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We are in the final days of the Fall semester! Congratulations on completing the semester! As the semester draws to a close, we’d like to share some end-of-semester tips to help make life less stressful during this busy time.

Studying for Exams:

Himmelfarb Library is a great place to study and prepare for exams. We recognize that each person’s study needs are different. Some people need complete silence to focus, while others prefer being able to chat with others and bounce ideas off each other. Himmelfarb has a space for all noise level preferences!

1st Floor: The first floor of Himmelfarb is not quiet and is perfect for group study! You’ll find some tall tables and 4-person tables that are great for group study sessions. The numerous rolling dry-erase boards available on this floor are perfect for jotting down your study notes! The first floor also has comfortable sofas and chairs near the elevator where you can get caught up with your colleagues. 

If you need a study break, check out our Healthy Living Collection located near the sofas! During your study break, you can help finish the current puzzle on the puzzle table, get rid of some excess energy with our hula hoops, play a friendly game of chess or another board game, destress with some adult color books, or even use the yoga mats to get in some stretching after long hours of studying.

Picture of puzzle table with puzzle and adult coloring pages.

2nd Floor: Himmelfarb’s second floor is a silent floor reserved for graduate and advanced degree students. While there are 4-person tables on this floor, please don’t be tempted to talk or whisper with others while on the second floor. Silence is golden on this floor, and students seeking a silent place to focus value the pristine silence of this space. You’ll find open and closed study carrels on this floor to meet your silent study needs.

Librarian action figure making a shhhing gesture in front of a "No Talking - This is a silent floor" sign.

3rd Floor: The main portion of the third floor is a quiet study area. The Bloedorn Technology Center provides areas for collaboration including the Levine Lounge, which can be used for our BodyViz software, and the tables with anatomical models. The SMHS IT Help Desk is also on the third floor as well as computer labs with statistical software installed. 

Group Study Rooms

Himmelfarb has 28 study rooms available for use. Reserve your study room in advance to be sure you secure a room. Forgot to reserve a room in advance? No problem! Scan the QR code outside of the study room and reserve an available room when you arrive. Study rooms can be reserved for up to 4 hours at a time, and can be made a week in advance. All study rooms come equipped with computer monitors and dry-erase boards. While study rooms are a great place to study as a group, they are not noise-proof, so please keep conversations quiet. Study rooms are located on the silent second floor and the quiet third floor - so please be respectful of others while using these spaces.

Helpful Study Supplies & Technology

Himmelfarb has a variety of study supplies and technology that can be checked out at the first floor Circulation Desk, including:

  • Dry-Erase Markers
  • Remote Controls (for the study room monitors)
  • HDMI, VGA, VGA to HDMI Adaptors
  • MacBook and iPhone Chargers
  • Headphones

Earplugs are also available at the Circulation Desk.

Returning Library Materials

Before leaving campus for Winter Break, check your library account to make sure you don’t need to return library materials. You can return items to the Circulation Desk. If you have materials borrowed through Interlibrary Loan, check your Docs2Go account for due dates, and return items on time so we can ship them back to their home library.

Himmelfarb’s Winter Break Hours

Himmelfarb Library will close for the Winter Break at 8:00 pm on Sunday, December 22, 2024. Our building will be closed from December 23, 2024, through January 1, 2025. We will reopen at 8:00 am on Thursday, January 2, 2025. While our building is closed over the break, our databases, journals, and e-books are available from anywhere through our website! Visit our hours page to view our full hours and holiday closures.

Picture of a pumpkin. Text: "Happy Thanksgiving"

Himmelfarb Library wishes everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

As a reminder, we are currently closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. Our holiday hours are as follows:

Date:Day:Hours
November 28, 2024ThursdayCLOSED!
November 29, 2024FridayCLOSED!
November 30, 2024Saturday9:00 am - 8:00 pm
December 1, 2024Sunday9:00 am - Midnight

Our electronic databases, journals, and e-books are still available through our website.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Picture of a small pumpkin, coffee mug, and coffee beans. Text: "Happy Thanksgiving"

Himmelfarb Library will be closed during the Thanksgiving Holiday. Our hours this week are as follows:

Date:Day:Hours:
November 27, 2024Wednesday7:30 am - 6:00 pm
November 28, 2024ThursdayCLOSED!
November 29, 2024FridayCLOSED!
November 30, 2024Saturday9:00 am - 8:00 pm
December 1, 2024Sunday9:00 am - Midnight

We will resume normal hours on Monday, December 2, 2024.

