HSLIC News

The UNM Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center (HSLIC) will be closed from Friday, May 31st at 5:00 p.m. through Monday, June 3rd at 8:00 a.m. for work in the building's main lobby. Badge access into the building will NOT be available during this closure.

During the library's closure, crews will be removing ceramic tile from from lobby area and installing a new ceiling grid overhead. This work is part of the renovation project on the library's entry level (2nd floor). You may find out more information about the renovation in our HSLIC Renovation 2024 guide!

We are excited to share the newly updated A-Z Databases & eResources List. This upgrade is tailored specifically to enrich the research and learning experiences of our students, faculty, and researchers. Here's how the new interface is designed to support your academic journey and scholarly work.

Streamlined Navigation for All Users - Recognizing the diverse needs of our academic community, the new interface has a user-friendly, responsive design that simplifies navigation so that you can access resources effectively from any device.

Advanced Search Options – You can now filter by keyword, subject, resource type, or vendor to help cut down the time needed to find the right resource.

Highlighted Resources – The new interface also allows us the capability to share new/trial databases and features databases as well as create alerts about outages or new features.

If you have any questions about the new interface, please feel free to reach out to us at Ask A Librarian.  We welcome your feedback!

HSLIC is thrilled to be hosting the traveling exhibit, Making a World of Difference: Stories about Global Health, from June 3, 2024 – July 13, 2024 on the Library’s 4th Floor. 

Created by the National Library of Medicine, this exhibit “examines stories of the people who are working on a wide range of issues—from community health to conflict, disease to discrimination—to improve health in their areas and beyond.”

Along with the exhibit, HSLIC is offering three educational programs:

Global Health Problems in New Mexico: Resources in HSLIC Special Collections. This online talk by Abbie Olivas, HSLIC Archivist, and Deborah Rhue, HSLIC Clinical Services Librarian, will explore archival resources in Special Collections that further our understanding of global health problems, such as diabetes, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and the plague. Thursday, June 6, 12pm via Zoom (register here). 

From Cowpox to COVID-19: The Histories, Landscapes, and People Who Have Shaped Public Health in New Mexico. Juliana Anastasoff, UNM Taos Peer Health Advocate, is a public health practitioner with a career book-ended by two global pandemics. In this online talk, she reflects on the connections and contributions from the Land of Enchantment to planetary health - in ways both known and unexpected. Wednesday, June 12, 11am via Zoom (register here).

Closing reception and talk, A World on the Move: Global Health Equity in the Context of Migration, by Dr. Laura Nellums, UNM Health Sciences Center Professor of Global Health. Dr. Nellums' particular expertise is in migrant, refugee, and ethnic minority health, and she has carried out mixed-methods research in infectious diseases, mental health, stressful life events, maternal and child health, and health policy and services. Refreshments will be served - no registration is required. Tuesday, July 9, 5pm-7pm in HSLIC Room 428.  

The exhibit and corresponding programing are free and open to community members.

From May 18th-21st HSLIC faculty and staff participated in the 2024 Medical Library Association (MLA) Conference both virtually and in-person in Portland, Oregon. This year’s theme was “Stronger Together,” and a valuable opportunity the conference provides is for HSLIC personnel to network with their peers. It also is an important professional development opportunity to share experiences and present scholarship in health information sciences.

HSLIC faculty and staff presented or facilitated the following sessions at the conference:

