Number 40 May 31, 1995

Edited by David Morse (University of Southern California) dmorse@hsc.usc.edu

Editorial Board members:

Email address for all correspondence and subscriptions: dmorse@hsc.usc.edu

WEB Edition Published at Duke University:
HTML coding by Eric Albright, maldacht@duke.edu
Masthead design by Dan Barkey, d-barkey@nwu.edu

About BLAB

Current Subscribers: 380

CONTENTS

40.1 Notice: ACQNET on the Web

40.2 Notice: Journal of Image Guided Surgery

40.3 Notice: U.S. Federal Register and CFR on the Web

40.4 Commentary: Librarians as Bad Guys in the Serials Crisis

40.5 Commentary: Publications of R.G. Landes Company

40.6 Query: Recommended Titles for Humanities Collections

40.7 Review: Macgill's Medical Guide

40.8 Review: 1995 Case Management Resource Guide

40.1 NOTICE: ACQNET ON THE WEB

From: Anna Belle Leiserson (Vanderbilt Law Library) <leiserson@library.vanderbilt.edu>

AcqWeb_ is moving. Vanderbilt Library Systems has outgrown its server. If your pointers are to:

http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/law/acqs/acqs.html

you don't need to change. That is actually an alias, and will work with the new machine. For those of you pointing to:

http://libdev1.lib.vanderbilt.edu/law/acqs/acqs

please change your pointers to the first address. The change is scheduled for May 24.

Other news: We have just added a new "Tour of AcqWeb" to the welcome Page. AcqWeb's structure had become tangled enough that it seemed in order.

Also, _AcqWeb_ has a new member on its staff: David L. Marshall of Georgetown University joins us as editor of the "E-mail Address" page, with listings for publishers and vendors worldwide. He and others at Georgetown, including Brenda E. Bickett, are starting a search for e-mail addresses of more non-U.S. library book vendors in particular, and have already added a number in the past few days. If you know of others, please let one of us know. The address for this page is: http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/law/acqs/email-ad.html

Other new additions to _AcqWeb_ include links to four new newsletter and listserv archives of interest, plus five library and publisher associations. As usual, there are a slew of new publishers and vendors (48 this time around), including: Askews, Latin American Book Store, Ltd., Lawyer's Cooperative Publishing, Micromedia Limited, SelectVideo Publishing, and Taylor & Francis Ltd. The main news page, where you can all of the above is:

http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/law/acqs/ms_acqs.html

40.2 NOTICE: JOURNAL OF IMAGE GUIDED SURGERY

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has just put up its first peer reviewed professional journal on the World Wide Web, The Journal of Image Guided Surgery. As part of the journal launch, Wiley is making access to the first on-line issue available, without charge, for two months, to librarians and researchers interested in giving feedback. To participate, you must register as a guest, at which time you will be asked to complete a questionnaire. At any point during this period, we would appreciate your comments on the design and ease of use of the on-line version of the journal. Please e-mail your comments to subinfo@jwiley.com, and make the subject of your message IGSLIB.

The Journal of Image Guided Surgery, (ISSN) 1078-7844, is available in both an on-line, multimedia format and a traditional print edition. It is a peer reviewed journal on all aspects of image guided surgery and its applications in neurosurgery, otolaryngology, orthopedics, urology, and other surgical subspecialties. Each issue contains original articles, technical notes, invited reviews, and brief reports that disseminate knowledge of innovative procedures and evaluations of the use of image guidance during therapy.

The journal serves as an exciting medium of exploring the application of new and existing technologies including computer-assisted surgery, frameless (and conventional) stereotaxic procedures, endoscopic surgery, robotic surgery, and surgery guided by ultrasound.

The electronic edition of the Journal of Image Guided Surgery is maintained on a World Wide Web server on the Internet and can be accessed using any web browser (such as Netscape, N.C.S.A., Mosaic) or other general or text based browsers.

The Journal can be accessed on the Internet at http://www.igs.wiley.com

Richard D. Bucholz, M.D. at Division of Neurosurgery, St. Louis University, Health Sciences is the journal's Editor-in-Chief, and Jaimie Henderson, M.D., Division of Neurosurgery at St. Louis University, Health Sciences is the Technical Editor.

If you would like to have more information about how to participate, please contact Susan Malawski at John Wiley & Sons, Inc., or E-mail: smalawsk@jwiley.com.

