Before You Go

PubMed: Change Your NCBI Email and Set Up Search Queries

Once you have officially left Mayo Clinic, you will no longer have access to your @mayo.edu email. To ensure NCBI account access–password resets and notifications are sent to your email stored in your NCBI profile–be sure to update your NCBI account with an email that you will still be able to access after you leave Mayo.

Many of you will continue to search MEDLINE via the freely-available PubMed interface. PubMed allows you to save searches and receive regular updates on current research in your field. To learn how to set up a My NCBI account to save searches in PubMed, visit the My NCBI web page. If you’d like a hand doing this, email us at library@mayo.edu or fill out the Ask A Librarian contact form.

Ovid: Email Yourself Your Search Strategies

If you will have access to Ovid databases at your new institution, we suggest that you email yourself any saved searches before your Ovid account with the Mayo Clinic Libraries expires. You can then recreate your searches in your new Ovid account. We can help with this, too– email us at library@mayo.edu or fill out the Ask A Librarian contact form.

Endnote: Export Libraries To New Citation Manager

If you have saved references in Endnote, consider migrating them to a freely available tool so you do not lose them when your EndNote access expires. Two free options, Mendeley and Zotero, are described on our Other Citation Managers page.

At Your New Position

Do you have an institutional library?

If you will be affiliated with a hospital, health system or academic institution, you may have access to a library or information center at your new institution. Check the institution’s website or contact colleagues to find out about library services. Reach out to the health sciences library staff at your new institution; they will be a valuable source of information about your new organization’s clinical and research resources.

Are you near any local libraries, public or academic?

Visit the public library in your new location and ask about resources. Even libraries in small towns may offer access to major medical and science journals. Also, libraries at colleges and universities sometimes offer services to local communities. If you will be located near a public college or university, explore the options they provide–usually, you must visit the physical library to use online resources. If you are an alum of one of the Mayo Clinic educational programs, you are welcome to visit any of the Mayo Clinic Libraries by coming in person to the Library, but we are unable to provide online access to resources due to legal licensing contracts.

Personal Subscriptions/Membership Benefits

Subscribe to Point-of-Care Tools.

If your new institution does not provide access to clinical point-of-care resources, consider a personal subscription. Test drive the resources offered by the Mayo Clinic Libraries before you leave. Note that memberships in professional organizations may provide you with access to resources. For example, the American Medical Association (AMA), American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), and American College of Physicians (ACP) offer discounted or complimentary access to DynaMed. Current individual subscription prices for some of these products are provided below.

• The Cochrane Library: Individual subscription for one year costs $327. Mayo Clinic Libraries link to the Cochrane Library
• ClinicalKey: Subscription costs vary by specialty package; pricing starts at $499/year. Mayo Clinic Libraries link to ClinicalKey
• UpToDate: Individual subscription starts at $499 for one year and includes mobile app. Mayo Clinic Libraries link to UpToDate
• VisualDx: Individual subscription starts at $39.99 per month. Mayo Clinic Libraries link to VisualDx

Take advantage of resources that are free or available with professional memberships.

The benefits of membership in professional societies usually include access to the society’s publications or discounts on other resources. For example,  there are also many resources that are available for free – a selection of these is below.

• BioMed Central: 300+ peer-reviewed open access health sciences journals.
• bioRxiv: a free online archive and distribution service for unpublished preprints in the life sciences.
• Directory of Open Access Journals: 10,000+ open access journals in all subjects including dentistry, medicine, nursing, and public health.
• Disease Management Project: Online medical textbook from the Cleveland Clinic.
• FreeBooks4Doctors:  360+ medical textbooks arranged by specialty.
• Free Medical Journals: 4000+ medical/health journals.
• HighWire Press Free Online Full-Text Articles: a massive archive of full-text articles on a variety of topics including medicine. Some are free, some require payment.
• Medscape: Healthcare information from various medical publishers (registration is required).
• Medscape Reference: Directory of information on more than 7,000 diseases and disorders; includes images and multimedia content.
• Univadis: Medical news, online learning resources, and diagnostic tools (registration is required).
• NCBI Bookshelf: A collection of online biomedical books from the National Library of Medicine.
• PLoS Journals: Open access, peer-reviewed journals on a variety of topics published by the Public Library of Science (PLoS).
• PMC (PubMed Central): A free full-text archive of nearly 4.8 million articles in the biomedical and life sciences journal literature at the National Library of Medicine.
• RxList, The Internet Drug Index: An easy-to-search database of information about prescription medications. It includes a drug identification image database.

