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Category: Books

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Welcome sign on wooden background.
Photo by Katherine Hood on Unsplash

Himmelfarb Library would like to extend the warmest of welcomes to all of our new users! Regardless of whether you are a new resident, fellow, physician assistant, or a new student, we are excited that you are here and are looking forward to serving you during this next chapter of your medical or health sciences training! In an effort to help get you started on the right foot, we’d like to share some ways Himmelfarb can help make your experience a positive one.

Resources for Residents & Fellows:

If you are a new resident or fellow, Himmelfarb has resources to help you navigate this new role. Check out our Residents and Fellows Guide for information about accessing Himmelfarb resources from the GW Hospital and other off-campus locations. This guide also provides links to popular clinical resources such as DynaMed, ClinicalKey, Lexicomp, and PubMed. You’ll also find a link to our App Shelf where you can download apps to selected resources on your smartphone or tablet. Links to specific program resources, and MFA training resources are also available. For additional information about GW University and GW Hospital wireless access, accessing your GW email, and GW Hospital clinical systems, visit the Wireless Access and Clinical Systems Guide.

Himmelfarb also provides access to NEJM Resident 360. Create your free personal account using your @gwu.edu email address. Once you’ve created your account, access the resource via the library or go directly to NEJM Resident 360 to access interactive cases, videos, rotation prep, clinical pearls, morning reports, and more! 

Research Help Made Easy!

We’d like all of our new users to know that getting research help is easy! Our reference librarians are available to answer your questions in-person or remotely. Use our Ask a Librarian service right from your computer and you’ll be connected to our real reference and research staff. For more information about getting reference and research help, check out Our New Normal page.

Himmelfarb’s Resources are Available from Anywhere!

Himmelfarb’s 100+ databases, 4,800+ journals, and 6,400+ ebooks are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from anywhere! Install the LibKey Nomad Google Chrome browser extension for seamless access to full-text articles available through Himmelfarb. After installing the extension, choose ‘George Washington University - Himmelfarb Library’ as your institution, and you’ll be ready to quickly download full-text articles! When accessing our resources remotely, we recommend using the GW VPN. For directions on how to install the GW VPN, visit Himmelfarb’s off-campus access page.

Get to Know Us:

Learn more about Himmelfarb and our resources by visiting our tutorials page. You can also check out our research guides on a wide variety of topics. We are also active on social media, so be sure to connect with us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube to get the most updated information about all things Himmelfarb! 

We’re looking forward to serving you! Welcome to the GW community!

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Frequently used public health titles that are part of Himmelfarb Library’s reserves collections are now available for browsing or searching in a new Public Health Reserves Collection.  The collection includes books and some CDs. 

Physical items in the collection are shelved in Himmelfarb’s first floor reserves area and can be requested at the Circulation Desk. Reserve materials are now circulating for a one week period with no renewals. Users who don’t currently have physical access to Himmelfarb Library can arrange for Courtyard pickup and returns service. If there are electronic versions available, they are included in the collection with links to full-text.

Titles are sorted alphabetically by default. Users can use the Search Inside the Collection feature at the top of the page to search for a specific title or topic within the list.

The Public Health Reserves Collection is part of the Special Collections Gallery in Health Information @ Himmelfarb. Many of our public health focused Research Guides now include a link to the collection.

Also new to Special Collections is a collection of Himmelfarb Library’s Core Titles which includes public health resources.

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Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library is happy to provide access to the Open Textbook Library (OTL), a repository of nearly 800 open access e-books. The OTL is provided by the Open Education Network, a collection of approximately 120 higher education institutions, including the Washington Research Library Consortium, of which Himmelfarb Library is a member. The OTL seeks to provide a comprehensive repository for open access textbooks and is continually adding more titles from its partner institutions. 

An open textbook is a print or digital text with an open copyright license that makes it free for anyone to use. They are usually written by faculty authors or other educators who aren’t finding the book they need and take it upon themselves to create a new resource. Authors can receive financial compensation for their work, either with a grant from their university or by open access providers, such as OpenStax. However, the most common return is less financial and more about “the satisfaction and convenience of having a textbook that’s tailor-made for your course, and affordable for your students” (Schmieder, 2018).  

Open Access has no bearing on the quality of information presented. As the Open Education Network puts it, they “leave quality judgements to faculty with expertise in the subject area.” Faculty interested in using open textbooks should review them the same way they do any other potential textbook. In addition to undergoing review during publication, the Open Education Network also invites faculty to review open textbooks. 

In addition, the Open Education Network provides resources for students, faculty, librarians, and others who are interested in writing their own open textbooks. They also offer publishing support for patrons of member institutions (including Himmelfarb patrons!). 

Free and electronic open access resources are especially valuable right now, at a time when physical access to libraries is restricted for so many, and when buying textbooks may be a financial strain for students, faculty, and institutions. Open access resources can help fill the gaps where existing resources are lacking. 

The OTL includes a broad range of subject areas, including Medicine, Engineering, Education, and  Law. You can view the health science titles here or view the full collection here. The books can also be found in the Himmelfarb catalog. You can consult the Open Education Network’s FAQ page for more details. If you have additional questions about the quality of open access resources, or how to obtain OAR beyond the Open Textbook Library, you may contact imroberts@gwu.edu. 

References

Open Education Network website. Accessed October 21, 2020. https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/faq 

Schmieder, E. 4 Questions authors are asking about open textbooks. Textbook & Academic Authors Association website. August 21, 2018. Accessed October 21, 2020. 

4 Questions authors are asking about open textbooks

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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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Himmelfarb Library is allowing most books in the reserves collection to check out for a week. Reserves books are located behind the Circulation Desk and most titles directly support classroom learning and board study. In addition, some materials that were previously on reserves have been moved to the basement level stacks and now checkout for three weeks and are eligible for up to two renewals.

