** Please enjoy this repost, chock-full of Boston Massacre info! While 2021’s social-distancing rules prevent Revolutionary Spaces from holding the annual reenactment in front of the Old State House, if you are interested in the events of 1770, Crispus Attucks Day, and the wider history of the fight for racial and social justice in Boston, join Revolutionary Spaces March 5th at 5:00 pm for Grief, Remembrance, Justice: the Boston Massacre Anniversary. This panel discussion will reflect on the legacy of Melnea Cass and will be held via Zoom. **
…Your estates and your freedom, your children and Wives; A story I’ll tell you that’s truth now indeed, And when you hear of it your hearts will bleed.
The above comes from A Verse Occasioned by the late horrid Massacre in King-Street, a broadside published in Boston in 1770 to express outrage over the events of the evening of March 5th, the event we now know as the Boston Massacre. On the evening of March 5, 1770, a row broke out in front of the Custom House on King Street (now State Street) in Boston. Accounts of what provoked the trouble are mixed, but most include a soldier striking a boy, and a mob of Bostonians replying by hurling both snowballs and insults at the soldier. As the crowd grew more hostile, more soldiers were called in, and eventually nine armed British soldiers faced a rowdy group of over 50 colonists. Eventually, the soldiers fired into the mob, and when the casualties were totaled, five men were dead and six more were injured. The events of that March evening were seized upon by Boston radicals, and spun to create even more animosity toward the Crown. One of the most famous pieces of propaganda is Paul Revere’s compelling (if inaccurate) depiction of the event, which circulated wildly in the spring of 1770.
Paul Revere, “The Bloody Massacre in King-Street, March 5, 1770.” Boston, 1770. (Gilder Lehrman Collection)
Of course, this event took place a short walk from the Hirsh Health Sciences Library. Commemorate this event with a Boston Massacre Study Break! Start on the Freedom Trail, and visit the Boston Massacre Marker on the corner of State and Congress Streets, right near the Old State House. Head back toward campus on Tremont Street, and stop in at the Granary Burying Ground. You’ll find the grave marker for the victims of the Massacre next to Samuel Adams. You can also visit with John Hancock and Paul Revere while you’re there. As you follow Tremont toward Boylston Street, take a detour into Boston Common at Avery Street, and enjoy the beautiful Boston Massacre/Crispus Attucks Monument, erected in 1888.
Sometimes, it can be overwhelming when you’re staring at a messy spreadsheet of data for your research. Data Carpentry is here to help make that less overwhelming!
The Carpentries is an organization that aims to create a community of people who “share a mission to teach foundational computational and data science skills to researchers.” These skills range from organizing spreadsheets to programming languages, like R or Python.
Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash
Hirsh is hosting a two-day Data Carpentry workshop on Tuesday (3/9) and Wednesday (3/10) from 10am – 3pm all online. So if you’re hoping to learn more about organizing data in spreadsheets, data cleaning with OpenRefine, and gaining an introduction into R, please register at this link!
All learners, including those with little to no prior experience with these tools, are welcome to participate. If you have any questions about the workshop, please contact Andrea Kang. We look forward to seeing you all there!
Snow is melting, bird are singing, mud is everywhere and you are…learning something new! Now is the time to freshen up some skills and maybe gain a few new ones, too!
In addition to our regularly scheduled workshops, a special workshop, Writing Personal Statements, will be presented by the Health Sciences Writing Consultants on Monday, March 15th from 11am-12pm (description below).
Workshops will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12noon-1pm and will via Zoom **unless otherwise stated**. Registration for workshops is required. A Zoom link and password will be sent to registrants one hour prior to the start time of the Workshop.
Essentials of Data Management
Date: Thursday, March 4, 2021
Time: 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Register: https://tufts.libcal.com/event/7577043?hs=a
Description:
In this workshop, we will review best practices for naming, organizing, storing, depositing your research data, and creating a Data Management Plan. Managing your data before you begin your research and throughout its life cycle is essential to ensure its current usability and long-run preservation and access.
PubMed: An Introduction
Date: Tuesday, March 9, 2021
Time: 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Register: https://tufts.libcal.com/event/7577047?hs=a
Description:
This workshop will introduce you to PubMed, the world’s premiere biomedical literature database. We will review the content of this database, planning and executing a search strategy, narrowing search results, finding full-text, and exporting results to a citation management program.