Even though our building is closed, our electronic resources (including our databases, e-books, and e-journals) are still available during this time.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Pile of chocolate peanut butter cups with chocolate syrup poured over
Photo by Heather Barnes on Unsplash

Isn’t it great when two things which are already great on their own combine? Earlier this month, The Rotation spotlighted LibKey Nomad, a super-handy browser plugin which helps you access full text more quickly and easily. For those involved with evidence synthesis projects who use Covidence, there is some great news…

Banner advertising LibKey Nomad Covidence Integration

Now you can use LibKey Nomad to help you locate the full text of articles right from your Covidence screen!

Once you are logged in to Covidence, navigate to the Full text screening page, and look at your list. You will now find the LibKey Nomad icon that offers you the option to “Download PDF” – or may offer you other options of obtaining the full-text article.  Here’s how it can work with Covidence:

Screenshot showing where to click to download a PDF

To access the full text, click the LibKey Nomad button to download a PDF. The PDF will open in a new browser tab…

Preview of PDF download

…and you can download it from there.

Next, you will click the Upload full text button, and locate the PDF wherever you downloaded it:

Dialog box to upload full text to Covidence

Once you have uploaded the PDF, this will be reflected in the display on the Full text screening page:

Screenshot from Covidence showing full text of article uploaded

When you have completed this process for each study in your full text screening set, you are ready to resume your screening!

The integration of LibKey Nomad and Covidence makes what was previously a more time-consuming process quick and easy. If you aren’t using LibKey Nomad yet, install it in your browser today!

LibKey Nomad Logo

LibKey Nomad is a quick and easy way to get the full-text PDFs of journal articles and book chapters that Himmelfarb Library provides in our collection. This free browser extension lets you view content on the publisher's site and download full-text PDFs quickly and easily! LibKey Nomad is available for web browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Brave, and Vivaldi). 

To use LibKey Nomad, install it as a browser plug-in and choose “George Washington University - Himmelfarb Library” as your home library when prompted.

LibKey Nomad is active on publisher sites, PubMed, Amazon, and Google Books! With LibKey Nomad, you’ll be alerted when the full-text articles and e-books are available from Himmelfarb, and be able to get the PDF with a single click in most cases. When searching databases such as PubMed, look for the “Article Link” or “Download PDF” buttons shown below. 

Here’s a screenshot of how these links appear in PubMed:

Screenshot of PubMed results page with LibKey Nomad Article Link and Download PDF buttons.

Many sites will provide a pop-up in the bottom left corner of the screen with the LibKey Nomad logo and “Provided by George Washington University - Himmelfarb Library” (see below). Simply clicking on these buttons will take you to the full-text content.

Screenshot of a LibKey Nomad "Provided By George Washington University - Himmelfarb Library" button.

When you search, LibKey Nomad automatically integrates full-text access from Himmelfarb directly from where you find the content! For example, if you are searching for a book on Amazon, and Himmelfarb Library owns an e-book of the item you’re looking for, LibKey Nomad will give you the option to access the full text through Himmelfarb - which can end up saving you money! 

Screenshot of a LibKey button in Amazon.

LibKey Nomad even tells you when an article has been retracted! When you search Himmelfarb’s search box and retrieve a retracted article, the PDF button that would normally appear in the results is replaced with a Retracted Article button as shown in the screenshot below.

Screenshot of a LibKey Nomad Article Retracted button in PubMed.

Clicking on the Article Retracted button will open a window that details why the article was retracted (data retrieved from Retraction Watch) and links if you still want to read or download the article.

LibKey Nomad makes getting to the full-text and PDFs of articles and book chapters fast and easy, often in as little as a single click! Install the LibKey Nomad browser extension in your favorite browser today! Contact us if you have questions about installing or using LibKey Nomad! You can reach us at himmelfarb@gwu.edu or chat with us during business hours.

