Category Archives: Internet Resources

Texas universities join forces to negotiate their future

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New coalition seeks lower costs and greater access to research.

Twenty-seven universities across Texas have joined forces as the Texas Library Coalition for United Action (TLCUA) to think creatively about access to faculty publications and the sustainability of journal subscriptions. TLCUA has organized to identify the best way to change current models and the relationships between academic institutions and publishers. The goals of the Coalition are ambitious – improved access to scholarship, greater control over faculty content, and pricing models that are sustainable for strained library budgets in higher education. 

The sustainability of providing scholarly research at ever-increasing costs is putting these academic libraries in difficult positions as they work to offer access to scholars on their campuses.  

“We are nearing a tipping point where we can no longer continue under the current business model,” said Sara Lowman, Vice Provost & University Librarian at Rice University and chair of the Coalition Steering Committee. “We want to come up with solutions that benefit everyone involved: the taxpayers and others who fund our research, the professors who conduct the research, the publishers who disseminate our research findings, and people around the world who benefit from research conducted in Texas.”  

Technology has provided greater opportunities for wider availability of resources, and the Coalition wants those opportunities to be reflected in agreements that will benefit all academic libraries whether public or private, urban or rural. 

The Coalition has begun its mission by entering into dialog with academic publisher Elsevier. They hope that through positive engagement and mutual understanding, an improved and sustainable model for the dissemination of scholarship can be achieved. 

“We value the content in Elsevier journals and look forward to working with Elsevier to come to a mutually beneficial agreement,” Lowman said. 

Elsevier is the world’s largest publisher of scholarly work, with 70 offices in 24 countries. It publishes 2,500 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, covering topics in medicine, biology, psychology, business, and more. Elsevier has been involved in a number of negotiations with US universities recently, including the University of California system, California State University, Carnegie Mellon University, Louisiana State University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Washington University in St. Louis. 

The Coalition institutions collectively have more than 397,000 students and 25,000 faculty. Their Elsevier subscriptions represent a significant investment estimated at over $20 million. By these and other measures, the Coalition represents one of the largest and most diverse U.S. collective negotiation consortia of its kind. 

The current members of the Texas Library Coalition for United Action are: 

  • Angelo State University 
  • Baylor University 
  • Lamar University 
  • Prairie View A&M University 
  • Rice University 
  • Sam Houston State University 
  • Stephen F. Austin University 
  • Sul Ross State University 
  • Tarleton State University 
  • Texas A&M International University 
  • Texas A&M University (College Station) 
  • Texas A&M University-Central Texas 
  • Texas A&M University-Commerce 
  • Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi 
  • Texas A&M University-Kingsville 
  • Texas A&M University-San Antonio 
  • Texas A&M University-Texarkana 
  • Texas State University 
  • Texas Tech University (Lubbock) 
  • Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso 
  • Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Lubbock 
  • University of Dallas 
  • University of Houston 
  • University of Houston Clear Lake 
  • University of Houston Downtown 
  • The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center 
  • West Texas A&M University 

On My Own Time Virtual Exhibit open; vote for People’s Choice August 10-14

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The 2020 On My Own Time Virtual Exhibit is live! View the virtual exhibit and vote for your favorite visual work from August 10-14, 2020, at the People’s Choice Voting site.

More than 70 visual works from 53 UT Southwestern employees are on virtual display now.

Categories include color photography, black & white photography, works on paper, works on canvas, mixed media, digital and computer art, fiber and textiles, sculpture, corporate collaboration, and woodworking skills.

Artists could also select two additional UT Southwestern-specific categories for their artwork. Around half of all entries were made over the last few months and are included in the Stuck at Home category, and 13 works are in the Sustainable category.

For more information about On My Own Time or to view previous year’s winners works, go to utsouthwestern.edu/omot.

Library welcomes feedback on Pivot™ trial

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NOTE: Pivot™ Funding Opportunities trial has now been extended until 9/8/2020.

The Library is offering temporary trial access to Pivot™ Funding Opportunities through August 31, 2020. Pivot™ is a database of grants, fellowships, and other funding opportunities compiled and curated from global sources, encompassing government, foundations, and professional associations. Users can: 

  • Search for funding opportunities 
  • Review awarded opportunities 
  • Collaborate with colleagues 
  • Receive a weekly email alert customized to their research profile and interests.  

We invite UT Southwestern’s faculty, fellows, residents, postdocs, students, and staff to explore this product during the trial period and provide feedback about the product’s value to support UT Southwestern research activities. To learn how to create your Pivot™ account, review search tips, and access training videos and handouts, please refer to Pivot™ Trial Information and Tips. 

Note: The trial is not a guarantee of purchase. A purchasing decision is dependent on a variety of factors, including cost, campus needs, resource quality, feedback, collection priorities, uniqueness, and budget. 

