As an ongoing outreach service to the Central New York community, the Health Information Center (HIC), participates in several health fairs and conferences each year. Four recent events were:

• The annual Chamber of Commerce show, held this year at the Center of Progress Building, New York State Fairgrounds. The HIC was one of twelve HSC exhibitors and offered a sampling of HIC books, videos, newsletters, and databases.
• The Family Wellness Fair at Webster Elementary School, promoting health and wellness through education and awareness. Families learn about the variety of resources available to them and are able to acquire valuable materials.
• The American Heart Association Health and Fitness Expo at Shoppingtown Mall, part of a week of activities, including the "Walk/Run."
• Women's Health Forum, "New Ways to Manage the Menopausal Years," at the Carousel Center Skydeck. Speakers were from University Hospital, which sponsored the event.

The HIC collection recently added three newsletters:

• Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter includes reports summarized from peer-reviewed journals, recommendations from the USDA and from food and nutrition societies, and an "Ask Tufts Experts" column.
• Harvard Mental Health Letter, one of many Harvard letters in the HIC, summarizes new developments from professional journals and has a one-page "Forum" column in which experts respond to timely topics in the mental health field.
• HealthInform: Essential Information on Alternative Health Care, a monthly publication which provides summaries of clinical trials and research studies on alternative and complementary medicine as well as information on new books, conferences, and Web sites.

HIC staff would be happy to photocopy specific articles from these and other newsletters. Please phone 464-4410, e-mail <hic@mail.upstate.edu>, or visit our Web site: <www.hscsyr.edu/library/hic/hichome.htm>

James A. Capodagli
Head, Health Information Center
464-4410 or <hic@upstate.edu>
<www.upstate.edu/library/healthinfo/>

Weaving the Web IV:
Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) Resources on the Web

EBM is still in its infancy. Although physicians and other health care professionals have heard the "jargon," having additional information may assist them to develop their understanding of this emerging area. The following twelve Web sites answer the questions: What is EBM? Why is it important? Where do I go to learn more about it?

1. Oxford University Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine
   The home of EBM was established in Oxford as the first of several centres around the country whose broad aim is to promote evidence-based health care and provide support and resources to anyone who wants to make use of them. There is a wealth of information and links to other EBM resources. Location: <http://cebm.jr2.ox.ac.uk/>
2. Evidence-Based Medicine: What It Is and What It Isn't (Oxford University)
   Location: <http://cebm.jr2.ox.ac.uk/ebmisisnt.html>
3. Users' Guides to the Medical Literature (McMaster University)
   This Web site includes a discussion of what EBM is, how to teach it, critical appraisal of the literature, and worksheets to assist readers. Location: <http://HIRU.MCMASTER.CA/ebm/userguid/>
4. The Cochrane Library
   Considered one of the premier sources for EBM, this is an electronic publication designed to supply high quality, reliable evidence about the effects of health care. Location: <http://www.update-software.com/ccweb/cochrane/cdsr.htm>
   • Abstracts of Cochrane Reviews are available without charge and can be searched. Location: <http://www.update-software.com/ccweb/cochrane/revabstr/abidx.htm>
5. Bandolier
   An online monthly journal containing bullet points of evidence based medicine, searchable by subject. Location: <http://www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/Bandolier/>
6. Journal of Family Practice -- Patient-Oriented Evidence that Matters (POEMs)
   Peer-reviewed medical journals are searched to identify important articles for primary care physicians. POEMs are articles that:
   • Each deal with a primary care problem.
   • Use outcomes that doctors and their patients care about, such as symptom improvement, morbidity, mortality, and quality of life.
   • Focus on improving the way physicians practice.
   Location: <http://www.infopoems.com/POEMs/poems_home.htm>
7. Turning Research into Practice (TRIP) (Gwent)
   A collection of services/projects that were undertaken to improve the evidence base of primary care. It is a database of databases. Multiple resources can be searched simultaneously. Text is available. Location: <http://www.gwent.nhs.gov.uk/trip/>
8. InfoRetriever: Bringing Evidence to the Point of Care
   Commercial subscription product that searches journals and other EBM resources. A free demo is available to download. Location: <http://www.familypractice.msu.edu/retriever.htm>
9. National Guideline Clearinghouse
   A public resource for evidence based clinical practice guidelines, sponsored by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) in partnership with the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Association of Health Plans (AAHP). Location: <http://www.guideline.gov>
10. Primary Care Clinical Practice Guidelines
    Compilation of international Web-based guideline resources for providing quality care: evidence-based guidelines, consensus guidelines, protocols, practice parameters, primary articles, review articles, site listings, and other resources for patient care. Location: <http://medicine.ucsf.edu/resources/guidelines/>
11. Netting the Evidence
    Descriptive directory of EBM resources on the Web with hypertext links. Location: <http://www.shef.ac.uk/~scharr/ir/netting.html>
12. PubMed's Clinical Queries
    The National Library of Medicine's search service to access the 9 million citations in MEDLINE. Use this specialized search option, with its built-in search filters to locate quality articles on therapy, diagnosis, etiology, and prognosis. Location: <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/>

Evidence Based Medicine resources supported by the Health Sciences Library were presented in the Synapse, v. 4, nos. 3-4 (Summer & Fall 1998).

