday 11/16 and Friday 11/17, you can stop by the Library Service Desk and create your own feathered friend to bring home for Thanksgiving (or back to your study carrel to get you through that afternoon study sesh). We’ll have a variety of materials out so you can create anything your heart desires, from the simple and majestic hand turkey (our personal favorite) to some 3D  pinecone poultry.

 

 
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