40.3 NOTICE: PURDUE LIBRARIES MAKE WEB LINK TO FEDERAL DOCUMENTS

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The first electronic pathway to the Federal Register via the World Wide Web now is available through Purdue University, thanks to computer specialists in Purdue Libraries. Users also can look up information in other federal data bases available through the U.S. Government Printing Office, such as the Congressional Record, History of Bills and U.S. Code.

"This is the first web interface to the Government Printing Office data bases," said Carl E. Snow, network access librarian with Purdue Libraries. "For the user, this means easier and simpler access to the Federal Register and other government records for specific information." Previously, free electronic access to these government data bases was possible in only two ways. You could walk in and use special computers at some of the 1,400 U.S. depository libraries, which limited the number of simultaneous users to 10 at each site. Or you could access the data bases remotely by using a computer to go through electronic "gateways" at 14 of the depository libraries. Purdue is now the 15th depository library to provide an electronic gateway to the data bases.

"What we've done is bring this service into the mainstream of information technology so that someone isn't limited by having to use a particular software or having to visit a depository library," Snow said. "Basically, anyone anywhere in the world can now link to these data bases via the web by going through Purdue."

Cary Kerr, network coordinator for the Purdue Libraries, created an electronic gateway through the web to the government data bases by modifying a computer program developed by Nordic WAIS/World Wide Web Project. Snow said Purdue plans to make available to other depository libraries its modified web version of the Nordic software.

Ten people at a time will be able to log into the Government Printing Office data bases through Purdue by typing in the following address: http://thorplus.lib.purdue.edu/gpo/

The project began about three months ago when several Purdue staff members in radiological environmental management, the Division of Sponsored Programs and the internal audit office contacted Snow to see if there was a way to read the Federal Register on-line more quickly to help them in their jobs. Snow contacted the Government Printing Office, which agreed to let Purdue make a web link to the register and the other data bases.

Sources:

Emily Mobley, Dean of Purdue Libraries,
(317) 494-2900;
Internet, mobley@sage.cc.purdue.edu

John Berger, product manager,
Electronic Information Dissemination Services Department,
Government Printing Office,
(202) 512-1525;
Internet, john@eids05.eids.gpo.gov

Bert Chapman, Purdue Libraries' government
publications coordinator,
(317) 494-2837;
Internet, chapman@sage.cc.purdue.edu

Cary Kerr, (317) 494-2857;
Internet, cary@thorplus.lib.purdue.edu

Carl Snow, (317) 494-2764;
Internet, carl@smart.lib.purdue.edu

40.4 COMMENTARY: LIBRARIANS AS BAD GUYS IN THE SERIALS CRISIS

Lucretia McClure recently forwarded to me a copy of an article by Albert Henderson appearing in the April issue of CBE Views (Council of Biology Editors):

Henderson, Albert. "Solving the paradoxes of journal prices: an editor's response to the serials crisis." CBE Views, vol.18, no.2, April 1995; pp.31-35.

It makes a case for librarians as the real bad guys in the serials crisis, because they have not fought more aggressively for increased funding for their collections. The author, a professional consultant for the publishing industry, argues that neither the volume nor the price of published journals has risen unreasonably and that continuing cost increases are only a reflection of the fact that the journals were previously priced "below actual value."

Many more arguments of this type are brought to bear, and librarians with blood pressure problems should certainly take their medication before reading the article. Nevertheless, it is refreshing in a way to find someone willing to sling some mud at our hallowed profession and to demonize the powers-that- be at the Association of Research Libraries. If this sort of thing continues, we may some day aspire to the level of general social contempt enjoyed by our colleagues in the medical and legal professions.

There was one quotation that Lucretia found particularly puzzling: "The most important paradox in pricing is that libraries contribute least to the economics of the scientific and technical journal system and complain the most about it." Merely paying for the journals is apparently not viewed as an economic contribution.

Overall, I do think Mr. Henderson is justified in reminding us that we have a professional duty to fight for appropriate levels of funding for our libraries. He is wrong, though, if he thinks that academia is prepared to return to the expansionist, free-spending days of the 60's and 70's. Universities are now engaged in a fierce battle for competitive advantage that affects all area of resource allocation, not just libraries. And faculty members are unlikely to rally behind substantial funding increases for libraries when they realize that those increases will come at a cost of fewer teaching assistants, less up-to-date laboratory equipment, and salary freezes.

So what do other BLABbers think about this. Are we crippling the productivity of researchers by scaling back our collections? Are researchers likely to rise up and demand their cancelled journals back? Let's have some discussion on this.

