By now everyone knows that we have new computers in the lab, but did you know that they are all touchscreen?  There are a few things about the lab that you may not know and hopefully I can shed some light on a few of them now.

Let’s start with the computers.  Like I said before they are touchscreen so you can manipulate the screen with your fingers instead of the mouse.  Most people prefer to stick with the mouse, but the option is there if you want to use it.  You will find that these new computers do take a bit longer than your average computer to log in.

This is because we run a program called DeepFreeze every day, so that changes you make to the computer are not saved.  When no information is saved it means the computer has to recreate your user profile every time you log in.  We do this for your security and to make the likelihood of the computers catching a virus very slim.  This also allows you to install any program you want on the computers while you are using it.  You will not find any restrictions, as you are an administrator on the computer.  When the computer is rebooted DeepFreeze will wipe all information that is stored on it so your personal documents are never left on the computer for other people to open.

Now, since you will lose all information when the computer is rebooted we highly recommend you do not save important documents to the computer.  When you need to work on a document that was emailed to you, it is best to immediately save it to your Piratedrive or a flash drive.  When you open a document from your email it automatically saves it to a temporary folder which is just that, temporary.  We have seen people lose documents they have spent hours working on because it was not saved properly.  Your Piratedrive is automatically connected when you log into any computer on ECU’s network and can be accessed outside of ECU through Onestop or the ECU VPN.  ECU just upgraded everyone’s Piratedrive to a massive 40 gigabytes so don’t worry about putting too much information there.

So let’s say you don’t want to mess with your Piratedrive and you want to store your important documents on your flash drive.  That will work as well, but what happens when you walk out of a lab and forget to grab your flash drive?  We find about 3 to 4 flash drives a month that people have left behind in our lab.  Normally we can look at the document author on documents to find out who left it so we can get it back to them.  Sometimes when we check these drives there is nothing on there to let us know who owns it.  We highly recommend that when you first buy a flash drive you put a document on it titled something similar to “If Found” and put your name and email address or phone number in the document.  This will allow us to quickly return your flash drive especially if you keep important files on the drive.

Most people come to the lab to use the printers.  In January alone there was over 164,600 pages printed or about 1800 pages a day on only three printers.  In addition to printing from the lab computers, we also offer wireless printing from your personal laptop as well.  This can be done on your Mac or Windows laptop.  We have an instruction sheet for Mac users to install the printers wirelessly and are working on one for Windows users.  Just see the student at the front desk of the lab if you wish to install these printers on your laptop.  Note: you will need to be in the lab or on the reference floor to print wirelessly to the lab printers.  Please also note that we cannot install the color printer wirelessly.

A QR code (short for “Quick Response”) is a barcode that contains different types of information.  QR codes can be read by most smartphones after downloading a QR code reader.  These codes, once scanned by your phone, can provide you with a URL, contact information, text, maps, directions, video links, and more!

How is Laupus Library Using QR Codes?

You can find QR codes all around the library!  Laupus Library is using QR codes to link you to our Ask-a-Librarian services, the calendar to make reservations in some of our group study rooms, the library’s new book & popular book blogs, the Equipment Loan Checkout service, our Classes page, our new Mobile Resources research guide, and more! Simple scan any codes you find with your mobile phone and you will have immediate access to these resources and services on our phone.

(QR Code for Laupus Library)

Recommended Apps for each phone:

Barcode Scanner for Android

NeoReader for iPhone

Barcode Scanner for Blackberry

Laupus Library is very pleased to offer RefWorks training sessions for faculty, staff, and students.  For those unfamiliar with this resource, RefWorks allows users to easily gather references from most of ECU’s online databases, organizes your research, and automatically generates bibliographies in APA, AMA, Vancouver, or hundreds of additional citation styles.

RefWorks training sessions at Laupus will cover personal account set-up, importing citations, managing/sharing folders, and automatically creating works-cited pages and in-text citations.