From all of us at Himmelfarb Library, we’d like to welcome all of the new residents, fellows, students, faculty, and staff who joined the GW SMHS, GWSPH, and GW Nursing community this month! We are thrilled that you’re here and we look forward to serving you during your time at GW! We know that the start of any new endeavor can be daunting, so we’d like to make it easier for you to get to know Himmelfarb Library.

To help you get the lay of the land, watch this short, video tour of the library with Himmelfarb’s Library Director, Laura Abate:

Himmelfarb Hours 

Our physical space, accessible through Ross Hall, is open the following hours:

Monday - Thursday: 7:30 am - Midnight

Friday: 7:30 am - 10:00 pm

Saturday: 8:00 am - 10:00 pm

Sunday: 8:00 am - Midnight

Our current hours of operation are available on our website and include exceptions to normal hours (i.e. holiday closures). If you can’t make it to the library in person, you can get help from our librarians and staff via chat or phone (202-994-2850), or email himmelfarb@gwu.edu. Our databases, journals, and e-books are available 24/7, so even when our building is closed, you can access our electronic resources from anywhere.

Himmelfarb Resources and Collections

Himmelfarb’s collection is much larger than just the books in our stacks. We have 125 databases to search, including PubMed, Scopus, and CINAHL. The search bar towards the top of our library homepage, known as Health Information @ Himmelfarb, can be used to search for physical and electronic books, journals, articles, dissertations, and more all in just a single search box! 

You can also browse and access our collection of journals from our e-journals page, or by using BrowZine. You can use BrowZine directly from your internet browser, or download the app to your IOS or Android device. BrowZine allows you to create a personalized bookshelf of journal titles, follow your favorite journals, and create alerts for new issues and tables of contents.

Here’s another pro tip: installing the LibKey Nomad browser extension on your favorite browser will provide easy access to full text when searching PubMed, Scopus, EBSCO databases, Google Scholar, Amazon, publisher sites, and more. With LibKey Nomad, you’ll be alerted when the full-text articles and e-books are available from Himmelfarb, and be able to get the PDF with a single click in most cases.

We also provide a wide range of e-books from AccessMedicine, ClinicalKey, EBSCOhost, and R2 Digital Library. You can browse our e-book collections, view our special collections in Health Information @ Himmelfarb, or search for any book via the Health Information @ Himmelfarb search tool on our homepage. We also have print books on the basement level of Himmelfarb. Most print books can be borrowed for three weeks with an additional two renewals. If we don’t have a book or article that you need, we can get it for you through our Consortium Loan Service or Documents2Go services. 

Clinical Resources

Himmelfarb provides specialized apps and information services to support those of you who provide patient care. DynaMed and Lexidrug are our go-to resources for easy access to clinical care resources. If you want resources available on your smartphone or other mobile device, check out our App Shelf to download apps to selected resources. Learn more about resources available to residents on our Residents and Fellows Guide!

Research Support

Himmelfarb is more than just a physical space with lots of study space and great databases, journals, books, and e-books! Our librarians and staff can support you in your research by helping with literature searches, conducting systematic reviews, and organizing sources with RefWorks or Covidence. We can also help guide you through the constantly evolving scholarly publishing landscape through our author services

Get help with your research from our knowledgeable reference librarians and staff. Stop by our circulation desk to get your questions answered in person, or use our Ask a Librarian service to chat with a reference librarian virtually. Our Ask a Librarian service is staffed by real Himmelfarb librarians and staff so you can be sure you’re getting the help you need! We also have a wealth of research guides that can connect you with resources on a variety of topics. 

Connect with Us!

Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube for the latest Himmelfarb news and updates! Subscribe to our blog to make sure you never miss a post!

We look forward to serving you! Welcome to the GW community!

Picture of a medical student of Asian decent taking a history from a patient with long, curly red hair.
Photo by EdTech Stanford University (CC BY-NC-ND-2.0 DEED license)

It’s officially clerkship season! Third-year medical students started clerkships during the past few weeks, so this is a great time to remind you that Himmelfarb Library has some great sources to help you get through clerkships!