You can check the location of physical materials in Health Information @ Himmelfarb search tool. Change the default search from Online Access to Himmelfarb Catalog as shown below.  

Materials supporting the first and second year MD program are available in a collection that can be browsed and searched. 

When you’ve located a title you want to borrow, click the title to open the full record and then check under Locations to see where copies are located and if they’re currently available to check out. Courtyard pickup services are available to Himmelfarb patrons that do not currently have access to the physical library.

By signing in, you’ll see the option to request Courtyard pickup services as shown below.

Faculty are encouraged to make as many materials available to students in electronic form as possible. See more information on Himmelfarb’s reserves services for faculty or contact mlbrsv@gwu.edu for assistance.

 

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Would you like to borrow materials parcel of booksfrom Himmelfarb Library, but can’t access the building? Himmelfarb now offers Ross Hall Courtyard Pickup as well as a new Shipping service!

How will this work?  For items that you’d like to pick-up, you simply locate your item(s) via the Health Information @ Himmelfarb Catalog search;  HI@H catalog screenshotNOTE: select Himmelfarb Catalog from the drop-down menu in order to search physical books and media and login to Health Info @ Himmelfarb so you're offered the pick-up and shipping options.  Then click on the Delivery Request Formdelivery request form link screenshot link and complete the form. Wait for an email letting you know that your item is ready.  You can pick your item(s) up during our available hours; simply call just before you arrive in the Ross Hall Courtyard and we will bring your item(s) out to you.  Remember to bring your GWorld Card for pickup; please don't enter Ross Hall or use the 24th St. loading dock.

Shipping requests work similarly: locate your item(s) via the Health Information @ Himmelfarb Catalog search, then complete the Delivery Request form (soon to be linked right from Health Info @ Himmelfarb) and provide your mailing address.  We will send the item(s) out to you and they should arrive in 7 days.  When you return your item, you ship them back to Himmelfarb (USPS + insurance recommended).

To learn more about Courtyard Service and Shipping Service, consult our new Borrow from Himmelfarb guide which includes policies, renewals and holds information, and FAQs.

If you have questions, please contact the Circulation Desk at (202) 994-2962.

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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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Book Spine PoetryOnly one week left to enter!

Stack some books from your collection, snap a photo, and share an image on Instagram. Be sure to tag @himmelfarbgw and #gwspinepoetry for your chance to win a $25 gift card to Politics and Prose. Images must be posted between June 1 and June 30, 2020, to be considered eligible. Only GWU SMHS, SON, and SPH affiliates are eligible to win. Entries will be evaluated for originality and creativity. Winner will be announced July 7, 2020.

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Access Medicine & Case Files Collection LogoTeaching online can pose its share of challenges. Finding clinical cases to include in your online instruction doesn’t have to be one of them. Using clinical case studies, especially during a time when students are not able to have first hand clinical experiences, can help your students hone their clinical decision making, critical thinking, and clinical reasoning skills. Himmelfarb Library provides access to cases with supporting text and multimedia materials. All materials are licensed for use in instruction. 

AccessMedicine Cases provides access to more than 900 basic sciences and plus selected clinical cases drawn from the Case Files series. AccessMedicine’s clinical case collections include: 

  • Family Medicine Board Review 
  • Internal Medicine drawn from Resident Readiness Internal Medicine
  • Vanderbilt Internal IM/Peds
  • Case Files (note: selected cases available in AccessMedicine and complete collection available via Case Files Collection)

Himmelfarb also provides access to the complete Case Files Collection which includes more than 1,150 cases, explanations, and quizzes. In addition to basic science cases, the Case Files Collection provides full access to clinical rotation cases for anesthesiology, cardiology, emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, medical ethics & professionalism, obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics, and surgery. Case Files Collection also provides additional cases at the post-graduate level on cardiology, geriatrics, gynecologic surgery, and orthopaedic surgery.  The Case Files Collection ebooks are also available through Himmelfarb’s catalog.

Case File book covers

To integrate cases into your online instruction, start with a relevant patient case. Students can use cases to practice taking a patient history using Smith’s Patient-Centered Interviewing. Students can expand their physical exam skills in an online instruction setting through physical exam videos. Students can then do additional research by looking up current recommendations and reading article summaries on relevant topics. Students can then decide on appropriate next steps for the patient case including diagnostic tests to be ordered, and creating a treatment plan by looking through mini-textbooks, and the provided drug monograph library. Quizzes are available at the end of cases and can be emailed to instructors when completed.

Do you want to explore topics beyond specific medical conditions? Cases in Medical Ethics and Professionalism include opportunities to explore communication, conflict resolution, ethics, and professionalism skills in addition to the medical case at hand. 

Himmelfarb provides full-access to both AccessMedicine and Case Files collection although some features are accessible only after users create a free personal MyAccess Profile. To create a MyAccess Profile, click on Sign In in the upper right corner of AccessMedicine or Case Files Collection.

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Published on 1 Comment on Try new resources @ Himmelfarb
Database and book trialsHimmelfarb Library has temporary access to a number of resources and welcomes your feedback on these resources.  The set of resources is diverse and includes a video anatomy atlas, an infectious disease database, and multiple discipline-specific databases including AccessEmergencyMedicine,  LWW Health Library: Advanced Practice Nursing, and   LWW Health Library: PA Rotations/Specialties - plus many more!
 
You can see the full-list of trial resources including access details and trial dates on the Trials: Temporary Access to Selected Resources Research Guide.
 

Please explore these trial resources and provide your feedback.  Email feedback and questions to Laura Abate (leabate@gwu.edu).

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