Network News
November/December 2002
- Contents:
- New From the NN/LM SCR
Office
- NLM Application of 2002
AACR2 Amendments
- DOCLINE Update
- AIDSinfo
- Inside Funding
- Consumer Health
Considered
- What's New With NLM
Databases?
- NN/LM SCR Committee
Meetings
- Science.gov
- Technology Awareness
Conference Awarded
- NLM Visitors Center to
Close for Renovation
- Technology
Notes
- Resource Libraries' Holiday Ill Shipping
Policy/Schedule
- In Every Issue:
- Regional Training and
Exhibit Calendar
- Employment
Opportunities
- NLM
Technical Bulletin
News From the
NN/LM SCR Office
--Renée Bougard, Associate Director
On behalf of the NN/LM
SCR staff I would like to wish each of you a safe and happy
holiday season. This year, we decided to take a
technological approach in conveying our holiday greetings
to the Region. Our holiday e-card is located at: http://
nnlm.gov /scr/news/xmascard3.htm.
The NN/LM SCR Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) met in
Houston on November 5, 2002. Meeting minutes will be
available on our Web site in the very near future, and an
announcement of their availability will be posted to the
NNLMSCR-L.
Over the past couple of months, we have been making
preliminary plans for the NN/LM SCR Year 03 (May 2003-April
2004) budget that begins in January 2003. This is a
particularly exciting time for us, as we consider the
feedback that you have submitted to us, either directly or
through committee meetings, in planning next year's
regional programming for you. We encourage you to continue
contacting your area representatives on the various NN/LM
SCR committees and provide them with feedback regarding
needs in your area, and we also encourage you to continue
letting us know what works, and what you would like to see
your Regional office consider in the future. We cannot
effectively meet your needs without hearing from you!
Greg Bodin and Karla Bourque, along with the rest of the
Staff, have been diligently working to redesign the NN/LM
SCR Web site, both in format and in content. An
announcement will be made in early 2003 when the redesign
is ready.
We look forward to working with you in 2003!
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NLM
Application of 2002 AACR2 Amendments
--Christa Hoffmann, Head, Cataloging
Section, NLM, Bethesda, MD
NLM has decided to
delay implementation of certain sections of Chapter 21.2A.2
of the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, 2nd ed.
(AACR2), until at least March. 31, 2003, until we have a
chance to thoroughly investigate the implications of these
changes on various areas of the Library. Specifically, we
will not apply 21.2A2c (differences involving the name of
the same corporate body), 21.2A2h (order of words in a
list), or 21.2A2i (addition or deletion of words indicating
the type of resource) when these changes affect the first
word of a title. In addition we will not apply 21.2A2a if
the first word changes from an acronym to a full-form or
vice-versa.
While we support the overall goal of reducing the number
of major changes requiring new serial records, we find some
of the minor changes in Chapter 21.2A2 to be potentially
problematic. Specifically, NLM is concerned about those
changes defined as minor where the first word of a title
significantly differs from previous issues.
As an indexing agency as well as a research library, NLM
has specific concerns about citation displays. Although our
catalog has a rich cross-reference structure that will
allow users to get to the correct record using earlier or
later forms of the title, an indexing record can only carry
a single form of the citation. If an indexed article
appears in our database with the earlier title, but the
printed citations to the article appear with the current
title, we feel this could be very confusing to users,
particularly when there has been a significant change to
the first word of the title. For most other categories of
minor changes, users can recognize that they have the same
title. For these more significant changes, it will be much
harder for users to recognize this.
NLM also produces many print and online publications
which list our indexed titles. Like bibliographies, these
lists only contain a single form of the title. We are
concerned that users will not recognize that we actually
index a title such as Journal of Biological
Chemistry, if the publication were to change its title
to Biological Chemistry, and we continue to cite it
as Journal of Biological Chemistry. Our experience
also shows that publishers, not unreasonably, expect their
citations to carry the title that actually appears on their
journal, and we know we will receive complaints from
publishers if some of these new rules were applied.
