Information Tip #1
Readers have preferences for the format of the information they receive. Some prefer the traditional paper; some prefer the digital approach; there are pros and cons to each. Those of us who have grown up with paper copies may find it difficult to transition to the digital environment. This week I got a journal from the Health Care IT News. It has a new format by Nxtbook Media. The format tries to simulate the paper newspaper. There are a number of options the reader can choose including sound effect of turning pages, the shadow in the fold of the pages, page animation, bookmarking, notes, and more.
The goal of Nxtbook.com is to transform the way we read on the Internet and try to increase the effectiveness and attractiveness of digital materials. I am including the link for you to experience for yourself and see what you think. Check out the company and the samples.
http://www.nxtbook.com/company/index.php
Information Tip #2
This is the second resource for My 10 Things. It may be of interest to some of you. When I was in LIS/KM 5033, I was amazed to learn about knowledge-based activities occurring in other parts of the world. I stumbled upon this conference on knowledge repositories that was held in India in February of this year. This PowerPoint presentation by one of the speakers, Lucy Tedd, highlights collection partnerships by museums, archives, and libraries around the world, but with focus on activity in the UK. Some of the sites described really peaked my interest.
Click on this link http://hdl.handle.net/2160/508. Then, look for the green box toward the bottom of the page for the indiamla08.ppt file.
Information Tip #3
Check out the NISO website that has an “Understanding Metadata” guide. I thought it was helpful. The guide gives definitions of the three main types of metadata, it purpose, structure, examples, and how metadata is created. It is a guide for libraries. Here is the link if you want to check it out, http://www.niso.org/publications/press/UnderstandingMetadata.pdf. I am really starting to see how the metadata or lack thereof affects our ability to retrieve information.
Information Tip #4:
I found an article I thought was useful if you are interested in the different types of search engines. “Getting Vertical to Cut Research Time”, an article by Thomas Pack, describes the differences between horizontal and vertical search engines, identifies reasons for using each, and gives concrete examples. The author describes different industries–banking, science, medical, legal, government and education–that have associated vertical search engines, and he gives URLs of numerous sites for each of them.
Pack, Thomas. “Getting Vertical to Cut Research Time”, Online September/October 2001, 44-48.
Information Tip #5
Look at the information at the link below. DELOS is a network of excellence on digital libraries. It is an association for digital libraries to promote cooperation between European digital library initiatives. Its goal is to promote research activities in the field of digital libraries through workshops, working groups, and school. Some areas of research are: digital library architecture; information accessibility & personalization; audio/visual & non-traditional object management; preservation; and more.
http://www.delos.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=256&Itemid=76
Information Tip #6: Health on the Net (HON) Code
Health on the Net Foundation, https://www.hon.ch/HONcode/HONcode_membership.html, is an initiative on the Web to improve the quality of health information. Web site developers can apply for membership free of charge. If their site is approved by HON, they can apply the HON logo showing they abide by the principles that help assure the positive intent of the site.
Information Tip #7: Using “PICO” to locate clinical answers
The Yale University Library provides a tool on their Web site to use or teach health professionals when they are needing to locate evidence-based practice to answer clinical questions. It discusses how to think about background and foreground questions, and gives a mnemonic, PICO that describes the four parts of a good question. PICO stands for Patient, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome. Examples are given. http://www.med.yale.edu/library/nursing/education/clinquest.html
Information Tip #8: NIH Public Access Policy
The National Institute of Health Public Access Policy has been updated based on a law passed in December, 2007. Manuscripts written as a result of NIH funded research must be placed in the NLM’s online repository within 12 months. This shortens the time between the research and the availability of research results to make more up-to-date information available to healthcare professionals. This link goes to the information on the National Institute of Health Web site http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-08-033.html
Information Tip #9: Against the Grain
I thought the Web site for “Against the Grain” was an interesting place to visit. Against the Grain has news about libraries, reports on library issues, literature, publishers, and more. It is an on-line journal published six times per year. The site also has blogs, forums, surveys and job information. http://www.against-the-grain.com/d/
Information Tip #10
A post by a fellow student led me to look into mobile sources of information for obtaining evidence-based practice information for clinicians. I found references to several companies. One, UpToDate, appears to be a solid resource that has been in existence since 1992. It contains information relevant for physicians in family medicine, obstetrics, gynecology, pediatrics, and internal medicine, and is affiliated with numerous professional medical associations. It is available via Web, desktop, or PDA http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html
