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So, you’re staff at Tufts and you’ve made some pretty useful stuff during your time here.  Let’s say someone at another organization asks to reuse a flyer you designed, a figure you generated, pieces of a report you wrote or something else you created as part of your job here at Tufts.

Can you share your work?  What’s the best way to do it?

Maybe you haven’t memorized the university’s Intellectual Property Policy, but it’s worth a look.  Among other things, it says Tufts University owns the copyright on work staff produce as part of their duties (a.k.a, “work for hire”).  Tech Transfer and University Counsel have created a protocol for sharing these works.  It starts by you completing the Creative Commons Submission Form.

What is Creative Commons (CC)?

Creative Commons provides somewhat straightforward copyright license language protecting the rights holder while encouraging certain uses of the material by others.  For example, some CC licenses prohibit commercial use of the work and some require that any other works produced using the original material carry the same CC license as the original.  The concept is summed up on the submission form as, “By applying a CC license to a given work, authors can easily promote redistribution of their work with minimal paperwork, and without sacrificing control over certain important types of use.”

How does the process work?

After approval by Tech transfer and Legal Counsel, you’ll add notice of the license to your work and can share with others within the parameters of the license.  The university can also make individual decisions to allow certain other uses of the material on a case by case basis.

For a great example of the Creative Common license in action, check out the Evidence Pyramid crafted by our librarian, Amanda Nevius.  When Amanda was updating the content presented to our dental students on Evidence-Based Dentistry, she wanted to create an updated Evidence Pyramid with a focus on clarity and accessibility, using both color-blind friendly design and dyslexia-friendly font. With input from other librarians and design help from Katherine Morley, she did so. Anticipating that this visually appealing pyramid may be something others would want to use, she pursued the Creative Common license and applied it. Already, a clinical faculty member from Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health has let her know she is grateful for the CC license and is intending to use the pyramid.

Any questions about this process?

Contact the Tufts Scholarly Communication Team or University Counsel.

Post contributed by Judy Rabinowitz

 

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Working on a cover letter? Stumped about starting your personal statement? Finishing up your thesis? Never fear, Health Sciences Writing Consultants is here! We interrupt our usual summer hiatus to bring you three special Thursdays where our consultant will be available to advise you on your writing projects.

On 7/18, 7/25, and 8/1, there will be four appointments available between 11am and 2pm. For more information or to register for an appointment please visit the Health Sciences Writing Consultants LibGuide.

Regular sessions will resume in August–stay tuned!

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!

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 Library Open Hours to help with all of your questions, no matter how big or how small. Feel free to call us at 617.636.6705, 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!

 

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So the HHSL Open Workshops Series is over for the semester and you couldn’t attend any workshops. Look, we’ve all been there. You really WANTED to attend that Thursday HHSL Open Workshop at 12pm, but you were engrossed in your studies/bumped in to a friend and started chatting/forgot to check the date on the topic you wanted/really needed to eat lunch…and so you missed it.

Have you squandered your last chance to learn EndNote? Thrown away your shot to master Web of Science? Wasted all opportunities to hone your PubMed skills? Are you doomed?

“On Fire” Gunshow #648 by KC Green. This is a meme all over the internet now, give its creator some love here.

No! Your friends at Hirsh Health Sciences Library would never abandon you! We know how busy you are, and we can’t schedule Open Workshops at times that fit everybody’s schedule or align the topic you’re interested in to the time it’d be the most useful for you. To better meet your needs, we bring you Workshops on Demand— gather a few friends, find some times that work for a group session, and tell the Library what you want to learn about. We will provide the content, and expert librarian instructor, and we’ll even book the room. Choose from the list of topics, or suggest your own- we’re listening! Just fill out the form and we will be in touch to set up your custom workshop. These sessions are a great way to maximize learning and interaction with an instructor and your classroom peers, and ideal for those embarking on group projects. Workshops on Demand can be scheduled M-F between 8:00 am and 5:30 pm, depending on the availability of librarians, and we can conduct them via WebEx as well for those off-campus.

(Of course, if you would like a one-on-one instruction session with a librarian, we can set that up too. Just contact us here)

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Gather round ye good folk of Hirsh Library, for I hae something most odd and chilling to share with ye today. You may have heard whispers round the misty paths of the Boston campus, tales of strange beasts that dwell round the depths of the Library Service Desk.

Surely these creatures are but a myth? Or there is some scientific explanation for these rumors? An errant algal bloom from the Charles River. Mirages that appear before the eyes of exhausted students after they pull all-nighters. A flock of pigeons overfed on leftover pizza…

Nae, ‘tis none of these, and I’m sorry to say ‘tis no legend either. These are the creatures known collectively as THE BLOCK. And, disturbingly, sightings are on the rise.

