You may remember HHSL staff walking around with clipboards periodically between mid-March and early April asking what school you were from (thanks again for letting us interrupt your studying). Well, even if you don’t, the results are in, and we’re eager to share them with you!

 

Total Numbers

Over the course of 7 days and 86 rounds, we were able to talk to a total of 1,729 people. We have a few rounds of lost data, so while these numbers are not perfect, they still give us a general understanding of library usage. From those folks we were able to capture, 763 were from the Dental School – just over 44% – and 815 were from the Medical School, including students in PA, PHPD, and MBS programs –  about 47%. There were 76 Friedman students, 64 GSBS students, and the rest were folks from TMC, HNRCA, and other part of Tufts, plus a few affiliate members. Remember, Hirsh welcomes everyone in the Tufts community! The total breakdown is below.

Chart of people using Hirsh by programSince we now know 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. Always. This time, the count on the 7th floor was more than twice that of the next closest floor. The 4th and 5th floors had similar usage, and the 6th floor saw the fewest visitors.

Chart of people using Hirsh by floor

Days

The distribution of visitors across days almost looks like a bell curve. Our most popular day was Tuesday, followed closely by Wednesday and Monday. Surprisingly, Friday was the next busiest day, with nearly 75 more visitors than Thursday. This may be in part because Thursday is some missing data; regardless, this was a strong Friday showing. Not surprisingly, our least busy days were Saturday and Sunday.

Chart of people using Hirsh by day

Times

Again, I doubt that you’ll be shocked that 3pm remains the busiest time of day at Hirsh. 11am is the second busiest time. Traffic tapers off in the evening, and 9pm is our least busy time by far – nearly 5x less busy than 3pm!

Chart of people using Hirsh by time of day

 

Total Floor Usage by Time of Day

While I still don’t think we can 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, both with individual carrels and study rooms. However, the 4th floor is a close second at 11am with only 17 fewer people. I suspect this is a great time to start thinking about eating lunch and to connect with classmates in a space that isn’t a quiet floor. Again, the full breakdown is below. While there’s no way to prove these assumptions based on this information alone, it’s a good starting point to dig deeper into how people use the library.

Chart of total people using Hirsh by floor by time of day

So, on behalf of everyone at the Hirsh Health Sciences Library, thank you for your assistance in helping get a sense of your library usage so we can ultimately figure out how to serve you best! Which, 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 October. Until then…

Warmly,
Katie

 

Happy (unofficial) summer everyone!

Even if you can’t make it to the beach/don’t feel like making it to the beach because of the delightful New England weather we’ve been having, you can still read like you’re at the beach with books from our Leisure Lounge! Whether you’re looking for a good cozy mystery, a true crime thriller, or a book of essays, we have every book you might need for you summer plans. You can find the Leisure Lounge in the leisure reading section on the 4th floor of Hirsh, near the printer and comfy couches.

Rubber duck reading a book in lounge chair on the beach

Image by Majaranda from Pixabay

 

Here are some of our suggestions, which you can find on display in our Leisure Lounge:

I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron

Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern

Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann

The Forever Summer by Jamie Brenner

Swamplandia! By Karen Russell

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

If you have any suggestions/recommendations for us to read, let us know!

And happy reading!

 

Library Service Desk Closed Monday 5/29

In observance of Memorial Day, Hirsh Library will be closed on Monday, May 29th. We will be open for our usual hours on Saturday and Sunday. Hope you have a sunny and relaxing long weekend!

 

You’ve got first year down, M26s, and it’s just about that time to settle into a study strategy for Step 1. We’ve got review books, of course—just library things—but you can also access question banks and practice exams through the library!

MedOne Adaptive Learner: Step 1 is a platform with thousands of practice questions and explanations that creates a personalized learning path based on how well you know the material.

 

Landing Page for Adaptive Learner: Step 1

MedOne Adaptive Learner: Step 1 landing page. Thieme.

Board Vitals is another practice question platform where you can make custom quizzes.

To get started with both of those resources, you’ll need to create a free account—different from your Tufts account. Just make sure you’re on campus when you sign in the first time so you’re recognized as a Tufts user! This video demonstrates how to set up an account the first time you sign into MedOne.

Both MedOne and Board Vitals are compatible on mobile as well!

For a more complete list of board review resources, see our research guide Board Prep for Medicine Step 1 Comprehensive Review, and don’t hesitate to ask us at the Desk if you’re looking for something in particular.

Happy studying—you’ve got this!

 

Post contributed by Christina Heinrich

 

Duette . “Commencement, 1966.” tufts:UA136.002.DO.01322r. Tufts University. Digital Collections and Archives. Medford, MA.

Congratulations Class of 2023! All of us at the Hirsh Health Sciences Library applaud your hard-earned accomplishments and we wish you the best in your future endeavors! We look forward hearing about all the great work you will do.