EndNote: the Basics
Date: Thursday, March 11, 2021
Time: 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Register: https://tufts.libcal.com/event/7577045?hs=a
Description:
This one-hour session will introduce you to the basics of using the citation management program EndNote. EndNote allows you to create a library of references, attach and read PDFs, and generate in-text citations and bibliographies in Word documents. This session is for beginners – no previous experience required!
***Special Event***
Writing Personal Statements
Date: Monday, March 15, 2021
Time: 11:0apm – 12:00pm
Register: https://tufts.libcal.com/event/7524356
Description: Join us for a special workshop with Christine Smith, MS, RD, a Health Sciences Writing Consultant on the Boston Campus, adjunct lecturer at the Friedman School and former Senior Editor of the Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter. Christine will provide advice on writing personal statements, as well as her top writing tips. We will also share resources on application writing and interviewing.
EndNote: Advanced
Date: Thursday, March 18, 2021
Time: 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Register: https://tufts.libcal.com/event/7577049?hs=a
Description:
This one-hour session explores more advanced features of EndNote. During this session we will discuss using EndNote to create figures with captions, how to find updated citation information for records already in EndNote, how to modify output styles and more.
Foreign Language Apps and Resources
Date: Tuesday, March 23, 2021
Time: 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Register: https://tufts.libcal.com/event/7577052?hs=a
Description:
Did you know that Tufts University students, faculty, and staff have access to Mango Languages, free of charge? Depending on your learning style there are many other free (and paid) resources available to you learn a new language in 15-30 mins each day! This workshop will demo popular language learning apps (such as DuoLingo, Mango Languages, and Babbel) and share additional language apps and resources, according to your needs, costs, preferences, and learning style.
What comes after PubMed? Try Scopus!
Date: Thursday, March 25, 2021
Time: 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Registration: https://tufts.libcal.com/event/7577054?hs=a
Description:Have you tried out your search on PubMed and are wondering if there’s something more? Did you get the advice you need to try another database in addition to PubMed and aren’t sure where to go next? Are you curious about what the most cited article is for your question? Do you want to know who has cited the articles you’ve selected so far? All of these are reasons to try Scopus next!
Systematic Reviews: Laying the Groundwork
Date: Tuesday, March 30, 2021
Time: 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Registration: https://tufts.libcal.com/event/7577055?hs=a
Description:
Come to this workshop to learn about systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and other types of high-level research reviews. We will discuss topics such as the elements of a systematic review, protocols, resources, timelines, and suggested databases.
Okay, maybe there is no evidence that February is the worst month of the year. But here in Boston it’s often the coldest, snowiest month. The days are getting longer, but they’re still pretty darn short. Sitting in the sun, swimming in the ocean, warm evening breezes…they’ve never felt further away. And then there’s that pandemic.
If you’re anything like us, you’re looking at nearly a full year without travel, without far-flung friends and family, without baseball games or handshakes or hugs or parades. You’re sick of Zoom, and you have no idea what your classmates and instructors look like under their masks.
Ice cased Adelie penguins after a blizzard at Cape Denison, c. 1912, photograph by Frank Hurley. From the collections of the State Library of New South Wales. No know copyright restrictions.
We’re here to remind you that you’re not alone! If you need to get out of the house, the Library is open for studying (social distancing and masks required). You can still request and check out books, including leisure reading for an escape. Librarians are available online for consults during regular hours, just visit us here to start a conversation!
Remember that the academic programs on campus have resources for you as well! GSBS students are encouraged to join a community of peers, while folks in the School of Medicine (including PHPD) are encouraged to reach out to Wellness Advisor (and Friend of HHSL) Sharon Snaggs for all of your student wellness and support needs. Dental Students? Your school has your back with Health and Wellness. And everyone on the Boston Health Sciences Campus is encouraged to take advantage of the services of the Student Advisory & Health Administration Office.
Off campus, remember to pay special attention to self-care during these difficult times. Don’t just take our word for it, self-care is good for your stress levels and quality of life.
Remember that we are right there with you! So try to get outside when you can, take advantage of the resources above, and look forward to the day we can see each other’s faces again.
In honor of Presidents Day, Hirsh Library’s services will be closed on Monday, February 15th.