Resources for All

Sign Up for Loansome Doc.

If you are joining an institution with a library, you should be able to request articles using their interlibrary loan program. However, if you are entering private practice or joining an organization without a library, consider opening a Loansome Doc account to obtain copies of journal articles (usually for a fee) from a hospital or academic medical library in your area. To find out about your options for document delivery and other support services, contact the National Network of Libraries of Medicine at 1-800-338-7657 or custserv@nlm.nih.gov.

Download Free/Inexpensive Apps.

While many apps are linked to subscription-based products, there are some great inexpensive and free apps. The following are free unless noted:

• Epocrates: Drug, disease, and diagnostic information; Android or iOS
• National Library of Medicine apps; multiple for Android or iOS
• Skyscape: Drug information and calculators; Android or iOS
• UMEM Pearls: Evidence based educational pearls by UMD faculty members. Android or iOS
• Point of Care apps: CME on a variety of topics, most free; multiple for iOS and web platform
• Read by QxMD: A platform to help you keep on top of new medical and scientific research, searches PubMed and provides topic reviews as well; Android, iOS, and web platform
• Calculate by QxMD: Clinical calculators and decision support tools for healthcare providers; Android, iOS, Windows, and web platform
• Medscape: Medical news and calculators, drug information & tools, disease information; multiple Android and iOS apps

The faculty and staff of the Mayo Clinic Libraries wish you the very best as you move on to exciting new endeavors! If we can be of any assistance as you plan your departure, please email us at library@mayo.edu or fill out the Ask A Librarian contact form.

Many thanks to UC Denver Health Sciences Library for allowing us to use their blog post as a template.

Extremely rare first edition of Guillemeau’s Traité, ‘decidedly the best of the renaissance books on ophthalmology’.

Guillemeau, Jacques. Traité des maladies de l’oeil, qui sont en nombre de cent treize, ausquelles il est suiect. Paris, Charles Massé, 1585.

Guillemeau’s Traité

First Latin Edition, and the first illustrated, of this famous obstetrical work. Translated by Caspar Bauhim, and enlarged with numerous case records.

Rousset, François. Foetus vivi ex matre viva sine alterutrius vite periculo Caesura … Casparo Bauhino Professore Medico Basil. ord. latio reddita: varijs Historiis aucta & confirmata. Adiecta est Iohanni Albosii Protomedici Regii foetus per annos XXIIX, in utero contenti & lapidifacti Historia elegantiss[ima]. Basel, Conrad Waldkirch, 1591.

Rousset, Foetus vivi ex marte viva

The Padovan protophysician Franceso Fanzago’s account of the birth and life of conjoined twins born in the province of Brescia in 1802.

Fanzago, Francesco. Storia del mostro di due corpi che nacque sul Bresciano in Novembre 1802. Padova, Giuseppe and Fratelli Pinada, 1803.

Fanzago, Storia del mostro di due copro che nacque

Very scarce first edition of one of Da Monte’s important commentaries on Avicenna’s Canon.

[Avicenna].  Monte, Giovanni Battista da.  In quartam fen primi Canonis Avicennae, Lectiones: À Valentino Lublino Polono Collectae.  Venice, Balthassar Constantini, 1556.

