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Help
Table of Contents
Site Description
The EBL Digital Library provides quick access points and useful information for selected electronic resources such as electronic books, electronic journals, and Websites. The majority of the resources listed in the Digital Library are licensed from vendors and consequently are limited to Vanderbilt University use. The Digital Library also includes free Websites.
Site Content
Within the browsable indexes and on search results screens, you will see resource titles prefaced with  . Clicking on this symbol will allow you to display descriptive information about the resources in "brief" and "full" views. These descriptions may include the following information:
- Access restrictions - Indicates accessibility of resource. Many resources are restricted to VU or VUMC users only. See Legend explanation for details.
- Alternative Name - Indicates additional names which identify the resource. These alternative titles are searchable but are not included in the browse indexes
- Available via - Indicates responsible or authoring agency
- Concurrent Users - Indicates number of users which may access resource at same time. When a resource is in active use by the maximum number of users allowed, entry into the resource may be denied. Please logoff a resource when finished to allow access by others.
- Coverage - Time span of database coverage or years of journal available
- Description - Succinct statement of the resource outlining special features and subject content
- Edition/Publication year - Indicates the edition or publication date; usually applicable to books
- Format - Indicates if resource is a
- Book - A collection of information arranged traditionally (table of contents, text, and index), hierarchically, or alphabetically that may be browsed or simply searched
- Collection - An aggregation or group of resources (e.g. MD Consult)
- Database - An organized collection of related information that can be searched, sorted, or analyzed rapidly (e.g. MEDLINE)
- Journal - A regularly issued collection of articles or materials (e.g. Nature Medicine)
- Problems & Exercises - A collection of questions and answers or interactive learning tools that offer curriculum support (e.g. Emergency Medicine: Self Assessment and Review)
- Website - A portal or entry to a collection of multilevel and value-added related web pages (e.g. AAMC site)
- Journal Content - Time span of online journal coverage (e.g. 1998 to present)
- Registration - Indicates if resource requires registration and/or a user name and password
- Subject(s) - Indicates subject area encompassed by resource. Resource records within the Digital Library are assigned at least one subject from a group of 76 broad subject descriptors. Note that general subjects such as Medicine, Science or Nursing are used to identify resources which cover multiple subject areas. There are two ways to see the list of subjects:
- Choose the Advanced Search and use the subject scroll box
- Choose the Resources by Subject sidebar link on the left side of any screen in the Digital Library
- Title - Title of the resource
- Technical Notes - Information about plug-in software needed for running applications and other technical requirements
- Training - Indicates availability of instructional opportunities at the Eskind Biomedical Library to learn how to effectively utilize the resource
- Update Frequency - Frequency with which a resource is updated by the publisher
Navigating the Digital Library
- Legend
 Restricted to Vanderbilt faculty, staff, or students - access is only available to current Vanderbilt faculty students or staff, or through Vanderbilt University workstations Restricted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center faculty, staff, or students - access is only available to current Medical Center faculty, staff, or students or through Medical Center workstations No Remote access - no off-campus access allowed- No symbol - No access restrictions; resources can be accessed by anyone from anywhere (freely available)
- click on blue i for more information about a resource, including edition, publication date, subjects, technical information and description
 this help symbol links to the Digital Library Help page indicates that a resource is highly illustrated. (Consumer Health Digital Library only)
Note that the legend is slightly different in the Public Health Digital Library.
 - returns you to the front page of the Public Health Digital Library - indicates that an item is free and available to all users - indicates that an item has been purchased and licensed to users - indicates that an item is provided via the Tennessee Electronic Library
- Searching
- Keyword Search - Searches for keywords appearing anywhere in the title, alternative title, or description of the resource
- Use the asterisk (*) as a truncation symbol. This will allow you to search for all terms beginning with a certain "root." For example, a search on "medi*" will retrieve entries containing the word "medicine" or "medical" or "medicinal."
- Omit punctuation (hyphens, apostrophes) and special characters
- To execute a phrase search, merely type in the phrase (do not use quotations)
- Use the "Restrict to title" option for more precise searching
- Enter search term and click on Go!
- Advanced Search - Allows users to combine keywords, subjects and formats to search the Digital Library. Within the Keywords field, input keywords to search for then refine your search further by restricting to the title field or selecting search limits from the Subject and/or Data Format pulldown menus. You may select multiple subjects or formats. After highlighting the first menu choice, choose the next selection by holding down the control key and clicking the mouse at the same time. Use one or all three search options (keyword, subject and format).
- QuickLinks - A pull down menu of the most frequently consulted resources. Selecting from this menu connects you to the resource. To see the resource description you must access the title through one of the sidebar interfaces or perform a search on that title. Click on down arrow and highlight a resource.