Spring 2012 Training Sessions:

• Thursday, February 23^rd @ 10:00-11:00am
• Wednesday, March 14^th @ 1:00-2:00pm
• Friday, April 13^th @ 10:00-11:00am
• Tuesday, May 15^th @ 3:30-4:30pm

Registration:

• Faculty and Staff should register via OneStop – University Training
• Students should email Christine Andresen at andresenc@ecu.edu to register

All sessions will be held in Laupus Library, 2502G

For those who might not know, Procedures Consult is an online procedure reference tool offering easy access to complete details on how to prepare for, perform, and follow up on some of the most common procedures required in today’s hospital setting. Offering high-quality illustrations and multi-media for each procedure, Procedures Consult provides physicians, residents, and students with time-effective, self-directed procedures training and testing.

The Procedures Consult app allows for text and illustration content to be stored on any iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. Recently viewed videos as well as videos selected as favorites can also be stored on your device, making all of the Procedures Consult content available anytime, anywhere.

Procedures Consult allows physicians, residents, and students to access procedures repeatedly, until they fully understand the procedure. This adds a layer of safety to the medical adage “See One – Do One – Teach One”, which refers to how physicians typically see a procedure demonstrated, perform the procedure and then teach the procedure to a colleague. Physicians typically demonstrate procedures only when patients are available, but Physicians Consult gives its users the opportunity to watch videos performed by the experts, as many times as needed, before feeling comfortable performing or teaching the procedure themselves.

Laupus Library does have an institutional subscription to Procedures Consult, so you can easily access this resource on your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. First you will need to create a free account by accessing Procedures Consult through the library’s electronic resources page¹. Then you can download the free app from iTunes² and login with the account you created. Now you are ready to take advantage of everything Procedures Consult has to offer!

Please let us know if you have any questions or problems using this resource: http://www.ecu.edu/laupuslibrary/research/askalibrarian.cfm

Links to access Procedures Consult or learn more about the new app:

¹ http://www.ecu.edu/laupuslibrary/research/erinfo.cfm?ID=192

² http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/procedures-consult/id479652961?mt=8

http://app.proceduresconsult.com/PressRelease/ProceduresConsultAdminEnhancements.pdf

Think you’re the only one staying ahead of the mobile technology curve? Guess again…doctors are taking advantage of the convenience of mobile technologies too!  The infographic below provides an interesting view of how doctors are using mobile technologies, but please keep in mind that the primary purpose of infographics is to entertain and that the statistics should be taken with a grain of salt.

At the point of care, doctors are using mobile technologies primarily to access electronic medical records, prescribe medications, and monitor patients in hospitals.  Doctors can use their devices bedside to show patients high resolution videos of what their procedures will be like.  Current mobile technologies allow doctors to view or send CT, MRI, and PET scans, allowing them to remotely consult with specialists.  Using attachments like theHandyscope, doctors can turn their mobile device into a digital dermatoscope, allowing them to take up-close photos for early skin cancer screenings.

For our part, libraries are attempting to make their online content easily available on mobile technologies.  Medical and drug reference databases, electronic journal access, and easy access to research librarians ensure that doctors are getting the most reliable, up-to-date information available on their mobile device.  Laupus Library has access to several medical databases designed specifically for mobile devices; DynaMed, Micromedex, PubMed for Handhelds, and RefMobile are a few of the most popular mobile resources we offer.

Though it may seem shocking that two in five physicians spend time online during patient consultations, we have entered a technological era that will ultimately improve patient quality.  Beyond being a convenience, mobile technologies can be used to guarantee that patients are receiving the best medical care possible, and can reduce medical errors by modernizing the health care system.  While we hope doctors are not using their iPhones to update their Facebook status during a patient’s consultation, we do want them to have immediate access to the most current diagnostic and treatment options for any given medical condition.

Just imagine what doctors will be able to do with their mobile devices a mere five or ten years down the road…are you ready?

++ Click to Enlarge Image ++

Image Source: SpinaBifidaInfo.com