The Future of the New Acquisitions List

The Library's occasional New Acquisitions List will no longer appear in print, but only on the Web, through the Library home page <http://www.upstate.edu/library/>. In addition to the Web version, "The Top Ten New Titles" of special interest will be highlighted in each issue of the Synapse.

The Top Ten New Titles

• William D. Linscott, Linscott's Directory of Immunological and Biological Reagents -- 10th edition -- (Santa Rosa, Calif.: Linscott, 1998). Added to the Reference Collection in response to numerous requests. Ref QW 26 L651d 1998.
• Principles of Addiction Medicine, edited by Allan W. Graham, Terry K. Schultz, Bonnie Baird Wilford -- 2nd edition -- (Chevy Chase, Md.: American Society of Addiction Medicine, 1998). Covers a wide range of addictions, both diagnosis and treatment. WM 270 P9565 1998.
• Robert G. Lahita, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus -- 3rd edition -- (San Diego: Academic Press, 1999). WR 152 S995 1999.
• The Harvard Medical School Guide to Suicide Assessment and Intervention, edited by Douglas G. Jacobs (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1999). Authoritative source in a sparsely documented subject area. WM 401 H336 1999.
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases, edited by King K. Holmes [et al.] -- 3rd edition -- (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1999). Comprehensive text giving psychosocial concepts. WC 140 S518 1999.
• Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence (New York: Bantam, 1996). Wol Mem Coll G625e. The sequel, Working with Emotional Intelligence (1999), consonant with Dr. Eastwood's recent call for civility and collegiality, is on order.
• Margaret H. Meeker and Jane C. Rothrock, Alexander's Care of the Patient in Surgery -- 10th edition -- (St. Louis: Mosby, 1995). Classic text for surgical nursing. WY 161 M494a 1995. The 11th edition (1999) will be on our shelves soon.
• Pediatric Respiratory Medicine, edited by Lynn M. Taussig, Louis I. Landau [et al.] (St. Louis: Mosby, 1999). From the National Jewish Medical and Research Center, Denver. WS 280 P3678 1999.
• Arthur W. Toga, Brain Warping (San Diego: Academic Press, 1999). Text and atlas of a current concept in neurophysiology. WL 335 T645b 1999.
• American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, ACOG Practice Bulletin, 1998- ; ACOG Criteria Set, 1994- ; ACOG Committee Opinion, 1978- . Succinct inserts on diverse ob/gyn topics. Ref WP 21 A512e no.1 1998- ; Ref WP 21 A512cr 1994- ; Ref WP 21 A512co 1997- .

Rosemarie Bundy
Head, Collection Development
464-7109 or <bundyr@upstate.edu>

Librarians Win History of Medicine Prize

Head of Technical Services Godfrey S. Belleh (right) and Curator of Historical Collections Eric v.d. Luft (left) share the 1999 Murray Gottlieb Prize for their co-authored paper, "Financing North American Medical Libraries in the Nineteenth Century." The Medical Library Association (MLA) awards the Gottlieb Prize annually "for the best unpublished essay on the history of medicine and allied sciences written by a health sciences librarian."

A slightly abridged version of the paper has been accepted to be published as an article in the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association.

Congratulations, Godfrey and Eric!

New Computer Class

Beginning in June, 1999, the Library will offer a new monthly class entitled "Exploiting the Library Home Page." The class will be open to anyone in the HSC community, and will take place at 6:00 PM in the Microcomputer Classroom (Room 220), on the first Tuesday of every month. In these sessions attendees will:

• Learn how to access electronic publications, such as books, journals, newspapers, and encyclopedias.
• Explore databases in a variety of disciplines.
• Find out about off campus access to the Library's resources and services.

To register, or for further information, call the Library Reference Desk at 464-4581.

Anthropologist Speaks on Images of Women

The largest audience ever to attend a Library Lecture, a diverse group of twenty-nine -- HSC and Syracuse University students, professors, and librarians; HSC residents; one high school student; several people from the community at large; and several prominent women, including Donna Woolfolk Cross, author of Pope Joan -- gathered for the Fifth Health Sciences Library Lecture, held in Room 318 on March 26 as a Women's History Month event.

The speaker was anthropologist Lana Thompson, author of The Wandering Womb: A Cultural History of Outrageous Beliefs about Women (Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 1999). Her topic was "Womb with a View: Medical Images, Cultural Beliefs." She used overheads to present several social, political, theological, and physiological interpretations of the uterus from ancient Egypt to the present day, and a spirited discussion followed.

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