Although NLM shelves its serials by call number, rather
than by title, we know that many of our constituents are
smaller medical or hospital libraries that shelve their
journals alphabetically by title. These libraries are very
dependent on the bibliographic records distributed by NLM,
and we feel that users in these institutions will have a
very hard time finding these journals if the first word on
the printed publication is very different from where the
item is actually shelved.
We are hopeful that NLM will not encounter too many
changes in these categories during the next four months,
but if we need to create new records in the NLM database
that do not follow the current cataloging rules, we will
not submit these records to CONSER.
NLM began applying all of the other provisions of the
2002 Amendments to AACR2 on Dec. 2, 2002.
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DOCLINE
Update
--Re Mishra, Education-Communications
Coordinator
PubMed Changes Effect DOCLINE
On December 2, 2002,
PubMed made changes to 'Page Selection', 'Send to', and
'Links'. These changes require an additional step when
using the DOCLINE - Requests/Borrow PubMed ordering
process.
The [Order] button has been replaced with a [Send To]
button and an adjacent drop-down box containing the values:
File, Text, Clipboard, Order. After selecting DOCLINE:
Request/Borrow PubMed and completing the PubMed Search(es)
or Using Citation matcher, users must select 'Order' from
the drop-down box and then click the [Send To] button. The
system will then return to the DOCINE 'Process PubMed
Orders' screen.
DOCLINE - Requests/Borrow/PubMed
- Select REQUESTS from DOCLINE Main Menu
- Select Borrow
- Select PubMed
- Perform PubMed Search(es) or Use Citation
matcher
- Click check-box to the left of each citation you want
to Order
- Select 'Order' from the drop-down box adjacent to
[Send To] button and click [Send To] button (skip to step
10)
-
OR
Select 'Clipboard' from the drop-down box and click
[Send To] button to save citations to order
Note: You may perform multiple searches and save
citations to 'Clipboard'.
- Select 'Clipboard' from the top menu bar to view
entire contents of saved citations to order
- Select Check-boxes to left of each citation to make
order selections
-
OR
Select 'Order' from the drop-down box and click [Send
To] button to order all documents saved in
Clipboard
Note 1: Clipboard must be cleared after each order.
Citations remain in Clipboard for one hour.
Note 2: To remove citations that are not wanted, click
check-boxes to the left of the citations, select
'Remove from Clipboard' from the drop-down box and
click [Send To] button before processing the order.
Note 3: From Clipboard, you can only order citations
from the current screen's contents.
- Select 'Order' from the drop-down box and Click [Send
To] button, review "Process PubMed Orders" screen in
DOCLINE
- Click check-boxes to order selectively, then click
NEXT, or if NO boxes are checked, click NEXT to route all
selected PubMed citations in DOCLINE.
DOCLINE Quarterly Statistical Reports -
July-September 2002
NLM has released the
following DOCLINE quarterly statistical reports for
July-September 2002:
1-1A, 1-11A, 1-1AT - Summary DOCLINE Borrower
Statistics
1-1B - Summary DOCLINE Lender Statistics
1-2A, 1-22A - Detailed DOCLINE Borrower Statistics
1-2B - Detailed DOCLINE Lender Statistics
2-14 - Resource Library Quarterly Report - Fill Rate
5-1A - Loansome Doc Detailed Lender Statistics
5-1B - Loansome Doc Throughput Report
Please note that reports 1-11A, 1-1AT and 1-22A are only
distributed to libraries that have entered requests in
DOCLINE for other libraries. Report 2-14 is only
distributed to resource libraries.
The January-March 2002 DOCLINE quarterly statistical
reports are no longer available. Further schedule
information may be found in the DOCLINE -Quarterly Reports
(Statistics) FAQ (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/doc_quarterly_reports.html).
Instructions for downloading and printing reports may be
found at HELP/Online Manual/Requests - Reports or at:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/faqdocline.html#reports.
