Staff Portal

In 1982 incredible things happened in the world.  According to the Internet, Robert Jarvik invented the world's first artificial heart, the Jarvik 7. The year's highest-grossing video game was Namco's arcade game Pac-Man.  And Lionel Richie’s “Truly” was the number one wedding song. 

Closer to home, at the NCI at Frederick, an incredible person joined the Scientific Library – our very own, Ethel Armstrong!  This year we celebrate Ethel’s 40th ruby red anniversary.   Read on to learn more about Ethel and her work at the Library.

Back in 1982, Ethel had been at the Johns Hopkins Welch Library when she learned about the opening at the Scientific Library.  She felt this position would be a great fit and a good opportunity.  On August 10, 1982, Ethel started her new career as an Interlibrary Loan Specialist.  

Ethel would ultimately become the Interlibrary Loan Department manager.  Through the years she experienced a lot of changes due to technological advances.  Ethel shared that, “In the past, a great deal of photocopying was done in the library for patrons because paper volumes were used extensively. When requesting material from other libraries they too had to photocopy and mail articles.”  

As Internet usage grew, so did the expectations of faster response time of patron requests.  Partnerships with outside Libraries also changed, with less personal touch but greater access to many other catalogs from Libraries all over the world. 

Keeping up with increased needs of patrons also enhanced the services offered at the Library.  As a result, training classes were added to our repertoire as well as the ability to use computers with email, copying and fax capabilities.

The Interlibrary Loan Department is vital in making a difference in patient care and advances in science.  Ethel shared a real-life story where assistance made a difference in an experiment.  “One time I was asked to retrieve an article in two hours. If I did not, the experiment that the requestor was working on would blow up. Needless to say, I was able to obtain the article from a lending partner in the time frame requested. I am still not sure if the requestor was serious, but I did not want to take a chance.”

With all the technological changes and discoveries over the past 40 years, the purpose of the Library remains the same.  It is a place of collaboration, education, and inclusion where all are welcome.

In closing remarks, Ethel has enjoyed working at the NCI/FNL over her 40-year tenure.  She likes that her work at the Library makes an impact on others for the good - through experiments and research and also in helping with patient care. 

Congratulations on your 40th Anniversary, Ethel Armstrong!    

LIBRARY ORIENTATIONS

Library Orientation sessions are held monthly via Webex on Thursdays from 2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.  The dates of upcoming sessions are January 12, February 9, and March 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 Winter 2023 will be given via Webex webinars.

RESOURCE TRAINING

The Library’s instruction team is pleased to announce that the Winter 2023 Resource Training Schedule is available on the Library’s Orientations and Classes website.  Class dates and descriptions are also listed on the Events Calendar.  Registration announcements & WebEx meeting links will be sent on the NCIF community listservs. 

AN OVERVIEW OF NCBI RESOURCES

Monday, January 30, 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

ONESEARCH OVERVIEW

Thursday, February 23, 11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

MANAGING REFERENCES WITH ENDNOTE

Wednesday, March 22, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Each month the Library will feature a different resource and offer to provide more supporting information about this resource.  Watch for announcements about the resources highlighted in 2023 or e-mail the Library for more information:

JANUARY  - CURRENT AWARENESS SERVICES

The Scientific Library’s current awareness services consist of periodic alerts which are set up for users and the Daily Science News e-mail subscription service.  Alerts enable users to receive timely updates at any requested frequency on their topic of choice, and Daily Science News helps employees stay current with science and medical news.   

FEBRUARY - MARINLIT

MarinLit is a database of natural compounds found in marine environments. It is regularly updated to keep up with the growing scientific literature in the field of marine natural product research and currently contains information for nearly 40,000 compounds.

MARCH – JANE (JOURNAL/AUTHOR NAME ESTIMATOR)

JANE (Journal/Author Name Estimator) is a freely available web-based application that, on the basis of a sample text (e.g. the title and abstract of a manuscript), can suggest journals and experts who have published similar articles.

The eLife Podcast

The eLife Podcast

The eLife Podcast is produced by the staff of the publication eLife—an international journal for outstanding research in the life and biomedical sciences.  Topics discussed in recent episodes include the evolution of the lung, tumor cells under pressure, and how COVID antibodies produced in response to vaccines and infection compare.

New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) Interviews

The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) Audio interview is a weekly general medical journal that publishes new medical research findings, review articles, and editorial opinions on a wide variety of topics of importance to biomedical science and clinical practice.

Covid-19: From Bench to Bedside          

Boca Raton, FL, CRC Press, 2022.

Description: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the entire world in an unprecedented way, and this book provides an overview of the historical facts as well as ongoing approaches to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts of the respective domains provide details on anti-SARS-CoV-2 drug strategies, including repurposing drugs used for other indications and the development of novel drugs looking at different approaches to target virus entry and replication. COVID-19 vaccine development based on inactivated and attenuated live virus, protein subunit and peptide-based vaccines and utilization of vaccine candidates based on viral vectors, DNA and RNA are presented for both preclinical studies and clinical trials.

Fields Virology.  Volume 1, Emerging Viruses

Philadelphia, PA, Wolters Kluwer, 2021.

Description: Fields Virology remains the most authoritative reference in this fast-changing field, providing definitive coverage of virology, including virus biology as well as replication and medical aspects of specific virus families. This volume of Fields Virology: Emerging Viruses, Seventh Edition covers recent changes in emerging viruses, providing new or extensively revised chapters that reflect these advances in this dynamic field.  This eBook will be updated regularly as new information about each virus is available, including coronavirus and COVID-19, this text serves as the authoritative, up-to-date reference book for virologists, infectious disease specialists, microbiologists, and physicians, as well as medical students pursuing a career in infectious diseases.

Functional Lipid Nanosystems in Cancer

Boca Raton, FL, CRC Press, 2022.

Description: This book compiles the research on the use of functional lipid nanosystems that combine different strategies in one single nanosystem to enhance overall cancer treatment. Besides providing an overview of the current functional nanosystem strategies, it also offers researchers essential theoretical background on cancer, the physiological barriers to its treatment, aspects related to the design and optimization of nanocarriers for cancer treatment, and clinical developments, including promises, safety issues, and the expected future. The editors bring together a group of scientists from all over the world to discuss the most relevant issues and to provide updates on functional lipid nanosystems and cancer.

A Tactical Guide to Science Journalism: Lessons from the Front Lines

New York, NY, Oxford University Press, 2022.

Description: A Tactical Guide to Science Journalism brings together award-winning journalists from around the world to share fascinating tales of science and how it works and to provide guidance into reporting specialties like infectious disease, climate change, astronomy, public health, physics, and statistics. From practical advice on finding sources and distilling complex research subjects for a general audience, to tips on how to cover science in authoritarian regimes, the book serves as an essential survey of the best in science reporting today--and a testament to the importance of independent journalistic inquiry in understanding research and building trust with audiences. Drawing insights from writers based at publications including The New York Times, the BBC, The Washington Post, Science, The New Yorker, National Geographic and more, this guide is designed to help journalists everywhere improve their craft and serve as a valuable resource for those seeking to understand the profession at its best.

Virus Bioinformatics

Boca Raton, CRC Press, 2022.

Description: Covers a broad spectrum of topics, including evolution, structure, and function of viruses, including coronaviruses.  This book will be of great interest to computational biologists wishing to venture into the rapidly advancing field of virus bioinformatics as well as to virologists interested in acquiring basic bioinformatics skills to support their wet lab work.