A Pioneering Work on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

[Somis, Ignazio]. Ragionamento sopra il fatto avvenuto in Bergemoletto, in cui tre Donne, sepolte fra le rovine della Stalla per la caduta d’una gran mole di neve, sono state trovate vive dopo trentaseete giorni. Turin, Stamperia Reale, 1758.

Dr. Donald Balfour Sr., circa 1924 at Saint Marys Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota

The W. Bruce Fye Center for the History of Medicine is pleased to announce that the papers of Dr. Donald C. Balfour Sr. are now available to interested persons for research. Dr. Balfour began working at Mayo in 1907 as an assistant in pathology and was appointed head of a section of surgery in 1912.  Although a general surgeon, he was particularly interested in diseases of the stomach and duodenum and became internationally known for his surgical contributions. Dr. Balfour also maintained an interest in medical education and served as associate director and director of Mayo Graduate School of Medicine (now Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education).

Dr. Balfour’s collection contains fifty-one boxes of material, which includes personal and professional correspondence; reprints, published and unpublished manuscripts, historical material about the development of Mayo Clinic, and other materials gathered by Dr. Balfour in preparation for writing his memoirs; photographs of Dr. Balfour and his family; writings by others regarding medicine, medical education, and music; and materials of general interest to Dr. Balfour.

A finding aid, or inventory, of Dr. Balfour’s collection is available for viewing via the Mayo Clinic Archival Collections (MAX) online catalog.  Visit the homepage of  the W. Bruce Fye Center for the History of Medicine  for more information about accessing the finding aid and other collections in the archives.

This exhibit focuses on the theme of medical history from the years 1680 to 1820. These dates have been chosen because they represent the period from Thomas Thacher, (1620-1678) who wrote the earliest medical document to be printed in the American colonies, to the death of Samuel Bard, (1742-1821) who helped further medical education in America.

The courage of Benjamin Rush (1745-1813) was taxed to exhaustion in the 1792 yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia. When most people fled Dr. Rush stayed to care for patients.

Visitors can see this exhibit in the W. Bruce Fye History of Medicine Library on the 15th floor of the Plummer Building. 

Viewing times are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. till 1 p.m.

Exhibit Curated by Hilary J. Lane

Instructor in History of Medicine

Coordinator, W. Bruce Fye History of Medicine Library

Plummer 15-07

Tara Brigham presenting at MLA 2017

Tara J Brigham, MLIS, presented

Coloring Your ʺArtʺ Out: Outcomes of Offering Coloring Materials in Targeted Hospital Staff Areas

The complete is poster available as a PDF.

Lisa Marks, MLS, AHIP,  and Diana Almader-Douglas, MA-LIS,  presented:

Dreaming to Extend Services, Daring to Expand Our Roles:
Embedded Librarians on a Nursing Research Subcommittee

The complete poster is available as a PDF.

Lisa Marks and Diana Almader-Douglas presenting at MLA 2017

Ellen Aaronson, MLS, AHIP, and Lisa Marks, MLS, AHIP presented:

Dreaming to Learn the Socious Platform, HLS Dares to Follow EMTS

The complete poster is available as a PDF.

Ellen Aaronson and Lisa Marks presenting at MLA 2017

Sydni Abrahamsen, MA-LIS, AHIP presented:
Paraprofessional to Professional: Dreaming, Daring, Doing

The complete poster is available as a PDF.

Sydni Abrahamsen presenting at MLA 2017

Congratulations and thank you to these staff for sharing their research.

Quran donated by the Family of W. Paul Strassmann, Ph.D.

The W. Bruce Fye History of Medicine Library recently received a beautiful hand written copy of the Quran from the family of W. Paul Strassmann, Ph.D. of Lansing, Michigan.  The colophon in this Quran states it was written by Ahmad Bin Syed Mahmood Baghdadi, son of Syed Mahmood, who was likely from Baghdad, Iraq.  It was completed on a Thursday, being the first day of Rajab (seventh month of the Islamic calendar) 952 Hijri.  This date corresponds to the 8^th, 9^th, or 10^th day of September in the year 1545, making this Quran over 400 years old.

