Staff Portal

Written by Oleg Chertov, Ph.D., Scientist III, RAS Biochemistry and Biophysics,
Cancer Research Technology Program (CRTP), Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc.

The Scientific Library is an essential part of a research center. We used to go to the library to read papers, to write papers, to pick up or return a requested publication or just to be in a quiet place where you can catch a breath from the constant pressure of a “to do list” in the laboratory and peruse recent journal issues.  Information technology has changed everything, and now a scientific library is essentially an internet page with links to countless databases and search engines. You can get most of the existing publications on your computer monitor just by a few clicks (if you know where to click!). Fortunately, we have very friendly and knowledgeable library staff to help us.

Recently I’ve had the opportunity to benefit from the expertise at the Scientific Library. When I needed advice on how to use the chemical analysis and modelling software Chem3D I found that Alan Doss has a good knowledge of this program. He invited me to meet with him for an individual training and to answer some questions I had. Following my training Alan was always available when I needed help with new features of the software.

Reviewing the patent literature is an important step in investigating chemical structures of interest. I was fortunate to work with Alan and Joelle Mornini who have experience with patent searches for chemical structures, and they provided me with good suggestions on how to use Reaxys, Derwent, SciFinder and how to import that information into EndNote.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 moved library use completely on-line. Fortunately, we (library and users) were well prepared for this, and the COVID-19 pandemic had minimal impact on getting access to library resources. But I miss the physical presence of the library (even if it is just a library nook in the ATRF) and hope that very soon we can visit the library again, peruse new journals and books and interact with our wonderful librarians.

LIBRARY ORIENTATIONS

Library Orientation sessions are held monthly via WebEx on Thursdays from 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.  The dates of upcoming sessions are July 8, August 12, and September 9.  We invite all employees to attend these sessions to learn about the many services and resources offered by the Library.  Registration is not required.

If you are not able to make it to our scheduled webinars, our librarians can work with your schedule to provide one-on-one training at your convenience via WebEx or Microsoft Teams.  For questions, or if you have a suggestion for a class offering, please contact us with your thoughts.

NOTE: All Library Instruction during Summer 2021 will be given via WebEx webinars.

RESOURCE OF THE MONTH WEBINARS

Each month the Library will feature a different resource and offer a 30-minute webinar to provide more information.  Watch for announcements about the resources highlighted in 2021 or contact the Library for more information:

JULY – ONLINE PROTOCOLS RESOURCES

The Scientific Library offers 5 online protocol repositories which index step by step procedural methods in the design and implementation of experiments.  Learn about the different focuses of each resource and how to search combined contents using OneSearch.

Thursday, July 29, 11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

AUGUST – FACULTY OPINIONS

Faculty Opinions, previously known as F1000Prime, brings together over 8,000 leading life scientists to highlight articles they think are important, groundbreaking, and essential reading for scientists.  This discovery tool presents not only the most acclaimed studies but also lesser known gems that may go undiscovered to provide the insight needed to take your research to the next level.

Thursday, August 26, 2:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

SEPTEMBER – TBA

Please watch for an announcement via e-mail or on the Scientific Library Website.

Henry Stewart Talks

HSTalks (Henry Stewart Talks) is a collection of over 2,900 lectures on a wide variety of topics in biomedicine and life sciences.  The talks are presented by many of the world's leading experts, including Nobel, Lasker and Breakthrough prize winners, and several NCI at Frederick scientists.  They are organized into over 120 series and classified by categories that can be browsed or searched.   You may download the slides from each talk and navigate through the recordings at your convenience.  To access HSTalks off-site, visit the Library’s website and click the Off-Site Access link at the top of the page. 

We had to cancel it last year, but this year, it is back with a vengeance! The 14th Annual NCI at Frederick/Scientific Library Student Science Jeopardy Tournament is going virtual! All are welcome to attend via WebEx to cheer on Student Interns as they take part in this educational and entertaining event, Friday, July 2, beginning at 12:00 p.m. To learn more, including how Student Interns can register to play, visit the Scientific Library website.