News

Smithies Talks About Life and Science

Over 100 students, faculty, and staff gathered at the Health Sciences Library on March 30, 2009 for a chat with Nobel Laureate, Dr. Oliver Smithies, Excellence Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, about his life as a scientist. Moderated by Dr. Tony Waldrop, Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development, our conversation with Dr. Smithies offered a unique opportunity for students and faculty to ask the Nobel Laureate questions about his perspectives on the changing environment of scientific research. Echoing the sentiments of his Nobel lecture, he talked about the importance of "turning pages" in the pursuit of science. Here are a few tidbits from our conversation with Dr. Smithies.

Smithies on what keeps him going:
"Just the whole of the discipline of science has always been part of my life, as it were, and that's what encourages me … that's the enjoyment of science, it never stops being exciting because you don't know [what's next]. And I'll say it in a way here … [holding up his lab notebook, flipping to the most recent entry, then turning to the next blank page that's yet to be filled in] … I don't know what's on it. I don't know what's going to be on it. That's why it's exciting, because I don't know what's going to be on it."

Smithies on advice to young scientists:
"I would say look around for something that you enjoy doing. That's the primary thing. If you don't enjoy it you won't ever do very well … I wouldn't be doing experimental science if I didn't enjoy it. I go to the lab at the weekends, I don't go to work, I go to play, and I get paid for playing."

If you missed this event, you can you can take a look at the real-time Twitter feed of UNC SILS Professor Paul Jones. A video of the conversation with Dr. Smithies will be made available soon on the HSL Web site--stay tuned for an announcement and link. This event was sponsored by HSL's Scholarly Communication Committee.

MIT Approves Open Access

Recovery Act Funding-Librarians Can Help

Health Observances/NC Health Info

• Alcohol Awareness Month
• Autism Awareness Month
• National Donate Life Month
• National Minority Health Awareness Month

For information about these health concerns as well as local health care services, programs, and providers to help manage them, see NC Health Info Go Local at: http://nchealthinfo.org

NC Health Info Partnership for Military Families

The Citizen Solider Support Program (CSSP) has agreed to continue funding two health information collections at HSL for another year. This partnership will support NC Health Info's Military Health section which serves the health information needs of soldiers and their families, in addition to the Military Mental Health Collection in the AHEC Digital Library. HSL and NC Health Info are proud to be partnering with CSSP and grateful for this ongoing collaboration to ensure military families have reliable and trustworthy health information that speaks to their needs.

NC Health Info Director Receives CHIS Designation

Christie Silbajoris, NC Heath Info Director, was recently re-awarded the Level II Designation in the Medical Library Association's (MLA) Consumer Health Information Specialization Program (CHIS). CHIS is designed to help members keep current in the consumer health information field by providing access to new resources and ideas in the field. CHIS will also help members obtain an additional level of expertise in the area of consumer health information.

Library Tips and Resources

Get More from EMBASE

The Health Sciences Library now provides access to EMBASE (1988 to present) through the campus library's Web sites. You'll find a link to EMBASE on HSL's More Databases page, as well as on other subject specific resource pages. EMBASE is a biomedical and pharmaceutical bibliographic database similar to PubMed/MEDLINE. While the two databases have some overlapping content, EMBASE contains unique content derived from indexing different journals. Also, EMBASE's in-depth indexing of drug research articles often provides improved information discovery in that subject area. Anyone working on a comprehensive search of the biomedical literature, such as those done for grant proposals or when preparing a systematic review, should include a search of EMBASE. HSL librarians can assist you in learning how to use this new tool. You can request assistance using the Ask a Librarian form.

Spring Hours for the Friends' Cafe

Please make note of the following changes in the hours of operation for the cafe:

Spring Holiday

Commencement Weekend

Events

Transgender Health Display @ HSL

The week of April 6-10, 2009 is Transgender Health Awareness Week. As part of the activities related to this observance, Health Sciences LGBTQ (a student led group) and the UNC LGBTQ Center have partnered to develop a display entitled "transgender health: an intersectional approach" which will be exhibited at the UNC Health Sciences Library through the end of April. The display is located in the cases near the Columbia Street entrance (to the left of our ongoing exhibit "UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health: Meeting the Public Health Challenges of the 21st Century").

Stop by the display to learn more about issues related to transgender equality and health; local and online resources; and other events that will be taking place this week. If you're on Facebook, you can also check out the Health Sciences LGBTQ page to see details about this week's events.

Bullitt Club Lecture on Poverty and Health in the District of Columbia

The most recent meeting of the Bullitt History of Medicine Club was held Monday, April 6, 2009 at the UNC Health Sciences Library. Lisa Wiese, second-year medical student at UNC School of Medicine, presented a lecture entitled, "Poverty and Health in the District of Columbia." If you missed this event, you can catch up with an mp3 download of the lecture on the Bullitt Web site.

Bullitt Club Lecture on Blemished Bodies and Persons

The next joint meeting of UNC's Bullitt History of Medicine Club and Duke's Trent History of Medicine Society will be Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at the UNC Health Sciences Library in the 5th Floor Conference Room (527).

Dr. Sue Estroff, Professor of Social Medicine at the UNC School of Medicine, will be presenting a lecture entitled, "Blemished Bodies and Persons: An Historical Perspective on Stigma."

Please join us at 5:30pm for light refreshments followed by the lecture at 6pm. Meetings are free and open to the public. For more information on the Bullitt Club, please visit the Bullitt Web site. Bullitt lectures for 2008-9 are now available as mp3 downloads.

The Bicentennial of Louis Braille

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HSL E-NEWS is a monthly publication of the UNC-Chapel Hill Health Sciences Library. Past issues of enews are archived with many other library-produced publications accessible here. For more information on this publication, contact Ginny Bunch, Assistant Director of Development and Communications: gbunch@unc.edu