What would this mean for libraries? If every student has every book for every course, libraries would not have to purchase a copy to keep on reserve. They could focus more on purchases that would complement a given course’s content, including professors’ preferred journals.

But what form would this complementary content take? If eBooks become the norm, replacing print, we would need new ways for students to access our resources — journals, reference materials, etc. In other countries, to pay for purchases it is common to swipe one’s cellphone. Would libraries need a kiosk or similar device where students would swipe their eReader and receive materials they ordered during their research? Or would that functionality be handled by a learning management system (a later version of Blackboard)? If the latter were the case, libraries might simply become database-purchase-and-management centers, gradually losing the library-as-place concept and function.

Or, librarians could take the lead, and build a system that pulls topics from the instructor’s syllabus in a course management system (CMS), noting which areas will be covered at what point in the semester. The librarians could then uploading links to helpful resources directly to the CMS tailored to the class schedule. As students submit topics & descriptions for assignments to the CMS, librarians monitor them and offer personalize search assistance, even inviting students to the library for one-on-one search coaching.

These are two visions of the future of libraries. What do you think? What is your vision? Tell us!

Tennant recently published his book Technology in Libraries, and made it available for free online, as well as for purchase through Lulu.com.  When he discovered it was on Google Books, Tennant tried to follow Google’s procedures for “claiming” his book and opening it all up for viewing. His book is still not fully available. As Tennant points out:

My point about this story is that you would think it would be in Google’s self-interest to make this easier for individual rightsholders to open up their content when they wish, but perhaps there are too few of us, or we are too inconsequential in the scheme of things.

In creating and maintaining user-friendly websites, it is essential that developers allow end-users to test each new version and all features before publishing. It is disappointing that Google, who transformed the web with its simple yet elegant interface, appears not to have arranged for testing of Google Books by authors who want to make their work public. Thanks to Roy Tennant for serving as a wake-up call to this corporate giant. Hopefully the road ahead will be smoother for succeeding authors.

Do you have an eBook site to recommend? Tell us about it!

Preparation

Among our most recent e-book purchases is the book Disaster Medicine edited by Hogan and Burnstein. As the editors point out in the first chapter, disaster medicine is

“a system of study and medical practice associated primarily with the disciplines of emergency medicine and public health. Disaster medicine is concerned with the health and medical and emotional issues of disaster casualties. To provide care efficiently, however, the health care provider must be familiar with several elements of disaster management, including planning, mitigation, assessment, response and recovery.”

The book goes on to flesh out these aspect of disaster medicine in detail. In addition, it covers three basic categories of disasters:

• natural disasters,
• industrial, technological and transportation disasters, and
• conflict-related disasters.

Disaster Medicine is available online to University of Utah authorized users, or just search our catalog.

Support

But in a disaster a care provider does not have time to read a textbook. But most of us carry a mobile device which can be used for quick, on-the-spot reference and guidance. Unbound Medicine’s free Relief Central “mobile and web resource developed by staff and friends of Unbound Medicine to assist relief workers, first responders, and others called to serve in disaster relief situations around the world.” It includes the CIA World Factbook, the Field Operations Guide from USAID, MEDLINE Journals, and Relief News from the CDC, Red Cross, FEMA, ReliefWeb, and more. Install this app now and its invaluable information will be at your fingertips even if the telecommunications network is down. It is available for download to your iPod touch®, iPhone®, BlackBerry®, Android™, Palm®, or Windows Mobile® device.

Your turn!

If you’ve worked to provide emergency services in a disaster setting, what are your recommended tools and resources? If you’ve used Relief Central, how helpful was it?

“Kaplan is offering 100 free e-books through iBooks, Apple’s e-reader for the iPad and the iPhone. For those in the medical field, there are plenty of books to choose from. The e-books range from Kaplan USMLE step 1, 2, and 3, to novels about Intern life. These books from Kaplan are usually $29.99 in other e-book formats. The deal is only valid in the Apple Bookstore, and lasts until August 30th.”

The author goes on to note that while the books can be read on an iPhone (and probably an iPod touch), “they are significantly easier to read on the iPad.” If you haven’t bought an iPad yet but think you might, you can still download them in iTunes, then add them to your iPad later. The blog posting offers screenshots of how these e-books will look on an iPad.

What do you think: will we just move to an e-book reader model for all students, requiring yet another high-tech, high-cost purchase?

A classic in the field of cardiac nursing, this well-recognized text and clinical reference has earned the reputation as “The Red Reference Book” for nurses caring for patients who have cardiac disease. Revised and updated, this edition reflects the latest procedures and techniques in cardiac nursing. This book incorporates the nursing process and critical thinking strategies, while also providing a foundation for the contents based on theory, anatomy and physiology. The liberal use of figures, tables, and authoritative references, makes this the ideal text for graduate students and a reference for any nurse interested in cardiac nursing.

This and other excellent titles are available through our new library catalog — check it out!

“addresses all the subtypes of dementia and associated psychiatric conditions such as agitation, psychosis, and depression. This edition features a new chapter on mild cognitive impairment and expanded coverage of Alzheimer disease and risk factors. Chapters offer advice on caregiver support and legal and ethical concerns.”

Another new title is Basic and Bedside Electrocardiography by Romulo F. Baltazar. Again, according to Amazon.com this book combines

“the basics of ECG interpretation with the most recent clinical guidelines for treating patients with ECG abnormalities. Each concise, bulleted chapter discusses a disease state, gives many tracings as examples, provides clear illustrations of pathophysiology, and offers guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of specific entities. More than 600 illustrations aid readers in recognizing commonly encountered ECG abnormalities. Diagrammatic illustrations at the end of most chapters summarize the different ECG abnormalities discussed, to help readers recognize the different arrhythmias more easily. An appendix provides quick-reference information on commonly used intravenous agents.”

These and eight other new titles will soon be available through our new and improved online catalog.