January 2007 Archives

I am very grateful to have the access to the incredible wealth of journals and other online resources that VCU Libraries provides--thank you! One question and related suggestion: why does the home page for the library continue to change so frequently? during fall semester, it seemed like every month, there was a new "look"--new arrangement of icons, new icons, old access points difficult to locate, etc. When time is at a premium, becoming familiar with a new page takes up that valuable time. Is the current page one that will stay for more than a few weeks, or is the changing face of the library home page going to be an ongoing aspect of using this valuable resource? It would help me allocate time for using the online resources if I knew how often to expect a new library home page--could you make this information easily accessible if monthly change will be the norm? Thanks again for the extent of the resources that are there!
From: faculty

Jean Shipman, Director of the Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences and Associate University Librarian, and John Duke, Senior Associate University Librarian, reply.....
Thank you for your comments regarding the recent changes to the VCU Web site. Changes to the VCU Libraries and Tompkins-McCaw Library Web pages are in large part being driven by university guidelines, heightened security, and the desire to bring dynamic, personalized content to our users while allowing them to more fully benefit from our collections and services. We have made only modest and necessary changes to the main VCU Libraries page since last summer. Prior to the redesign, we solicited feedback through surveys of our users, focus groups, and were guided by accessibility standards and accepted best practices in Web design. After the updated pages were completed, we widely vetted the pages to give users opportunity for input.

The nature of the Web is that it is very dynamic and we are trying to focus on the needs of the user, rather than organizational or staff-centric design models. We have found that our users are very adaptable and have quickly taken to the new design. We do not have any current plans for major modifications, although we will continue to make modest changes based upon the feedback and needs of our users. We value all comments we receive and strive to give all of our users Web pages that best reflect their use patterns and needs. We would be glad to set up a meeting with someone from the Tompkins-McCaw Library reference or liaison team to answer any questions you have regarding finding specific resources to help meet your needs.

Suggested addition (free cost) to database (Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences). I am the adminstrator of http://www.kmle.com (KMLE Medical Dictionary) an online medical dictionary search engine. I was wondering if you could add the site to the databases listed at http://www.library.vcu.edu/cfapps/webdb/ulsdb_actionatzip.cfm?AtoZ=ALL If you try the site, you will see that it offers probably the most comprehensive medical dictionary search in the world (at least that is free to access). Thanks for your time, Have a nice day.
From: Michael

Lynne U. Turman, Head, Tompkins-McCaw Library Collections responds....
Thank you for the suggestion to include this site as a link from the VCU Libraries web pages. One of the ways we assist users in finding information is through Resource Guides - http://www.library.vcu.edu/guides. These guides are developed by subject experts to provide easy access to research and reference tools on the web. Web sites included in the guides are evaluated for accuracy, currency, style, sponsorship, and appropriateness for our primary clientele, the University community. Your site will be considered and reviewed for possible inclusion at the next revision of the guides.

I'm currently an undergrad student majoring in Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. There is a resource available called the Terrorism Research Center, that provides a variety of information and analysis of terrorist groups, events, and other homeland security-related issues. I think that this would be an excellent resource for both HSEP and Political Science students, and request that you look into an academic site license for this service. More information is available online.
From: Tom, undergraduate student

Serena Haroian, Collection Librarian for Business and Public Affairs, responds...
Thank you for the suggestion to consider a subscription to the Terrorism Research Center services. While the Center caters primarily to corporate, military, and government agency clients, they are increasingly aware of the value of their content to the academic community. To this end, they have created an academic product and site license that allows access to the Center’s Knowledge Database. The database provides access to TRC analyst reports, country and terrorist profiles, and weekly intelligence reports. New content is added to the database within 24 to 48 hours of real-time publication.

As with any new resource, we must carefully consider its content, cost, and accessibility. During an informative conversation with a representative from the TRC, he admitted that the price is generally too steep for most academic library budgets. Indeed, the price is quite high and due to budget restraints, VCU Libraries cannot purchase a subscription at this time. Still, we are excited to learn about Terrorism Research Center and will list it for further consideration.

The library has been vigilant in acquiring resources to support the emerging Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness programs. Please consult the Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Resource Guide for journals, reference works, government documents, databases and more.