Contact ILL at NLM Form
There is a new way to
report a problem with requests filled by the National
Library of Medicine. Please use the Contact ILL form
available at: http://wwwcf.nlm.nih.gov/ill/ill_web_form.cfm.
By completing this form, you provide information that is
essential to NLM's Interlibrary Loan staff in their efforts
to respond to your concerns. The Contact ILL form can also
be accessed from within DOCLINE through Help/Contact
DOCLINE.
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AIDSinfo
--Gale A. Dutcher, Head, Office of
Outreach and Special Populations, Division of Specialized
Information Services, NLM, Bethesda, MD
On December 2, 2002,
the HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials Information Service (ACTIS)
and its sister service, the HIV/AIDS Treatment Information
Service (ATIS), merged into AIDSinfo (http://AIDSinfo.nih.gov). The
new AIDSinfo includes all of the services that have been
available from ACTIS and ATIS, as well as quick and easy
access to wide-ranging Federal resources on HIV/AIDS
clinical research, HIV treatment and prevention, and
medical practice guidelines for health care providers and
consumers.
AIDSinfo is designed for full accessibility, intuitive
searching, and easy navigation. The Web site presents
federally approved information on HIV/AIDS treatment and
prevention guidelines, a comprehensive database of HIV/AIDS
clinical trials, vaccines, and information about approved
and experimental HIV/AIDS drugs. The site's Education and
Resource Center is a virtual one-stop shop offering links
and downloadable resources specially designed for patients
and the general public, researchers, health care providers,
and students.
The AIDSinfo Help Line has English and Spanish-speaking
Health Information Specialists who offer confidential
responses to questions and assistance with navigating the
Web site. The Help Line is available Monday through Friday,
noon to 5:00 p.m. eastern time.
Telephone: 800-448-0440
International: 301-519-0459
TTY/TTD: 888-480-3739
E-mail: ContactUs@aidsinfo.nih.gov
AIDSinfo E-news, the site's electronic newsletter, will
keep you informed about new and updated treatment
guidelines, clinical trials, drugs, vaccines, new products,
and Web site updates. If you already subscribe to the ATIS
listserv, you will automatically be placed on the AIDSinfo
E-news subscriber list. If not, visit the Web site to
subscribe.
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Inside
Funding
--Michelle Malizia, Outreach
Coordinator
Internet Access to Digital Libraries
(IADL)
NLM recently announced
52 awards in its new Internet Access to Digital Libraries
(IADL) (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/news/Internetgrants02.html)
grant program. The purpose of the IADL grants is to help
health-related organizations provide consumers, health
professionals and health staff with access to digital
health information resources and information services of
the highest quality. The FY 2002 IADL awards, amounting to
just over $4 million, will reach consumers and health
professionals in more than 330 communities in 25 states and
Puerto Rico.
FY2002 awardees in the SCR region:
Southeast Louisiana AHEC
Project Title: MedConnect - Connecting Rural LA
University of New Mexico
Project Title: Internet Access to Digital Libraries
Texas Tech University
Project Title: Texas Tech El Paso Virtual Campus
Information about future application dates is available
at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/ep/iadl.html.
The next deadline for proposal submissions is February 1,
2003.
Health e-Technologies Initiative
The Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation debuted a new national funding program aimed at
evaluating the effectiveness of electronic health
information in improving health behaviors. The Health
e-Technologies Initiative (http://www.hetinitiative.org/)
will support scientific research on promising eHealth
applications that are designed to improve interactions
between consumers and patients and 1) providers; 2) health
care organizations; 3) voluntary and community
organizations; and 4) partnerships among any of these
entities.
A total of $7.25 million in funds will be awarded under
this Initiative in two categories:
- short-term, six-to-12 month grants (up to $100,000)
to help address methodology and design challenges related
to the scientific evaluation of eHealth
applications;
- longer-term, up to three-year grants (up to $600,000)
to evaluate applications designed to produce and/or
maintain health behavior change and/or to enhance patient
self-management of chronic disease.
