Biomedical Communications is very pleased to announce the acquisition of a new Epson 9600 Ultrachrome large format printer:

• For the first time, you can create high impact scientific posters, business presentations, indoor and outdoor signage, or fine art pieces with color fastness up to 100 years.

• High resolution prints up to 44 inches wide can be produced on any media of your choice: matte, semi-gloss, luster matte, canvas, vinyl, etc.

• Biomedical Communications can also help you with all aspects of design and production: photography and graphic design, scanning, enhancement, enlargement, restoration, storage tubes, mounting and lamination.

Samples of the magnificent prints now readily and affordably accessible to the medical center are available at the Circulation Desk on the first floor and at the Biomedical Communications window on the lower level of the Library building.

You are invited to visit Biomedical Communications on the lower level of the Library Building , Monday � Friday, 8:30 a.m. � 5:00 p.m. to discuss your next poster, presentation, studio quality photograph or art work. Additional information is also available at calder.med.miami.edu/biomed/graphics.html or by calling 305-243-6783.

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On April 6, 2005 a webcast supported by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine began with a keynote address by David Lipman, M.D., Director of the National Center for Biotechnology Information, on the NIH Policy on Enhancing Public Access, released February 3, 2005 at www.nih.gov/about/publicaccess/index.htm and implemented May 2, 2005. Following is a summary of the information disseminated during the webcast to answer questions and address concerns about the Policy.

• NIH-supported investigators want to comply with the NIH Policy and will not have to compromise on the quality of their publications in order to comply.
  


• NIH wants its investigators to comply with its Policy, but will neither mandate compliance nor evaluate investigators based on whether or not they comply. The quality of the articles submitted with a grant application is most important, not whether or not they appear in a publicly accessible journal.

The Policy requests, but does not require, investigators to submit a copy of their manuscript to PubMed Central when it has been accepted for publication, i.e., after the peer review process but not necessarily after the copy editing process, and to specify a time period following publication for its public accessibility. The time period should be as soon as possible and within 12 months of the publisher's official date of final publication.

In other words, the Policy asks and encourages investigators to publish in:

• Public access journals, i.e., the hundreds of tier I biomedical journals that currently permit self-archiving or make free back issues freely accessible six months or more after publication. Since the Policy's release: 61 electronic journals accessible on HighWire either started offering free back issues or made the delay period after publication shorter; the American Chemical Society decided to “take on the task of submission to PubMed Central on behalf of its authors” and to broaden article access; the Biochemical Journal announced that “papers accepted for publication … will be deposited automatically in PubMed Central;” and back issues of some Cell Press and Nature Publishing Co.'s journals became freely accessible. The Policy does not request publication in low impact, low tier journals.
  


• Open access journals, which permit public accessibility immediately upon publication. The high impact, tier I open access journals, such as Nucleic Acids Research and PLoS Biology charge investigators a publication fee. Hybrid journals, such as PNAS and journals published by Springer-Verlag and Blackwell Publishing, offer investigators the option of paying publication fees and having their articles publicly accessible immediately upon publication. Currently 16% of PNAS authors are selecting the open access option and this is expected to continue to rise. Open access journals are not all low impact, low-tier, non-external peer reviewed journals with no archiving policies.

The Policy involves modifying the copyright agreement between publisher and investigator only to the extent that a copy of the manuscript accepted for publication can be submitted to PubMed Central, where it will appear at an investigator-specified period of time after publication in the journal. The Policy does not require copyright to be transferred to NIH.

NIH has a web-based form at www.nihms.nih.gov for investigators or third parties, such as publishers, to easily submit the electronic version of the manuscript accepted for publication. Submitting will not be time consuming or cumbersome. Further information on the NIH Manuscript Submission System was made available April 29, 2005 at grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-05-045.html.

