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Author: Susan Koenig

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A signpost containing "research," "planning," "development," "analysis," and "strategy."

Himmelfarb Library is excited to introduce a new resource, our Early Career Researchers Guide!

Traditionally, students and early career researchers learn about the research lifecycle from faculty mentors and more experienced colleagues, but the COVID-19 pandemic has made such networking more difficult. To help bridge that gap, Himmelfarb librarians have put together this new research guide to get you started.

Unsure what opportunities are available to you at GW? We’ve compiled the various funding, training, and support resources in one place to make them more easily accessible. Each tab in the guide focuses on a different part of the research lifecycle, helping you hone in on the resources you need depending on where you find yourself in your research. The “Getting Started with Research” tab offers an overview, while each of the subsequent tabs focuses on proposals, literature reviews, publishing, data management, promoting your research, and how to showcase your research as you progress in your career.

Have additional questions after reviewing the guide? You can always contact us at himmelfarb@gwu.edu with questions about research and publishing.

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Ever try to access an ebook in the Himmelfarb Library collection and get the message “Sorry, this ebook is in use”? Ever wonder why we can’t just scan entire books in our collection to create an electronic copy? Ever get frustrated by a broken article link in Blackboard and wonder why they couldn’t just upload a PDF? While these seem like questions about different systems, they all come down to the same thing - copyright.

eBook is in use error message

When a library acquires an ebook, they don’t actually own the ebook - they license a copy from the publisher. The same thing happens when you “purchase” an ebook from Amazon. And much like Amazon ebooks come with publisher restrictions in place to prevent piracy, library ebooks have their own limits established by the publishers. These include everything from limits to how many pages you can save or print to how many people can access the ebook at once. If you’re trying to access one of our eBooks and get a message that someone else is using the book, usually if you wait 15-20 minutes and try again you’ll be able to get in.

As for scanning entire physical books to create our own electronic copies, that would violate copyright laws. However, when working with copyrighted materials in academia we are allowed a little more flexibility thanks to the fair use doctrine. Essentially, fair use allows us to use copyrighted material without explicit permission from the copyright holder. The fair use doctrine even explicitly mentions educational purposes as one of the main reasons it exists. When it comes to scanning physical books, generally the fair use guidelines state that you can scan one chapter or less than 10% of the book. This allows us to take advantage of our InterLibrary Loan system to the fullest, so you can access chapters from books not in our collection.

Fair use is also why we provide durable links to articles in Blackboard rather than full PDFs. Reproducing the full PDF would require your professor to obtain permission from the copyright holder. Linking to the article in Himmelfarb’s collection doesn’t. If you ever run into a broken link in Blackboard, get in touch with your professor and let us know at himmelfarb@gwu.edu so we can update the link.

Taken from our Copyright Research Guide.

Have additional questions about copyright? Take a look at our Copyright Research Guide. Questions about electronic access? Email us at himmelfarb@gwu.edu.

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Cover of the 11th edition of the AMA Manual of Style

Himmelfarb Library introduces a new addition to our Reference and Instruction webinars: Demystifying AMA Citation Style. With the release of the 11th edition of the AMA Manual of Style, now is a great time to learn the basics of AMA citation. This webinar will introduce you to AMA Style, its various rules and requirements, as well as provide you with resources from Himmelfarb and around the web to support your research and citation management. If you want to dive in deeper after the webinar, you can always access the AMA’s Online Style Guide, courtesy of Himmelfarb!

What? Demystifying AMA Citation Style

When? October 13, 2020 at 6PM EST

Where? Hosted via WebEx

Register here, on the event page. Registration is required. We hope to see you there!

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a screenshot of the himmelfarb library home page highlighting the location of the app shelf
Find the App Shelf on our home page under Contact Us!

Ever wondered what mobile apps Himmelfarb Library provides access to? Find them in our App Shelf!

The Himmelfarb App Shelf provides a handy entry point to all the mobile apps Himmelfarb provides access to. Some require a bit of set up, while others you can just download and go. You can find detailed instructions and a download link to the App Store by clicking on the individual app.

We have a selection of clinical and point of care apps available, with our top recommendations being DynaMed, LexiComp, and Epocrates Plus. While these apps would normally require a subscription purchase, Himmelfarb offers them to students, faculty, and staff at no charge. Simply follow the instructions on the associated app page to download and install. A little tip from personal experience: use a laptop or desktop for the initial set up, and be sure to log in to the library’s website or the VPN first.

We also have some great quality-of-life apps, like Browzine. Browzine lets you save your favorite e-journals to a personalized bookshelf where you can browse new issues and articles, as well as save them for off-line reading.

Need a productivity boost? Our Productivity App Shelf can help! Find a variety of note-taking apps, PDF readers, and even our wēpa Print app so you can print to our kiosks right from your phone or iPad.

If you have any questions or run into installation issues, please email us at himmelfarb@gwu.edu. We’re here to help!

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Crumpled paper and a paper airplane on a dark blue background
Photo by Matt Ridley on Unsplash

As Himmelfarb Library begins the transition into Our New Normal, you may have questions about where to access certain services and resources we provide. Here’s a guide on what you’ll find available online and in-person.

Online

All of our e-journals, e-databases, and e-books remain available online. We also provide our Documents2Go service entirely online, where you can request articles unavailable in our collection.

We offer instructions on downloading and installing our mobile apps to your device.

There is a host of information available on our Research Guides, everything from question banks to anatomy images, and much more!

Himmelfarb’s Reference team is also available online. Our chat service is monitored by reference staff 8:30AM-8PM EST Monday through Thursday and 8:30AM-5PM EST Friday. Have a question a little too involved for chat? We can also schedule individual meetings with a reference librarian via WebEx. Email us at himmelfarb@gwu.edu to start the process!