Deadline for submitting an online letter of intent is
January 8, 2003.
New Proposal Writing and Funding
Information Class
The NN/LM SCR is
offering a new class aimed at beginning funding proposal
writers. Grants and How to Apply for NN/LM Funding
Opportunities (http://nnlm.gov/scr/edn/grants.htm)
presents a general overview of the grant and funding
processes as well as the level of detail required in a
successful proposal. Each component of the grant writing
process will be addressed, including: documenting the need,
identifying the target population, writing measurable
objectives and developing a work and dissemination plan.
Contact me for more information on hosting this class.
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Consumer Health Considered
--Gretchen Schweiger, Consumer Health
Coordinator
The National Library of
Medicine has made several changes to MEDLINEplus (http://medlineplus.gov)
recently. A new look for the home page debuted November 21,
2002. The page is divided into three sections and contains
more dynamic graphics. Consumers will also now have access
to the Medical Encyclopedia and the Interactive Health
Tutorials from the main page. The new look was designed
after extensive usability testing and feedback from
librarians.
At the same time, a new search engine was implemented.
The search engine, from RecomMind, uses search strategies
based on concepts as well as terms when retrieving results.
Search results are organized into folders that correspond
to the different parts of MEDLINEplus, e.g. Health Topics,
Drug Information. View the "search tips" on the new search
engine at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/searchtips.html#new.
On December 11, 2002, the exciting new feature, "GO
LOCAL" became accessible. GO LOCAL enables consumers to go
from information found on a specific health condition on
MEDLINEplus to information regarding the same condition in
their own community. At this time, the GO LOCAL feature
links to only one Web site, NC Health Info, a Web site
developed by the University of North Carolina Health
Sciences Library and the University of North Carolina
School of Information and Library Science. This pilot
project created by the University of North Carolina and NLM
is expected to expand to include other local consumer
health Web sites across the country. More information about
the project can be accessed at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/golocal.html.
Back to
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What's New with NLM Databases?
--Re Mishra, Education-Communications
Coordinator
PubMed "Send To" Button
PubMed has changed its
procedures on displaying in text, saving, ordering and
adding to the Clipboard. Instead of the individual buttons,
now the screen has a "Send To" button with a dropdown box
that allows all of these functions.
For more information, see: Nahin AM. Page Selection,
Send to, and Links: Changes to PubMed®. NLM Tech
Bull. 2002 Nov-Dec;(329):e7.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/nd02/nd02_pm_changes.html.
PubMed Limits Changes
A few changes were made
to PubMed's Limits:
- The strategy behind the All Child limit on the Ages
menu has been modified so that it will continue to
retrieve studies for ages 0-18 years.
- A new age grouping, Middle Aged + Aged (for ages 45
and over) has been added to the Age Group menu.
- The subsets, In process and Publisher, were removed
from the Subsets menu. These subsets can still be
searched using the [SB] search tag:
in process [sb]
publisher [sb]
Example: patient education AND (in process
[sb] OR publisher [sb])
For more information, see: Nahin AM. Changes to
PubMed's® Limits. NLM Tech Bull. 2002
Nov-Dec;(329):e6.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/nd02/nd02_limits.html.
MEDLINE/MeSH Changes
NLM has finished its
annual Year-End Processing. Changes made include:
- The annual update to Medical Subject Headings (MeSH),
NLM's controlled vocabulary used for subject indexing and
retrieval
- Updated MeSH in MEDLINE citations to reflect changes
in MeSH vocabulary including entry combination
revisions
- Other changes to data in MEDLINE citations including
identification of Clinical Trial and Publication
Types
For more information, see:
Schulman JL. What's New for 2003 MeSH®. NLM Tech
Bull. 2002 Nov-Dec;(329):e5.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/nd02/nd02_2003_mesh.html.