- Sidebar Buttons
- Ask ELIS - The Eskind Library Information Specialist provides a suite of synchronous and asynchronous consultation services for VUMC faculty, students and staff
- CDC - clicking on this link retrieves a list of all included resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Public Health Digital Library only)
- Children's Hospital - Vanderbilt Children's Hospital homepage (Children's Hospital Digital Library only)
- Clinical Applications - Presents an alphabetic listing of VUMC's clinical applications
- Consumer Health - Consumer Health Digital Library, a resource for both patients and physicians (Main Digital Library only)
- Databases - Presents list of databases only, arranged alphabetically by title
- Disclaimer - Information for users of the Consumer Health Digital Library only
- Document Delivery - Links to online forms for submitting document requests
- EBL PICS Pathfinders - EBL-developed pages on common consumer health concerns, with brief summaries, references, and links to additional information (Consumer Health Digital Library only)
- EBM Resources - Lists Evidence-based Medicine databases, journals and other resources
- Electronic Books - Presents list of electronic books only, arranged alphabetically by title
- Electronic Journals - Presents list of electronic journals only, arranged alphabetically by title
- Eskind Main Digital - The Main Digital Library
- Family Resource Ctr. - Links to the Junior League Family Resource Center, which provides information on children's health (Children's Hospital Digital Library only)
- Health and Wellness Resource Center - Links to online health information including an organization directory, drug finder, medical encyclopedia and dictionary (Consumer Health Digital Library only)
- HealthyPeople 2010 - scroll over this button to view links to the Healthy People homepage, HP2010 Information Access Project, or retrieve a list of all HP resources included in the digital library (Public Health Digital Library only)
- Information Requests - Form for use by Vanderbilt patients and their families to request information about a medical condition (Consumer Health Digital Library only)
- Laws & Legislation - scroll over this button and select the Tennessee or US link to retrieve all resources in the digital library pertaining to state or national legal issues (Public Health Digital Library only)
- Library Catalog - Links to Acorn, the online catalog of Vanderbilt's nine libraries
- Literature & Guidelines - scroll over this button to link to PubMed or MedlinePlus (Public Health Digital Library only)
- Mass Media - scroll over this button and select the Tennessee, US or International link to retrieve news resources listed in the digital library (Public Health Digital Library only)
- MD Consult - A virtual medical library that includes the full-text of well-known journals and textbooks, clinical guidelines, drug information, and patient education handouts in English and Spanish (Consumer Health Digital Library only)
- Medline Plus - The National Library of Medicine's portal to quality consumer health information on a variety of medical topics (Consumer Health Digital Library only)
- Patient Care E-docs - A website with over 500 Vanderbilt-authored patient care documents available for printing (Consumer Health Digital Library only)
- Physician Referral Directory - Links to VUMC's online Physician Referral Directory (Main and Consumer Health Digital Libraries only)
- Request Forms - links to a research request form for use by public health professionals within the state of Tennessee (Public Health Digital Library only)
- Resources by Collection - Presents all Digital Library resources arranged by the collection to which they belong (for example, use this interface to view a list of the individual titles contained within the MD Consult collection) (Main Digital Library only)
- Resources by Subject or Resources by Subject A-Z - Presents all Digital Library resources arranged by subject
- Resources by Title or Resources by Title A-Z - Presents list of all resources arranged alphabetically by title; this is usually the default display
- Sites of Interest - Offers links to relevant resources and services (Children's Hospital Digital Library only)
- Statistics & Data - use this link to retrieve all resources in the digital library that provide statistics or other data (Public Health Digital Library only)
- Student Resources - Links to the School of Nursing and other resources for students (Nursing Digital Library only)
- TN Dept of Health - links to the Tennessee Department of Health homepage (Public Health Digital Library only)
- Well-Connected - A collection of consumer health reports on common diseases and health and wellness issues (Consumer Health Digital Library only)
- Who's Who in Pediatrics - Pediatrics and Children's Hospital Referral Directory (Children's Hospital Digital Library only)
Off-campus Access
If you are accessing the Digital Library from an off-campus computer, you must enter your VUnetID and password to access certain restricted resources that are limited to Vanderbilt use. See the article "Remote Access to the Eskind Digital Library!" for more detailed information.
Additional Help and Contacts
- For comments about the Digital Library, contact eblwebmaster@Vanderbilt.Edu
- For assistance in connecting to library electronic resources or other technical questions, contact the library at 936-1400, review the FAQs or use the AskELIS service
- For assistance in selecting an appropriate electronic resource or designing a search strategy, contact the library at 936-1400, or use the SearchDoc service
- For assistance with e-mail, clinical workstations, or software, contact the Help Desk
- Register for training classes or request a custom training class through the EBL Training service
- Use the self-paced Knowledge Modules available on the EBL Learning Site
- Recommend journals, books, or electronic resources to the library for addition to the EBL collection by using the Suggest a Purchase form
- Borrow materials from other libraries or get copies of articles through the EBL Document Delivery Service
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