 |
 |
I would say he's being a tad sarcastic. Like any other professional's tool, it has a learning curve. If he searches in any form of MEDLINE, he's using it. He's just not in control of it. I've been searching since MEDLINE came online in 1972. My husband claims I dream in MeSH. Patricia J. Erwin aka "Pat" Mayo Clinic College of Medicine Libraries 200 First Street SW Rochester MN 55905 507.284.4952 [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: Medical Libraries Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Pope, Barbara Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2005 10:35 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: CHAT: Medical librarians' full employment act? I am confused by what he means by the phrase "medical librarians' full employment act." Is he saying that's how we justify being employed? Comments, anyone? Barbara M. Pope, MLS Reference Librarian/Archivist O.J. Cloughly Alumni Library St. Louis College of Pharmacy 4588 Parkview Place St. Louis MO 63110 (314) 446-8361 fax (314) 446-8360 [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: Medical Libraries Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Mark Funk Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2005 10:23 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: CHAT: Medical librarians' full employment act? This book recently came in on our approval plan: Robert B. Taylor. The clinician's guide to medical writing. New York: Springer, 2005. As I always do with these kinds of books, I looked at the section on searching the medical literature. On p. 19, in his discussion of MEDLINE/PubMed, the author states: "The NLM fact sheet describes MeSH as follows: 'It consists of sets of terms naming descriptors in a hierarchical structure that permits searching at various levels of specificity. MeSH descriptors are arranged in both an alphabetic and a hierarchical structure. At the most general level of the hierarchical structure are very broad headings such as 'Anatomy' or 'Mental Disorders.' At more narrow levels are found more specific headings such as 'Ankle' and 'Conduct Disorder.' There are 21,512 descriptors in MeSH.' Are you confused yet? I am. I have always considered MeSH headings to be the medical librarians' full employment act. I don't use it." Do I need to point out that "library" or "librarian" are not in the index? The author is in the department of family medicine at the Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine in Portland. -- Mark Funk Head, Collection Development Weill Cornell Medical Library 1300 York Avenue New York, NY 10021 212-746-6073 [log in to unmask]