Rosov J. MEDLINE® Data Changes - 2003. NLM Tech
Bull. 2002 Nov-Dec;(329):e4.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/nd02/nd02_2003_medline_data_changes.html.
Health Services and Sciences Research
Resources (HSRR) Database
The National
Information Center on Health Services Research & Health
Care Technology (NICHSR) Health Services and Sciences
Research Resources (HSRR) database is now available on the
NLM Web site at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/nichsr/hsrr_search/.
The HSRR database contains descriptions of about 300
research datasets, over 55 instruments/indices, and more
than 20 software applications that are frequently used in
health services research and in the behavioral and social
sciences. These research-oriented tools may be used to
assess data variables and data collection
methodologies.
For more information see: Benton N. Health Services and
Sciences Research Resources (HSRR) Database. NLM Tech
Bull. 2002 Nov-Dec;(329):e2. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/nd02/nd02_hsr.html.
Construction of National Library of
Medicine Title Abbreviations
NLM has created a Fact
Sheet (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/constructitle.html)
that describes the rules currently used to construct title
abbreviations for journals cited in NLM's online
services.
Related Articles Algorithm Modified for
PubMed Citations
On December 4, 2002,
the term-weighted algorithm used to create the Related
Articles links for each PubMed citation was modified to
better calculate citations that are closely related to a
selected article. In addition, a citation length correction
was applied, i.e., the total number of words in a citation
is now considered. This compensates for abstract length
thereby producing an improved list of related articles for
citations that do not have abstracts.
See:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query/static/computation.html
for additional information.
New Books Added to NCBI's Bookshelf
Three new books have
been added to the National Center for Biotechnology
Information's (NCBI) Bookshelf (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=Books).
- The Human ATP-Binding Cassette (ABC) Transporter
Superfamily. Dean, Michael. Monograph. Bethesda (MD):
NCBI, National Library of Medicine (US); 2002 Nov.
- Basic Neurochemistry, Molecular, Cellular, and
Medical Aspects. 6th ed. Siegel, George J.; Agranoff,
Bernard W.; Albers, R. Wayne; Fisher, Stephen K.; Uhler,
Michael D., editors. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins; c1999.
- The NCBI Handbook. Bethesda (MD): NCBI,
National Library of Medicine (US); 2002 Nov.
The books in Bookshelf may be searched directly from the
Bookshelf site or via links from the Links pull-down menu
from relevant PubMed citations.
MeSH® Tools 2003 Available for
Purchase
The Medical Subject
Headings - Annotated Alphabetic List, 2003; Medical
Subject Headings - Tree Structures, 2003; and
Permuted Medical Subject Headings, 2003 may now be
ordered from the National Technical Information Service
(NTIS). Order and pricing information for these
publications can be found on NLM's Web site at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/pubs.html.
Questions concerning orders may be directed to NTIS at
800-553-NTIS (6847). Questions about standing orders should
be directed to the NTIS Subscription Section at
703-487-4630.
NLM Gateway Updated
A new version of the
NLM Gateway (http://gateway.nlm.nih.gov/gw/Cmd/)
was released on December 19, 2002. Changes include the
following:
- Search terms are mapped to Supplementary Concept
terms when appropriate.
- A maximum of five hundred (500) items may be stored
in the locker.
NLM Completes the Reorganization of its
Bibliographic Databases
As part of the NLM's
project to modernize its computer systems, the Library
reorganized its bibliographic data into three groups:
- Citations to journal and journal-like (e.g.,
newsletter) articles published mostly from 1966 forward
(MEDLINE/PubMed),
- Citations to monographs (including book chapters) and
to whole serials (LOCATORplus), and
- Citations to selected, individual meeting abstracts,
and journal article citations that predate 1966 as a year
of publication (OLDMEDLINE) (NLM Gateway).
This effort was completed in September 2002. See The
Reorganization of National Library of Medicine (NLM)
Bibliographic Databases at:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/conversion/conversion_status.html,
for detailed information on how this project was completed
and to links to NLM Technical Bulletin (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/tb.html)
for articles published about this project.