Qurans are written from memory and each writer is part of “the Chain” which is traced back to the Prophet Mohammad who memorized the Quran from the Angel Gabriel, who was instructed by Allah.  Each person who has memorized the Quran through a teacher in the chain receives a certificate giving the name of the teacher.

Even though Ahmad is the writer, it is not clear if he copied this Quran from another copy or wrote it based on memory.  Experts who have memorized the Quran, and are part of the Chain, have pointed to some errors in the pages they have reviewed.  It appears these are minor and unintentional.  On some pages the error or omission has been corrected by the writer and can be seen in the margins.  This was the common way corrections were done.

The last page of this Quran (Arabic text is read from right to left) has a disclosure from the writer.  This disclosure is not part of the Holy Text that ends on the page prior and can be translated into English as follows:

However, the release of these praiseworthy words was completed; which are the words of the lord of masters and slaves.  The lord who is the originator and repeater (brings everything back in the day of judgement), the effector of what he intends, one who does not have anyone to oppose, to equal, or to resemble.  He is the one who supports everything good.  This was completed in the first day of the great month of Rajab (lunar month), year 952 (lunar year) of the prophet’s migration (because the year starts when the prophet migrated) peace and blessings be upon him.  On Thursday in the morning (sometime between sunrise but way before noon).  Was written by the needy (he means the need for the mercy of lord not the need for money) and worthless slave (also means that he is worth nothing and feels that this humble work is worth nothing when compared to the wealth of the lord) who is in need of the mercy of Allah, the affectionate.  Ahmad bin (son of) Syed Mahmood Baghdadi (likely from Baghdad, Iraq).  May Allah forgive both of them, Ameen. completed.

Several more photos of this beautiful book follow:

Hundreds of other unique and rare titles are also housed in the W. Bruce Fye History of Medicine Library. Visitors are welcome on Plummer 14, Monday- Friday from 9 am to 1 pm.

Special thanks to Mr. Rashid A. Fehmi, CPA, Business Development, Mayo Clinic, Mohamad A. Mouchli, M.D., Gastroenterology, Mayo 9E and Ms. Wanda Elkharwily, Mayo Clinic Libraries, Plummer 12 for their kind assistance in gathering this information.

Submitted by Hilary J. Lane
Instructor in History of Medicine
Coordinator of the W. Bruce Fye History of Medicine Library

Ever since books were first printed in the 15^th century, it has been common practice for collectors and libraries to make some mark of ownership.  This might be simply the name of the owner written on the inside cover of the book or even on the title-page, but eventually the favored convention became the book-plate – a label with a distinctive design.

The earliest known examples are from Germany.  One, circa 1480, bears a woodcut representing a shield of arms supported by an angel; it was pasted in a book presented to the Carthusian monastery of Buxheim by Brother Hildebrand Brandenburg of Biberach.  Between 1503 and 1516 the great Albrecht Durer engraved several book-plates.  Soon, fashion for book-plates spread from Germany to France and Britain.  British examples date from about 1574.

The armorial style of design dominated book-plates for a couple of centuries, when books were expensive.  Then lighter and more diverse motifs became popular during periods of cheaper printing.  After its heyday, the armorial style was added to by landscapes, views of libraries (real and imaginary), allegorical pictures, piles of books and mottoes or quotations.

In 1934 Mayo Clinic Librarian Miss Frida Pliefke began a collection of medically themed bookplates. She wrote to hundreds of libraries and received in return a fine assortment of beautiful bookplates.  The W. Bruce Fye History of Medicine Library collection comprises over 800 bookplates and this exhibit displays just a sampling of this unique collection. Stop by the W. Bruce Fye History of Medicine Library on the 15th floor of the Plummer Building to see this exhibit.  Hours are M-F, 9am-1pm.

