BookSwap holiday special offer

When you next visit the Library, why don't you leave with some fiction to read over the holidays? The Library's BookSwap scheme allows you to donate a book to BookSwap and take another one away.

Special Offer: from now until 11 January you can take a BookSwap book without donating one first.

Please note that this offer only applies to BookSwap books. All other books in the Library should be checked out on your Library card.

2010 MeSH now included in PubMed and Medline

Each year the MeSH subject headings are updated. The 2010 terms have just been incorporated into PubMed and Medline and there are some new terms which you may find useful.

As well as new subjects such as Influenza A Virus, H1N2 Subtype, new terms have been introduced for Insecticide-Treated Bednets, Mosquito Nets, Climate Change, Travel Medicine, Medical Tourism and Alcoholics. These are among the 422 new MeSH Headings which have been added.

The National Library of Medicine who compile the Medline database do not retrospectively re-index articles, therefore these MeSH terms will only be applied to new items. Check the Scope Note for each new MeSH term to see the Previous Indexing terms most likely used before the new MeSH Heading was introduced.

Some of the 2009 MeSH terms have been changed or deleted. The major changes of interest to School staff include:

• The new heading Eukaryota has been created and added to the MeSH vocabulary. The Protozoa tree was disassembled and the vast majority of newly created taxonomic headings and headings previously listed under Protozoa are now listed under various groups under Eukaryota.
• Hepatitis, Toxic is replaced by Drug-Induced Liver Injury and Hepatitis, Chronic, Drug Induced is replaced by Drug-Induced Liver Injury, Chronic.
• Food Poisoning is replaced by Foodborne Diseases.
• Hemorrhagic Disease of the Newborn is replaced by Vitamin K Deficiency Bleeding.
• Antibiotics, Antifungal is replaced by Antifungal Agents.
• Cyclones is replaced by Cyclonic Storms.
• Cytology is replaced by Cell Biology.
• Mass Immunization is replaced by Mass Vaccination.

Please contact Jane Falconer if you would like advice on how these updates will impact your search strategies.

More information on the changes to 2010 MeSH is available via the National Library of Medicine.

WHO World Malaria Report 2009 launched today

The WHO World Malaria Report 2009 has been launched today.

It is freely available to download on the WHO website at www.who.int/malaria/world_malaria_report_2009/en/index.html and can also be purchased from the WHO bookshop. A copy will be available in the Library once it has been received and processed.

Christmas closure

The Library closes for the Christmas break at 8.25pm on Tuesday 22nd December 2009, and will re-open at 8.30am on Monday 4th January 2010. Vacation hours will be in operation on 21st and 22nd December 2009, and from 4th January until 10th January 2010.

Inter-Library loan arrangements over the Festive Season

Any inter-library loan requests received by the Library after 5pm on 16th December will not be processed until the Library re-opens on Monday 4th January 2010. This is to ensure that all incoming requests are processed and received before the School and British Library Christmas closures.

Further information for staff and grant funded research students

Staff and grant-funded research students requesting journal articles or book chapters should be aware that these may be sent to your email address on any day up to and including 22 December. It is your responsibility to ensure that requested items are downloaded and printed within 14 days of the email send date. Any items which expire will need to be requested again, incurring another charge.

NEW FREE RESOURCE - NHS Evidence: Quality and Productivity

NHS Evidence - Quality and Productivity has just been launched. It is a free resource which aims to provide a resource of evidence on how to improve quality and productivity in the NHS. It will and will evolve and expand over time to build a comprehensive library of quality and productivity evidence. The aim of the collection is to provoke thoughts, ideas and discussions about changes that can be made locally in the NHS.

NHS Evidence - Quality and Productivity joins the family of 34 Specialist Collections, providing easy access to high quality evidence on a range of health problems and services.

Ovid Books

We use Ovid for a number of key databases such as Embase, Medline and CINAHL to access resources. You can now use Ovid to access books online. We are looking to expand our e-book collection and have started to purchase a number of texts. You can view these at Ovid Books

Collection of the Month

The Centre for Sexual and Reproductive Health collection includes a wealth of visual and textual material concerning the first 20 years of AIDS prevention and awareness in Europe. The collection's 700 posters and ephemera, as well as evaluation and campaign material, serve as a valuable resource for those studying the early impact of HIV/AIDS and global pandemics as well as public health propaganda.