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NN/LM SCR Committee Meetings
The NN/LM SCR
committees meet during the South Central Chapter of the
Medical Library Association Annual Meeting every year. The
following are summaries of this year's meetings held in San
Antonio, TX.
NN/LM SCR Consumer Health Advisory
Committee
The Consumer Health
Advisory Committee (CHAC) met on Sunday October 13, 2002.
Gretchen Schweiger, Consumer Health Coordinator, updated
the group on consumer health initiatives at NLM and NN/LM
SCR. The group also discussed the NN/LM SCR Consumer Health
Web Manual (http://
nnlm.gov /scr/conhlth/manualidx.htm) and the need to
revise the document. During the last part of their meeting
the CHAC joined the NN/LM SCR Outreach Committee for a
joint break out session. The purpose of the break out
session was to allow the librarians to share their
experience and methods for doing outreach with one another
by developing a mock outreach program.
The list of the current CHAC Members can be found at:
http://nnlm.gov/scr/conhlth/chcmbrs.htm.
NN/LM SCR Document Delivery
Committee
The NN/LM Document
Delivery Committee (DDC) met on Monday October 14, 2002. Re
Mishra, Education-Communications Coordinator, discussed the
recent and upcoming changes to DOCLINE. An issue regarding
manual inputting of requests in DOCLINE was mentioned. It
was asked librarians be reminded to use the manual request
method be used as a last resort. In addition librarians
will be asked to request via DOCLINE requests that have
needed to be verified in OCLC, and to include their LIBID
on Ariel transmissions. The focus of the meeting was the
NN/LM SCR Web pages concerning Document Delivery. The DDC
Members were asked to submit any suggestions for
improvements. One planned improvement is a Resource Library
Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery policy information
page.
The list of current DDC Members can be found at:
http://nnlm.gov/scr/netwk/ddcmembers01.htm.
NN/LM SCR Outreach Contacts
Committee
The NN/LM SCR Outreach
Contacts Committee met on October 13, 2002. Committee
members were updated, by Michelle Malizia, Outreach
Coordinator, on issues raised at the June 11, 2002 Outreach
Contacts Committee Meeting in Houston, TX. The new Outreach
Manual and Funding Opportunities Web page (http://nnlm.gov/scr/outrch/fundopp.htm)
were presented. There are plans to make an electronic copy
of the Outreach Manual available in .html and .pdf format
on the Outreach Web page.
Several new outreach forms were unveiled. Both the
exhibit and the budget reporting forms had been modified
slightly. Changes to the exhibit form included new
guidelines for counting visitors. As of November 1, 2002,
the Outreach Data Activity Collection form replaced the
Outreach Reporting Form. In addition, the new Participant
Activity Information Sheet needs to be completed at each
training session. Copies of all the new forms were
distributed and discussed.
Other announcements from the meeting:
- The NNLMSCR has a new exhibit backdrop that Resource
& Access Libraries may borrow for their local
exhibits.
- Three training sessions on the NCBI databases will be
held at the MLA 2003 Annual Meeting in San Diego,
California.
The list of the current Outreach Contacts Committee
Members can be found at: http:// nnlm.gov
/scr/outrch/outrchmbrs01.htm.
NN/LM SCR Technology Advisory
Committee
The NN/LM SCR
Technology Advisory Committee (TAC) met on Monday, October
14, 2002. Greg Bodin, Technology Coordinator, led the
discussion on a variety of technology topics pertinent to
the NN/LM SCR office and the Region. The purpose of the
meeting was to acquire feedback on direction for future
technology projects, training, outreach, etc. that will be
offered by the NN/LM SCR office. The Committee advised Mr.
Bodin on potential technology course offerings for the
region, as well as provided feedback on possible future
technology outreach projects.
More information on the TAC, including goals and
objectives of the Committee, and the current list of
Members, is available at http://nnlm.gov/scr/tech/taclist.htm.
