Tom (L) and Leo the Skeleton

It is with mixed emotions we announce the departure of our beloved Evening & Weekend Coordinator, Tom Quinn. Tom has been part of our circulation team since 2013, supervising student assistants and managing the Library Service Desk in the evenings and weekends (as the title implies).

In the time he’s been here, Tom has gotten his MLIS degree, created our blocking system, and co-published a chapter about the crafts we host here at the library.

He says, though, that he is proudest of making the desk an open and comfortable space to come for help or company. Students and staff have swung by for conversation or to create a study buddy for years, and that’s in large part thanks to Tom’s work here at circulation.

Be sure to stop by the desk and say goodbye with us before his last day, Thursday, Jan 27.

We are pleased to welcome Cam Duval as our new Collections Assistant!

Originally from Framingham, Massachusetts, Cam started his library career at the Pennsylvania State University libraries as a sheet music and A/V materials cataloger. After moving back to New England, Cam worked as a cataloger on a project to help preserve the Boston Public Library’s Founding Research Collection and as a proofreader on the BPL’s Anti-Slavery Manuscript collection transcription project. When he’s not at work, Cam enjoys playing tabletop games, binge-watching 50-year-old television shows, and hunting for Steely Dan records in antique stores. He’s very glad to return to an academic library setting. Please say hello if you seem him around the library!

Please give a warm welcome to Anne Meringolo, our new Electronic Resources and Serials Librarian! She is a graduate of Simmons University MLIS program and previously worked as Collection Services Manager at New England Historic Genealogical Society. Prior to that, she worked at Simmons University as a Serials and E-Resources librarian.

When not working, and it’s not winter, she can be found in her community garden plot. If you see her around the library, please feel free to say hello!

Strange news coming out of Hirsh Library lately. Today we bring you a report of a wild creature sighted wandering the stacks. It has been over a year since we received reports of this kind, but our Library Service Desk correspondents have noticed an increase in activity since the Desk opened in July. The steady stream of people returning to our quiet haven has drawn the attention of this fearsome beast. The being–half cube, half animal–has been wreaking havoc on patrons’ borrowing privileges. Please take great care to read the following information, for it may save your academic year!

The first time you return a reserve item late, the gentle cube will begin to transform. The awakening of its great strength will prevent you from checking out another reserve item for 24 hours.

The second time you return a reserve item late, the creature will become stronger yet, and prevent you from checking out another reserve item for one week.

If you have the folly to return an item late a third time, the creature will gain the power to block you from borrowing for an entire month! Its howls will also alert your dean to your delinquency.

If you return an item late a fourth time, well, then that’s when things begin to get really hairy. You will be blocked from borrowing for the remainder of the semester and your dean will yet again hear its fearsome snarls.

We urge you to take these matters seriously, and remember to return or renew your reserve item before your four hours are up! Worried you won’t make it in time? There is a silver bullet to slow the dreaded beast–just give us a call to let us know you’re running late.

And please remember—once the transformation process has begun, it will take a whole year to wear off. If the Wereblock enters its first stage in July, and you return something late in March, it will continue to gain its next level of power. Only once we are a week past the time of the summer solstice and the clock ticks over from 11:59pm on June 30^th to 12:00am on July 1^st, will you be safe.

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

We have big news! We will be resuming Collaboration Room reservations at 8am on Tuesday, October 12th! In preparation, we wanted to (re)introduce you to these popular spaces.

What are the collaboration rooms? 

Collaboration rooms are small rooms that groups of two or more Health Sciences students can reserve for active work on course-related assignments, such as projects or presentations. Each collaboration room has a whiteboard and a video screen to help you with your collaborative work.

Where are the collaboration rooms? 

You’ll find them all on the 5th floor of the library, mostly near the public computer area.

How do I reserve a room? 

Visit our Collaboration Rooms page to see the schedule and book a room.

How long can you reserve a room for?

Each group may make one booking per day for maximum of four hours and may make up to three bookings per week.

When can I make a reservation?

You must make a reservation by 11:59pm the night before the reservation and you may book up to two weeks in advance.

How will I know if a room is reserved? 

We will have a schedule posted outside the room. Users without reservations must vacate the room when requested by users with valid reservations.

Can I show up to use the room any time with my reserved block?

No, you must claim your room within 15 minutes of your reservation start time. If you don’t, the room will revert to a first come, first-served usage policy.

