From the University Librarian
Welcome to 2017. I hope you have a restful break and President’s Day weekend and are looking forward to a productive Winter/Spring. There has been a lot happening in the Library since our last Newsletter so take a few minutes and Check-It-Out!
Look in the near future for the launch of the Library’s new web site. After over 10 years it is time to freshen the site’s look and to make it easier to find the information you need. We hope launch it in March.
As part of our updating our web site we are also refreshing and upgrading our ATSU Guides. All of second level Library pages are being built as Guides which have been redesigned to seamlessly integrate with our new web site. The redesign and upgrading of ATSU Guides is being led by Susan Swogger, our MOSDOH and CGHS Liaison as well as ETDC Librarian for our Missouri campus. Feel free to contact her or Kirsty in Arizona to see the new look and increases capabilities of Guides and how you can develop your own Guides to reach out to the ATSU Community.
Last June Kirsty Gaither took over the leadership of the Library’s Educational Technology Development Center (ETDC) and, as she reviews in her ETDC Update, has been updating and expanding its services. These include our new BlackBoard helpdesk in which she and Susan Swogger (our Missouri ETDC staff member) assist faculty in their ‘how to’ questions as a compliment to the ITS Helpdesk which focuses on problems with the system. Other new or expanded services includes upgrading of our ATSU Guides and the ETDC’s support of ATSU units need to make information available, upgrading of the AZ Creation station to being a small recording studio, and working with the Teaching and Learning Center and ITS in the launching in the near future of a Technology Happy Hour to introduce emerging educational technology to faculty and staff.
With Dr. Phelp’s support the Library’s two branches are holding a 3-D printer contest, with cash prizes. Simply create a model and come up with a way it could be used in healthcare education. Models will be judged on innovation, creativity or originality, impact on learning, and ability to meet their learning objectives. For more details check the 3D Printer Constest page under
This month we added two new digital collections. These are the F.A. Davis PT collection which combined with our AccessPhysiotherapy provide a strong digital collection of foundation physical therapy reference books as well as many of the textbooks used in the program. The second new collection is McGrawHill’s USMLE First Aid books. This is a collection of 39 digital exam preparation books for the USMLA exams. It is especially useful for our medical school and physician assistant program students for review. For more details go to our ‘New Resources in the Library page.
Finally please remember that the Library and its staff are here to serve you to make you ATSU experience more productive and rewarding. If it’s for help performing a search of the research literature to discover the research to answer your research or clinical questions; finding material and images to assist you in teaching your classes; getting assistance in effectively using the academic technology the University makes available; or getting a poster printed to name just a few of the things we can help you with let us help you!