Do you find yourself spending hours, usually in the dead of night, inserting in-line citations and producing bibliographies manually? If the answer’s yes and you’re thinking, “There’s got to be a better way,” then come to one of our Zotero or Refworks workshops.

Refworks and Zotero are both citation management tools that allow you to create and organize a personal library of citations, insert in-line citations into your term papers or theses, and then produce bibliographies automatically in the citation style of choice (Vancouver, APA, etc.). The two tools are very similar in functionality. The main difference is that Refworks is provided through a library subscription to UBC faculty, staff, students and alumni, while Zotero is free, open-source software.

At Woodward Library we’re hosting a number of noon-hour sessions to help make this part of your academic work easier and faster. You can register for (a) session(s) using the registration links below:

ZOTERO sessions:

January 27, Thurs, 12 – 12:50pm, Woodward Library (McKechnie Room)

February 10, Thurs, 12 – 12:50pm, Woodward Library (McKechnie Room)

REFWORKS sessions:

January 31, Mon, 12 – 12:50pm, Woodward Library (McKechnie Room)

February 1, Tues, 12 – 12:50pm, Woodward Library (McKechnie Room)

February 7, Mon, 12 – 12:50pm, Woodward Library (McKechnie Room)

Happy 2011! Welcome back.

To mark the occasion, I thought I’d also share some happy news about recent changes to some of our most popular and well-used drug e-books.

Martindale’s and Stockley’s Drug Interactions have been moved from Books@Ovid over to the MedicinesComplete platform, which also contains AHFS. Not only is Martindale’s easier to search on this new platform, I think you’ll be happy to note that there is now unlimited access  (i.e. no seat limits and turnaways) to these titles on the new interface.

Also a relatively recent development, thanks to joint funding from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and a collaboration with the Electronic Health Library of BC (eHLbc), the library now provides unlimited access to e-Therapeutics as well. No more frustrating instances of being turned away.

Enjoy! Here’s to a productive new year.

Recent changes to the OvidSP interface have been causing problems when users export records into Refworks while connected on EZProxy. My colleague in eResources posted this succinct summary of what’s currently happening, and it’s worth sharing here as well. For now, if you’re connecting through EZProxy, it’s easier and more reliable to transfer records into Refworks from another database platform, for e.g. PubMed.

It never fails. Just when you think you’ve got the hang of searching a database, the vendor decides it’s time for a facelift! As you probably know, OvidSP is a search platform that UBC health information seekers rely on regularly, if not daily. And as of August 2nd, there’s a new look:

Many of the changes are cosmetic rather than functional, but there are some nice new features as well, such as the option to export your search history and citations as a Word file, or to organize your projects, saved searches, and eTOCs using MyWorkspace. And for those who were irked by the screen real estate taken up by the “Search Tips” box of the previous OvidSP version, rest assured that it’s now a thing of the past. We’re also waiting for Ovid tech support to implement some tweaks in the display that we hope will make your search experience more intuitive.

For more information about the new look, see the New OvidSP Features and Functionality: Side by Side Screen Comparison handout in OvidSP’s Resource Center.  Watch for instructional sessions in the fall, which will be posted on the library’s Instruction Centre. And of course, if you have detailed questions in the meantime about doing research in OvidSP databases, please contact your subject librarian. We’re always interested in your thoughts on this platform and other library resources.

The systematic search process can be pretty daunting, especially if it’s your first time. There are so many different databases, and potentially thousands of article records to gather and assess, never mind documenting it all or looking through lesser known sources, i.e. “grey literature”.

If you’re currently working on searching for a systematic review, or preparing for one, then I invite you to share share your trials and tribulations (or simply unload some of the anxiety!) by joining like-minded colleagues for an online class on how to get started.

This class takes place tomorrow morning, Tuesday, March 23 from 11 – 12:30.

Registration is available at:
http://elred.library.ubc.ca/libs/dashboard/view/965

See you online!

The latest changes to PubMed® involve a reconfigured Advanced Search page, the addition (or re-addition) of a Limits page with more flexible date options, and Limits and Clipboard links being added to the PubMed homepage.

For a summary of the changes, see: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/jf10/jf10_pm_advanced_search.html

On Monday, July 20, Tony Clement, Minister of Industry and James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages launched nationwide consultations to solicit Canadians’ opinions on the issue of copyright.

The current copyright legislation was enacted in 2001, and new legislation which will stand the test of time, and also reflect the current technological realities is definitely in order.

The Government of Canada is encouraging Canadians to participate in the discussions and express their views over the coming weeks. The consultation period extends from July 20 to September 13, 2009. The consultation website http://copyright.econsultation.ca/ provides opportunities for submissions to the discussions.

Five questions have been posed to generate discussion:
1) Based upon Canadian values and interests, how should copyright changes be made in order to withstand the test of time?
2) How do Canada’s copyright laws affect you? How should existing laws be modernized?
3) What sorts of copyright changes do you believe would best foster innovation and creativity in Canada?
4) What sorts of copyright changes do you believe would best foster competition and investment in Canada?
5) What kind of changes would best position Canada as a leader in the global, digital economy?

Copyright is an issue of considerable importance to those of us who work in academic/research settings, so please voice your thoughts!

(posting adapted from message by Marlene Dorgan, President of the Canadian Health Libraries Association)

The Cochrane Library is currently available to all Canadians for a trial period ending December 31, 2009.  This pilot is a joint initiative of the Canadian Cochrane Network and Centre and the Canadian Health Libraries Association (CHLA), and was made possible by building on the leadership of the existing subscribers from provinces, territories and institutions across Canada.

For more information about the project,  see the CHLA page at: http://www.chla-absc.ca/?q=en/node/340

Feedback on this resource is most appreciated – please use the feedback form at: http://toby.library.ubc.ca/survey/eresources/trial.cfm?id=1547

Happy searching!

It’s that time of year again. If you’re a first-year pharmacy student working on the Phar 220 term paper, please see the following page for a list of suggested sources you can use:
http://www.library.ubc.ca/life/coursesupport/pharmacy/Phar220.pdf

If you’re still stuck after consulting these sources, please feel free to drop by the Woodward reference or contact Teresa Lee, the pharmacy liaison librarian.

We’re pleased to announce that UBC Library now has access to Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database.

This database provides up-to-date clinical data on natural medicines, herbal medicines, and dietary supplements used in the western world. Content is compiled by pharmacists and physicians who are part of the Pharmacist’s Letter and Prescriber’s Letter research and editorial staff.

Information about natural, complementary and alternative therapies is also available through a database called Natural Standard.

We invite you to explore both and contact Teresa Lee with any comments or questions. Happy searching!