Uncategorized

Special Collections receives preservation assistance from the National Endowment for the Humanities

Dr. Graham Watts was a founding member of the Bexar County Medical Society.

Dr. F.M. Hicks practiced surgery in San Antonio from 1888 to 1929 and was one of the first Texans to be elected to the American College of Surgery.

In January the Special Collections of the UT Health Science Center Libraries received a $5,547 Preservation Assistance grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).  Special Collections houses the P. I. Nixon Medical Historical Library, a collection of rare and historical books on the history of the health sciences; and the University Archives, a collection of historical papers and audiovisuals documenting the history of the university and of physicians and other health care professionals practicing in San Antonio and Central and South Texas in the 1800’s and 1900’s.   The books and archives are housed in several different locations on the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th floors of the Briscoe Library.

The NEH grant will pay for a preservation/conservation assessment of the collections by a professional materials conservator, who will help draft a long-range plan for the care of the collections.  The conservator , Rebecca Elder, will visit the Special Collections to assess policies, practices, and conditions affecting the care and preservation of the collections.  She will make recommendations for improving the storage or re-housing of collections, prioritize future preservation action on aging materials, and suggest appropriate preservation supplies.

The grant will also pay for the purchase of environmental monitoring equipment, allowing library staff to track environmental conditions in the various collection locations, and to adjust temperature, humidity, and dew point to create the best preservation conditions possible.

Anna Beyer, a University of North Texas Library and Information Science student, will work as an intern in Special Collections during Spring 2011.  She will help with the preservation needs identified by the consultant and record and analyze environmental data information.

Anne Comeaux, Assistant Library Director for Digital and Special Collections

Staff Profile Template

About Me


Name
Title
Phone Number
email

Areas of Expertise

Education

Selected Publications

Selected Presentations

Strategic Planning Workshop

Strategic Planning to Support CTSA Institutions

Attendance at this workshop is limited to librarians and other personnel from institutions with a current Clinical and Translation Science Award or with a CTSA application pending or in the planning stages.  Space is limited so please register early to assure a space in this workshop.

The purpose of the session will be to participate in brainstorming about how librarians currently are or can become actively involved with CTSA key functions, CTSA administration, grant applications, research output and impact tracking, community engagement, and other CTSA initiatives. A report based on the strategic planning session will be prepared and distributed to the librarians who attend the planning workshop; library directors at CTSA funded institutions in the NN/LM SCR region and to CTSA administrators. The anticipated outcome of the strategic planning process will be a roadmap for librarian contributions and engagement with the work of the CTSAs.

Workshop Date:

San Antonio

Friday, February 22, 2013, 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon
(Continental Breakfast: 8:00 – 8:30 a.m.)

Location:
Howe Conference Room
5th Floor, Briscoe Library
UT Health Science Center at San Antonio
7703 Floyd Curl Dr., San Antonio, TX

Contact: Peg Seger segerp@uthscsa.edu

Hosted by UT Health Science Center Dolph Briscoe Jr. Library & South Central AHEC

To Register, click Here

About the Facilitator

Mary Flanagan of Management Solutions Group, LLC, is uniquely qualified through her work with the UT Health Science Center’s Institute for Integration of Medicine and Science (IIMS) to develop a strategic plan for implementing its CTSA grant. Mary will facilitate the discussion and resulting report detailing what librarians are already doing related to CTSA grants and how they can move forward in addressing researcher and community engagement needs.

This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, under Contract No. HHSN-276—2011-00007-C with the Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library.

Texas Library Association: Impact of proposed State budget for public and academic libraries

Recently the Texas Library Association (TLA) outlined the anticipated impact for libraries statewide if the State’s budget proposal for 2012-13 were to pass in its original form.   According to TLA, the proposed plan would decrease by 99% funding for local library aid programs, and by 93% funding for library resource sharing programs.  Specific strategies for meeting these targets include the following:

  • Direct aid grants to public libraries would be eliminated.
  • State funding for TexShare databases would be eliminated, and TexShare libraries would instead pay increased fees for these resources.
  • The K-12 database program would be eliminated.
  • Funding for records management at state institutions would be replaced with increased institutional fees.
  • The Texas Education Agency’s Technology Allotment would be eliminated.

