April 2011 Archives

Medline Plus, a Web site of the National Library of Medicine, is an authoritative source of information for health consumers.

Use their drugs, supplements, and herbal information database to look up prescription and over-the-counter medicines for possible side effects, special precautions, and more. Information on supplements and herbs includes effectiveness and drug interactions.

Our library's Guide to Health and Medicine Resources is a great place to start a medical research project. It has recommended library databases, Web sites, and more.

To mark National Library Week (April 10-16), the American Library Association gives you lots of ways to celebrate and support libraries.

On Facebook, you can like atyourlibrary.org, a public awareness campaign that promotes the value of libraries and librarians.

If you tweet, you can follow the National Library Week Twitter stream at #nlw11. You can even write a "twaiku" (Twitter haiku) that celebrates libraries.

However you choose to get involved, National Library Week is a great time to show your support of libraries, many of which (especially public libraries) are in danger of losing hours and staff--or closing altogether--due to budget cuts.

As part of our ongoing effort to enhance library service to the UMUC community, Information and Library Services has perfected and implemented a state-of-the-art method for delivering research materials fast: JetBook.

UMUC students, faculty, and staff can now request a book through our library and in minutes it will arrive at your door, brought to you by a jetpack-powered librarian.

Working in close collaboration with NASA and Wile E. Coyote, the library developed JetBook using a highly structured design process. Early prototypes (Fig. 1) grew out of intense brainstorming sessions, described by participants as "productive" and "hallucinatory":

Subsequent versions of JetBook (Fig. 2) emphasized streamlined design elements and the "wow" factor that is part and parcel of a librarian's everyday public image:

In its present version (Fig. 3), JetBook offers UMUC librarians increased opportunities for outreach, efficient service, and low-altitude trans-oceanic flight:

Library patrons are pleased by the new book delivery service. Student Jane Q. Doe of Pantoum, Wisconsin, said, "I couldn't believe my library book got here so fast! I will have to replace my shrubs and resod most of the front lawn due to the searing, highly toxic exhaust fumes. But it was worth it. JetBook is the best!"

Happy April Fools' from UMUC Information and Library Services!