When the citation of the published article appears in PubMed, it is matched to the submitted manuscript and the countdown to public access begins. When the time period specified by the investigator has elapsed, the manuscript will be publicly accessible in PubMed Central. This access will significantly boost the dissemination goal of scholarship and meet the U.S. House of Representatives' mandate to the NIH by:

• Making the results of taxpayer-supported NIH research readily available to the public at large, empowering consumers and patients.
  


• Enabling the full text literature to be linked to other databases, such as the NCBI molecular biology databases on Entrez. This linking permits “datamining”, which enables investigators to make their own discoveries from the literature and related databases.
  


• Supporting the creation of a fully searchable, open repository of NIH-supported research, linked to other NIH-supported databases and used for extramural programs.

The Policy currently applies to journal articles, although it may be broadened to include NIH-supported book chapters and dissertations. The NIH is positively exploring permitting alternative avenues of public access in addition to PubMed Central. Since the Policy specifies submitting the final
version of the manuscript, there will be no opportunity for “gaming”, e.g., submitting content that appeared in earlier versions.

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On May 31, 2005, two of the Department's longest serving administrative staff will retire.

Teresita Sayus, Assistant Director for Circulation, joined the Circulation Department in 1967. In 1971, Teri assumed responsibility for the day to day activities of the department. In 1979 she was promoted to Assistant Director.

During her tenure, Teri oversaw first hand the revolution in information services during the past three decades. In the 1980s, library attendance and usage of the growing print collections soared and continued to increase exponentially into the 1990s, affecting stack maintenance, photocopy and
circulation control activities.

1989 saw the implementation and growth of an integrated library system which resulted in further major changes in the circulation functions, from check out to renewal and overdue notices. In the 2000s, the widespread growth and acceptance of full text had a significant affect on all functions of the Circulation Department.

Throughout these changing times, Teri and her staff maintained a reliable, welcoming, and safe environment for the Library's numerous and diverse patrons 102.5 hours each week. Her colleagues and many friends throughout the Library and the Medical Center extend their deep appreciation to her for her many contributions and wish her a healthy and happy retirement.

 

Frederic Stolz, Director of Biomedical Communications from 1984 until 2004 and consultant to the new Director, Gediminas Paulaitis, during the past year, graduated from the University of Miami. He joined the department 30 years ago in 1975 as a Director/Producer in Television and was promoted to Director, Medical Instructional Resources in 1981.

Fred's contributions to the medical center and the University cannot be overstated. He introduced a highly successful marketing and distribution program for three outstanding videotape series produced by Biomedical Communications for faculty at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center. He led the incorporation of the wide array of new video formats that debuted during the past two decades, such as videodisc and satellite dish technology, fiberoptic networking, and DVDs. He implemented and maintained sophisticated, state-of-the-art, networked computerized graphics creation and imaging services.

Perhaps his greatest contribution and most enduring legacy was the creation of a highly experienced, talented, and dedicated staff that delivers quality products to the medical center and South Florida communities quickly and affordably. Fred's presence will endure for years to come and he will be missed by many. On behalf of his staff and the many clients he has served so well, thank you and best wishes in your well deserved retirement.

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On March 7, 2005, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) announced a new feature: “Links from Commercial Search Engines to PubMed Citations” at www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/ma05/ma05_google.html. When you link to a PubMed Medline citation from a search engine such as Google, your original search terms are searched in PubMed and the results of the PubMed search are displayed automatically.

The difference in the Google and PubMed results could not be more dramatic!

NLM cites a Google search for “reverse genetic influenza vaccines” which resulted in 48,000 hits in .29 seconds. The first 30 results displayed were all news articles from 2003-2004, information for the public, or synopses of research projects, except for two 2004 journal articles in the PubMed Medline database.

The automatic PubMed Medline search generated by selecting one of the two PubMed articles resulted in 39 journal articles displayed in less than .29 seconds and in chronological order, beginning in 2005 and going back to 1993.

If you're looking for news, use Google. If you're looking for evidence, use Medline.

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