What's New at the Library
UCSF Library News
- February 4, 2009Back to top
Hearst Reading Room Offers Well-Lit Study Space
Looking for a well-lit study table? Check out the newly configured Hearst Reading Room on the main floor of the Parnassus Library, located around the corner from the Circulation Desk.
We recently replaced many of the carrels with large study tables to allow more natural light into the room. Like all library study spaces, the Hearst Reading Room is also equipped with wireless access and ample power outlets. We hope you'll find it a useful and comfortable study space.
- January 30, 2009Back to top
UC-Springer Agreement Provides Free Open Access
As of 2009, papers by UCSF authors that appear in journals published by Springer will be fully open access. This means that the articles will be freely available online for other researchers to cite and utilize in their own research. These articles will also be deposited in the University of California's eScholarship repository.
- January 29, 2009Back to top
Class Schedule Available Through April
The class schedule for January - April 2009 is currently available. The Library continues to offer basic and advanced training in PubMed@UCSF, EndNote, and RefWorks. Other hands-on classes include Google Search Tips & Tricks, Grants & Funding Sources, and Introduction to Podcasting. All of the classes are free.
- January 28, 2009Back to top
Ingenuity Pathways Analysis: Trial Through June
Through June 2009 the Library is offering a trial of Ingenuity Pathways Analysis (IPA), a software application that allows researchers to compare pathways for common or unique biological molecules and to identify potential biomarkers.
In December we hosted two very successful workshops about IPA, taught by Matthew Gormley of UCSF's Fisher Lab. Attendees were enthusiastic about how IPA could help facilitate their research. In order to maintain access to IPA after June 2009, the Library will need to partner with departments or labs to help finance the license. If your department or lab would be interested in supporting an IPA license, please contact Anneliese Taylor, the Library's Collection Development Manager.
- November 25, 2008Back to top
Japanese Prints: Fighting Measles with Care and Prayer
A new exhibit presents a selection of Japanese prints related to the cure and prevention of measles, and 2 hanging scrolls. Most of the prints in the exhibit were produced in response to a severe measles epidemic in Japan in 1862.
Some of the prints were intended to be placed in doorways and used as charms against the disease; others present advice for preventing or curing measles.
The prints illustrate a variety of folk cures, dietary advice, religious beliefs, and superstitions. Several of the prints stress the importance of diet in curing measles cases, as certain foods were believed to be good or bad for measles patients. Various talismanic objects were believed to have curative powers: wheat, the tarayo (Japanese holly) leaf, horses, certain toys, and Mt. Fuji. Shinto deities were called upon to fight measles, along with traditional heroes such as Shoki, the Demon Queller -- also featured in the two hanging scrolls on display.
- November 18, 2008Back to top
Book Delivery Service to Mission Bay and SFGH
Request delivery of circulating materials owned by the UCSF Library between Parnassus, Mission Bay, and San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH). Items located at Parnassus may be delivered to Mission Bay or SFGH, and vice versa. Learn more about book delivery.
Users can also arrange for their Interlibrary Borrowing materials to be delivered to Mission Bay and SFGH. Simply email Circulation by noon (M-F) after receiving notification that your items have arrived at Parnassus from the lending institution.
- October 20, 2008Back to top
Books & Journals Being Relocated
To prepare for construction of the new Teaching and Learning Center on the Parnassus Library's 2nd floor, we will move the journals on the 2nd floor to the 1st floor, as well as consolidate our book collections. The materials will be moved from October 6 to November 2, 2008.
During the move, Library collections will be available via staff mediation. The stacks area will be off-limits to users to facilitate the move and keep users safe. If you need something from the stacks when you are in the building, ask for assistance at the Service Desk, or contact us to ask for help online. Some study space on the affected floors will also be unavailable at various times.
Visit the TLC website to learn more and view alerts about the project's impact.
- October 20, 2008Back to top
First Open Access Day at UCSF
October 14, 2008 marked the first worldwide Open Access Day. Open access publishing provides peer-reviewed journal articles free of charge on the Web, making them easier to cite and to utilize in subsequent research.
The UCSF Library joined organizations around the globe in sponsoring Open Access Day events. Information tables at Parnassus and Mission Bay attracted approximately 100 people, many of whom wanted to know how they could help promote the concept of open access publishing. In addition we presented an evening webcast at Mission Bay by Dr. Philip Bourne, professor of pharmaceutical sciences at UCSD and editor of the open access journal, Public Library of Science Computational Biology.
Open Access Day also included a "Voices of Open Access" video collection, in which several people discuss the value of open access in their lives.
- October 20, 2008Back to top
Teaching & Learning Center Construction Begins
Preparations are underway to transform the Library's second floor into the Teaching & Learning Center (TLC), which will open in Spring 2010. The new facility will house a simulation and clinical skills education center; new teaching and learning space, including technology-enhanced active-learning classrooms and computing labs; and communications technology for telemedicine and related activities. For details about the project, see the TLC website.
