LEAP into the Future!

Off-Campus Access to Web-Based Library Databases Now Available

LEAP (Library Enhanced Access Program) is a new Library service that allows, through a single userID and password available to HSC affiliates upon request, access to all Web resources in the Library for authorized users off-campus. Prior to LEAP, off-campus access was available only to OvidWeb, one of a variety of Web resources licensed by the Library.

LEAP meets the need for equitable access to Library resources for students and affiliated faculty in distance education programs and in the Rural Medicine Program of the Health Science Center. The Library benefits by entering user information only once, instead of giving each off-campus user an account into every resource. All Library user information is stored in an HSC User Directory and can be configured as needed.

This remote database access also provides a secondary service to the user: anonymous authentication. After a user signs in and is authenticated by the server, the server then contacts the database provider. The confidentiality of the patron is maintained because the database provider is not given the true identify of the Library user.

The Health Sciences Library Web page <http://www.upstate.edu/library/> may be accessed using an off-campus non-HSC Internet account, such as RoadRunner, AOL, or Dreamscape. Upon entering a LEAP userID and password, Library resources previously available only from the HSC campus network can be used. Access to databases, online journals, and reference texts will be possible through FastMED and OvidWeb, including MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Current Contents/Life Sciences. Other available databases, online journals, and reference texts include Health Reference Center, OCLC First Search, Harrisons Online, Britannica Online, and the Cochrane Library.

The LEAP userID and password may be entered at the Library home page <http://www.upstate.edu/library/> or from one of the links to a Library resource. After entering the LEAP userID and password, the user is returned to the Library home page <http://www.upstate.edu/library/> and has full access to all resources. To request a password, please call the Reference Desk at 464-4581 or e-mail <library@upstate.edu>.

Thank You All!

The SUNY Health Sciences Library thanks all the thoughtful and generous people and organizations who made gifts to our collections in 1998:

Without such supporters this Library could not perform at its best. Their gifts enlarge and enhance the services we can offer in this age of shrinking budgets.

New Access to Clinical Practice Guidelines

One way a physician can evaluate the quality of medical treatment is to compare present practice against a clinical practice guideline developed by peers. Guidelines also provide new information on treatments and methodologies along with the underlying rationale and supporting research. Guidelines for practice were, and still are, scattered everywhere in the medical literature: some in professional journals, others published as technical reports of the credentialing societies, still others published as government documents. In 1989 the U.S. Public Health Service created the Agency for Health Care Policy Research (AHCPR) to compile and disseminate clinical practice guidelines. Nineteen such guidelines appeared from 1992 through 1996.

Not all in the medical establishment have welcomed the use of these practice guidelines. Concerns have been raised about a number of issues including: government interference in medical practice, cost savings vs. quality of health care, and the role of guidelines in malpractice cases. Because of these legitimate issues, AHCPR ceased producing these overall guidelines in 1996.

The AHCPR announced in December 1998 that a new Internet-based tool, the National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC) would be available to the public in mid-January 1999 at <http://www.guideline.gov>. This is a collaboration among three entities, AHCPR, the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Association of Health Plans (AAHP). Since the end of January, 400 guidelines have been available in a standardized format, completely searchable three different ways: by disease/condition, by treatment/intervention, and by the submitting agency. The ambitious plan is to have 3500 separate guidelines submitted within the next five years.

For additional information you may contact Rosemarie Bundy at 464-7109 or <bundyr@upstate.edu> or the Reference desk at 464-4581.

New Electronic Resources Available

The Health Sciences Library is pleased to announce several new resources now available from the Library home page <http://www.upstate.edu/library/>, in the "Electronic Databases" section:

• PsycINFO: a comprehensive database of the international literature in psychology and related behavioral and social sciences, including psychiatry, sociology, anthropology, education, pharmacology, and linguistics. PsycINFO provides abstracts to substantive articles selected on the basis of relevance to psychology from approximately 1300 journals and reports published worldwide in over 25 languages from 1887 to the present day. Updated monthly with approximately 5500 new references, PsycINFO covers dissertations, reports, English-language book chapters and books, and other scholarly documents, as well as journal articles. The front-end search engine, OCLC FirstSearch, requires no special training or online search experience.
• WorldCat: database for any type of material cataloged by Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) member libraries around the world, representing library holdings of books, films, slides, manuscripts, computer data files, videotapes, etc., but not journal articles. WorldCat contains about 41 million records, is updated daily, and includes materials, mostly books, from all time periods. The "Advanced Search" feature allows combining subject headings, searching words in the title, doing author searches, etc.
• OCLC Union List of Periodicals: holdings information for over 7 million journals in OCLC member libraries around the world. It can verify the title of a journal or determine if a library owns a specific journal issue. The "Advanced Search" mode allows combination searches by subject, title, specific library, or the state where a holding library may be located. This feature is particularly useful when looking for journals not located in our Library. For example, combining the title of the journal with the state abbreviation "NY" shows which other libraries in New York own the journal.

