Reference Department

Reference Desk
Services available
Resources located in Reference Department
Faculty and Staff

Reference Desk

Stop by the McGoogan Library of Medicine's Reference Desk, located on the 6th Floor of Wittson Hall. Reference assistance is available from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

You can also reach the Reference Desk at 559-6221 (toll-free 1-866-800-5209). If you reach the voicemail, please leave a message and a librarian will return your call as soon as possible.

Services Available

Email: Ask Us

Ask Us is an email service for UNMC faculty, staff, students, and employees and private practice physicians at The Nebraska Medical Center to contact the Reference Department with a search request, reference question, or other messages. All Ask Us submissions will be answered as soon as possible, usually within 24 hours on weekdays.

Literature Searches

Reference librarians will provide free searches for faculty, staff, students, and employees and private practice physicians at The Nebraska Medical Center. Searches may be requested for the following databases: MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, IPA, Cochrane. Searches are usually completed within 24 hours. You can request a search by either calling the Reference Desk at 559-6221 or filling out a request form.

Literature Alerts or SDI's

Reference librarians will set up free literature alerts, also called SDI's (selective dissemination of information) for faculty, graduate students, and employees and private practice physicians at The Nebraska Medical Center. Alerts are searches which run automatically, usually on a weekly basis. The search results are emailed directly to the requestor. Alerts may be set up for the following databases: MEDLINE, CINAHL, IPA, PsycINFO. For additional information or to request a literature alert, please contact Cindy Schmidt at 559-7077 or by email at cmschmidt@unmc.edu.

Consultations

Reference librarians are available for one-on-one consultations for assistance with developing literature search strategies, or for other in-depth reference queries. Please contact the Reference Desk at 559-6221 to set up an appointment.

RefWorks

RefWorks training or consultation is available through the Reference Department by contacting Cindy Schmidt at 559-7077 or by email at cmschmidt@unmc.edu.

CHIRS

Consumer health questions for Nebraska residents are answered by the Reference Department as part of the Consumer Health Information Resource Service (CHIRS) program. Any Nebraska resident or patient at The Nebraska Medical Center with a diagnosed health condition may contact the Reference Department directly (call 559-6221, email askus@unmc.edu, or fill out the CHIRS request form) or go through their local public library. Responses are made by mail and are usually provided within one to two weeks.

Resources located in the Reference Department

Helix, the McGoogan Library Online Catalog

Helix lists the McGoogan Library's print and electronic holdings, as well as the availability and location of the items within the library. It is a web-based catalog and provides links to the library's collection of electronic books and journals.

Helix allows you to repeat your search in the UNL, UNO and UNK library online catalogs as well.

The catalog is available at http://helix.unmc.edu/. Links from the catalog to electronic resources from off-campus are only available to UNMC faculty, staff, and students.

Online resources

Databases and electronic journals are available at any of the computers in the Reference area or any other location on campus by going to the library homepage at http://www.unmc.edu/library/ or the library online resources page at http://www.unmc.edu/apps/library/onlres/onlresmenu.cfm. Off-campus access is restricted to UNMC faculty, staff, and students.

Computers in the reference area are available for our online catalog, UNMC intranet and internet resources, and for relevant web searching.

Reference collection of print resources

Handbooks, dictionaries, directories, and other important books that do not circulate.

Textbook collection of major textbooks in medicine and nursing.

Residency collection of books to assist medical students in planning their residency.

Grants collection of directories for researchers and others to find funding for their projects.

Print version of Medline's MeSH (Medical Subject Headings), and the CINAHL thesaurus.

CHIRS (Consumer Health Information Resources Service) collection of lay level books used mainly for consumer health queries.

Faculty and Staff

Roxanne Cox, M.L.S., Head of the Reference Department
(402) 559-7228
rcox@unmc.edu

Cindy Schmidt, M.D., M.L.S., Reference/Digital Services Librarian
(402) 559-7077
cmschmidt@unmc.edu

Brian Erb, M.L.S.
Reference and Education Librarian
(402) 559-8079
rberb@unmc.edu