In-Person

In addition to our print collection available in our book stacks, you can also find our multimedia collection, audiovisual collection, and software resources on the third floor, in the Bloedorn Technology Center.

Our special collections, the Humanities & Health collection, Historical collection, and Healthy Living collection, are all accessible in-person.

Some of our older journals are kept in on-site storage as bound volumes. You can request a specific volume for perusal by following the instructions on our Borrowing and Requesting page.

Anatomy models are available in various places throughout the library. Our skeletal models and bone boxes are up on the third floor. Heart and brain models can be checked out at the Circulation desk.

If you have any questions about access as we move forward with Our New Normal, reach out to us at himmelfarb@gwu.edu or call the Circulation Desk at 202-994-2962.

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Someone filling in multiple choice test question bubbles.
Image by Alberto G. on flickr.

In Wednesday’s blog post we shared Himmelfarb Library’s electronic clinical case study resources to incorporate in your online instruction. Today we’d like to share some of the electronic question banks Himmelfarb provides access to. While Himmelfarb provides access, in order to unlock all features you must create a personal account. Instructions for doing so are provided.

Exam Master Medical Subject Review provides over 9,000 questions and explanations to prepare for the USMLE Steps 1, 2, and 3. Exam Master tries to emulate the board exams, helping students build confidence by identifying strengths and improving on weaknesses. In order to use Himmelfarb’s Exam Master, you must make a free Exam Master account, then access Exam Master while on campus or when logged in to the VPN.

USMLEasy offers questions and answers to prepare for Steps 1, 2 CK, and 3. Their customization feature allows you to select topic coverage and the number of questions. You’re also able to annotate exam questions and answers. In order to access USMLEasy, access the webpage through the provided link and create a personal profile.

BoardVitals provides test banks for NBME Shelf Exams in seven different medical subjects. Features include timed test conditions, study tips, and individualized study recommendations based on practice test performance. In order to register, connect via the VPN and create an account at the link provided. After you’ve logged in once while connected to the VPN, you’ll be able to access your account from anywhere.

PA Exam Prep offers practice questions for PANCE and PANRE, as well as customizable features like topic coverage, number of questions, and annotation. In order to unlock these customizations, create a free account at the provided link.

For additional online instruction resources, check out Himmelfarb’s Online Instruction Research Guide. Our librarians are happy to assist with any questions you might have as well. Email us at himmelfarb@gwu.edu, or connect via our Ask Us chat.

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screenshot of new PubMed home page

The new PubMed is here! Himmelfarb previously announced a transition from PubMed’s old interface to their newer, more modern interface. As of May 18th, the NLM will fully transition to the new PubMed interface with a host of new features, available on mobile and desktop devices alike.

The new PubMed interface includes quality of life updates, like abstract excerpts available in the results list and updates to the interface to make the site more navigable, and as well as significant behind-the-scenes updates, including the algorithm that produces the new Best Match sort order. Additionally, your My NCBI saved searches and collections will continue to work with the new PubMed, so no starting over from scratch!

When accessing the new PubMed, be sure to go through the link on Himmelfarb’s home page, in the “Popular Resources” box, to ensure Himmelfarb’s full-text links and other customizations load. The new PubMed also offers full integration with our LibKey Nomad browser plugin (available on Google Chrome), which enhances  full-text linking by directly loading a PDF if one is available!

The NLM has a number of resources to help you familiarize yourself with the new PubMed interface. Their New PubMed Transition FAQ broadly covers the changes and updates made. The New PubMed Trainer’s Toolkit consists of short videos (1-4 minutes each), slides, handouts, and webinars that can be embedded in Blackboard courses. For those of you looking for a deeper dive into the new PubMed, the webinar series How PubMed Works does a deep dive into what PubMed is and how it functions. The PubMed User Guide is also readily available, with an in-depth coverage of frequently asked questions and instructions on how to use the various features the new PubMed offers.

Of course, we here at Himmelfarb are also available as a resource. We’ve been familiarizing ourselves with the new interface, and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the new PubMed. Email us at himmelfarb@gwu.edu, or chat with us via our Ask A Librarian instant messaging service.

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GW Writing Center word cloud including "writing," "students," and "professor."

We are thrilled to let you know the GW Writing Center has reopened in online status starting today, Tuesday, March 24th! Writing Center hours for the rest of the Spring 2020 semester will be:

  • Sunday 5PM-10PM EST
  • Monday - Thursday 9AM-9PM EST
  • Friday 9AM-3PM EST

All appointments for the remainder of the semester will be held via Zoom. The Writing Center has used Zoom for distance appointments with GW's online students for the past two years, so Writing Center consultants are already familiar with it. Additionally, all appointments will be 50 minutes to ensure consultants and clients have enough time to get substantive work done.

You can schedule an appointment, chat with a front desk assistant via WebEx, or review their COVID-19 policies on the Writing Center website.

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abstract red, blue, and yellow painting
Photo by Greg Rosenke on Unsplash

Feeling stressed? Come to an art therapy session on Monday April 6, from 12:00-1:30 pm in Himmelfarb Room 202. The GW Art Therapy Clinic interns will guide you through a silk hoop painting activity (no previous art skills required!) that will focus on stress relief and creative expression - to help you discover a range of ideas that can help to cope and creatively manage stress. Guaranteed to be a fun and stress free experience!

The event is free but space is limited so be sure to sign up today.

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GW Writing Center word cloud including "writing," "students," and "professor."
The GW Writing Center will NOT hold on-site hours at Himmelfarb Library or any other location in alignment with GW's online status. Presently, the Writing Center plans to offer online appointments after Spring Break, and will confirm those plans in the coming days. We will notify our Himmelfarb patrons as soon as we have additional information about Writing Center hours.
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