Andy Hickner's blog

Finn, one of the Library's 2 therapy dogs, will start his summer vacation soon.  Finn's last day at the Library this spring will be May 1 from 10am-noon.  Stop by to say hi and enjoy coffee and snacks. 

The annual Yale School of Medicine Reunion Weekend is approaching.  As part of Reunion Weekend, the Library invites YSM alumni and friends to a number of events: Friday, May 29 "The Modern Medical Library: “It’s all on the Internet! Isn’t it?” 3-4pm Innovation and technology are transforming many industries, and libraries have not been immune to radical change. In this context some wonder about the relevance of libraries today. Join a panel of Cushing/Whitney Medical Librarians as they talk about how their roles have changed to meet the needs of the medical community. Hear about their diverse roles as research partners, and the fascinating ways they support the work of the Medical Center’s students, clinicians, scientists and educators. Saturday, May 30 Light Continental Breakfast, 8-9am "Treasures of the Medical Library," 2-3pm and 3-4pm Enjoy a guided tour through the current exhibits at the Library: “Preserving Form, Preserving Content: Caring for Collections at the Medical Library” explores preservation efforts to care for the Medical Library’s important and varied collections, keeping them accessible for future generations of researchers. “Baldwin’s Patent Medicines,” a series of letterpress posters from the late 19th century, advertises the Baldwin Patent Medicine Company’s specific tonics and pills for an astonishing range of complaints. “100 Years of Public Health at Yale:” One of the oldest accredited schools of public health in this country, the school advances public health through research, education and practice. This exhibit examines the rise of public health at Yale through present day. And finally, tucked downstairs in the library is the Cushing Center: visit this one-of-a-kind center including the unique Brain Tumor Registry and the drawings, photographs and rare book collection of Dr. Harvey Cushing.   Other activities Medical Treasure Hunters Children ages 5-12 are invited to follow a self-guided, parent-assisted hunt for some of the Library’s extraordinary and amazing treasures. Maps and hunt instructions will be available at the Circulation Desk. Can You Help the Library Identify Mystery Photographs? Over the years, the Medical Historical Library has accumulated a collection of photographs representing many great people, places and events.  However, we need your help to identify who, where, and what are in some of our photographs! We hope you can help the Library as we work to preserve Yale’s history. Be on the lookout for our packet of photographs in the entrance to the Library. Add your thesis to the Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library! The Cushing/Whitney Library is digitizing many of our former student theses to add to the digital archives. If you would like your thesis added to the repository with worldwide access, please contact 203-737-2960 with questions. Theses will be added in batches, over the course of the year. For more information about Reunion Weekend, click here.

Yale Affiliates can now earn CME credits for listening to the Biomedical and Life Sciences Collection of the Henry Stewart Talks. Yale University and YNHH, as well as individual faculty and staff, spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to fulfill these requirements. On the home page (linked above) you should see that you now have CME available. (If you don't, you may need to log in to the Yale VPN.) 

More changes are coming to the Medical Library website on February 20, when we plan to update our main navigation menu. "But," I hear you ask, "what IS this menu you refer to?"  This menu is what you see in the block box in the image below - or, if you look above this post, the links in the orange bar. During the process of redesigning the library's homepage, we began to identify additional opportunities to improve this menu, thereby making it easier for users to navigate the entire library website.  We tested a revised menu with a small series of users earlier this month, and used their feedback to further refine the new menu. You can preview the new menu here (visible on the Yale network only).  Key proposed changes include: New labeling:  The "Find" section is now labeled "Databases, Articles, & Books" in order to better convey exactly what content users will find in this section.  Likewise, "Computing & Technology Support" has been re-labeled "Library Technology." New sections: "Tutorials & Guides," "Research Help, & "Library Technology" are intended to help users more quickly locate popular pages on the library website. New links:   We used Google Analytics data about what pages are most used to add popular links to nearly every section.  For example, you'll find a new link to the "Citation management" LibGuide under "Tutorials & Guides" to make it easier to access tools like Refworks and Endnote Web.    Re-organized content:  Some of the content previously found under "Portals" has been moved to other sections; for example, the Evidence-Based Practice guide is now linked under Tutorials & Guides, and most of the old (lengthy) Services list has been re-allocated under "Research Help" or "Library Technology." The new navigation menu will launch the evening of Friday, February 20 in order to minimize inconvenience to users.  I will post additional reminders late next week. Please contact me directly with any questions, suggestions or concerns, or if you just can't find something in the new menu.    

On Wednesday, February 11th, the Medical Library will be undergoing major furniture upgrades. This will result in more individual quiet study space, better designations of the quiet study space and better seating everywhere!  Unfortunately however,  this means that February 11th will not be a great day for quiet study at the Library. There will be very little quiet study space available for large portions of the day and the Morse Reading Room will be closed until 4pm. We apologize for any inconvenience, and we thank you for your patience as we improve our space to better serve you.