We are open normal hours on Saturday (10am-6pm) and Sunday (12pm-8pm), and will return to normal weekday hours on Tuesday (7:45am-8pm). You can also always e-mail us a question at hhsl@tufts.edu, and we will get back to you as soon as we’re able.
Have a safe and happy weekend and Valentine’s Day, everybody!
February is short (and hopefully, sweet) month, so take advantage of this month’s workshops while you can! if you haven’t had the chance, come take a look at this month’s workshops, register for one (or two or three , and learn! Many of this month’s workshops are geared towards helping you with research intensive projects, such as ALEs, Capstones and theses.
Workshops will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12noon-1pm and will via Zoom. Registration for workshops is required. A Zoom link and password will be sent to registrants one hour prior to the start time of the Workshop.
Web of Science: An Introduction
Tuesday, February 9, 2021
12:00pm – 1:00pm
Register: https://tufts.libcal.com/event/7450699?hs=a
Cross disciplinary subject? Not sure of where to go after you search PubMed? Web of Science may become your favorite database! We will learn how to use Web of Science to show how finding one good article on a topic can lead to other articles on the same thing as well as how to find out who is also working on your topic of interest.
Plagiarism, Citing Information, Turnitin – Oh my!
Thursday, February 11, 2021
12:00pm – 1:00pm
Register: https://tufts.libcal.com/event/7450271?hs=a
Questions about plagiarism, citing references and accessing Turnitin are the most frequently asked at Hirsh Library! Perhaps you have nagging questions about how to avoid accidental plagiarism or how to cite that weird reference? Come to this open workshop to get some answers, and make your research life, a little easier (or at least, a little less scary!).
Boost Your Research Impact
Tuesday, February 16, 2021
12:00pm – 1:00pm
Register: https://tufts.libcal.com/event/7505694
In this workshop, we’ll walk through some effective strategies to increase the discoverability, visibility, and accessibility of your scholarly output. In particular, we will cover how to build your scholarly identity, maximize the accessibility of your research through your publication decisions, and grow your digital visibility.
Tools for Managing Your Writing
Thursday, February 18, 2021
12:00pm – 1:00pm
Register: https://tufts.libcal.com/event/7501761?hs=a
In this workshop you will learn how to use library resources and tools to manage your writing from conception to publication. Resources covered include making effective use of citation management tools, databases to find journal impact factors, suggested apps, guidelines, and tips to keep track of your research.
PubMed: An Introduction
Tuesday, February 23, 2021
12:00pm – 1:00pm
Register: https://tufts.libcal.com/event/7451462?hs=a
This workshop will introduce you to PubMed, the world’s premiere biomedical literature database. We will review the content of this database, planning and executing a search strategy, narrowing search results, finding full-text, and exporting results to a citation management program.
Copyright & Your Thesis
Thursday, February 25, 2021
Register: https://tufts.libcal.com/event/7451490?hs=a
This workshop will provide guidance navigating the various copyright questions and decisions that come up during the capstone, thesis, or dissertation process regarding your rights and the rights of others. Whether you are including other people’s content, such as adapting graphs or images, reusing some of your own work, or publishing all or part of your manuscript before or after submitting, there are copyright considerations that can seem challenging and daunting to address. We’re here to help!
February is African American History Month, and recently the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. While we want to celebrate African American excellence year-round, this month we would like to congratulate the countless Black people who, throughout history, have sought to make their communities and the world better, despite the systemic racism they struggle through daily. The month should be about highlighting Black excellence and reflecting on our roles in contributing to anti-racism.
One person we’d like to highlight is Ayanna Pressley who, in 2018, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, making her the first woman of color to represent Massachusetts in that role. In 2009, she was the first person of color to be elected to the Boston City Council. As City Councilor, she formed the Committee on Healthy Women, Families, and Communities; she implemented initiatives for better sex education and family planning programs in public schools; and she is a proponent for progressive policies in climate change and Medicare now as a House Representative. You can read more about her mission here.
Another person we’d like to highlight is Maria Baldwin. In 1889, Maria Baldwin became the first Black principal of any school in the state and Northeast, at the Agassiz school. Her students were all middle-class white children, and many of her staff and faculty were white as well. Regardless, she worked hard as an educator, and became the master of a new Agassiz school erected in 1916. She is the only Black woman of color—one of two women ever—to be a school master in Cambridge. She was an activist, and educator, and a valuable Bostonian mind. You can visit her house.
