Need help navigating the new PubMed? Never fear, our summer workshop series is here! Every other Tuesday in July and August, we’re holding out “Introducing the New PubMed” workshop. We’ll get you up to speed on the new interface changes and how they will impact the way you search. Each workshop will cover the same content, so you can feel free to choose whatever date is most convenient for you.
The workshops are held from 12-1pm via Zoom on the following dates:
July 14th
July 28th
August 11th
August 25th
You can find the workshop calendar here. Registrants will be sent the Zoom link the day before the workshop.
And, as always, if you have any questions about PubMed or anything else, you can Ask Us!
It’s July, so it’s time to welcome our new crop of Interns, Residents, and Fellows of Tufts Medical Center and our affiliated programs!
Doctor immunising a child, 1941 from the collections of the State Library of Queensland is in the Public Domain.
Remember, House Staff of TMC and affiliated hospitals have full access to the research collections of the Hirsh Health Sciences Library (for questions about access, visit this page. We are happy to assist you with all of your library research needs, including access to Point of Care Tools, access to Guidelines, access to ebooks, and much more! We can help you with your literature searches, and work with you on bigger research projects as well (just fill out this Consultation form and we’ll get right back to you).
We are available during Online Staffed Hours to assist remotely with all of your questions, no matter how big or how small. Feel free to email us at hhsl@tufts.edu, or use our Chat feature to reach someone right away.
Welcome to Tufts, and we look forward to helping you navigate the next phase of your medical education!
This year, Tufts is observing Independence Day on Friday, July 3rd, and has declared Thursday, July 2nd as a bonus holiday. In light of this, Hirsh Library will not be holding online staffed hours from Thursday, July 2nd through Sunday, July 5th. We hope you enjoy a happy and safe holiday!
Back in October 2019 and March 2020, HHSL Staff walked around and counted how many people of each program were around the library. You may remember us, with the clipboards, asking that question.
Or…to be more accurate, we walked around throughout October, and half of March. We didn’t actually end up getting all of the dates we had wanted to in March (apparently there’s a global pandemic on), so we ended up with a truncated version of the survey for that month: 4 days of data instead of 7. Still, when it comes to trying to make a better Hirsh Library for everyone, even truncated data is better than none! So here’s some of what I can see.
Fair warning: I’m going to have to extrapolate and make a couple of assumptions here, since we’re missing so much of March’s potential data. I’ve seen enough data over the years to have a good sense of what it would be, but what should and what is are always different, so maybe get a salt grain ready to take with this post. Finally, the Y axis is always going to be Number of People Counted in this post, because I want this to be as easy to read as possible!
Click to enlarge.
Click to enlarge.
So, here’s the base data. October 2019 and March 2020. As you can see, we counted…actually not that many more people, all things considered. March 3rd, 5th, and even the 11th were all right in line with what we saw in October, in terms of library population. In fact the difference between the most populated day in October and the one in March is only 34 people. Which is great!
In case you’re wondering what happened on March 13th: that was the last Friday we were open normal hours. Staff, faculty, and students were already voluntarily staying home to work from there to keep themselves safe from the rapidly growing COVID-19 threat. On March 15th, the following Sunday, Tufts made the decision to close the campuses, and Monday the 16th was the last day the library was physically staffed in person (as a note, we are very much here for you online). So what you’re seeing in that data is the effect the virus was already having on the life of the library. March 11th: relatively normal day. March 13th: signs of a new normal.
But we’re not here for discussion of the virus, we are here for discussion of the data!
Click to enlarge.
So, this is the same data as above, but oriented on what days of the week a given date was. Although the by-the-date data has its place, it’s good to know, say, what a week looks like. This is what a week and a half look like! And this is where that missing data makes me sad, because we’ll never know what the other days looked like in March. Traditionally, the weekends are the slowest days of the week, and the busiest tend to be Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday. This is mostly matching, but…what was with that October Friday? My instinct is that it was an aberration, but without seeing in March it’s hard to tell how much of one it was. That a Friday was the busiest day we counted in October tells me that there must have been an event that day (a meeting? exams? a conference, perhaps?), but maybe it just chanced to be close to an exam.
In the end, one surprisingly busy day does not a library make. But it’s still fun to think about. Especially when you compare calendars to the data and realize that Friday, October 25th, happened to also be the second day of our pumpkin painting. Coincidence?