A great place to start is our MS3 Clerkship Guide! This guide is packed with resources to help you during each of the six 3rd-year clerkships: medicine, OB/GYN, pediatrics, primary care, psychiatry, and surgery. Each clerkship tab includes:

  • Best Bets: The top 2-3 full-text resources for your searches
  • Key Textbooks: The best textbooks for education and study
  • Mobile/Handheld: Apps for your phone or tablet so you can access information 24/7
  • Recommended Resources: Additional sites and tools recommended by clerkship directors
  • Research Articles: Links to PubMed and MEDLINE
  • Shelf Prep Materials: Books and question banks to help you prepare for the shelf exam
  • Clerkship Contacts: Names and contact information for clerkship directors and clerkship coordinators.

You’ll also find information about the Electronic Health Record systems used at your clerkship sites.

Are you looking to find specific types of resources that you can count on during each clerkship? Check out the following list of resources!

Drug Information - Choosing the right medication, dosage, drug interactions, contraindications, and drug coverage:

  • LexiDrug (aka LexiComp): Clinical drug information with integrated access to multiple drug databases plus access to Trissel's IV Compatibility, drug interaction checker, drug I.D., patient education, calculators, and additional clinical tools. Includes access to adult, pediatric, and neonatal drug information, pharmacogenomics, lab tests and diagnostic procedures, toxicology, and drug allergy and idiosyncratic reactions.
  • NatMed Pro (aka Natural Medicines): Supports evidence-based alternative therapy decision-making including 1,400+ natural ingredient and alternative therapy monographs, and 185,000+ commercial products. Searchable by scientific, common, or brand name; includes interactive tools for safety, effectiveness, and interactions. 
  • ClinicalKey: Search the Drug Monographs section for drug and dosing information to guide treatment.
  • DynaMed Drugs A-Z: Click on Drugs A-Z or the Drug Interactions in the top menu. 
  • Epocrates+: Click on the Briefcase + Icon on the left side of the screen to find tools including Drugs, Interaction Check, Pill ID, etc.

Differential Diagnosis - Creating your Ddx using reputable sources:

  • DynaMed: When looking at a condition in DynaMed, there is a Differential Diagnosis area in the Diagnosis area (on the left side menu).
  • Epocrates+: Like DynaMed, there's a Differential Diagnosis area in the Diagnosis area on the left side menu.

Evidence-Based Guidelines - Finding current practice guidelines to drive your assessment and plan:

  • DynaMed: Check out the Guidelines & Resources area towards the bottom of the left-side menu.
  • Epocrates+: Check out the Guidelines area (under References) towards the bottom of the left-side menu.
  • PubMed: If you use Himmelfarb's link to PubMed, you can use our filters on the left side of the search results page to limit your results by Practice Guidelines.
  • ClinicalKey: Click on the "Guidelines" area to search for clinical guidelines from leading organizations.

As you move into your fourth-year clerkships, remember our MS4 Clerkship Guide! This guide has the same great information as the MS3 Clerkship Guide but is specific to anesthesiology, neuroscience, emergency medicine, and pediatric emergency medicine clerkships.

Access Note:

On Monday, May 20, 2024, Himmelfarb Library, in partnership with GW Libraries and Academic Innovation, changed the underlying system that provides access to our online collections (including ebooks, databases, and journals). We’ve worked hard to make this transition seamless with only minor changes. However, if you experience issues accessing any of the resources mentioned above, please let us know so we can fix the issue. To let us know about a problem with a resource, or if you have questions about access, reach out to himmelfarb@gwu.edu or Ask A Librarian. If you’d like to learn more about this change, read our recent blog post.

Image of a peach background with white scrabble tiles spelling out the word "Login" in the center of the image.
Photo from Pexels by Miguel Á. Padriñán 

On Monday, May 20, 2024, Himmelfarb Library, in partnership with GW Libraries and Academic Innovation (GW LAI), will change the underlying system that provides access to our online collections including our ebooks, databases, and journals. This change will be seamless for most users as the new system (OpenAthens) uses the same GW Single Sign-On login method used by our current system (EZproxy).