A few selections from the current exhibit:

The Mayo Clinic Library bookplate bears a very close resemblance to the official Mayo Coat of Arms and is adapted from the bookplates of Dr. Charles H. Mayo and Dr. William J. Mayo used in their private libraries.  The bookplate was revised circa 1921-22 by Ella Jack, who worked in the Mayo Art Studio at that time.  She created a border around the “Coat of Arms” of inverted hearts with a rose center like the crest roses.  This became the common version of the Mayo Library bookplate.  According to heraldic design, the heart signifies “sincerity and charity” while the rose is indicative of “hope and joy”.  This Mayo Library bookplate design is still used today.

Dr. Henry S. Plummer, 1874-1936.

Doctor Plummer was a man of great mechanical genius.  He developed the Clinic’s medical records system in 1907 and had much to do with the design and construction of the first two Mayo Clinic buildings.  He was also the major planner for Mayo’s group practice of medicine.

Dr. Plummer’s bookplate features scholarly and medical motifs, including a skull, books, a globe, and chemical apparatus.

Dr. W. Bruce Fye, 1946-

Dr. Fye selected an iconic image of the Dutch
humanist and scholar Erasmus (1469-1536) for the centerpiece of his bookplate. Félix Bracquemond’s copper engraving, published by the Louvre in 1863, was based on Hans Holbein’s 1523 painting. Dr. Fye acquired the engraving in Paris. The order of the words surrounding the portrait of Erasmus is significant.
Dr. Fye began collecting books in 1960, a dozen years before he graduated from the Johns Hopkins Medical School. It was at Johns Hopkins that he developed an interest in medical history, which grew steadily into a passion for historical research and writing.

Dr. Caroline M. Purnell, ? -1923.  Famous for her work in France during World War I as a surgeon,  Dr. Purnell was the first woman admitted as a fellow of the American College of Surgeons.  She was one of the strongest supporters of the suffrage movement.

Cedars of Lebanon Hospital

California Hospital – Los Angeles

Exhibit curated by and article submitted by:

Hilary J. Lane
Instructor in History of Medicine
Coordinator – W. Bruce Fye History of Medicine Library

Details about these new books follow:

The Surgeons Mate or Military and Domestique Surgery

Woodall, John.  The Surgeons Mate or Military and Domestique Surgery.  London, Rob: Young for Nicholas Bourne, 1639.

The first book for naval surgeons in its original English binding.

A contemporary of Harvey, Woodall was surgeon to St. Bartholomew’s Hospital and to the East India Company.  His Surgeons Mate was widely used by surgeons on land and at sea for many years.  In it Woodall gives details of his methods of amputation.  He recommended amputation through healthy tissue but “most of the discussion of the subject in his Surgeons Mate (1639) concerned division through the upper level of the dead tissue.  Woodall explained that such excision was painless and that after a limb had been removed the surgeon could whittle away the dead tissue until it was almost gone; two or three men sufficed to help with the operation” (Wangensteen and Wangensteen, The Rise of Surgery, p. 18).

Published over a century before the appearance of James Lind’s famous classic, A Treatise on Scurvy (1753), this is the earliest medical work to give an account of the use of citrus fruits for the prevention of scurvy at sea.  ‘Woodall knew the value of limes, lemons, and oranges, and gave them a prominent place in his account of the treatment of scurvy … [and the book] was made required reading for all naval surgeons in the East India Company’ (Garrison-Morton).

            Medical Instruments foldout from The Surgeons Mate

Hucher, Jean.  De Sterilitate utriusque sexus, opus in quatuor libros distributum: cui annexus est liber de diaeta et theraphia puerorum.  [Geneva,] Gabriel Cartier, 1609.