I think not.
Click to enlarge
Okay, last two charts! The first is the People by Floor. So this ignores dates, and focuses on the aggregate. One thing I’ve been noticing in the last year or so is that the counts we get on the 7th floor are always roughly twice that of the next closest floor (which alternates). As you can see from October, that sometimes makes for some goofy looking charts. This is one of those rare cases where the missing data actually won’t make any real difference. Barring anomalies, what you see with that chart falls in line with years of existing data. That one is one I always predict with easy clarity. Which brings us to the final, and everyone’s favorite: programs!
Click to enlarge
This is sort of wild to look at. So, okay, Dental and Medical are the programs dominating the numbers. That makes perfect sense, and honestly outside of minor variations, that’s what tends to happen. They were close in October, though, so I would have loved to see what those numbers looked like in March. Especially given the sudden notable presences of PA, PHPD, and MBS. Look at that MBS presence in March! That’s so great to see. I love it when I see sudden jumps in the number of people in the library. We’re here for everybody, after all!
That’s it for me today. Thank you for reading along, and I hope to see you all online this summer, where we are all seven days of the week. If you’re unsure the best way to reach out, well, try checking out our Ask Us page. Or hey, you can still Schedule a Consultation. There are lots of options.
And remember: wear your mask.
Photo credit: Tarlan Sedeghat
Stay safe everyone,
Tom
The university has designated this Friday, June 19, 2020 as a Day of Reflection, Commitment, and Action for Racial Justice. In observance of this, Hirsh Library will be closed. We encourage you to use the day to participate in the programming the University has put together. We also invite you to join us from 3-4pm for a virtual discussion on resources for learning about, addressing, and coping with racism in the health sciences. Registration is now open and a Zoom link will be sent out an hour before the event.
In addition, we would like to share this statement of solidarity and commitment from the Tufts Libraries Council.
June 17, 2020 is the 245th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill, an event we mark in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as Bunker Hill Day. With in person celebrations and exploration is understandably off the table this year, here are the Top Ten Things You Should Know About Charlestown and the Battle of Bunker Hill according to our Head of Research & Instruction and Charlestown denizen, Becky Morin
1) The Battle of Bunker Hill was mostly fought on Breed’s Hill. That’s where the Monument is. Bunker Hill is actually taller and steeper, and is home to the lovely Saint Francis de Sales, a beautiful Roman Catholic church dedicated in 1862. If you don’t know which hill is which, we know you’re a tourist.
By Siddharth Mallya. CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
3) Charlestown is where Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride really kicked off. He was ferried in a rowboat from Boston, landing near the Charlestown Battery, where he picked up a horse from his friend Deacon John Larkin, a lifelong Charlestown resident.
4) There is debate as to why the Colonial forces fortified Breed’s Hill instead of Bunker Hill, although many think it is because Breed’s Hill is closer to Boston. The British had planned the siege to capture Bunker Hill, as they wanted to dig in fortifications on the area’s highest points.
5) It took the British three attempts to capture Breed’s Hill, even though their numbers were far greater than the Colonial forces.
6) Charlestown burned after the Battle, the first of two major fires to strike the community.
7) Proud Charlestown residents still fly the Bunker Hill Battle Flag.
By DevinCook at English Wikipedia, via Wikimedia Commons
9) The Bunker Hill Monument (which you now know is on Breed’s Hill) is 221 feet tall and was completed in 1842.
10) Beloved French hero of the American Revolution, the Marquis de Lafayette, is said to be buried beneath a sprinkling of soil from Bunker Hill, procured by his son.
Want More?
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-true-story-of-the-battle-of-bunker-hill-36721984/
http://charlestownhistoricalsociety.org/history/historic-timeline/
https://www.masshist.org/revolution/bunkerhill.php
https://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jun17.html
Two weekends ago, people in the United States and across the globe erupted with outrage not only at the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Ahmaud Arbery, but also at how Black lives have continued to be systemically devalued in all levels of society. Many people who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), as well as white co-conspirators have continued to fight for racial justice prior to these protests. However, many are only now learning that these deep inequities exist in our society.