The posters concern issues such as safe sex and the harmful effects of using needles. They originate from countries across Europe including Norway, Greece, the former Soviet Union and Germany and use strong imagery including condoms and syringes to illustrate how HIV is transmitted. Ephemera includes badges, bags, leaflets and tapes and videos from various countries concerning AIDS and sexual health campaigns. Evaluation and campaign material relates to work carried out in 1980s and 1990s concerning AIDS and notably includes pamphlets and leaflets from campaigns carried out across Europe, AIDS Strategic Monitor publications and surveys and research collated by various market research companies. The collection can be searched through the Archives catalogue at http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/library/archives/ and is accessible to all

World AIDS Day Exhibition

An Archives exhibition to mark World AIDS Day will be displayed in the Library during the first week of December. The material on display includes posters originally collected by the School’s Centre for Sexual and Reproductive Health during the 1980s and 1990s. These striking images vividly capture the kind of propaganda and campaign techniques used by governments during the early days of AIDS awareness.

The posters and ephemera were brought together from a wide range of European countries, including Russia, Romania and Switzerland and were intended to prevent the spread of the disease by informing the public of how AIDS can be transmitted. They serve as a fascinating visual record of how the world was beginning to come to terms with such a widespread threat over twenty years ago

Just published: Annual Evidence Update on HIV/AIDS behaviour change in high-risk populations

The NHS Evidence Specialist Collection for Public Health has just published the second Annual Evidence Update on HIV/AIDS behaviour change in high-risk populations, giving information on a number of related guidance and 32 systematic and literature reviews on the topic.

Annual Evidence Updates aim to bring together all high quality evidence on a specific subject published over the previous 12 months.

The NHS Evidence Specialist Collections act as a portal of high quality evidence on a variety of clinical specialties and interest areas. Each Specialist Collection is compiled by an editorial team made up of clinicians and representatives of other interested parties. They are continually updated to provide a comprehensive listing of evidence-based sources of information of interest to health professionals working within the NHS.

BIOSIS Previews database now available

The BIOSIS Previews database is now available to all School staff and students via the Web of Knowledge. Login with your network username and password when prompted. A link to BIOSIS Previews is available under the Select A Database tab.
BIOSIS Previews contains bibliographic information on all aspects of the life sciences, including botany, zoology, microbiology, agriculture, pharmacology, ecology, biomedicine, biochemistry and bioengineering.
The current deal gives access to all information produced from 1969.
Contact Jane Falconer if you would like further details.

Past MSc Exam Papers

Past MSc Exam Papers are now held on Moodle, the School's VLE. You can no longer access these resources through the Library webpages. To access the exam papers, go to the MSc pages on Moodle and open up the paper you wish to view. Any problems, please contact the Teaching Support Office.

e-resources presentation

The amount of academic information available electronically is increasing each year. It's not just databases and journals which are available online, the Library now provides other types of information in electronic format, such as:
online reading lists (does your module have an ORC?)
images (via PhotoLibrary)
e-reports
e-books
online reference works
help and user-guides
Come along to the drop-in session in the e-library where Library & Archives Service staff will be on hand to provide advice, answer queries and demonstrate the wide range of e-resources which are now available.

The e-resources session will take place on Friday 13th November from 12-2pm in the e-library (ground floor of the South Courtyard, next to the Manson Lecture Theatre).

PhotoLibrary

PhotoLibrary, the School’s image database now has over 10,000 images for staff and students to search. These include photos of the building, events, insects and people and new images are added regularly. Why not search PhotoLibrary if you need an image for a presentation, a report or a leaflet. Also please contact the Archives team at archives@lshtm.ac.uk if you have a set of images that you would like to be included.

To access PhotoLibrary go to: http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/library/archives/photolibrary.html. Please note that you cannot use your School username and password but the login details which are on the passwords page of the Library website at : http://intra.lshtm.ac.uk/library/passwords.html.

Gems from the Collections

Staff and students of the School are invited to take a closer look at items from the fascinating historical collections held by the Library & Archives Service.

On Monday 9th November, between 1pm and 2pm in the e-library (opposite the Manson Lecture Theatre on the ground floor of the South Courtyard), the Library & Archives Service is holding a ‘Gems from the Collections’ session where staff will be available to show you some of the rare and unique documents, artefacts and books that are held in the collections.

There is no need to make an appointment, just drop in and see us in the e-library and find out more about the School’s historical collections. For further information please contact Victoria Cranna, Archivist & Records Manager.

Material on show will include:

The notebook where Sir Ronald Ross recorded his discovery of the mosquito transmission of malaria.

A first edition of Edward Jenner’s controversial "An Inquiry Into the Causes and Effects of the Variolæ Vaccinæ" from 1798.

Richard Doll and Austin Bradford Hill's initial 1950 paper on smoking and carcinoma of the lung from the BMJ online.

The box used to transport malaria infected mosquitoes from Italy to London for an experiment by Sir Patrick Manson in 1901.

"A Collection of the Yearly Bills of Mortality from 1657 to 1758 inclusive" (1759), covering the plague and the great fire of London.

Photographs of staff and students from the 1900s, giving an insight into the early days of the School.

