The Hirsh Library and Tufts DataLab are *very* excited to bring you a series of excellent workshops this Fall! In addition to workshops, we will also be holding additional drop-in sessions and office hours so that you can ask questions, get one-on-one help and learn some tips& tricks . To see full descriptions and to register for workshops (nb: you don’t need to attend a workshop or register in advance in to attend drop-in sessions and office hours), please visit: https://hirshlibrary.tufts.edu/services/open-workshops
September
Workshops:
9/4 EndNote (9-10am Sackler 510)
9/11 Approaching the Lit Review (9-10am Sackler 510)
9 /18 PubMed (9-10am Sackler 510)
9/21 Embrace the do File: STATA Basics(10-11 am Sackler 510)
9/25 Introduction to R (9-11am Sackler 514)
9/26 Intro to Python for Data Analysis (10-11am Sackler 510 )
Drop-In Session/Office Hours:
9/14 Approaching the Lit Review (8:30-10am Sackler 4)
9/19 PubMed (12-2pm Sackler 4)
9/21 STATA Help (11am -12pm Sackler 510)
9/26 Intro to R (4-6pm Sackler 514)
9/26 Intro to Python for Data Analysis (11am– 12pm Sackler 510)
October
Workshops:
10/1 Building Interactive Visualizations with Tableau (1-2 pm Sackler 510)
10/2 Visualizing Data with R (9-11am Sackler 514)
10/9 EndNote (9-10am Sackler 510)
10/11 Intro to GIS using ArcMap (12 – 1:30pm Sackler 514)
10/16 Approaching the Lit Review (9-10am Sackler 510)
10/17 Statistics in R: Intermediate Level (10-11am Sackler 510 )
10/23 PubMed (9-10am Sackler 510)
10/24 Story Maps: Not Your Average Presentation (10-11am Sackler 510 )
Drop-In Session/Office Hours:
10/1 Tableau (2-3pm Sackler 510)
10/3 Visualizing Data with R (4-6pm Sackler 514)
10/11 EndNote (4-6pm Sackler 4)
10/11 GIS (1:30 – 2:30pm Sackler 514)
10/19 Approaching the Lit Review (8:30-10am Sackler 4)
10/17 R Help ( 11am-12pm Sackler 510 )
10/25 PubMed (11-1pm Sackler 4)
10/24 ArcGIS Online & Story Maps (12-1pm Sackler 510 )
Hello! Did you know that here at the library, we have a whole lot of skulls?
Not…not in our heads. I mean anatomical models. In fact, Hirsh Library has over 50(!) skulls you can check out, so you can study them and do awesomely in your classes. What kinds of skulls, you ask? Well, let’s take a look!
Real Skulls
Let’s start right at the top: we have real human skulls, and we have them in a few different ways. First up are the full skulls, which come apart into two or three pieces, depending on how the springs on the jaws are. The downside is that these skulls are on the older side, so there are elements that have sustained a little damage over the years. But all the same, we have them!
We also have half skulls. They are cut vertically, and can come with or without a brain, as seen below.
They’re all available for checking out, and follow the same four hour rules as all Reserve materials. We just ask you to be gentle with them. (But feel free to casually mention that you can check actual human skulls out from your school library to any members of your family who have never gone through health sciences graduate programs. The reactions you’ll get will enhance every visit home, guaranteed.)
Plastic Skulls
But, what if you don’t want real bone, or what if they’re checked out? We still have you covered with all of our plastic skulls! The most popular of these are probably the labeled plastic skulls, and we even have one that has muscle connections painted on, so you can get a better sense of how it all lines up. See for yourself:
The bonus of the painted skull is that it also looks festive, ready for holidays to freak out the more squeamish of your non-health sciences friends back home! All labeled skulls come with guides as to what those labels actually mean, so these are the go-to skulls of all students freshly dealing with head and neck anatomy. Welcome to the club.
What if you really want to take a skull apart? We’ve got you covered. Meet our unlabeled, plastic, bilaterally cut skull. It’s missing a tooth, so feel free to give it a semi-ironic nickname, like “Bitey” or “Smiles.”
Finally, the newest editions to our skull collection! We recently received about 40 skulls from the anatomy lab. They are plastic, unlabeled, come in special cardboard boxes that can fold out into display cases, and are in fantastic shape.
So there you go! We have 50+ skulls, mixed up over 7 different styles, and that’s not even touching all our other models – teeth, a brain that comes apart, a spinal cord, pelvises – even two full skeletons, the famous Leo and Theo! So swing on by the Library Service Desk on the 4th floor, and check out a new silent study buddy.
Just remember: you can pick your skulls, you can pick your nose, but you can’t pick your skull’s nose.
Oh. I, uh…guess you can. Looks like there’s always something new to discover with a Hirsh Library Skull!
Greetings friends! It is I, Tater Potato Tot, Official Potato Ambassador to HHSL.*
I am here today to tell you all about the wonders of my namesake tuber in honor of National Potato Day, which is this Sunday, August 19th.
According to the USDA, one lovely Russet potato contains 16% of your daily recommended amount of fiber and 35% of your daily recommended amount of vitamin C. Clocking in a 170 calories for a medium potato, this American staple is a good source of carbohydrates and nutrients, excellent for endurance athletes.
Since I am more of a couch potato than an elite athlete, I will just nom on my delicious foot, leaving plenty of yummy carbs for all you gym-goers.