Please note that the Library Service Desk will be closed this Saturday, May 20th, as there will be a reception for the graduates taking place on the 4th floor.

On Friday, May 19th, preparations will begin for Saturday’s event so there will be some disruption on the 4th floor starting at 1pm and the Food4Thought cafe will be closing at 2pm.

 

Photo of panels with art

We are pleased to share that an art exhibit will be on display throughout the month of May down on the 4th floor. The exhibit, I Am More, is the work of artist Amy Kerr and is being hosted by the Office of Student Wellness in concert with Mental Health Awareness Month. There will be an opening reception down by the exhibit on 5/11 at 2:30pm.

Here’s some information from Student Wellness about the exhibit:

“The exhibit features pastel and colored pencil portraits by artist Amy Kerr, accompanied by essays written by subjects describing how they are more than their life challenges. The portraits address mental illness and addiction recovery, coping with medical diagnoses, and surviving trauma. Despite the challenging topics, the message is one of hope and resilience, and sometimes even humor and joy. The exhibit includes mental health resources and emergency number cards.Since 2018, I Am More has traveled to universities, shopping malls, hospitals, libraries, and government buildings around the northeast, including the Massachusetts State House, as a reminder that despite our challenges we all have gifts, loves, and triumphs to celebrate.”

We hope you will come take a moment to check it out!

 

Photo of Katie Kidwell

We are delighted to announce that our half-time reference assistant, Katie Kidwell, will be taking on the role of Evening & Weekend Coordinator! This position plays a vital part in keeping our library running outside typical business hours, collects data about library usage, and manages our fantastic student staff. We are thrilled to have her spending even more time at Hirsh!

 

 

We will be having one more extended hours weekend this Saturday 4/29 and Sunday 4/30! The library will be open from 10am-10pm on both days. We’ll also have free coffee available on Saturday down on the 4th floor starting around 5pm. Best of luck as you enter this final end of semester push!

 
group of flowers

lilies photo by A. LaVertu, 2022

Spring term may be almost over – but – there’s still more opportunities to learn with our late spring workshops!   Even better, eligible attendees can receive credit (1 hr) in partial fulfillment of Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training requirements for participating in these workshops!

To be eligible for RCR credit, during the workshop you must: display your full name (first and last), have your camera turned on, and attend at least 50 minutes of the workshop.  All workshops are on Zoom.

 

 

Python for Data Visualization

Wednesday, May 3, 2023
2:00pm – 3:00pm
Register: https://tufts.libcal.com/event/10636137?hs=a
RCR subject area: (G) Data acquisition and analysis

Python is a powerful, open-source and popular programming language with a wide variety of applications. In this workshop, we’ll cover everything you need to know in order to create graphs – no previous experience required!

 

A Dynamic Duo: Rayyan and Zotero for Research Collaboration

Wednesday, May 10, 2023

2:00pm – 3:00pm
Register: https://tufts.libcal.com/event/10655309?hs=a

RCR subject area: (E) Collaborative Research. 

Responsible collaborative research rests on the ability of collaborators to share information as openly and transparently as possible.  Therefore, access to tools that facilitate the sharing of information freely across institutions is of critical importance!

In this workshop, we will focus on two excellent, widely available tools for collaboration on literature review projects, Rayyan and Zotero.

Rayyan is a tool that assists in managing the screening and review process for systematic and scoping reviews. Zotero is a citation manager that helps you to collect, organize, and cite references. This workshop will feature the collaborative components of these two tools.

When paired together for collaboration literature review projects, Rayyan and Zotero are a *collaborative* match made in heaven!

 

Essentials of Data Management with NIH Data Sharing Policy Update

Wednesday, May 17, 2023

2:00pm – 3:00pm
Register: https://tufts.libcal.com/event/10636131?hs=a
RCR subject area: (H) Secure and ethical data use; data confidentiality, management, sharing, and ownership

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. In this workshop, we will review best practices for naming, organizing, storing, depositing your research data, and creating a Data Management Plan.

We will also review the recent NIH updates to their Data Management and Sharing Policy.  NIH’s updated Data Management and Sharing Policy affects both applicants and recipients of NIH grants. We will review the changes to the NIH policy, why data sharing is important, and data management strategies that will help you stay compliant throughout the lifecycle of your research project.

 

 

 

 

 

Need a good luck charm to get you through finals? Want to give a friend a boost while they’re in a marathon study session? Then stop by the Library Service Desk on Thursday 4/13 and Friday 4/14 starting at noon! We’ll have all the supplies you need to make some motivational tokens for yourself or your friends. We have a variety glass gems and paint pens to create a pocket-sized work of art. And as a bonus, we’re bringing out the button-maker!

Hope to see you there!

 

 
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