The National Library of Medicine has made their MLA Theater Presentations available online. Click on the topic of your choice to view the recording.

What does it mean to be a “networked student” in today’s learning environment?  How can students use technology to connect with others?  Watch this fun video (5 minutes 10 seconds) to follow along with a student as he builds his knowledge base through tools like Google Scholar, social bookmarking, blog posts, RSS readers, podcasts, and video conferencing with experts around the world.  Along the way he must evaluate the information he finds and then share his “virtual textbook” with others.

(Thanks to Jessi Van Der Volgen for pointing out this video).

Laura Bergells from the MANIACTIVE blog writes that you may be undermining your message by starting with the words…I think. Read her short blog post at: http://goo.gl/WFWvu

One year after the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970, the agency started a photo project called Documerica that ran from 1971 to 1977.  The EPA hired freelance photographers to take pictures relating to environmental problems, EPA activities, and everyday life in the 1970s to create a baseline.

Over 15,000 images can be viewed online and downloaded without any copyright restrictions (taxpayers own the photos).

Here is the link to the EPA Documerica site:

http://goo.gl/0UC6o

Rachel Carson is considered to be the mother of the modern day environmental movement going back to the 1960s, which lead to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970. The EPA is the keeper of much of the data found in TOXNET databases such as IRIS, TRI and TOXMAP. For the past 7 years or so, the EPA has sponsored a contest in Carson’s honor; the Sense of Wonder Contest.

Visit the EPA’s website to read about the contest:

http://www.epa.gov/aging/resources/thesenseofwonder/index.htm

The National Library of Medicine recently posted a 3-minute video to YouTube about how to use MeSH to build a targeted PubMed search. The video includes a very brief background on MeSH terms and indexing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyF8uQY9wys

Join us for the free online class “PubMed for Librarians.” Classes in April, June, and September 2013 are now open for registration.

The PubMed for Librarians class is divided into five segments (90 minutes each). Each segment is a synchronous online session that includes hands-on exercises and is worth 1.5 hours of MLA CE credit. Participants can choose any or all of the 5 segments that interest them.

For details, see the NLM Tech Bull. 2013 Mar-Apr;(391):e2.

Ideally, an opening class activity should allow class participants to get acquainted with one another and to remove pre-class distractions. It’s always challenging to design an opener that is related to the content of the class.

The “A-Z” word game is one possibility for a group activity: divide the class into groups of 3-4. Using large post-it notes on the wall, ask each group to come up with a word for each letter of alphabet that relates to the class content. Give each group 3-5 minutes and instruct them to work as fast as possible.

Can you think of words related to PubMed for each letter of the alphabet (not including PubMed, MEDLINE, or specific search terms)? “Z” can be difficult, but a recent group in one of our classes came up with an answer (see the photo).

New MeSH vocabulary is identified in one of three ways:

1. National Library of Medicine Indexers identify gaps in the vocabulary and forward the concepts to the MeSH staff.

2. NLM MeSH reviewers identify needed terms during the regular process of topic review.

3. Users alert the MeSH staff to new terms using the MeSH Suggestion page: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/meshsugg.html

Since April 2009, NLM’s Journal Donation System has made it possible for libraries to determine whether NLM needs any volumes of the print journals they plan to discard.  The system was designed for DOCLINE libraries and was restricted to titles listed in their DOCLINE holdings.  On January 4^th, 2013, NLM launched Version 2 of the system.  Enhancements make it possible for non-DOCLINE libraries to use the system.

In addition, all libraries can offer titles not owned by NLM.   The system can be accessed at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/journaldonation/ or by searching “Journal Donation System” on NLM’s home page.   In the system, click on “Help” for detailed instructions.

For additional assistance, contact NLM at (301)496-0081 or NLMJournalDonation@mail.nlm.nih.gov.

NLM will pay shipping for volumes they need.

To donate pre-1871 journal volumes to the History of Medicine Division, see http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/about/donate.html

Since the beginning of the online donation system in April 2009, a total of 8,230 gifts have been added to the collection.  NLM hopes that with the enhancements in Version 2, they can build on the success achieved to date.