In order to help aid the learning process, specifically about the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and how anti-Blackness is deeply entrenched in the health sciences/medical professions, the Hirsh Health Sciences Library (HHSL) is launching this Anti-Racism Resource Guide. It includes:
- Information about the BLM movement
- Resources documenting and addressing racial discrimination in health/medical professions
- Mental health and community resources for those who identify as BIPOC
- Educational material for co-conspirators
If you think there is anything we are missing in the research guide or you would like to provide us with feedback, please fill out this survey. We hope that this guide will be a helpful resource for you to either share with your community/ies and/or use as a starting point.
In addition, HHSL will be hosting a “tea” over Zoom (bring your own tea!^^) to talk about this research guide, its importance, and any questions you may have. Please join us this Friday, June 19 from 3 – 4 PM and register at this link. A Zoom link will be sent out an hour before the event.
Many events are planned for Juneteenth and we acknowledge and honor that you may wish to attend another event at the same time. If you need to miss our event but have questions or would like a walk-through of the guide, please contact Andrea at andrea.kang@tufts.edu.
Disclaimer: This is intended for use as a resource guide. Departments and Libraries throughout Tufts University have made or are planning to make respective statements separate from this guide.
Post contributed by Andrea Kang, Amanda Nevius, and Christina Heinrich
Looking for a citation manager but unsure which one to choose? Or writing a paper and not sure how to construct your bibliography? Citation management tools are programs that enable you to keep track of your research, manage citations, generate bibliographies in various citation styles (e.g. APA, JAMA, Chicago), and organize PDFs. These tools work directly with word processing programs such as Word and Google Docs and some of them even allow you to directly download and annotate PDFs or insert figures with captions into manuscripts. Our library staff has compiled information about the most popular citation managers to help you find the one that suits your needs in the research guides below:
Also, be sure to check out our upcoming workshops for related content!
https://hirshlibrary.tufts.edu/events
Struggling with how to access library resources online? Trying to figure out how to navigate New PubMed? We have a workshop for that! Check out the workshops we have available for you below. All workshops will be online through Zoom. Once registered, a Zoom invitation will be sent out to you by the host closer to the workshop date.
How Can I Access That? Finding Full Text from Off-Campus
Date | Wednesday, June 10
Time | 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Are you finding it more difficult to find and read full-text of articles, books, and other resources now that you are largely off-campus? Never fear! With quick tips and tricks demonstrated in this workshop, you can once again access the full-text of resources you’re used to using on-campus.
Searching Basics: Strategic Searching using Concepts, Terms, & Boolean Operators
Date | Wednesday, June 17
Time | 12:00pm – 1:00pm
With strategic searching, you can rapidly set yourself up to either find more articles and other resources that might potentially be useful or to narrow down a search that has an overwhelming number of results. Yes, basic search strategies can meet either need! Get your intro to search logic with this workshop.
The Literature Review for Dental Protocols & Papers
Date | Wednesday, June 24
Time | 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Whether you are writing a protocol for a research project or you’re starting to write a paper with the hopes of publication, you need to complete a literature review. Learn why a literature review is needed for both scenarios and a framework for conducting one, as well as when you might want to ask a librarian for help. Please note this workshop is targeted specifically for dental protocol and publication needs, but all are welcome to attend.
Dates | Tuesdays, June 16 & 30, July 14 & 28, August 11 & 25
Time | 12:00pm – 1:00pm (for all workshops)
This will be an ongoing series of introducing the New PubMed and how to navigate the fresh interface and features. Feel free to join whichever workshop that works best for you!
Image by Deborah Jackson from Pixabay
In honor of this upcoming Memorial Day, Hirsh Library will be suspending our remote hours for the weekend. Effectively, we will be “closed” for this Saturday, Sunday, and Monday (May 23th – 25th), and be back to our normal 8am – 8pm online staffed hours on Tuesday, May 26th.
You can always still reach out to us via Ask Us, and we will get back to you as soon as we’re back on Tuesday!
Have a great weekend, everyone, and stay safe!
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Load More...The Boston Public Health Commission announced today that West Nile Virus has been detected in mosquitoes in Boston for the first time this year. Read more here: http://ow.ly/5pK550AylGl
Black Americans and other people of color in the U.S. are suffering from COVID-19 at far higher rates than white Americans. Tufts public health and community health experts say it’s part of a long-term pattern of harm. http://ow.ly/5XDL50Ay5Tv
Summer Workshop Series: Introducing the New PubMed | What's New @ HHSL https://bit.ly/2CxBTpc
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