Descendants of the great dragons of old, these four mystic beings are charged with guarding a hoard most valuable to all of us here who seek knowledge—the reserve collection. Under the ancient contract, these precious items—a collection of such goodly things as skulls, books, and laptops—may be lent freely to all those Tuftonians who might need them, for a period of four hours. If the borrower requires the item longer, it will be gladly be lent out for four hours more, provided they visit the Desk and kindly request a renewal.

Those who are vigilant and heed the timings of return need not fear THE BLOCK. But those misfortunate souls who keep things past due will attract the gaze of the creatures and incur their curse.

The First Block is tricky—it will catch you when first you let your guard down—but it is the most lenient of the quartet. The first time you forget to return an item in time, the First Block will bar you from borrowing for period four and twenty hours. Luckily, once this period has passed, it will not begrudge you a future loan.

Should you be careless and hold on to an item late for a second time, the Second Block will rise, with a harsher resolve than its fellow, and prevent you from borrowing for one week’s time.

Have you seen these two? Sightings are common, unfortunately, and while they should best be avoided, you can be hopeful that your experience will end with them.

Alas, there are those forget the lessons and power of the first two Blocks, and dare keep items late for a third time, thenceforth summoning the Third Block. The Third Block is resentful of being awakened from its sleep and will prevent you from borrowing items for one full month. It will also send a message on the wind to your Dean, notifying them of your failure to abide by the rules of the borrowing contract.

I cannae bear discussing the last creature. Truly, I shudder to share what will happen should you dare cross the monstrous Fourth Block. The most ancient and fearsome of all the Blocks, it has the longest memory and enacts the most rigid penalty of all. Should you keep items late for a fourth time, the Fourth Block shall rise from the murky depths of its cubic lair and prevent you from borrowing items for the rest of the semester. Once again, your Dean shall hear of your grave offence.

Sightings of the fearsome third and fourth blocks are on the rise and this is most distressing news to us.

Please, heed my warnings. Keep your wits about you! These creatures are old and their memories long. Remember, even if you summon the first Block in July, the other Blocks will remember all the way through the following June. ‘Tis a nasty surprise to forget your autumnal encounters with Blocks One and Two and be faced with the Third Block on a bonny day in May.

I entreat you, take my words to heart and readily share them with your fellows. Our wish is that all may use the Reserve collection in good health and good cheer, with nary a worry that they should ever face an encounter with a Block.

For the facts behind the fantasy, please visit our Reserve Policy page.

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Please enjoy the third installment of Ask Ms. Shelved, the irregularly scheduled advice column from HHSL!

Dear Ms. Shelved,

I know that an important part of my educational development is learning to collaborate with my peers and work well with others. But when it comes time to study for exams, all I want is some peace, quiet, and PRIVACY to study. But the Hirsh Health Sciences Library rules thwart me at all turns! I cannot book a Collaboration Room on the 5th floor as a single scholar. I’ve even been asked to LEAVE when a group wants the room to study. There are people EVERYWHERE?! I am a solitary creature, like a sloth. What am I to do?

 Sincerely,

Solo in Sackler

Sloth by henryalien is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

Dear Ms. Shelved,

 It has taken a lot of courage for me to write to you. By nature, I am a retiring and reticent person, disinclined to make a fuss. But recently, I have been searching for a room in which I can study, and so many of them are occupied by a person or a few people. Sometimes there is only a backpack in the room. What should I do? I do not want to offend anyone by claiming the room, even if it has been sitting empty and the lights are off.  I am gripped with indecision and whipsawed by doubt! Also I have exams coming up and I need to study. But I’m so shy, like a sloth. Whatever shall I do?

Sincerely,

Shy in Sackler

 Gentle Readers,

Solo, meet Shy. Shy, meet Solo. There, your problems are solved.

Ever yours,

Ms. Shelved

p.s. Okay, okay, let me explain…

Solo, you are correct that groups have priority for using all of our study rooms, including the 5th floor collaboration room and the 7th floor study rooms, and that groups may ask those studying alone to vacate. And Shy, it is true that people often do use rooms alone, and have a bad habit of leaving belongings behind to “claim” a room.

Not to play matchmaker (that’s another advice columnist), but if you want to use a quiet study room, why not SHARE? Solo, if a group asks you to leave the room, you can ask if they mind if you stay. Shy, if a room is empty except for some belongings, move right in and study! When the person or group returns, let them know you’re happy to share.

Ms. Shelved knows this is a high-stress time of year. Space is at a premium, and we need to work together, like female sloths (males are the shy, solitary ones my friends).