For The Libraries of the UT Health Science Center, the greatest impact of the proposed cuts would result from the loss of funding for TexShare databases, commercial database subscriptions that are paid for by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) for use by participating public libraries, Texas State governmental agency libraries, Texas academic libraries and libraries of clinical medicine.  According to TSLAC,  the state currently pays $7,042,558 to purchase database resources that are subsequently made available through the TexShare program.  If academic and public libraries and state agencies were to purchase these resources individually, the cost would be more than $97,044,000.

The UT Health Science Center Libraries currently pay $3,000 for membership in TexShare which provides access to the entire suite of TexShare databases.  If the library were to purchase individually databases that are currently provided through TexShare, the cost to the library and the UT Health Science Center would be approximately $135,000.

TexShare also manages a state-wide reciprocal borrowing program for academic, community college and public libraries, allowing anyone with a TexShare card to borrow books from participating libraries throughout Texas.

General information about the TexShare program can be found here:  http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/texshare/#.

The complete menu of TexShare databases is here:  http://www.libraryoftexas.org/?page=texshare.

Susan Hunnicutt, Special Projects Librarian

Thanksgiving Holiday Hours

Thanksgiving Holiday Hours

The DSM-5 is here!

DSM-5The fifth edition of the APA’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) is now available through the Briscoe Library, in print and online. The print edition is located in the library’s Reserve collection and online access is available through the Psychiatry Online database.
Both versions can also be found in the library catalog.

The DSM-5 is the most definitive resource for the diagnosis and classification of mental disorders. This edition includes a revised organizational structure that strives to meet the needs of various health professionals.

For an in-depth look at the revisions made in the DSM-5, check out The Intelligent Clinician’s Guide to the DSM-5, by Joel Paris. In this book, Paris provides an evidence-based critique of DSM-5 and offers suggestions for how to get the most out of this resource.

Andrea N. Schorr
Cataloging & Acquisitions Librarian

The Libraries launch new e-books page

The UT Health Science Center Libraries announce the launch of our new e-book page. Similar to the library’s e-journal page, the new e-book page will showcase many of the e-books the library has access to and may be used for searching exclusively electronic book titles.

Currently the library has access to over 13,000 electronic books, many of which are already available through the library’s catalog.  Initially, the e-books page will feature electronic books from the following collections:

  • Ebrary – medical, nursing, and allied health collection
  • Springer – biomedical and life sciences collection and mathematics/statistics collection

Titles will be added to the e-books page on a continuous basis, so be sure to check back regularly.

The e-books page contains only a subset of all available e-book titles.  For a more complete list of titles search the library catalog.

Visit the new e-books page

Andrea N. Schorr
Cataloging & Acquisitions Librarian

A preview of the new e-books page

The Libraries remember Governor Dolph Briscoe, Jr.

Photo of Dolph BriscoeOn June 27, 2010 members of the library staff were saddened to learn of the death of former Governor Dolph Briscoe, Jr.   The UT Health Science Center library located on the Long Campus is named after Governor Briscoe.

On November 14, 1985 a ceremony was held to dedicate the  library, which was  completed in 1983 after many years of planning.  Governor Briscoe was present at the event, along with John P. Howe, III, former president of the UT Health Science Center; Donald A.B. Lindberg, Director, National Library of Medicine; and Jess Hay, Chairman, The University of Texas System Board of Regents.

An excerpt from the dedication program speaks to Governor Briscoe’s commitment to education:

The library building at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is named to honor former Governor Dolph Briscoe, Jr.  Mr. Briscoe, Uvalde rancher, served as governor during 1973-79.  During his administration, the appropriation of funds for public and higher education increased.  Since leaving office, Governor Briscoe has been active in support of community service programs.

In announcing the dedication, the former Regents’ Chairman Jon Newton said, “No resource of any campus, whether it be academic or health-related, is of more importance than the library.  At the health science center in San Antonio, the library serves medical, dental, nursing, allied health and graduate students in the medical sciences.  It stands as a symbol of excellence in their continued quest for knowledge.”

What better honor than to dedicate a library of national distinction to an individual who has been so supportive of higher education.

