While swipe-card access to and use of the building will not be impacted, Facilities Management will be completing the installation of a new HVAC system serving the Library Building. This critical infrastructure project started in January 2023.
A HVAC system outage for the entire Library Building is scheduled to start on Friday, April 14, 2023, at 7 p.m.
The new HVAC system and cooling to the entire Library Building will be restored by Saturday, April 15, 2023, at 3 a.m.
If you are in a Library Building space, please note that cooling will not be available throughout the duration of the HVAC system outage.
Spaces requiring temporary cooling will be served by portable cooling units.
Normal power and emergency power, to include lighting, will not be impacted by this HVAC system outage.
Security and Life Safety systems will not be impacted by this HVAC system outage.
Should you be utilizing your computer in Remote Desktop mode, that function will not be impacted.
UT Health VPN functionality will not be impacted.
Facilities Management staff will be on-site throughout the entire HVAC system outage.
During the HVAC system outage, Facilities Management staff will be performing routine space reviews of the impacted spaces.
The Facilities Management 24 hour/365-day telephone number is 210-567-2947.
Come check out the Briscoe Library pop-up Relaxation Station. Over the next couple of weeks there will be a variety of activities open and available to all for some fun and enjoyable downtime.
Currently, materials and instructions are available for making fiesta flowers and there is a Fiesta selfie photo backdrop with props. Bob the torso model is standing by to join in the fun. No appointment necessary.
Watch for more activities and a Stress Re-Duck-tion contest coming soon!
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UT Health San Antonio Library participates in several Read and Publish agreements which aim to serve authors and the wider community by publishing high-quality, peer-reviewed OA content. Read and Publish, also known as a transformative agreement, is an open access model that bundles payment for reading access and payment for publishing into a single contract. This waives publishing fees for authors who wish to publish in open access.
Benefits for authors
The Library's Role
The library proactively supports transformative agreements with publishers when the agreement is financially viable and provides the faculty with comprehensive open publishing options.
Transformative agreements also foster community stewardship through open access and a shift away from paid subscriptions that place published research articles behind paywalls. In addition, these agreements help faculty who have research grants which may require the publication of research in an open-access journal.
Note: The library does not currently fund APCs but encourages UT Health San Antonio affiliates to take advantage of these APC discounts.
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Publisher |
UT Health San Antonio Discount |
|---|---|
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Annual Reviews |
APCs waived at 100% |
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Cambridge Journals |
APCs waived at 100% |
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Company of Biologists |
APCs waived at 100% |
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Elsevier OA |
10% or 15% discount on APCs, depending on the journal |
|
Sage Premier |
APCs waived at 100% |
Find out more about individual agreements on our Read and Publish libguide.
In collaboration with the Center for Medical Humanities and Ethics (CMHE), the Briscoe Library is hosting a student art exhibit initiated this year in connection with the CMHE 20th Anniversary Frank Bryant Jr. Memorial Distinguished Lecture, Our Quest for Health Equity. There are currently 12 student pieces on display in the library entry including 2 from UTSA. A reception for the exhibit was held on April 5th allowing students the opportunity to present and discuss their work in connection with health equity.
Central to this contest and exhibition was Dr. Kristy Kosub who single handedly installed each piece. Don’t wait to take the chance to see this powerful exhibit before it is removed on April 21st.
Watch for the next exhibit later in April featuring submissions from the CMHE annual publication, the Connective Tissue.
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Nina Starr Braunwald was a true pioneer in the field of heart surgery, determined to forge her own path during a time that was not welcoming to her contributions.
Born in 1928, she got an early start in science, joining the American Society of Amateur Microscopers in her teens. By 1955 she'd attained a medical degree and was training in general surgery at New York's Bellevue Hospital, only the second woman resident admitted to its program.
It was there she discovered a passion for what was, at the time, a new field of medicine: cardiac surgery. Working under Dr. Charles Hufnagel, the surgeon who designed the first artificial aortic valve, she devoted herself to learning, receiving a Masters of Science in Surgery.
After completing her training she joined the National Heart Institute. Despite her position she longed to operate, a difficult prospect at the time. Surgery was considered masculine work and most doctors of the day wouldn't refer surgical patients to a woman. She remained at the NIH, looking for ways to merge surgical practice into her research.
She began working with Dr. Andrew G. Morrow, the NIH's Chief of Surgery. He was a staunch mentor and together they began developing an artificial mitral heart valve. Made of flexible polyurethane, Braunwald often tinkered with the design at her kitchen table at home, eventually moving on to animal testing before approval was granted for human use.
In 1960, at the age of 32 and pregnant with her second child, she lead the team that implanted the device in the first human subject, a 44 year old woman with heart failure caused by a damaged mitral valve. Braunwald's surgical finesse and instincts assured success and the patient made a strong recovery.
Unfortunately, four months later Braunwald learned that her patient had died from a heart attack. Fearful that her valve had failed, an autopsy concluded the artificial valve had worked as intended and not caused the death. Even with that knowledge, the incident spurred Braunwald on and she worked to improve her valve. The updated version was implanted successfully in thousands of patients until a next generation was introduced in 1979, granting them decades of life.
A few other contributions include developing the stented aortic homograft for mitral valve replacement, surgical treatment of thromboembolic disease, and other pioneering cardiac surgery techniques. She was also the first woman certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery and to be elected to the American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Today several fellowships and academic awards bear her name.
Braunwald benefitted from mentor support early on but this did not remove the barriers she faced. With the climate in medicine at the time she struggled throughout her career to find professional opportunities because of her sex. She never let that deter her, letting her skills and knowledge speak for her, winning her respect from colleagues and patients alike.
Read More
Edited by Meredith Minkler and Patricia Wakimoto
This edition provides both classic and recent contributions to the field, with a special accent on how these approaches can contribute to health and social equity. The 23 chapters offer conceptual frameworks, skill- building, and case studies in areas like coalition building, organizing by and with women of color, community assessment, and the power of the arts, the internet, social media, and policy and media advocacy in such work. The use of participatory evaluation and strategies and tips on fundraising for community organizing also are presented, as are the ethical challenges that can arise in this work, and helpful tools for anticipating and addressing them. Also included are study questions for use in the classroom.
Check out the book through EBSCO Ebooks, provided by the Briscoe Library.
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