40.5 COMMENTARY: PUBLICATIONS OF R.G. LANDES COMPANY

At MLA I had an interesting conversation with the woman representing the R.G. Landes Company. First I learned that R.G. Landes is a urologist and not a commercial publisher. You may be familiar with the company's book series; Neuroscience intelligence unit, Biotechnology intelligence unit and Molecular biology intelligence unit. I had only known about the molecular biology series whose volumes I receive through our approval plan. The volumes are on very specific topics and I have bought several in areas of interest to our researchers. When the series first began they were distributed by CRC Press which made me wary since their publications are usually overpriced however they are now being distributed by Springer-Verlag.

I commented to the woman how pleased I was that they are so reasonably and consistently priced ( $89.95, pre-discount). She then told me however that Dr. Landes is considering changing the way he disseminates the information appearing in the books. He is thinking about making the publications more like "reports" than books, still very specific but also very current and published quickly. This is sounding more like a journal to me especially when she said that he was surveying people about the practice of having two-tiered pricing, one price for an individual and one for a library.

She had a survey, that I filled out, seeking input about this possible format change. Some of the questions dealt with how much one would be willing to pay for this type of publication and the perceived value of the currency of the information to prospective readers. I told her that libraries would not likely be interested in picking up something like this if the reports were not indexed in a major database and, due to the specificity of the topics, a blanket standing order or subscription for all of the reports might be difficult to sell to libraries ( I was making a comparison in my mind to the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences -- we no longer receive them all but the limited biomedical selection).

I would be very disappointed to see these series become journals and I hope this doesn't become a trend with book publishers. Has anyone seen this type of change in a publication before? If you have additional comments or opinions you would like to share about these series I will happily submit them to Dr. Landes. I wish he had been there so I could have talked to him personally.

40.6 QUERY: RECOMMENDED TITLES FOR HUMANITIES COLLECTIONS

We have a Humanities collection which includes books, serials and avs by or about health care professionals. We have a substantial collection of books by Maughm, Crichton, Cook, Sacks as well as the classics. We have come into a bit of money - does anyone have favorites - fiction or non-fiction which will, through reading, go some to create more humane health care professionals? Thanks for suggestions.

[Editor's Note:]

A couple of non-fiction works by physicians that address the human (and humane) aspects of medical practice are:

Also, there are useful books written from the patient's perspective about the experience of illness and hospitalization. An interesting recent example is Gretel Ehrlich's A MATCH TO THE HEART (Pantheon, 1994) about recovering from a lightening strike. For valuable and entertaining insights into the life of the biomedical researcher, I would also recommend the fictional and autobiographical books of Carl Djerassi.

And there are, of course, many more -- what would other BLABbers recommend?

(Our library also maintains a collection of high-quality current fiction -- Danielle Steel need not apply. Because the emphasis is on literary as opposed to escapist fiction, the collection is somewhat underutilized, but at least when the books are read we hope they are actually activating some synapses.)

40.7 REVIEW: MACGILL'S MEDICAL GUIDE

For consumer health collections I would recommend:

It is an encyclopedia of disease and illness with 240 entries. It is well done and easy to read.

40.8 REVIEW: CASE MANAGEMENT RESOURCE GUIDE

This reference tool is an invaluable resource for case managers, discharge coordinators, rehabilitation specialists, care coordinators, social workers, etc. Covered are such categories as homecare, rehabilitation, psychiatric care, addiction treatment, long term care, hospice, information and support agencies, and others too numerous to mention. Each volume covers a region of the country(volumes may purchased separately), and each region is further divided by state. Maps, facility name, address, phone numbers, service areas, staff, therapies, affiliation, and contact persons are listed. Includes an alphabetic index. Highly recommended.

The BIOMEDICAL LIBRARY ACQUISITIONS BULLETIN (ISSN: 1064-699X) is published by the Medical Library Association's Collection Development Section with the cooperation of the University of Southern California Norris Medical Library. BLAB is published more or less monthly, and includes items of news and opinion contributed by its readers concerning biomedical library acquisitions. Editor: David H. Morse: dmorse@hsc.usc.edu. Paper mail: USC Norris Medical Library, 2003 Zonal Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90033. Telephone: (213) 342-1134. The BULLETIN is distributed free of charge, in electronic form only. Requests for subscriptions and all editorial correspondence should be sent to the editor <dmorse@hsc.usc.edu>.