Announcements

Changes coming for the UT Health Science Center Laredo Regional Campus Library

The UT Health Science Center Laredo Regional Campus Library is currently undergoing some changes that will include a revision of hours and the placement of new library staff.

While the Laredo Library has been closed to the public in August, UT Health Science Center students, faculty and staff continue to have ID card swipe access 7 days per week from 7 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. There is no expected change to card swipe access days or times. Campus and public users can also contact the Briscoe Library in San Antonio for reference and circulation assistance. Calls to the Laredo Library are currently being forwarded to the Briscoe Library Circulation Desk.

Anticipated reopening of the Laredo Library is scheduled for some time in September. The library with be staffed through an agreement with the Texas A&M International Killam Library. Once reopened, the library hours will be Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (including during the lunch hour) and Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.

The new staff will provide circulation and reference assistance to campus and community patrons. The Briscoe Library will continue to oversee the circulating collection, computers, printers, copiers, and supplies and will continue to participate in library orientation/classes and Laredo community outreach events.Photograph of the Exterior of the Laredo Library

For additional information, contact Peg Seger, Head of Outreach Services: segerp@uthscsa.edu.
 

 

 

 

 

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Chocolate: Exhibit opens February 10

Mixtec Marriage of Lord Eight Deer and Lady Thirteen Serpent

The sharing of chocolate is a common theme in pre-Columbian art. In this Mixtec image, Lord Eight Deer and Lady Thirteen Serpent exchange a cup of chocolate on the occasion of their marriage.

For centuries chocolate has been treasured not only for its amazing and delightful taste, but also for its healthful benefits.

The first historical evidence for dietary uses of chocolate dates back more than 3000 years. The native peoples of Mesoamerica– among them the Inca, the Maya and the Aztec– believed that cocoa was a gift from the gods. From the earliest days, chocolate (in Nahuatl, xocolatl) was seen as a medium of divine communication.  Goblets of chocolate appear frequently in pre-Columbian art and legend, in stories involving figures both divine and human.

The Spanish explorer Hernan Cortez was the first European to taste chocolate– possibly because he was mistaken for a god by the Aztec emperor Montezuma.  In 1519, Cortez reported that the beverage the Aztecs concocted from fruit of the cocoa tree was believed by Montezuma to be a “divine drink, which builds up resistance and fights fatigue.”  Also, “a cup of this precious drink permits a man to walk for a whole day without food.”

Chocolate has been gathering extravagant claims and accolades of one kind or another ever since.

Recently, scientific studies of the health benefits of chocolate , and specifically of  cocoa, which is the essential ingredient in chocolate, have focused on the actions of two flavonoids, catechin and epicatechin.  Both have protective antioxidant properties and are found in tea and many fruits, including apricots, cherries, peaches, blackberries and apples.  However, they occur in extravagantly high levels in cocoa.  As it turns out, chocolate — or more precisely cocoa– may actually be very good for your heart, and for other things as well.

At least that’s what some people are saying…

Contemplate the many uses of chocolate while visiting our exhibit, Not Just Another Love Story, in the Medical School Lecture Hall Commons beginning February 10.  Then, stop by the Circulation Desk on Valentine’s Day.  Chocolate will be enjoyed.

Susan Hunnicutt, Special Projects Librarian

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Connective Tissue: literature and visual arts journal seeks submissions

Connective Tissue, a publication of the Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics, is seeking submissions of prose, essays, interviews, memoirs, narratives, short stories, poetry, painting, drawing, sculpture and photography for its 2012 issue.  Work does not need to be health related, but should be original and previously unpublished. Visual work should be submitted in digital format for initial review.

Submissions should be sent to ConnectiveTissue2012@gmail.com by 11:59 p.m. on January 13, 2012.  Please include your name and category in the subject line.

For more information, visit the Connective Tissue website:  http://www.texashumanities.org/connective-tissue.

 

Image of flowers

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Dana Whitmire receives professional development award from North American Serials Group

Dana Whitmire, Electronic Resources/Serials Librarian, has been awarded a Horizon Award to attend the 2011 North American Serials Interest Group (NASIG) meeting to be held in St. Louis, MO, June 2-5, 2011.  NASIG is an independent organization that promotes communication, information, and continuing education about serials and the broader issues of scholarly communication.