To connect with the various organizations documenting and promoting African American excellence, check out this hub for exhibitions and teaching guides.
Part of African American History Month should not only be reflecting on the history of African Americans, but also reflecting on our contributions to anti-racism. Last year, during the protests seeking justice for George Floyd, our library staff began compiling anti-racism resources, especially those about race-based medical discrimination. You can go through that LibGuide here. The Anti-Racism Resource Guide includes information about documenting and addressing race-based medical disparities, resources for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and co-conspirators to engage in anti-racism work, and tons of reading material. This LibGuide is a living document, so if you don’t see something you expect to see, let us know here.
Our previous post was about our anti-racism reading group meeting on February 19. For the readings and registration links, check out the post here.
Photo by Max Bender on Unsplash
After the success of Hirsh’s first Anti-Racism Reading Group session held in October last fall, we will be hosting a second session on Friday, February 19th from 12pm – 1pm! We were very excited to see so many participants and look forward to another great discussion!
During this session, there will only be one reading, which you can access at this link. We hope this reading will facilitate a discussion on how structural racism contributes to health disparities in communities of color.
Community guidelines will remain the same as the last session’s guidelines. However, as always, please feel free to reach out if you would like to add other guidelines!
Please follow this link to register for the event. We look forward to seeing everyone within the Tufts community join us in our second session regardless of your field or title!
-ANDREA MINJEE KANG, MSI | SHE/HER/HERS
Research & Instruction Librarian
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/diseases-in-the-district-of-maine-1772—1820-9780190053253?cc=us&lang=en&
A recent and notable addition to our collection is this book of medical history, written and gifted to the library by Dr. Richard J. Kahn, graduate of Tufts Medical School, m1966. Dr. Kahn has also been professor to Tufts students for most of 50 years, now through the Tufts/Maine Medical program. Below he provides a summary of the book and its contents:
“This is the story of a lost manuscript, an unpublished book written 200 years ago by a rural New England physician, who lived and practiced in Gorham and Portland, ME. It will be an important new primary source for medical history, research, and teaching for scholars and will also be of interest to general readers for, as Barker wrote on title page, it was ‘Written so as to be intelligible to those who are destitute of Medical Science.’ My introductory chapters have kept Barker’s goal, to be accessible to the general reader, in mind.
The Jeremiah Barker Papers consist of two manuscript boxes containing letters, casebooks, and several texts with marginalia by Barker, in addition to his unpublished manuscript. It is a fifty-year record of his reflections on diseases, epidemics, diagnoses, treatments, and outcomes, with an unusual effort to consult and cite the medical literature and other physicians in a changing medical landscape, as practice and authority shifted from historical to scientific methods. In short, it is a remarkable record of medicine as practiced in northern New England over 200 years ago, during the shift of medical authority from Hippocrates and Galen to the beginnings of the scientific method.
The publication of Barker’s manuscript, fully annotated, includes my five-chapter introduction, that is a sketch of Barker’s background, education, and writings, the difficulty in obtaining the medical literature through books, journals, newspapers, and the post, and a chapter contextualizing the changing medical climate as science supplanted the words of Hippocrates and Galen. One chapter examines Barker as a ‘dangerous innovator’ experimenting with the new chemistry of Lavoisier. The final chapter suggests ways for the general reader to approach a 200-year-old manuscript, avoiding ‘presentism,’ the post hoc fallacy, and confirmation bias. A glossary will define and explain terms and medications not commonly used in the 21st century.”
You can find Diseases in the District of Maine 1772 to 1820 on the 4th floor of the library at the New Books display.
Have you ever used JumboSearch? Do you want to make it better? TUFTS’ LIBRARIES NEED YOU!
Please complete this form http://go.tufts.edu/JumboSearchUsability to volunteer to be placed in a pool for usability testing with Tufts Libraries. This form must be completed by February 8th!
If you are selected from the pool as a participant, you will be asked to commit to a 30-minute session. During this session, you will be asked to complete a series of four (4) tasks using the library catalog and answer follow-up questions based on your experience completing these tasks.
Participants who complete a session will receive an electronic gift card ($20).
Testing will be conducted virtually, and participants must have use of a computer (laptop or desktop) at their location.
Please contact Amanda Nevius (Amanda.Nevius@tufts.edu), Research and Instruction Librarian at Hirsh Health Sciences Library, with any questions.
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