Ever yours (although it is incorrect to sign a letter again in the postscript),

Ms. Shelved

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Image by Mystic Art Design from Pixabay is licensed for reuse under the Pixabay License

The Hirsh Health Sciences Library is pretty jam-packed with resources, available both electronically and in print.  But what do you do when you need something that we just don’t have?

ILLiad, our interlibrary loan service, is here to help!

ILLiad is a great way to order article PDFs, book chapter PDFs, whole books, patents, theses, dvds, sheet music, and more.  Just log into ILLiad using your Tufts username and password or create a username and password if you are not issued university credentials, for example, if you are Tufts Medical Center staff.  The first time you log in, you’ll fill out a quick registration form and then you can start using our online request forms to submit your orders.

PDFs of articles and book chapters typically arrive in three days or less and can be downloaded from your ILLiad account.  Books and other hard copies are picked up/returned to the Library Service Desk on Sackler 4.  You’ll receive email notification when your items are accessible.

Students get 20 free requests per year.  In addition, there are lots of requests that we never charge for, such as requests for scanned items from our own collection, items shipped from another Tufts library or a Boston Library Consortium member library, or if you require accommodations due to special circumstances.   Please see our ILLiad Policies and Procedures page for more information about fees and other aspects of this service.

You can also request items from other Tufts Libraries be shipped to the Hirsh Health Sciences Library using JumboSearch.  That services is always free and just requires you log into your JumboSearch  account.

Post contributed by Judy Rabinowitz

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Attention second year medical students! As you’re preparing for Step 1 this spring, don’t forget about the study resources offered by Hirsh. We offer electronic question banks USMLE Easy and (new this year!) BoardVitals. Our research guide on Board Prep for Medicine lists our print and electronic Step 1 study materials: borrow First Aid and Kaplan comprehensive review resources or check out systems-based review books in the Student Consult, Rapid Review, or Blueprints series. Many of our most popular print resources, including two copies of First Aid 2018 are available on reserve at the Library Service Desk. Stop by the 4th floor and check them out!

 

Post contributed by Christina Heinrich

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Please enjoy the second installment of Ask Ms. Shelved, the irregularly scheduled advice column from HHSL!

Dear Ms. Shelved,

Classes are back in session, and exams are in full swing. I *thought* I couldn’t be happier to be back in the Hirsh Health Sciences Library, seeing my friends, checking out phone chargers, and studying. But Ms. Shelved, the Library is not the fairy-tale peaceful place I left back in December. Harmony has been shattered. Peace has been broken. Calm has been swept away in a torrent of dastardly despoilment and brutal banditry.

My laptop has been STOLEN.

Filched, lifted, pinched, purloined, snatched! The thief apparently crept in, like a raccoon to a birdfeeder, when I left my laptop in a study room to grab some lunch, go to Macy’s, and hit up a lecture. It was sitting right there, with my water bottle and my books! How could someone think it was available to take?

Ms. Shelved, please publish my letter as a service to other students! There is a thief in Sackler!

Sincerely, 

Snatched in Sackler

 

Dear Snatched,

I do publish your letter as a public service, but not to warn our fair friends of foul fences afoot! I implore you, nay, ALL students using the Library to remember that #thefthappens. While we all want to think the best of our fellow students, and to place absolute trust in our systems, it is possible for people to wind up where they do not belong, and even for our classmates to run afoul of the law.

Remember, you are responsible for your property. Library staff cannot monitor your belongings, and will not watch them for you while you run an errand or go to class. Don’t even think of asking to leave your stuff behind the Desk, it’s rude to expect these active agents of academia to forsake their sworn duties in order to mind your bookbag.

University Policy offers Tips for Personal Property Security, and remember to contact them on the appropriate campus to report crime or suspicious activity. Hopefully others will learn from your example, Snatched. In the meantime, you can check out a laptop from the Library to assist with your studying. Remember to return it to an actual human person and don’t leave it on the desk or in the bookdrop!

Ever yours,

Ms. Shelved

 

 

 

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We hope you all had a restful and rewarding winter break! Whether you’ve been back to the grind for a few weeks or are just starting your semester today, it’s the perfect time to refresh your memory about our librarian liaison program.

The Hirsh Library Liaison Program provides a “point person” for each of the academic programs and clinical departments on the Tufts’ health sciences campus.

What can a librarian liaison do for you? For starters, your librarian liaison can help you:

  • identify resources for your particular topic, especially resources beyond article databases
  • create effective and efficient search strategies for databases like PubMed and Web of Science
  • discern what tool is right for you to help manage your citations (i.e., EndNote, Zotero, Mendeley) and providing instructions to get you started
  • track down statistical data for research projects and help you manage your own data

Visit our Liaison Program page to find out who the librarian liaison is for your program and get in touch with them!

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