TML News and Notes: January 2013
NCBI
now offers a series of two-day training courses called Discovery
Workshops. Tompkins-McCaw Library will host the NCBI Discovery workshops on Tuesday, January 29, 2013 and Wednesday, January 30, 2013 from 9 am - 11:30 am and from 1 - 3:30 pm both days. These classes will be held at the George Ben Johnston Auditorium on the MCV Campus. On January 29th, the morning workshop is Sequences, Genomes and Maps and the afternoon workshop is Proteins, Domains and Structures. On January 30th the morning workshop is NCBI BLAST Services and the afternoon workshop is Human Variation and Disease Genes. Each workshop will consist of four 2.5-hour hands-on sessions
emphasizing a different set of NCBI resources. Each session uses
specific examples to highlight important features of the resources and
tools under study and to demonstrate how to accomplish common tasks.
Participants are highly encouraged to bring their laptop for a hands-on
experience. The instructor will present a specific example using the
live NCBI web site followed by a period of individual practice on
related problems. Detailed handouts for each session will provide
step-by-step instructions and additional information about each example. To register and for more information access http://www.library.vcu.edu/events/. Individual consultations with NCBI staff are available 3:45 - 5:00 pm
on both January 29th and January 30th by request. Please email mackta@vcu if
you are interested in scheduling a consultation.
Thursday, January 24
1:00 - 2:00 pm
Hunton Student Center - TML Learning Center, Room 209
About the Film
Paul Schroder graduated at the top of his class in electrical engineering, and then was diagnosed with Parkinson?s disease. After a decade of being on medication and growing increasingly debilitated, he decides that radical brain surgery is preferable to sitting on the couch like a vegetable for the rest of his life. While Paul lies awake on the operating table, doctors implant electrodes in his brain and a neurostimulation device underneath his collarbone. The results of this electrifying surgery are mysterious, miraculous and bittersweet. Participants are welcome to bring their lunch. Registration is encouraged. Walk-ins are welcome.
Paul Schroder graduated at the top of his class in electrical engineering, and then was diagnosed with Parkinson?s disease. After a decade of being on medication and growing increasingly debilitated, he decides that radical brain surgery is preferable to sitting on the couch like a vegetable for the rest of his life. While Paul lies awake on the operating table, doctors implant electrodes in his brain and a neurostimulation device underneath his collarbone. The results of this electrifying surgery are mysterious, miraculous and bittersweet. Participants are welcome to bring their lunch. Registration is encouraged. Walk-ins are welcome.
Tompkins-McCaw Library will be closed on Monday, January 21st, in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. We will reopen on Tuesday, January 22 at 7:30 a.m.
Tompkins-McCaw Library will open at 10 a.m. Fri, January 18. Check VCU Alert at http://www.vcu.edu/alert/ for more information
NIH recently announced that it will hold processing of continuation awards if publications arising from grant awards are not in compliance with the Public Access Policy. A webinar to help grantee institutions understand the changes will be held on Tuesday, January 15, 2013. Tompkins-McCaw Library will host the broadcast from 12:30 - 2 pm in the Distance Education Classroom, Rm 2-010.
Individuals may also view the webinar at their desktop but registration is required. The webinar is primarily targeted to compliance officials. Though invited to attend, the focus is not for authors or investigators. For more information, see the NIH Announcement.
Individuals may also view the webinar at their desktop but registration is required. The webinar is primarily targeted to compliance officials. Though invited to attend, the focus is not for authors or investigators. For more information, see the NIH Announcement.
Building on its history of improving services through assessment of users' expressed needs and preferences, VCU Libraries will conduct such a survey in 2013. A full report on the 2011 survey is now available online. Many improvements have been made based on that data.
"It is a best practice for libraries to seek opinions of their users by tools including surveys and focus groups," said Michael Rawls, budget and assessment director for VCU Libraries. The trademarked LibQUAL survey, developed by the Association of Research Libraries and Texas A & M University, is used by many top research libraries. "It's the gold standard," said Rawls.
VCU Libraries uses LibQUAL-gathered information to assess and improve operations and collections. In the 2011 survey, students and faculty from all disciplines rated the customer service and professional knowledge of librarians highly. Perceptions of facilities and spaces improved significantly from the previous survey period. Heightened satisfaction can be largely attributed to improvements to the second floor of James Branch Cabell Library.
In the 2011 report:
- Patrons continued to think the facilities are crowded and sometimes noisy and insufficient to meet their study or research needs.
- Graduate students and faculty, groups who care most about the depth and breadth of collections, reported that adequacy of the collections have improved since 2008. But, faculty still see much room for improvement.
- Accessibility of information remained an issue for users in varied disciplines.
- The Web site was perceived by some users as difficult to navigate for finding information on their own.
VCU Libraries staff worked intensively to improve services, collections and spaces based on 2011 data. Highlights include:
- Design work is well underway to construct a new library building on the Monroe Park campus.
- Hours the libraries are open have been expanded on both campuses.
- Substantive renovations at libraries on both MCV and Monroe Park campuses created additional user space with improved furnishings and study conditions.
- A new one-button search function was introduced in 2012 to expedite online discovery of library materials.
- Alma, new technical infrastructure, was adopted in 2012 to add speed and efficiencies.
- Collections in all formats were expanded.
- A task force is working on a redesign of an improved Web site to launch in 2013.
The 2013 LibQUAL survey will be conducted online during the spring semester.
VCU Libraries Resource Delivery Services office (interlibrary loan and delivery services) will not operate Dec. 22-Jan. 2. 2013.
The time needed to obtain materials owned by other libraries nationwide can vary greatly during December and January with breaks, closings and end-of-semester and start-of-semester workloads and staff schedules.
The time needed to obtain materials owned by other libraries nationwide can vary greatly during December and January with breaks, closings and end-of-semester and start-of-semester workloads and staff schedules.
Questions or concerns? Email libjbcrds@vcu.edu or call
