DML is getting a new library management system (LMS), Koha. A new LMS will impact the DML Catalog, where users search for books and eBooks, the DML circulation system, and patron records. Cybertools, our current LMS, is no longer a sustainable option for us. For my part, I am looking forward to a fresher interface design and hopefully some additional functionality. The launch date for Koha is May 22.
I already have an opportunity to put the training I received in my NNLM Fundamentals of Health Sciences Research Data Management course to use. I have been asked to revive, refresh, and present a Searching for Datasets workshop, formerly created and presented by a colleague that is no longer at DML. The Searching for Datasets workshop is one of several in a series of data-themed workshops presented by DML.
I will begin the workshop with a general overview of open science and the open data movement. Then I will introduce different types of data repositories that have grown out of that movement. I will suggest a few free tools that one can use to search for data, including datasets specific to the DC population. Finally, I will close with a few issues to keep in mind regarding data reuse, and discuss some tools that can help with data cleanup.
My DML colleagues and I are attempting to arrange for continuing education credits for my 3 part PubMed Series: PubMed Basics, Beyond Basic PubMed, and My NCBI/SciENcv. It’s quite a process involving creating a committee composed of representatives from all of the audiences who will be eligible to earn CE credits. In this case, that includes clinicians, nurses, and pharmacists. Becoming certified to award CE credits requires an initial amount of funding to set up and then smaller funding amounts every time the series is presented. The funding issue will be the toughest nut to crack but we are optimistic that we will be able to offer CE credits by Spring 2023.
Update November 2023: My DML colleagues and I met with Dean Jones, the Dean of the School of Medicine to discuss funding and he fully supports our efforts. He will look into funding options and get back to us soon.
Update Spring 2023: Unfortunately, finding funding for this endeavor has stalled but we hope to resume our efforts at the start of the new academic year.
Recently, one of my DML colleagues moved on to a different position. This colleague worked a great deal with data management, therefore a hole has been left in their absence. An opportunity opened for me to take the NNLM Fundamentals of Health Sciences Research Data Management course and I seized it. With only 60 spots available, I applied for a spot in the class and was accepted! This course is designed to provide health sciences information professionals an introduction to research data management. The hope is that I will gain knowledge and skills in research data management and that I will be able to contribute to data management training and services at DML. The course runs from June 13, 2022 – August 8, 2022 and will allow me to earn 32 continuing education credits.
After more than a year of being closed to most visitors, it is time to prep DML for additional patrons. That means firing up all of the computers that have been powered down for many months. Bringing dozens of lobby and BACC PCs up to date is no small task. The consult room and ECB laptops and the tech wall will need some attention as well.Finally, I will need to triage the virtual reality machines to see if I can get them running again.
It’s not only lessons that need an occasional upgrade. Web pages deserve a little sprucing up as well. The DML Resources page is getting a new design and some additional functionality. A new discovery search widget will feature prominently at the top of page, once we address a few accessibility issues. Other changes include more white space, colorful callout boxes, and icons toward the bottom of the page.
In response to concerns about Covid-19, DML is pivoting to a telework work mode for the remainder of the school year. Who knows how long this will last? I am going to enjoy it while I can. FCPS schools are trying to figure out what to do as well.
Update 8/4/2021: Well, that lasted a lot longer than anyone thought!
I am learning the rhythm of the academic calendar here at GUSoM and SNHS (School of Nursing and Health Studies), with its distinct busy times and down times. Early February tends to be a very busy time because SNHS students have a couple of research based projects in progress. As a result, DML librarians schedule a steady stream of requests to help construct literature searches with the SNHS students. Many of the SNHS students work full time jobs in addition to their course loads, and many of them are distance learners who live several time zones away. The DML staff attempts to teach larger groups of SNHS students in several workshop sessions that we offer but we still tend to accommodate dozens of one on one sessions to assist those who are not able to attend the group sessions. It is a personalized service we are proud to offer our patrons and I find it fascinating to learn about all of the different research questions that Georgetown’s future and current nurses are interested in.
It’s been almost two months since the new DML website was launched on the WordPress platform. Initially, content managers were quite restricted in the types of layout options from which we were allowed to choose. However, as Web Services completed most of the Georgetown University’s site migrations, they were able to turn their attention to creating additional block layout choices for content managers to design with. A highly anticipated feature that has been added to the WordPress design arsenal is the accessible table block. Until this week, any request for new tables or changes made to existing tables on the DML site had to be executed by Web Services. I am sure the creation of the accessible table block was a welcome addition for everyone!
Beyond Basic PubMed is the last in a three part PubMed series that I created for DML. During this workshop, researchers will be encouraged to continue using the best practices of searching PubMed that were taught in the PubMed Basics workshop and will extend their searching skills by learning how to create much more nuanced search strings.
In Beyond Basic PubMed, searchers will learn how to execute author, citation, journal, and indexed field searches, how to activate and create customized filters, and how to use PubMed’s built in clinical queries and topic/subject searches. The workshop will also touch on a few of the My NCBI features like saving searches, creating collections, and customizing filters that are covered in more detail in the My NCBI/SciENcv workshop. Finally, Beyond Basic PubMed attendees will get a brief glimpse into how to incorporate RefWorks into a PubMed research workflow.
Angela Barr MLISc 