From: Dolph Briscoe, Jr. Library:  Celebrating 20 Years of Service and Development,  November 14, 1985

Through the Eye Piece of the Microscope … San Antonio Nature Observations

Dr. Rudolph Menger was an early San Antonio doctor who loved nature and is best remembered for his nature observations and pictures.  He was born in San Antonio, Texas on April 21, 1851, to Johann and Augusta Menger.  His parents, native Germans, arrived in Texas in 1846. Menger attended the German-English school, a school established in 1858 by German immigrants, which endeavored to educate the children of recent immigrants. After graduation, he studied medicine in Germany at the University of Leipsic, in Saxony, graduating in November, 1874.

After graduating from medical school, Menger returned to San Antonio and served as Assistant Surgeon in the United States Army for one year then was appointed City Physician of San Antonio from 1875 until 1881, and was appointed once more in 1892. He was an active member of the West Texas Medical Society, wrote numerous articles for various medical journals, and worked in private practice.

He married Barbara C. Menger in 1879, a native of San Antonio and daughter of William L. Menger, owner of the Menger Hotel but unrelated to Ruldolph.  They had eight children: Minnie, Edward, August, Louis, Gustave, Rudolph, Theodore, and Margaret.

Dr. Menger’s book Texas Nature Observations and Reminiscenses, published in 1913, includes many of his photo-micrographs and observations.  It is available in the P. I. Nixon Medical Historical Library, and the university’s copy may be viewed online in full text through the University of North Texas’ Portal to Texas History at http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth143558/m1/1/?q=menger .

Picture from Menger book of scorpions

Picture from Menger book of scorpions

 

The P. I. Nixon Library owns the original scrapbook with Menger’s microphotographs.  It has been digitized for preservation, and the library hopes to make it viewable soon through the UTHSC Digital Archive.

Page from Menger Scrapbook

Page from Menger Scrapbook

Sources—

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/drtsa/00017/00017-P.html

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/uthscsa/00010/hscsa-00010.html

http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/dgm02

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to read my post.  If you have a story of the early days of the Health Science Center or medicine in San Antonio to share, please send it to dethorne@uthscsa.edu or call 210-567-2470.

 

Mellisa DeThorne, keeper of precious things

Today: Wonderdrugs vs. Superbugs: Dr. Jose Cadena will speak at noon

Friends of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library Noon Lecture

Thursday, September 19

Howe Conference Room, Briscoe Library 5th Floor

At this event Jose A. Cadena Zuluaga, M.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine, and Medical Director, Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology for the South Texas Veterans’ Health Care System, will talk about the struggle to preserve the utility of our antibiotic arsenal.

Dr. Cadena’s lecture is the first in a three part series organized by Gregory M. Anstead, M.D., Ph.D., who is currently serving as President of the Friends group.

The noon lecture series organized by the Friends of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library provides opportunities for informal learning and conversation in the Howe Conference Room on the 5th floor of the Briscoe Library.

Everyone is invited.  Please feel free to bring your lunch.

Mark your calendar for lectures in October and November:

  • Anthony Hartzler, M.D. (October 10), Fighting fire with fire: our microbiome and the use of probiotics in the prevention and treatment of disease
  • Kirsten Gardner, Ph.D., (November 14), diabetes, presentation title to be announced
http://library.uthscsa.edu/category/uncategorized/page/7/
library.uthscsa.edu
crawl=CC-MAIN-2014-41
60687
application/http; msgtype=response
sha1:IHC24SS4N24GJIJEY477FJY6BLN347FA
<urn:uuid:68dffba0-72f3-4aac-8a07-2e47ee68b6f7>
2014-09-17T13:32:54Z
129.111.140.162
sha1:35YYS7WDIEAXRFZRDMSUKFBUEVCYOS63
<urn:uuid:2cab85fa-4f31-44b6-8a98-70dd5cdb1946>
http://library.uthscsa.edu/category/uncategorized/page/7/
length
response
<urn:uuid:50231fa7-d8f2-495e-9c46-01c58cc12b59>
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-196-40-205.us-west-1.compute.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)/CC WarcExport 1.0
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2014-41
operator: CommonCrawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web with URLs provided by Blekko for September 2014
publisher: CommonCrawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf