Medical and HSC Library

Biomedical Library 

Please contact all other HSC libraries directly for details of their opening hours over the Christmas period.

All library services are fully operational.

We regret that the HSC Library Antrim will be closed tomorrow, Tuesday 22nd November, due  to unforeseen circumstances. It will reopen at 9am on Wednesday 23rd November.

We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

There will be a training session for all Allied Health Professions aimed at those who already use HONNI but would like to find out more.  The session will focus on 3 of the key resources for AHP’s enabling you to search more effectively and systematically for the relevant literature in your field.

Tuesday 9^th August 2016

1.30-2.30pm

Training room, Medical & HSC Library, Mulhouse Building, RVH

If you wish to attend this session please register at the link below:-

http://www.eventbrite.com/e/top-3-honni-resources-for-ahps-tickets-26303401181

If you are registered to use HONNI, and are working within medicine, dentistry or biomedical sciences, you can now request literature searches from your subject librarian, Richard Fallis.

Ultimately, it is best if you carry out your own searches. But, if you are short on time, or struggling to find results, Richard is happy to carry out searches for you, in the databases of your choice.

To request a literature search, simply fill in this on-line form.

Please note: this form can only be used by HONNI members who work within medicine, dentistry and biomedical sciences.

If you have any questions about requesting or carrying out a literature search, please email Richard.

The Medical Library and Biomedical Library are closed for Easter from Friday 25^th March until Tuesday 29^th March inclusive.

Individuals wanting to visit their local HSC Library are advised to contact the appropriate library directly to confirm their opening hours over the Easter period.

All libraries will be closed on Thursday 17th March for St. Patrick’s Day, reopening as normal on Friday 18^th March.

You have probably noticed that what used to be an A-Z list of electronic journals has undergone a transformation.  It has a new look and is no longer a simple listing of journal titles that you can browse through or search.  Now it includes e-books as well as e-journals, and finding journal titles and content is easier because of a number of new features.

New Features

• Start to type a journal title into the search box.  A list of available options appears in a drop-down list as you type, and you can select from the list without having to type the full title yourself.
• There is also a ‘Browse by Discipline’ feature which allow you to look for publications in a general subject area.  From the results displayed you can further refine to specific topics.
• When a title is found, a ‘Search within Publication’ box may be displayed, depending on the source of the title.  Where it appears, it allows you to search the title directly without having to go to the source first.  Results are therefore obtained much more quickly.

Whether or not a ‘Search within Publication’ box is displayed, there will be a list of all the sources from which a particular journal or book is available, along with dates of coverage.  As before, select the source with the coverage you want and you will be taken to the title in the source database, after logging in if you have not already done so.

The new system has been renamed ‘E-Publications’ to reflect the fact that it contains more than just e-journals and is no longer strictly an A-Z list.  Its added functionality makes it much more than a traditional A-Z.

A link to ‘E-Publications’ appears on the HONNI home page under ‘Help from the Library’ and in the top menu bar on all screens of the HONNI discovery service.

It will be news to no-one that usage of mobile devices for internet access has increased dramatically in recent times, yet many websites were built using static dimensions and positioning not easily viewed on anything other than a standard PC monitor.

The web design industry responded by developing something called ‘responsive design’ which helps to ensure that sites are usable from whatever devices users select for viewing. In a short space of time ‘responsive design’ has become part of good design practice.

The recently redesigned HONNI website is built on responsive principles, and you should now find that it quickly adapts to whatever device you use for access. Of course some older browsers don’t recognise responsive techniques so, if you are using a PC with Internet Explorer version 8 (IE8) for example, then its responsive features will not be apparent, although it will still be perfectly usable. For the most part, tablet PCs and smart phones will not suffer from this limitation and the site will adapt easily for viewing on these devices.

Most HSC Trusts still use IE8 out of necessity because clinical applications require it. So, if you are using a PC running IE8, be aware that HONNI will not exhibit responsiveness. Furthermore, you may have problems accessing certain resources as many providers have ceased supporting IE8. Trust IT departments are well aware of these issues which will be addressed whenever possible. Meanwhile, most Trusts will install alternative browsers on request if required and we have asked that HONNI Hubs be upgraded to IE11 where possible.

On PCs with more up-to-date browsers and on mobile devices generally, the new HONNI website will be fully responsive. We hope this development will be beneficial for busy professionals constantly on the move.

From 27^th January 2016, a new British Library delivery service called DRM Lite will be introduced making it easier to download and view the articles sent to you electronically from the British Library as part of the Inter-Library Loan Service.

DRM Lite is an electronic delivery method that allows the British Library to supply secure encrypted documents directly to your desktop. The document is locked to a user rather than a machine so it can be viewed on a variety of desktop and mobile devices.

• The way you request articles hasn’t changed. You should still submit your article requests in the same way.
• How the library processes your requests hasn’t changed. We still aim to action your request within 3 working days, and we will continue to try and supply requested material free of charge from the collections in the Medical and HSC Library network.
• If we have to go outside of this network to supply your requested material, it will incur an £8 charge. We will contact you before we proceed with the request any further.
• If you wish to proceed and the British Library are able to supply the article, you will be advised to register with the British Library’s On Demand Service if you haven’t already.
• Once your British Library account is set up with a username and password of your choice, you will be able to open, view and download the DRM Lite files that you receive in the email directly from the British Library.

More information will be available on the HONNI blog in the New Year including how to register for your British Library account and requirements for accessing the DRM Lite documents.