Check out the new toolkit on HealthLinks, the Writer Toolkit. This collection of dictionaries, encyclopedias, style guides and copyright information will help you select and use the correct format for your writing.
The Index-Catalogue of the Library of the Surgeon General's Office is now searchable. IndexCat, as it is called, provides citation information for monographs and journal articles on
medical topics published between 1892-1961. For locating historical articles, this is an unparalled resource. This is a pilot release so you may experience some connection problems at first. IndexCat provides a link to send comments or questions for improvement.
On an historical note: the National Library of Medicine (NLM) began as a few books in the office of the Surgeon General in 1818. In 1840 a small notebook entitled " A Catalogue of the Books in the Library of the Surgeon General's Office, Washington City, 1840" was drawn up. This is the earliest known catalog of this Library. In 1880, the Index Catalogue described above began publication. It is the precursor to today's NLM Catalog (electronic version known as LocatorPlus).
The Search History feature in PubMed (available from the top navigation bar under the search box) has always allowed you to view results and reuse previous search steps from your current session. Now History provides a menu
from which to select search statements to combine, delete, or view. For more information, read the article in the NLM Technical Bulletin.
When you use PubMed, don't forget to use the UW link to PubMed so that links to articles online (shown as purple buttons labelled UW) provided through UW subscriptions are shown in the abstract and citation views.
The UW Libraries contracts with a variety of vendors and publishers to
provide you with hundreds of electronic resources costing millions of dollars per year. In addition to paying for these resources, the Libraries typically negotiates license agreements that stipulate how and by whom they may be used. If license terms are violated by anyone, licensors usually haven the right to temporarily suspend access FOR THE ENTIRE UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY! In some cases, licenses can be permanently revoked.
You can help prevent problems with our electronic resource providers by
adhering to "good practice" and avoiding improper use. These guidelines are
available at: http://www.lib.washington.edu/cms/usageguidelines.html
As the summer and fall quarters approach, the information professionals in
the Health Sciences Libraries stand ready to provide quick or in-depth
orientations about library services and resources to incoming residents,
fellows, staff and students. Contact your library liaison for an orientation or class.
All full-time faculty, residents and fellows as well as research scientists
will soon receive an invitation from Betsy Wilson, Director of University
Libraries, asking them to help the UW Libraries by completing the 2004
triennial library survey. Hearing from each person who uses the library
resources is extremely important as the responses guide our decisions.
This year, for the first time, faculty will be given a choice between using
a Web version or completing a paper copy. In either case your responses are
anonymous. You are encouraged to take a few minutes to complete the survey
and ensure that your views as well as those of health sciences are
represented.