The Online Bioinformatics Resources Collection at the University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences Library System—a one-stop gateway to online bioinformatics databases and software tools

To bridge the gap between the rising information needs of biological and medical researchers and the rapidly growing number of online bioinformatics resources, we have created the Online Bioinformatics Resources Collection (OBRC) at the Health Sciences Library System (HSLS) at the University of Pittsburgh. The OBRC, containing 1542 major online bioinformatics databases and software tools, was constructed using the HSLS content management system built on the Zope(®) Web application server. To enhance the output of search results, we further implemented the Vivísimo Clustering Engine(®), which automatically organizes the search results into categories created dynamically based on the textual information of the retrieved records. As the largest online collection of its kind and the only one with advanced search results clustering, OBRC is aimed at becoming a one-stop guided information gateway to the major bioinformatics databases and software tools on the Web. OBRC is available at the University of Pittsburgh's HSLS Web site ()

Libraries in Medical Education (LIME): A Special Interest Group of NEGEA

Purpose: Health science librarians play key roles in medical education by providing curriculum-integrated information skills instruction; by assisting faculty with research; by purchasing and maintaining collections of information resources; by participating in the development of standards and guidelines for educational outcomes; and by creating and managing libraries conducive to education. A group of medical librarians from northeastern medical schools proposed Libraries in Medical Education (LIME) Special Interest Group (SIG) to benefit all NEGEA (Northeast Group on Educational Affairs) members. The SIG will promote communication and collaboration between librarians and NEGEA members on research and curricular initiatives; enhance librarians knowledge and skills of current trends and issues of interest to the medical education community; recognize librarians as valued components of the medical education team; and increase the professional knowledge and skills of NEGEA members through programming delivered at annual meetings by librarians. Methods: In 2006, medical librarians drafted and submitted a proposal to become an official LIME SIG. Librarians have successfully implemented special interest groups within professional organizations. The Libraries in Medical Education SIG instituted within the Central Group on Education Affairs and the active Libraries/Educational Resources Section of American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) served as models. Results: In 2007, the LIME was officially accepted by NEGEA as a special interest group. Conclusion: An enthusiastic LIME-SIG group looks forward to an exciting future of collaboration. Presented at the Northeast Group for Educational Affairs Annual Educational Retreat held in Stony Brook, NY, on June 8, 2007

Librarians in Evidence-Based Medicine curricula: A qualitative study of librarian roles, training, and desires for future development

This study aims to describe librarians’ roles in evidence-based medicine (EBM) from the librarian perspective, identify how librarians are trained to teach, and highlight preferences for professional development. A multi-institution qualitative study was conducted. Nine medical librarians, identified by their faculty as integrated into EBM training, were interviewed. Participants’ descriptions indicated that they were active in curriculum development, deployment (including teaching activities) and assessment to support EBM. Participants identified direct experience and workshop participation as primary methods of learning to teach. Participants desired continuing development as teachers and requested opportunities for in-person workshops, shadowing physicians and online training