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Science.gov
Fourteen scientific and
technical information organizations from ten major science
agencies, including NLM, have collaborated to create
science.gov (http://science.gov), the "FirstGov for
Science" Web site. Science.gov is the gateway to reliable
information about science and technology from across
Federal government organizations.
From science.gov, users can find over one thousand
government information resources about science. These
resources include: technical reports, journal citations,
databases, Federal Web sites, and fact sheets. The
information is all free and no registration is
required.
For more information, see the press release at: http://www.science.gov/communications/pressrelease.pdf.
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Technology Awareness Conference Awarded
--Greg Bodin, Technology Coordinator
Congratulations to the
University of New Mexico Health Sciences Library and
Informatics Center, Albuquerque, NM, which has received
funding to hold a Technology Awareness Conference. The
conference, which will be held in March 2003 in
Albuquerque, NM, will focus on increasing awareness of
applications and issues of PDA technology in health care
settings.
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NLM
Visitors Center to Close for Renovation
The NLM Visitors Center
closed for remodeling on Monday, December 2, 2002. The work
is expected to end no later than March 7, 2003. The new and
improved Visitors Center will be larger and will feature
new interactive displays highlighting NLM programs and
services. Throughout the construction, the Library will
continue to offer abbreviated tours, originating in the
first floor lobby of Building 38A, the Lister Hill Center,
weekdays (except Federal holidays) at 1:30pm. We will also
do our best to accommodate special tour groups. For more
information, please contact Melanie Modlin at 301-496-7771
or mm354i@nih.gov.
Please note that there will be no 1:30pm tours of the
Library December 24, 2002 through January 1, 2003.
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Technology Notes
--Greg Bodin, Technology Coordinator
Remote Communication via Internet Relay
Chat and Instant Messaging
Want a quick answer to
a question from a co-worker in your office? How about a
colleague across the country? Instant Messaging (IM) and
Internet Relay Chat (IRC) offer a point of communication
somewhere between e-mail and the telephone. IM and IRC
allow you to send a message to a colleague, family member
or friend in real time. Unlike an e-mail that sits on a
server until the recipient decides to retrieve it and read
it, an instant message immediately appears on the
recipient's desktop (if they are logged in and using the
service). In many ways it is the virtual equivalent of
popping your head into someone's office to ask a question.
In addition to individual messages, services such as chat
rooms allow you to have real-time virtual communication
with a group of people. In the past many of these services
were used for personal communication with long-distance
family and friends but there are now potential office
applications as well. Collaboration is possible with
interoffice colleagues, as well as colleagues in other
locales. IM and IRC may potentially be used for one-on-one
virtual meetings, as well as group virtual
conferencing.
Companies such as America Online, ICQ, and Yahoo provide
instant messenger services. A user joins the service and
downloads the company's proprietary software. He then logs
into the company's IM server and then sends and receives
messages to other users who are logged into the server.
Users typically cannot communicate with other company's IM
users. However, several companies such as Trillian and
AT&T offer clients that allow the user to log into
multiple IM services simultaneously.
IRC is another technology that provides a way of
communicating in real time with people from all over the
world. It consists of various networks of IRC servers.
Typically, the IRC user runs a client program in order to
connect to one of the IRC networks. Once connected to an
IRC server on an IRC network, the user joins one or more
rooms (also called "channels") and is able to converse with
others both individually and in chat rooms.
Instant Messengers
America Online Instant Messenger
http://www.aim.com/
AT&T IM Anywhere
https://www.im.att.net/
ICQ
http://www.icq.com/
MSN Messenger
http://messenger.msn.com
Trillian
http://www.ceruleanstudios.com/trillian/index.html
Yahoo Messenger
http://messenger.yahoo.com/
Internet Relay Chat Clients
IrcII (Unix client)
http://www.irchelp.org/irchelp/ircii/
Ircle (Macintosh client)
http://www.ircle.com/
mIRC (Windows client)
http://www.mirc.com/
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