The Horizon Award is given to promising new serials professionals.  It covers the cost of conference registration, three nights lodging, and travel within North America.  Recipients of the award are also invited to serve on a NASIG committee.

Rajia Tobia
Executive Director of Libraries

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Faculty and students: take the library survey

Check mark

Please take time to give us your input.

The Libraries survey UT Health Science Center faculty and students every two years to assess their satisfaction with the library collection, space and services.  If you have not done so already, please take the survey to provide us with information about how well the library is serving your needs as we continue to evolve as a 21st century library. The survey takes no more than 10-15 minutes to complete and can be found here.

For more information, contact Jonquil Feldman, Director of Briscoe Library and Outreach Services feldman@uthscsa.edu.

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Faculty of 1000 and The Scientist: subscription changes

The UT Health Science Center Libraries currently has an electronic subscription to The Scientist.  The publisher, F1000, will combine its three products — Faculty of 1000 Medicine, Faculty of 1000 Biology, and The Scientist — into one product, effective January 2011.  Because of the cost increase for the bundled collection, the library is not able to continue the electronic version of The Scientist in 2011 as we have for the last two years.

In order to continue an electronic subscription to The Scientist, the library would be required to subscribe to all three products resulting in more than a 400% increase in subscription cost in 2011 compared to the cost in 2010.  We realize that The Scientist is a popular publication for keeping up with the latest news and views in science; however, as with all departments on campus, the library is looking at a reduced budget in the next biennium and we must be fiscally responsible.

The library will continue our print subscription to The Scientist but discontinue electronic access starting in 2011.  Contact John Weed, Head of Collection Resources, with any questions or comments at weedj@uthscsa.edu.

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From the Library Toolbox: use LibX for a streamlined research process

Do you want a tool that streamlines the research process?

Do you need a tool that will tell if that book on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Borders is available in the library?

Do you want to be able to search the Library Catalog, Pubmed, E-Journals, or Google Scholar without going to the library website?

When you find an e-journal article that requires a subscription, do you wish there was a way you could just reload the page using The Libraries’ subscription?

Would you like to know instantly if the article you found on Google Scholar is available through the library?

LibX, a new research tool from your Libraries, does all this and more. LibX works with Firefox and Internet Explorer, and allows you to integrate your workflow and The Libraries’ resources wherever you are. LibX provides you with a toolbar for searching a variety of The Libraries’ resources, integrates itself with any Web page that provides you with an ISBN, and reloads pages via our proxy service so you can quickly access subscription e-journal articles off-campus.  Use LibX to search for your information any way you like!

If you have not downloaded LibX you can download from the LibraryTools page. For more information on how to use LibX you can view our LibX guide.

Luke Rosenberger, Director of Library Technology & Special Collections

Kelley Minars, Web Services Librarian

Eric Willman, Systems Librarian

Library Toolbox Screenshot

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Gifts for Children: The Briscoe Library will receive toy donations beginning in mid-November

For more than 25 years, Gifts for Children has been helping to brighten the holidays for children in hospitals and clinics across San Antonio.  Last year, more than 4200 items were collected.

This year, the Briscoe Library will once again be a collection point for toy donations.  Look for our decked-out holiday book cart donation station, coming soon to the third floor of the Briscoe Library, near the Administration Offices.  Donations will be received until December 8.  A list of recommended toys can be found at http://library.uthscsa.edu/events/gfclist.pdf.

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Gifts for Children: The Briscoe Library will receive toy donations through December 7

For more than 25 years, Gifts for Children has been helping to brighten the holidays for children in hospitals and clinics across San Antonio.  Last year, more than 4200 items were collected.

This year, the Briscoe Library is once again be a collection point for toy donations.  Look for our decked-out holiday book cart donation station, located on the main floor of the Briscoe Library near the Information Desk.  Donations will be received through December 7. 

Gift donations are also being accepted at the Ramirez Library in Harlingen. 

A list of recommended toys can be found at http://library.uthscsa.edu/events/gfclist.pdf.

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