Changes you can expect to see when accessing Himmelfarb’s e-resources include:

  • When accessing a subscription resource through the library, you may be prompted to log in with your GW UserID and password, even if you are on campus or connected to the VPN.
  • If you’ve recently logged in to another resource via GW’s Single Sign On, you may be able to access resources without logging in again.
  • Many publishers offer direct OpenAthens login from their resources by providing an interface that allows users to choose their institution and select a Single Sign On option for access (for example: JAMA’s OpenAthens access)

For GW faculty, instructional designers, and staff who maintain links to course materials in Blackboard and other course management systems, links that use the older EZproxy system will need to be updated. However, additional time is available to make this transition. 

Here are some key points to know:

  • EZproxy links continue to work and users will be forwarded directly to the linked resource.
  • Link forwarding will remain in place for one year to allow for time to update links to OpenAthens. 
  • Most Blackboard links will be updated automatically via a GW LAI project.
  • Links embedded in PDF documents will need to be updated manually.
  • Linking to Electronic Resources provides support for creating durable links:
    • A QuickTool that allows you to generate and test OpenAthens links.
    • Other methods for creating durable links to journal articles, books, streaming videos, etc.

For additional support related to access and durable linking, see the following resources:

Himmelfarb Library provides the BrowZine journal reader to library users to help keep current and make browsing journal contents online easy. We are pleased to see an uptick in usage of BrowZine by library users this past year!

Infographic showing increased usage of BrowZine bookshelf, table of contents and full-text downloads for 2022-23

When searching Health Information @ Himmelfarb, the library catalog, you may have seen and used the links to View Issue Contents in catalog records:

Article search result screenshot with Download PDF and View Issue Contents options circled

These links direct users to BrowZine to view journal tables of contents and download full-text when available.

Screenshot of BrowZine table of contents for the journal Infants & Young Children

Library users can set up a BrowZine account and follow journals of interest to them by putting them on a BrowZine bookshelf. Whenever a new issue is published for a bookshelf journal, an email notifying of the new content is sent.

You can access BrowZine from a web browser or download the app for iOS or Android. When using the mobile app you can save articles to read offline later.   

Learn more about BrowZine in our Current Awareness Research Guide.

Picture of a computer with a VPN sign-on page.

In case you have not heard, GW’s Cisco AnyConnect VPN will be retiring on August 8th. The university is transitioning to Palo Alto GlobalProtect. To access the new VPN from off-campus locations, you will need to download, install, and configure the Palo Alto GlobalProtect Client.

Depending on which device you have, you can set up the GlobalProtect Client by following the steps below. 

GW Managed Windows and macOS Devices

For GW Managed Devices, use Software Center on Windows or Self Service on macOS to install the Palo Alto GlobalProtect client. 

GW Managed or Personal iOS and Android Devices

For iOS (including iPads) and Android devices, the GlobalProtect Client is also available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

Personal Windows and macOS Devices

For personal devices, please follow these instructions:

  • Download the GlobalProtect VPN Client for your device from the GW IT Software website.
  • Locate the downloaded files and open/run the installer to begin the installation.
  • Follow the steps in the installation wizard to complete the installation.
  • For macOS 10.15.4 and Later: Select both the GlobalProtect and GlobalProtect System extensions options during installation.

GlobalProtect Portal Address: gwvpn.gwu.edu

go.gwu.edu/downloadvpn

Note: Installation of the GlobalProtect VPN Client will briefly interrupt your Internet connection. If you experience issues accessing the VPN, please report them via the VPN form.

  • Once installed, In the GlobalProtect Client menu, ensure the portal address, gwvpn.gwu.edu, is present. This should be pre-populated for GW Managed device installations.
  • Click Connect and follow the prompts to sign in using your UserID credentials for single sign-on (SSO) with two-step authentication.
  • After successful sign-in, the GlobalProtect Client will show a successful connection.

If you have any questions or need assistance, contact the GW IT department at ithelp@gwu.edu or 202-994-GWIT (4948).