TML News and Notes: Research

Wednesday, January 25

This past week has been the 5th annual international Open Access week.  It is part of a world-wide movement to make scholarship and research available to everyone.  "Open Access" to information - the free, immediate, online access to the results of scholarly research, and the right to use and re-use those results as you need - has the power to transform the way research and scientific inquiry are conducted. It has direct and widespread implications for academia, medicine, science, industry, and for society as a whole.

The NIH Public Access Policy is just one aspect of this movement.  More and more journals are providing open access alternatives and some granting agencies are allowing funds to be set aside to pay for articles to be made available freely to everyone from day one.

Tompkins-McCaw Library strives to offer a broad range of reference services for our community. Traditional reference services are supported during Tompkins-McCaw Library's peak service hours, 10:00am- 6:00pm Monday through Friday all year round. During these hours, reference is available by visiting or calling the Service Desk at 804-828-0636. In-person service is supplemented by reference via email. Individual consultations by appointment are also available for in-depth questions, strategies, and instruction. Tompkins McCaw librarians also actively support VCU researchers by providing consultations on the development of search strategies and the selection of databases to aid in preparing grant proposals.

Tompkins-McCaw Library will be providing research assistance and consultations in the Learning Center on the 2nd floor at Hunton Student Center (Room 209), MCV Campus. Librarians with expertise in the biomedical sciences will be available to help you find articles and other information for reports and research. Drop by from 9 a.m. - noon (Monday - Friday) or 1 p.m - 4 p.m. (Monday - Tuesday, and Thursday) to get expert help.

The TML Learning Center @ Hunton is open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Friday, 12 to 6 p.m. Saturday, and 12:00 am - 10:00 pm Sunday. Computers and Pay for Print are available during these times. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 828-3736 or email sdjones@vcu.edu. Walk-ins are welcome.

Print the Flyer!

MD Consult provides access to full-text clinical practice guidelines.
* View guideline articles published in the journals on MD Consult.
* Access guidelines from professional and governmental agencies via links to the Web.
* Browse by Topic, Specialty, or Authoring Organization.

VCU Libraries now subscribes to a suite of databases from COS (formerly Community of Science) that will help you locate funding sources, fellow researchers, and upcoming conferences related to your scholarly interests.

COS Funding Opportunities provides current information on over 25,000 grants, fellowships, and other awards offered by a wide variety of domestic and international funding sources, including federal and regional governments, foundations, professional societies, associations and corporations.  COS Funding Opportunities is the world's largest source of information about available funding for all types of projects in all disciplines.  It is updated daily and can be searched by sponsor, award amount, deadline, eligibility, activity location, funding type and area of interest.

COS Workbench is a personal web-based workspace that allows users to set up a profile, access other COS databases, save searches and receive funding alerts. With the COS Funding Alert service, subscribers receive a weekly email customized with a list of funding opportunities based on previously specified criteria.  You must first register to take advantage of the Workbench features.

COS Scholar Universe provides authoritative information on more than 1 million active researchers, along with affiliation and publication information.  The database comprises international faculty at 4-year colleges and doctoral universities.  Users can discover subject experts, potential collaborators, peers to review articles or proposals, former colleagues and mentors.  Each scholar's profile is editorially reviewed and verified for accuracy.

Papers Invited contains calls for papers, presentations, and posters from conferences around the world, plus news about special editions of journals.  Email alerts are available for new announcements.  Find opportunities to present or publish your research and reach your scholarly goals.

COS research services are designed to help faculty, students and researchers at every level.  The tools provide easy and comprehensive ways for all researchers to fund, connect and publish. Tutorials are available online to learn more about any of these COS databases.

VCU Libraries will be providing research reference help and consultations in the Learning Center on the 2nd floor at Hunton Student Center (Room 209), MCV Campus. Librarians with expertise in the biomedical sciences will be available to help you find articles and other information for reports and research. Drop by Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. - noon, or 1 p.m - 4 p.m. to get expert help.

The Learning Center is open 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday-Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, and 11:00 am - 8:00 pm Sunday. Computers and Pay for Print are available during these times. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 828-3736 or email sdjones@vcu.edu. Walk-ins are welcome.

Print the Flyer!

with Addeane S. Caelleigh, MA , Former Editor, Academic Medicine
Tuesday, July 22, 2008, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Biotech One, 800 E. Leigh Street, Ball Conference Room
$20 Registration Fee | Print the Flyer and Registration Form | Session Handouts
Register online at: http://www.library.vcu.edu/events/detail.html?ID=43608

Publishing in peer-reviewed journals can be intimidating and often frustrating. This session is an overview of publishing in peer-reviewed research journals and will focus on how the process works and how to make it work for you. Topics to be covered include how editors make decisions, tips for improving your chances of a good review and/or publication, writing effective abstracts, tips for dealing with the editorial office, and online and print resources.

This workshop will include presentation, handouts, hands-on exercises, discussion, and Q&A.

Guest Speaker: Addeane S. Caelleigh, Former Editor of Academic Medicine
Date: Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Time: 9:00 AM to 1:00PM
Location: Ball Conference Room, Biotech One, 800 E. Leigh Street
Cost: $20

Register online using your VCU eID at:

Print the Event Flyer | Registration Form

For more information about this session, contact Shannon D. Jones at 828.0626.

This event is cosponsored by the VCU Libraries and the Office of Research.

The VCU Libraries and the VCU Office of Research present Research Day 2008, which will highlight VCU's vast resources to support VCU's research enterprise, on Thursday, March 27, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Tompkins-McCaw Library.

• Dr. Francis Macrina, vice president for research, will present the Ethics of Publishing at 8:45 a.m.


• Publishing with the New England Journal of Medicine will be held at 9:50 a.m.


• New Authors Mentoring Discussion Forum, a question-and-answer session with faculty, will be held at noon.


• Library Services Supporting VCU's Research Enterprise will be held at 1 p.m.
  
• Choosing Qualitative Data Analysis Software is Only Half the Story will be held at 3 p.m.
  
• Managing Your Research Citations using RefWorks will be held at 3 p.m.


• Creating YourResearch Poster using the Instructional Media Workshop will be held at 3 p.m.

For more information, the complete schedule or to register for any of these workshops, visit http://www.library.vcu.edu/events/rday/rday_agenda.html