| PubMed Redesign |
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The National Library of Medicine (NLM) has redesigned the interface to PubMed. It takes a little bit of investigating to figure out where everything is now but I think I have pretty much figured it out. You need to choose Advanced Search to access the Limits feature. All the Limits that were there with the old interface are there now except for a couple of changes. The Added to PubMed date limit is no longer available, you can only limit by Publication date. The pull-down menu is no longer there, you need to type in the publication date ranges. You also need to choose Advanced Search to access Details. I previously blogged about how useful Details is to verify what terms you are actually searching for in PubMed, so you really do want to know how to find this feature with the new interface. The searchable MeSH database can be accessed either by using the pull-down menu on PubMed’s home page or under More Resources towards the bottom of PubMed’s home page. To get to Display Settings, you must first run a search in the database. Once your result list comes up, you can access Display Settings at the top of the page. Using that feature, you can select various search result display formats (Summary, Abstract, MEDLINE), the number of citations that you want to be displayed on one page, and how you want your results sorted. Note that the Citation format is no longer available, the components of that format (showing the MeSH indexing terms, for example) have been combined with the components of the Abstract format. Also note that the maximum number of citations that can be displayed on one page is now 200 (previously it was 500). To get to the Send to option, you also have to run a search first. Then you can choose to send your results to a File, to the Clipboard, or to E-mail them. Note that you can no longer send your results to your printer. After you choose how you want your results to display, you must use your browser’s File/Print command to print. I liked the old send to printer option because the printout would contain the PubMed logo on it. After the new interface went online, I emailed NLM about the loss of the send to printer option and they replied that if you don’t choose the text format option when you choose how to display your results, your results will still print with the PubMed logo. Seeing is believing so I tried it and it did work. I had been afraid that all the Internet graphics would complicate the printout but they were somehow (and miraculously, to me) stripped out. If you want more comprehensive information about the new PubMed interface, you can access NLM’s excellent training manual, which was recently updated to reflect all the changes. Their manual is very easy to follow. It takes you step by step through all the various PubMed features and is a great teaching resource. Or if you want hands-on experience searching PubMed, you might want to take my PubMed class. All in all, once you get used to the new interface, I think it is more streamlined and efficient than searching PubMed the old way. |
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Submitted by: Alice McCreary, Reference Librarian
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Comments (0)October 29, 2009
| Perspicacious Persimmon |
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Amazon has introduced PayPhrase, a way to create an easy-to-remember passphrase, coupled with a PIN, for express checkout without logging in. Works with partner sites such as Patagonia, too. Disingenuously Diaphanous? Nah … I’ll never remember how to spell it. Your PayPhrase must be two or more words, up to 100 characters long. No digits or special characters allowed. It has to be unique, since it’s tied to your credit card and shipping info. Bilious Bunion? Maybe … Let me think on it for a bit. Anyway, your PayPhrase can also be configured with controls such as monthly spending limits and email alerts that let you approve or decline a purchase. Jenkins Jeremiad? Bingo! Via NYT. |
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Submitted by: Dan Giancaterino, Education Services Manager
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| Google Music Search Now Live (I Guess) |
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The Google music search service I blogged about last week is now live. Except I’m not seeing it. I performed a controlled, highly-scientific search for “Ants Marching” and “Pride in the Name of Love” and got nada. Google said “We’ll be rolling this feature out gradually to users across the U.S. over the next day,” so I guess I should just relax. |
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Submitted by: Dan Giancaterino, Education Services Manager
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October 28, 2009
| Another Example of How Google Disrupts Markets |
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The WSJ (sub required, but there’s a recap at TechCrunch) is reporting that shares of GPS makers TomTom and Garmin are down 20% and 17%, respectively, on news that the Motorola Droid (and all other Android 2.0 devices) will feature Google Maps Navigation. Let me say that again, another way: Google announced a free Internet-based map product on a phone that hasn’t been released yet, and the stock price of the 2 biggest manufacturers of GPS navigation devices dropped off a cliff. Wow! |
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Submitted by: Dan Giancaterino, Education Services Manager
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| FWIW: AccidentSketch |
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For your edification: Lifehacker has a short post about AccidentSketch, an online tool for drawing accident scenes. Speaking of edification, I am most amused by the comments section. |
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Submitted by: Dan Giancaterino, Education Services Manager
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| LA City Gov’s Gone Google |
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According to the LA Times, the Los Angeles City Council voted 12-0 yesterday to award a $7.25 million contract to Google for Gmail access and support for 30,000 city employees. It wasn’t a total knockout for Google, however — they’re on the hook if Gmail security fails: “The contract was approved pending an amendment that would require Google to compensate the city in the event that the Google system was breached and city data exposed or stolen. No such clause existed in the contract.” As far as I can tell, LA is the second major city to Go Google. About a year ago, Washington DC began a switcheroo to Gmail. |
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Submitted by: Dan Giancaterino, Education Services Manager
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October 26, 2009
| Lawyers Working to End Homelessness |
 By American Bar Association, Commission on Homelessness and Poverty In the fall of 2005, ABA President Michael Greco called on the legal profession to commit to a "renaissance of idealism." He spoke of redefining legal help for those who need it the most but can afford it the least. With the legal profession full of individuals with the brightness, creativity, and energy to help others, it seems natural to use these qualities to help people stricken by poverty or homelessness. For those who have always considered helping people who are homeless but do not know where to start, this book can offer a multitude of examples from individuals who have successfully transferred their legal skills into aid for people who cannot afford the barest of shelters. Library Record • Borrow it • More Titles |
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Submitted by: Malgorzata Pawska, Digital Content Coordinator
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October 23, 2009
| Hulu: Use It While You Can (For Free) |
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There’s some buzz going around about how Hulu’s owners are planning to start charging for access to content beginning in 2010. Right now it’s unclear whether parts, or all, of the site will disappear behind a pay wall. But let’s be real — the party wasn’t gonna last forever. |
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Submitted by: Dan Giancaterino, Education Services Manager
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| Go Big Or Go Home, Baby |
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Nokia is suing Apple for infringing on 10 patents. But according to Silicon Alley Insider, Nokia is looking to collect 1%-2% patent royalty for each iPhone sold, which comes to around $200 million: “For both of these companies, that’s a rounding error, and it makes Nokia look silly for trying to extract money from Apple while failing to build competitive products.” Seriously. This is America. Go big or go home. To Finland. |
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Submitted by: Dan Giancaterino, Education Services Manager
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| Twitter Finally Comes Up With a Business Plan |
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They’re selling access to their stream of Tweets to Bing and Google. Bing announced it first and even has a test version of Bing Twitter — Now *that’s* a catchy name! — available for us to play with. About 3 hours later, Google said “Me, too!” However, we’ll have to wait to see how the Big G will integrate Tweets into search. One more thing: Facebook also signed a deal with Bing to provide access to public updates from Facebook users, but it didn’t seem to register much with the blogosphere. And no wonder — how many people make their Facebook updates public? One more thing, one more time. Google’s Marissa Mayer also announced an upcoming “Social Search” service. Does the world need another social search service? I don’t think so. |
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Submitted by: Dan Giancaterino, Education Services Manager
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