• Melissa Rethlefsen 
  • Lasting impact of COVID-19 on the programs and services provided by Academic Health Sciences Libraries (paper with Bart Ragon and Elizabeth Whipple) 
  • Improving peer review of systematic reviews by involving librarians and information specialists: preliminary results of a randomized controlled trial (poster with A. Patricia Ayala, David Blanco de Tena-Dávila, David Moher, Holly Grossetta Nardini, Jamie Kirkham, Kate Nyhan, Kate Nyhan, Maurice Zeegers, Sara Schroter, Shona Kirtley, and Whitney Townsend)
• Sally Bowler-Hill, Melissa Rethlefsen, Robyn Gleasner, Laura Hall, Ingrid Hendrix, Kristin Proctor, and Lori Sloane 
  • Using a General Survey to Determine Value: One Health Sciences Library's Experience Customizing the MISO Survey (virtual paper) 
• Deirdre Caparoso and Deborah Rhue 
  • Collaborating for Strength and Knowledge: A Tribal Libraries Field Trip to a Health Sciences Library (poster with Cassandra Osterloh and Tracy Garcia) 
• Jon Eldredge 
  • Bringing the New MLA Research Agenda to Life... Together (MLA Research Agenda Committee immersion session) 
  • Deciphering the Editorial Peer Review Process (immersion session) 
• Varina Kosovich 
  • Adaptive Space: A Student-Centric Approach to a Health Sciences Library Wellness Room (paper) 
• Danielle Maurici-Pollock 
  • Information Services Papers (moderator)

Crews recently completed work on renovating HSLIC’s North side elevator. This work was part of a project that began in March 2023 to modernize the library’s 2 elevators, which were in original condition from when the building opened in 1977. 

The inside of each elevator car received new wall panels, lighting, handrails, and flooring. New button panels were installed, and badge readers were installed to access the first and basement levels of the building, replacing the key access that had been there before. In addition, each elevator received new electrical systems, controllers, fire alarm systems, and machine room equipment. 
The door panels were replaced on each level of the building, and electronic signage was added above the doors to indicate the location of the cars. Auditory signals telling passengers what floor they are on and the direction the car is going were also installed. The electronic signage and auditory signals, along with the height of the new buttons and other features, help bring the library’s elevators in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

These renovations were made possible by the UNM Facilities Management Department using Building Replacement and Renewal funding. 

Sage Campus is an online platform that supports the teaching and learning of skills and research methods through self-paced, instructor-led courses. The courses combine textual information with both video and interactive lessons and assessments. The courses focus on research methods across all stages of academic study including but not limited to:

• Navigating information
• Data literacy
• Research skills
• Data science skills
• Getting published

The slogan for Sage Campus is “Unleashing Potential” and seems to be fitting with available courses such as:

• The Art of ChatGPT Interactions
• Unlocking Statistics: From Hypothesis to Outcome
• Analyze Qualitative Data
• Do Your Interviews
• Article Acceptance to Promotion
• Choosing a Journal

Each course provides a synopsis and shows the expected time it takes to review the information.

And then provides an easy way to track progress, start and stop a course as needed.

When a course is complete, you can print a certificate to save for your professional development records and reference.

Access Sage Campus and create an account to unleash its potential as well as your own! If you have questions, please contact us at hsc-remote@salud.unm.edu.

As we celebrate National Nurses Week, it's important to recognize the valuable contributions of nurses and nursing students. Their commitment and dedication are fundamental to our community's well-being. This week not only honors them but also provides an opportunity to spotlight the supportive role that the library plays in their education and professional lives. From offering specialized resources to providing personalized assistance, the library is committed to enhancing the nursing profession by ensuring that our nurses have access to the best tools for success.  

Consultations and Class Visits

For immediate assistance, our chat services are available during library hours, providing quick answers to questions and guidance on using library tools. For more in-depth help, we offer one on one consultations with a librarian. Additionally, we actively collaborate with faculty to integrate library sessions into nursing courses, ensuring students are proficient in utilizing library resources from the start of their educational journey.  To schedule a class or a one on one consultation, visit our Ask A Librarian page.

Online Resources

Our library offers extensive online resources accessible 24/7, that enable nurses and nursing students’ access - whether at home, in the hospital, or on the move. Just a few key resources are:

Access APN contains advanced practice nursing content, including drug information, treatment plans, and clinical tools, tailored to the needs of practicing nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists.

CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature) is a database for nursing and allied health professionals, providing access to top nursing journals, evidence-based care sheets, and quick guides.

PubMed offers a vast database of biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books.  

Clinical Key contains e-books, journal articles, practice guidelines, drug information, and multimedia resources.  

MedlinePlus is designed for consumers and professionals alike, providing reliable, up-to-date health information. It’s a great tool for patient education.

Zotero is a bibliographic tool that helps manage and cite research in papers and is particularly useful for managing large volumes of information and citations.

National Nurses Week is a time to acknowledge and celebrate the hard work and dedication of nurses and nursing students at our health sciences center. It's also a moment to highlight the role our library plays in supporting their educational and professional journeys.  

We encourage all nurses and nursing students to make use of our resources and services to enhance their learning and professional practice. The library is here to support and partner with you, ensuring you have the knowledge and tools necessary to succeed. Let’s continue to celebrate the significant impact of our nursing community, not just during National Nurses Week, but all year round.

Life After UNM

As students, I am sure you are looking forward to graduation and all of the excitement that comes with realizing your dream of completing your health profession program. A question that many students have before they graduate is – what do I have access to once I leave UNM?

Once you leave UNM, you have access to freely available resources like PubMed and many open access journals.  You can also always return to campus and use any of HSLIC's resources in-house. What most people assume is that they have access to all of our online databases and journals. However, due to our licensing agreements with the vendors who supply our resources, most of those resources are unavailable off-campus after graduation.

So where do you go to get reliable health sciences information post-graduation? Here are a few resources:

PubMed – PubMed contains more that 37 million citations for biomedical literature and online books. Citations may include links to full text from PubMed Central and publisher web sites.

Google Scholar – A great discovery tool and often has links to full text.

MedlinePlus – A great resource of reliable health information – geared to consumers, so great for patient education material – including in many foreign languages.

Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) – An extensive database of open access journals from around the world.

Open Educational Resource (OER) Platforms – This includes platforms like DOAB, Merlot, OASIS, and many more for open educational content like textbooks and other learning materials.

Zotero – You used it for writing papers, and can use it for writing your own articles, but it is also a great way to stay organized with articles you find interesting.

UNM’s Center for Development and Disability Information Network – A wonderful resource for clinicians and patients and their families that provides information about resources throughout the state and has a free library that contains the largest collection of disability-related material in New Mexico.

Many professional societies provide access to resources specific to your discipline as part of your membership.

If you are preparing for board exams and would like to continue using Board Vitals, please let us know. We may be able to extend access until you take the exam, depending on the timing.

Remember, just because you graduated, doesn’t mean you can’t ask for help! We can provide literature searches and document delivery for a fee. HSLIC is open to all Monday through Friday 8am-5pm and Saturdays 12:00 - 5:00 p.m. (when parking is a little easier). Check our website for hours.

In April 2024, HSLIC faculty Melissa Rethlefsen and Danielle Maurici-Pollock went to Riga, Latvia, as part of the Baltic American Dialogue Program. The Baltic American Dialogue Program is sponsored by the Baltic American Freedom Foundation and is designed to enable public organizations in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia to host U.S. speakers for talks on topics of mutual interest. Our colleagues at the Rīga Stradiņš University Library invited us to talk about librarians conducting research, library services to first-generation students, systematic reviews/PRISMA-S, and research data management. We each presented two talks, plus hosted question and answer sessions for each talk.  

As part of our visit, we got a chance to visit the Rīga Stradiņš University Library, the primary medical and health sciences library in Latvia. The library contained significantly more print than HSLIC, and it offered enough copies of many major texts for nearly all their students to check out a copy. The collection encompasses medicine and related fields, as well as social sciences and humanities, and contains works in Latvian and multiple other languages, including English.

We also had an opportunity to learn more about Rīga Stradiņš University, Riga, and Latvia through a series of cultural tours. A major highlight was the National Library of Latvia, which contains a six-story high “People’s Library.” Latvians are encouraged to donate a book that means something to them with a message or personal story relating to the book written on its title page. Exhibits in the library looked at the history of the book in Latvia, including a temporary exhibit called, Text Is Not Our Type, which focused on book design and technology.

We also gazed on the National Library of Latvia (also called the Castle of Light) from the steeple of St. Peter’s Church during our walking tour of the historical center of Riga. This was our last official event of the trip, and it was a great ending to an enlightening week of learning.