John Snow's original pamphlet "On the Mode of Communication of Cholera" (1849) setting out his ideas regarding the transmission of the disease, which were to be confirmed by the Soho outbreak of 1854. Snow's much expanded work of 1855, which includes his map of the 1854 outbreak, will also be on show.

The joint diary of the entomologist Geoffrey Douglas Hale Carpenter and his wife Amy Frances Carpenter, recording their travels and experiences, including entries from their trips to Uganda for his research on sleeping sickness between 1913 and 1930.

The first edition of Sir Patrick Manson's "Tropical Diseases : a Manual of the Diseases of Warm Climates" (1898).

Top 20 Library Books

Since the start of term there has been over 1000 transactions from the Library. The top 20 shows the most popular titles you have borrowed. At number 1 is Economic Analysis in health care by Stephen Morris, new into the top 5 is Making health policy by Kent Buse, et al.

The Library uses this information to buy more copies of the most demanded titles and to purchase the latest editions of key texts. We also welcome your recommendations of books to buy, you can suggest a title by completing the suggestion form.

e-library

The Library will be holding a number of training sessions in the new e-library in the South Courtyard over the coming few weeks. Please contact Jane Falconer for more details on the training on offer.

When the e-library isn't being used for training you are free to use the PCs. There is no need to book, just walk in.

Library Virtual Tour

If you need help in finding out where different material are held in the Library we can direct you to our virtual tour. This allows you to know which parts of the Library you will need to head towards to find the book, journal, report or pamphlet you need.

Remember to search the catalogue first to see if the item is available in the Library before you go off trying to find it.

Library Laptops

You can now borrow a laptop and use it in the quiet study environment of the Library. All you need is your student card. For more information see our laptop loans scheme.

Introduction to Information Skills

Are you new to finding academic information?

Has it been a few years since you last used an academic library?

Are you unsure how to find the information you need for your studies?

Do you need a refresher course covering the basics of information skills?

If the answer to any of these questions is 'YES', then come along to the Introduction to Information Skills training sessions taking place in the Library during week 1 and week 2.

Sessions will take place twice per day Monday to Friday from 5 - 16 October. You can come along at lunchtime from 13.00-14.00 or after your studies from 17.30-18.30.

There is no need to book a place, just turn up. Places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Places are limited to 30 per session.

Introduction to information skills 1: finding an item on a reading list and citing it in an assignment
Dates: 05 Oct | 06 Oct | 07 Oct | 08 Oct | 09 Oct
Time: Sessions run two times per day at 13.00-14.00 and 17.30-18.30
Location: Library Reading Room
Download the handout (pdf)

Introduction to information skills 2: searching for information on a topic and assessing the quality of what you have found
Dates: 12 Oct | 13 Oct | 14 Oct | 15 Oct | 16 Oct
Time: Sessions run two times per day at 13.00-14.00 and 17.30-18.30
Location: Library Reading Room
A handout will be available to donwload shortly

110th Anniversary of the School

On 2nd October 1899, the London School of Tropical Medicine opened in the Albert Docks in the East End of London. To find out more about the origins of the School, come to the Library to see the exhibition 'Origins of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine'.

Library Induction

The Library will be running a number of Induction session over the next couple of weeks, starting on Thursday (1st October). This is to help new students familarise themselves with the lay out of the Library and our wide range of resources.

The Library is still open during this period, but as the Reading Room will no longer be as quiet as usual, you may want to put off your visit during these Induction sessions. Please see the Library web page for more details. www.lshtm.ac.uk/library

Journal moves completed

The reorganisation of the Library's print journal collection, to allow for essential estates work and for future growth of the collection, is now complete. All print journals from 1995 onwards are available on open access within the Library. Journals prior to 1995 can be requested via the Enquiries Desk.

Mosquito Day

Today is Mosquito Day – the anniversary of Sir Ronald Ross’s discovery (in 1897) of the transmission of malaria by mosquitoes.

To find out more about Ross and his work visit our Archives website

Journal Move

There has been a re-arrangement of the printed journals in the Library. Due to restructuring older copies have been moved. To find our more go to Journal update.

The top 40

This is the definitive list of most popular titles over the last 12 months. At number one is Economic Analysis in Healthcare by Stephen Morris. We will be announcing a regular top 20 throughout the year so you can view the "must have" books.

If you have any suggestions for books not currently in the library please let us know.

PhotoLibrary Winners

We recently ran a competition to promote our launch of the new Photolibrary service. The winning photographs are on display in the Library for you all to see.

The winning photograph was submitted by Richard Oxborough, congratulations to Richard!!

Over the Summer

The Library is now in Summer vacation opening, which means we close at 8:25 pm Monday to Friday and are closed all day on Sunday.

To find out more go to opening hours.

As it is the summer and a bit more quieter there are lots more PC's and Laptops available in the Library. So if you need a PC head for the Library