AMA goes crazy, digitizes everything

Posted on May 20, 2008 by Marie Kennedy

The digitization of JAMA and the Archives backfiles is soon to be completed, to be released by the end of 2008. They’ll be available for a one-time purchase and an annual maintenance fee for having them hosted through Highwire.

2 million pages of content! The first title that will be put up is the Archives of Internal Medicine, the last will be JAMA.

Here’s how far back they’ll all go:

  • JAMA 1883
  • Archives of Dermatology 1920
  • Archives of General Psychiatry 1959
  • Archives of Internal Medicine 1908
  • Archives of Neurology 1959
  • Archives of Neurology and General Psychiatry 1919-1958
  • Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine 1911
  • Archives of Ophthalmology 1929
  • Archives of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery 1925
  • Archives of Surgery 1920

I asked about how usage statistics will be reported and the AMA rep said she wasn’t yet sure. May I suggest that the AMA follow COUNTER Code of Practice Release 3, which mandates that all usage in an archive is reported separately from the current materials. Thanks for your consideration, AMA. Looking forward to seeing those fully searchable PDFs, with images!

Posted in exhibits hall, library, medicine, MLA 2008, usage statistics | Comments Off on AMA goes crazy, digitizes everything

new biostatistics book

Posted on May 19, 2008 by Marie Kennedy


if you’re looking for a humorous introduction to biostatistics (and who isn’t, really), consider the 3rd edition of Biostatistics: The Bare Essentials. It’s available, published by BC Decker in 2008. Intended as a practical and humorous introduction to the topic of biostatistics, the book comes with an accompanying CD with two lectures by editors Norman and Streiner. A student version of the book is available, with SPSS included on the CD.

Posted in exhibits hall, MLA 2008 | Comments Off on new biostatistics book

gem of the day: medpage today

Posted on May 18, 2008 by Marie Kennedy

MedPage Today is “putting breaking medical news into practice.”

this resource is a free website developed by MedPage Today and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, focusing on medical news headlines. The site covers breaking medical news and analyzes it so that physicians can use the information in their daily practice. The goal is to be quick but thorough, and i imagine it would be immensely useful to have this resource at my disposal if i had a patient come in and say, “what do you know about that article i read in today’s newspaper.”

there’s a ‘campaign ’08’ tab to keep you informed on what the presidential candidates are saying on a variety of health topics. there are free continuing med ed credits if you register. you can sort your news by specialty (topics in left-hand frame) or link to blogs written by four well-known physician bloggers.

this looks like a very nice resource that i will evaluate further via the rss feed and will report back if i notice something else about medpage today that you need to know about.

p.s. you don’t really mean ‘literally,’ medpage today, do you? “We literally put each doctor and Expert Patient on the same page.” you’re just testing us to see if we’re paying attention?

Posted in exhibits hall, gov't relations, medicine, MLA 2008 | 1 Comment

exhibits hall opens tonight

Posted on May 17, 2008 by Marie Kennedy

stay tuned tomorrow for updates about exciting products or other developments, as described by the vendors here at the medical library association conference.

i thought i should mention, before i started blogging about the things i’ll be seeing in the exhibits hall, that by writing about a particular product i am in no way endorsing it, suggesting you buy it, or telling you that i’ve bought it. think of me as a shopping guide with no personal agenda. okay? now that we’ve cleared that up, get ready for posts beginning tomorrow about the latest and greatest in the world of academic medical products, publications, and the like. oh yes, there may also be photos.

Posted in exhibits hall, MLA 2008, publishers | 2 Comments

gopubmed

Posted on May 14, 2008 by Marie Kennedy

playing around with gopubmed for the first time (i know, i know!) today. i put in my favorite search term, “gastroesophageal reflux,” and waited to see what happened. a lot of resulting information was displayed, looking not like any search result screen i’ve ever seen. on the screen are the top authors on the topic, top journals, publications on the topic over time, author collaboration network and a world map. it’s metadata heaven! the best part for me is the mesh root paths, showing all the trees in which my search term shows up, and at what level. if i were just beginning a search and wasn’t sure i had exactly the right keyword, the root paths would be enormously helpful. i’m going to keep playing with this and see where it leads.

does anybody consistently use gopubmed.org instead of www.pubmed.gov? leave a comment if so and tell me why.

Posted in library, medicine, metadata | Comments Off on gopubmed

today is Virtual Library Legislative Day

Posted on May 13, 2008 by Marie Kennedy

I’m the chair of the Government Relations & Bylaws committee for the Medical Library Group of Southern California & Arizona and am on a few e-mail lists as a result, keeping me informed of what’s going on in our government related to libraries.  When I see something relevant for medical librarians I direct our Group to take action.  Most of the actions we take are at a grass roots level and are mainly about having our voice heard as librarians.  It’s all good stuff.  If you too want to stay informed in a  non-in-your-face way, consider adding ALA’s District Dispatch blog to your feed reader.

Occasionally I’ll point our Group to take action on a topic more broad than medical libraries.  Today is such a day.  It is Virtual Library Legislative Day.  If you’re a librarian or a library lover (or a librarian lover for that matter), consider participating.  Go to ALA’s Take Action site, type in your zip code, and send your congressional reps a little note to let them know you value libraries.

legislative day logo

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