Everyone knows about Boston’s close association with 19th century Irish immigration, a mass movement sparked by the devastating Potato Famine, a blight that wiped out the potato crop of 1846 and devastated it in the years following as well. These lost potatoes would have been a whopping 60% of the Irish food crop in those years. Here in Boston, the influx of immigrants from Ireland in 1847 was said to increase the population of the city by 30%. Boston’s connection to the famine has been memorialized by the Boston Irish Famine Memorial, a short walk from HHSL. A lesser-known memorial marks a spot just a quick jaunt from my stomping grounds in Charlestown- the Potato Shed Memorial, a quirky sculpture marking the site of the potato storage sheds along Millers River. This is where millions and millions of potatoes shipped down from Maine were stored until a massive fire in 1962 destroyed the structures.
Since I am a dog and will eat anything, including literal garbage, I would call myself a fan of potatoes. If you are looking for some things to do with potatoes, how about making these amazing roast potatoes, or this classic potato-cheese soup, or some delicious potato gnocchi?
However you choose to celebrate National Potato Day, rest assured knowing that I, Tater P. Tot, HHSL Official Potato Ambassador, approve.
* In real life, I live with one of the HHSL librarians. I am not an Official Potato Ambassador. But my name is actually Tater Potato Tot.
The start of the Fall Semester means a return to reading assignments, papers, exams…and a full schedule of Writing Consultants appointments! The schedule for the fall will be as follows:
Tuesdays 12pm-3pm
Thursdays 11am-2pm
Sundays 2pm-5pm
Registration for September is open, so sign up now!
The service is available to all Health Sciences graduate students on the Boston Campus. Sessions are 45 minutes long and you may sign up for one session per day, and up to two sessions per week. For more information about the help our Writing Consultant provides and what to expect at your appointment, please visit the FAQ section of our Writing Consultants Guide.
Happy writing!
“Library in the Medical and Dental School Building”, 1907. From the Tufts Digital Library: http://hdl.handle.net/10427/38004
A big welcome to the TUSM class of 2022 from all of us here at Hirsh Library! We can’t wait to meet you at library orientation today, August 7th, where you’ll get the chance to learn more about the library and all the resources that are available to you. (We’ve had a few renovations since the photo above was taken in 1907). We’re also looking forward to helping you kick off your medical school journey at the PBL Library Skills Workshops that are starting next week!
Your pre-clinical liaison librarian is Christina Heinrich, so don’t hesitate to contact her if you have any questions or need any library help! You can also stop by the Library Service Desk at Sackler 4 to talk to the librarian on call, or Ask Us by email, chat, phone, or text–we’re always happy to help!
So, I’m pretty sure Nietzsche never actually said “time is a flat circle.” But the theory of Eternal Recurrence, postulating that we repeat the same events over and over in our lives, never feels truer than in the world of library staffing. It’s a constant, and infinite cycle.
glow – infinite reflections by Sjored Los is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
So, it is with sadness that we announce that Laura Pavlech, HHSL liaison to the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences and intrepid Research Data Management Warrior, is moving on to pursue other opportunities. Her humor, intelligence, and perspective will be sorely missed, and we wish Laura all the best on her next adventure! If you’ve worked with Laura in the past, please feel free to contact Becky Morin for assistance.
And it is with great joy that we announce that Reference Assistant Sarah French has moved from a part-time position to a full-time one. We are thrilled to have Sarah manning the Library Service Desk 5 days a week!
Please feel free to stop by and say your farewells and welcomes!
Introducing Graphic Medicine! This new section at Hirsh explores the graphic novel in medical education and healthcare. The term Graphic Medicine was first coined by Dr. Ian Williams for graphicmedicine.org. It is now a rapidly growing field and we hope to expand our selection in the coming months. These graphic novels can be found on the 4th floor of Sackler along the journal wall next to the New Books display.
If there is a Graphic Medicine novel you’d like to read that we don’t have, please let us know by recommending a purchase.
We want to extend a warm welcome to the new UG students starting today and a belated but no less enthusiastic welcome to our new PG students! The library has quiet places for studying (and naps), collaboration space, and a café, which means, yes, you can eat and drink here.
- Have a question? Drop by the Service Desk on the 4th floor and chat to the librarian on call.
- Want more extended one-on-one help? Schedule an appointment with the dental librarian, Amanda Nevius.
- Speaking of Amanda, be sure to bookmark the Dental Resources she’s put together for TUSDM. It includes goodies like information on Board and Licensure Exam study resources, how to find Materials Research, and tips on conducting excellent EBD searches.
- Forget your charger and your phone’s about to die? Check one out at the Service Desk. For that matter, check out a laptop, a VGI cable, model teeth, real skulls, and more!
We wish you nothing but success here at Tufts and everyone at the library looks forward to getting to know you better!
Post contributed by Amanda Nevius
Image source: https://pixabay.com/photo-1891732/
The summer is flying by, but don’t worry! We’re here to help ease you into the academic year by offering expanded Writing Consultants hours in August.
We will continue with appointments on Thursdays and will add Sunday hours mid-month. The timing will vary from Thursday to Thursday, so be sure to make note of the hours for each individual date when you go to register.
So without further ado, here is the August schedule:
Thursdays:
August 2: 11am – 2pm
August 9: 10am – 1pm
August 16: 10:30am-1:30pm
August 23: 1:45 – 4:45
August 30: 11am – 2pm
Sundays:
August 19: 3pm – 6pm
August 26: 3pm – 6pm
Writing Consultants is available to all Health Sciences students on the Tufts Boston Campus. To register or learn more about the ways a writing consultant can help, please visit our Health Sciences Writing Consultants LibGuide.
This summer we’ve expanded our small but ever popular Leisure Reading Classics selection! Classics can be found on the 4th floor of Sackler at the end-cap of Leisure Reading Fiction. Here are some of the titles that have most recently been added to the collection:
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man & Dubliners by James Joyce
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
If there is a classic novel that you’ve always wanted to read and don’t see it on our shelves, please let us know by recommending a purchase.
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