Sterility continued as a subject of major interest throughout the [seventeenth] century.  Jean Hucher, Chancellor at the University of Montpellier, wrote on sterility of both sexes.  Louise Bourgeois discussed the problem from various angles in 1609 under the title Observations divers sur la stérilité.  Daniel Sennert of Wittenberg (1572-1637) in his Opera made the amusing statement that sterility was due to “imbecility” of the uterus.  François Blondel (1613-1703) of Liège argued that small lean women were more fecund than large adipose ones.  However, of all these works Hucher’s is by far the most extensive and thorough.  He includes discussions of superfoetation and monstrous births, and hydrocephalus in children.

These and hundreds of other unique and rare titles are housed in the W. Bruce Fye History of Medicine Library.

Submitted by Hilary J. Lane
Instructor in History of Medicine
Coordinator – W. Bruce Fye History of Medicine Library

The biographies collection was started decades ago by Mayo’s first archivist, Clark W. Nelson. Initially housed in binders, the collection eventually grew so large that the decision was made to transfer it to digital format for ease of accessibility. The clinic’s cabinetry shop designed and built a handsome cabinet matching the woodwork in the Historical Suite to house the kiosk. Over the course of a year and a half, all of the biographies were entered into a WordPress database, which now contains almost 1,500 entries.

We hope you will have an opportunity to come see the new display and read about some of the fascinating individuals who have contributed to Mayo’s rich history. You can also access the kiosk content online .

Submitted to LibLog by:
Nicole Babcock
Historical Archives Specialist
W. Bruce Fye Center for the History of Medicine

The Medical Library Association has an extensive Oral History Project, featuring interviews with influential people in the field of medical librarianship. J. Michael Homan, AHIP, FMLA, Director Emeritus of the Mayo Clinic Libraries, was interviewed by Rick B. Forsman, FMLA in late 2015, and the completed transcript of the interview is now available for download. A summary of highlights is also available at the MLA’s website. Homan served as Director of Libraries at the Mayo Clinic from 1994 until he retired in 2014.

January 16th, 2017, Leslie Hassett joined the Mayo Clinic Libraries; she will serve as one of the Plummer Library’s Health Sciences Outreach Librarians.  Leslie moved to Rochester from Port Orchard, Washington, where she had been a Librarian for Olympic College since 2007. Prior employment included serving as a Medical Librarian for Loma Linda University from 1987-2005. Leslie holds a Master of Library and Information Science degree from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Political Science from California State University, Northridge. Leslie loves performing complex literature searches to assist people in their research and enjoys teaching advanced literature searching techniques.  Leslie is also an award winning gourd artist. She shows and sells her work in juried fine art shows. Most recently, in December 2016, she was in the Bainbridge Island Studio Tour in Washington State. Leslie’s art website is http://gaiagourds.com.

Effective December 14^th, Julie Taylor is now serving in the Plummer Library as a Health Sciences Outreach Librarian.  Julie comes to the Plummer Library after seven years of working in Mayo’s Patient Libraries, primarily serving at the St. Marys Patients’ Library. Julie has a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and a Bachelor of Science degree in Vocational Rehabilitation. Julie is a Dragon Boat paddler and paddles at various races and festivals in the Midwest.  She is looking forward to paddling in Florence, Italy in 2018.

Matthew B. Hoy also joins the Plummer Library in December, serving as the Associate Director of the Mayo Clinic Libraries. After serving in Eau Claire, Wisconsin at the Mayo Clinic Health System since 2003, Matt has joined the library team in Rochester. Matt’s credentials include a Master of Library and Information Studies degree from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa and Bachelor of Arts in English and Technical Writing from the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire. His research interests include alternative publishing models and emerging library technologies.  He is also an avid gamer and a fan of trivia.

This title was translated from the Arabic into Latin about 1292. In the first part Serapion classifies substances according to their medicinal properties and discusses their actions. The second part is a compilation of the works of Dioscorides, an army doctor in the reigns of Caludius, Nero and Galen. There is also mention of around 40 other Greek and Arabian authors.

(Submitted by Hilary Lane, History of Medicine Library specialist)