Do I have to make a reservation to use a room? 

No, if there is a reservation you can use the room on a first-come, first-served basis.

Does everyone in my group need to wear a mask? 

Yes! Per university policy, everyone must wear a mask in the building unless you are alone.

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Upgrading your research skills doesn’t have to be frightening! October Workshops@Hirsh will show give you some awesome tricks, and lots of treats, to enhance your  research skills.

Workshops will be held on Tuesdays from 12noon-1pm 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. Please note that workshops are open to only Tufts-affiliated individuals.

Title:       PubMed: An Introduction

Date:      Tuesday, October 5, 2021

Time:      12:00pm – 1:00pm

Registration: https://tufts.libcal.com/event/8156265?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.

Title:       Beyond PubMed

Date:      Tuesday, October 12, 2021

Time:      12:00pm – 1:00pm

Registration: https://tufts.libcal.com/event/8156419?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?

While PubMed covers the biomedical sciences thoroughly, there are many other databases that cover all of the Sciences and Social Sciences broadly. This workshop will introduce you to resources beyond PubMed that will enrich your research.

Title:       EndNote: the Basics

Date:      Tuesday, October 19, 2021

Time:      12:00pm – 1:00pm

Registration: https://tufts.libcal.com/event/8156273?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!

Title:       Open Access Week: Where to Publish Open Access

Date:      Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Time:      12:00pm – 1:00pm

Registration: https://tufts.libcal.com/event/8156376?hs=a

Description:
October 25-31 will be Open Access Week. In celebration, participate in our workshop to learn more about finding open access journals to publish your work in. We’ll talk about some general tips for finding suitable journals, as well as specifically how to find appropriate open access publishing opportunities.

Are you a PhD student or post doc researcher working with data? Working with data can be overwhelming. This Data Carpentry Workshop can help you get started!

The Carpentries organization strives “to teach foundational computational and data science skills to researchers.” The Hirsh Health Sciences Library will be hosting a Data Carpentry Workshop on Tuesday (10/19), Wednesday (10/20) and Thursday (10/21) from 10am – 1pm online. If you want to learn more about organizing spreadsheets, cleaning data with OpenRefine, and gaining and introduction into R, please register at this link!

All learners are welcome, including those with little to no prior experience with these tools. For the first two weeks, we will prioritize PhD students and post docs within the Tufts community. Then, we will open registration up for other participants so be on the lookout for more information!

If you have any questions about the workshop, please feel free to reach out to Andrea Kang. We hope to see you there!

Now that you’re back, you might have questions or need a hand with a research project or using the library. How do you get help if you need it? Look no further! In this brief post we’re going to tell the many ways that you can get help when you need it!

Need help right now, in-person?

If you have a question and want to receive in-person help, just stop by the 4th floor help desk and ask to speak to the on-call librarian. During staffed hours at the library, there is always an on-call librarian to give you a hand.  Trust us on this – if you ask for the on-call librarian at the 4th floor desk- you are NOT bothering anybody! That’s what the on-call librarian is there for!

Need help right now, not in-person?

If you have a ( not too complicated) question and are not in the library, you can use the “Chat with Us” feature on our “Ask Us” (https://hirshlibrary.tufts.edu/research/ask-us) page. The “Chat with Us” feature allows you to connect with library in real-time during staffed hours at the library. Besides  the “Chat with Us” feature, you can also email us at anytime at: hhsl@tufts.edu and we will return you email as soon as we can.

What to schedule a time to speak with the librarian assigned to your school/program/department?

If you want to schedule a time to meet with the librarian assigned to your particular school/program/department, you can use our “Find a Librarian” (https://hirshlibrary.tufts.edu/research/liaison-program) to locate the librarian liaison that is just right for you. Your librarian liaison can help you with: systematic reviews, purchase recommendations, creating links to library resources from Canvas or websites, assistance with specialized tools and services. Your librarian liaison will have a “Schedule an appointment” icon on their profile and you can select a time and day that works for you.

What to schedule a workshop for a group to learn more about a resource or skill?

Is there someone that you and a group of your colleagues would like to learn? Just fill out the Workshops on Demand form (https://hirshlibrary.tufts.edu/services/open-workshops/workshops-on-demand) and we will be in touch to set up your custom workshop. 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 Zoom 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 at hhsl@tufts.edu.