Librarian Receives UUP Grant

Reference Librarian Bette Jean Ingui has been awarded a United University Professions (UUP) Individual Development Grant. This UUP program is intended to assist eligible SUNY employees in developing their professional potential and in preparing for advancement.

Bette Jean's grant is for a project to research the medical literature and develop a new search technique for retrieving articles discussing clinical prediction rules or guidelines. The project is related to Evidence Based Medicine (EBM), which is being introduced into the HSC medical curriculum, and is highly relevant to other initiatives in the Health Sciences Center.

Bette Jean's funding also provides for a part-time, temporary (eight hours per week for four months) replacement librarian in order to give her time to complete her research. The Library has hired Beth Vella to fill this role. Beth received her M.L.S. from Syracuse University and has been a part-time librarian at Onondaga County Public Library for three years.

Congratulations, Bette Jean! Welcome, Beth!

We're Number One!

In the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Medical School Graduation Questionnaire for both 1997 and 1998, HSC medical students showed that they were most satisfied with the Library out of all the student support services available on campus. On a scale of 1 (very satisfied) to 5 (very dissatisfied), the Health Sciences Library received a mean score of 1.4. The national mean for libraries was 2.0.

Families Against Cancer Terror (FACT) Endows HIC

In the 1980s Gertrude Swerdlow was desperate to find medical information about leukemia to help her son Paul, a cancer researcher who was stricken with that disease. She made extensive use of the Health Sciences Library and especially the Reference staff. Soon after leukemia killed Paul at the age of only 41, Mrs. Swerdlow and her late husband, Irving, formed Families Against Cancer Terror (FACT). This Syracuse-based advocacy group has grown to about 25,000 members in all 50 states.

As a way thanking the Library, and to try to help others who may find themselves in similar circumstances, Mrs. Swerdlow has graciously donated $30,000 to the endowment fund of the Health Information Center (HIC). This gift will be used to acquire family-oriented cancer information. In appreciation of this gift, the HIC will soon dedicate a plaque in memory of Paul Swerdlow.

Luft Speaks on Medical Genealogy

Seven librarians, four archivists, and two genealogists comprised the audience for the Fourth Library Lecture, "So Your Great-Grandfather was a Physician: Local Resources for Researching Medical Genealogy," by Curator of Historical Collections Eric v.d. Luft, on October 13, 1998, in Room 318. Eric offered specific tips about where to look in Onondaga County for data on American medical ancestors.

This was a National Archives Week event co-sponsored by the Health Sciences Library and the Central New York Genealogical Society. The CNYGS has invited Eric to repeat his talk on November 13, 1999 at the Dewitt Community Church.

Each of the Library Lectures is preserved on audiotape and kept in Special Collections.

New Circulation Clerk: Welcome Kathie Stone!

Kathie Stone started on Monday, January 11 as the new part-time circulation clerk. She works Monday and Tuesday afternoons and evenings, and also on Sundays.

Kathie says, "After owning my own beauty shop for 15 years, being in retail management for 14 years, and raising two children, the Library is yet a welcome challenge to me."

Library Hosts Broadcast on HIV/AIDS Information

On February 11, 1999, the Health Sciences Library sponsored the satellite broadcast "Accessing HIV/AIDS Information Resources," targeting public health professionals who would benefit from an overview of electronically available resources. The program was videotaped and will be added to the Library's Media Services collection. In addition, the broadcast featured a list of the best Web sites for HIV/AIDS information. This list is available at the Reference Desk. Further information may be found on the Web at <www.phppo.cdc.gov/phtn/aidsinfo/aidsinfo.asp>.

Is Your Favorite Journal Online?

The number of electronic journals available at HSC is growing steadily. Check <class-act.ec.upstate.edu:81/libjournals/FMPro?-db=libjournals.fp3&-lay=web&-format=search.html&-view> to see what's new. In addition to the 84 titles received through the Ovid Biomedical Collections, Library staff are working to identify additional titles available to institutions which carry print subscriptions.

New Library Advisory Committee

The Health Sciences Library is pleased to announce the newly appointed Library Advisory Committee, under the chairmanship of Dr. Ron Seymour, Vice Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Physical Therapy Education. Other committee members are: Lorraine Bedy (non-HSC), Jim Bryden (Budget Office), Michael Eesley (Hospital COO), Dr. Philip Holtzapple (Medicine), Dr. Richard Hunt (Emergency Medicine), Rudy Lienhard (IMT), Dr. John Lucas (Research Office), Joe Smith (Ed Comm), Dr. Dennis Stelzner (Anatomy), Dr. Greg Threatte (Clin Path), Barbara VanNoy (College of Nursing), and Dr. Michael Valerio (VA).

The first meeting is scheduled for April 4, 1999. If you have issues or concerns regarding the Health Sciences Library, you are welcome to contact any of these committee members, or Laurie Thompson, Library Director.