To supply feedback, please complete the brief Pivot™ Feedback Survey. If you have questions or would like to offer other feedback, please use the Library Ask Us form.  

Library launches Responsible Literature Searching Guide

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Help! Where do I start to search the biomedical literature? Is my search comprehensive and sufficiently diligent?

Performing a literature search is similar to taking a trip. Users need to understand the purpose of the trip, plan how to reach the destination, and be able to take alternate routes, as well as retrace their steps if they need to return to the original starting point.

The new Responsible Literature Searching Library Guide provides the searcher with that all-important roadmap! In addition to reviewing the roles of both the searcher and the librarian in the search process, the guide divides the search process into a series of steps and includes search worksheets, practical tips, and a glossary. This design allows the user the flexibility to either review the entire guide or focus specifically on specific steps of the literature search process. To be applicable across the diverse range of databases, the guide provides a general review of the steps. For database-specific information, the user can link to database guides.

We want to hear from you! User feedback is invaluable as we continue to refine the guide!  Please complete the six question survey. For questions or to schedule an appointment with UT Southwestern librarian, use the Ask Us form.

New: COVID-19 Resources Library Guide

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In the past few months, there has been a vast amount of biomedical information produced about COVID-19. The Health Sciences Digital Library and Learning Center has created a new COVID-19 Resources Library Guide to quickly refer the UT Southwestern community to high-quality – i.e., primarily clinical and research – information about COVID-19. The guide includes:

  • Recommendations for searching PubMed
  • Expanded resources from existing subscriptions
  • COVID-19 tracking dashboards
  • Related open access resources

The COVID-19 Resources Library Guide supplements but does not supersede the COVID-19 information provided by the UT Southwestern Emergency Operations Center. The Guide will be updated as the COVID-19 information landscape evolves. Please email the Library if you have identified other key resources that we should consider for inclusion.

Wall Street Journal online access now available

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The Library has recently acquired a Wall Street Journal academic institution subscription. One-time registration is required to access WSJ online, and you must use your utsouthwestern.edu email address.

Once registered, you may use a variety of features including:

  • WSJ app access
  • WSJ+
  • WSJ Podcast
  • WSJ Newscast

For more subscription information, contact Liberesources@utsouthwestern.edu.

Library welcomes feedback on e-Anatomy trial

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NOTE: TRIAL HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO MAY 3, 2020

The Library is offering temporary trial access to e-Anatomy through March 31, 2019.  e-Anatomy is a comprehensive, interactive atlas of human anatomy that combines medical imaging — including magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scans — and 5,400 anatomic structures. In addition to helping students learn anatomic structures, this application provides added value for those interpreting radiological scans in clinical settings. The resource is rated highly as a trusted source by radiologists, medical imaging professionals, and students.

We invite UT Southwestern’s faculty, residents, students, and staff to explore this product during the trial period and supply feedback about the product’s value to support UTSW clinical, educational, and research needs.

The trial is not a guarantee of purchase. A purchasing decision is dependent on a variety of factors, including cost, campus needs, resource quality, feedback, collection priorities, uniqueness, and budget.

To supply feedback, please take our brief e-Anatomy Feedback Survey.  If you have questions or would like to offer other feedback, please contact mori.lou.higa@utsouthwestern.edu.

New York Times web access now available

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The Library has recently acquired the New York Times. This web access subscription is only available on-campus with UT Southwestern IP ranges. No access will be available off-site or via EZProxy.  New York Times archival content is still available via a separate UT System license from ProQuest without access stipulations.

For more subscription information including temporary remote access passes, contact Liberesources@utsouthwestern.edu.

New Resource! Repbase

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The UT Southwestern Library has recently subscribed to Repbase. Maintained by the Genetic Information Research Institute (GIRI), Repbase is a database of prototypic sequences representing repetitive DNA from different eukaryotic species. Repbase is used worldwide as the reference standard for annotating the presence of repetitive DNA in genomic data. GIRI publishes Repbase Reports, a monthly e-journal that reports newly identified repetitive DNA elements, which are subsequently stored and shared in Repbase. GIRI also provides computational tools (Censor and RepbaseSubmitter) and online services for screening and submission of the repeats.

UT Southwestern Library updates PubMed and Ovid databases’ default limits!

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To streamline your searches in PubMed and the Ovid databases (MEDLINE, Embase and PsycINFO), the Library has updated the databases’ default limits with frequently used limits, including Clinical Queries. The Clinical Queries filters were developed by McMaster University Health Information Research Unit to improve the retrieval of scientifically strong and clinical relevant articles by clinicians.

For users who want to customize their accounts, click PubMed – Setting Up Filters or Ovid – Setting Up Limits for instructions.

Questions?  Please call 214-648-2001 or use Ask Us on the Library’s website.