Dietary Supplements Database

National Library of Medicine launches “Dietary Supplements Labels Database”.

The Dietary Supplements Labels Database offers information about ingredients in more than two thousand selected brands of dietary supplements. It enables users to determine what ingredients are in specific brands and to compare ingredients in different brands. Information is also provided on the health benefits claimed by manufacturers. These claims by manufacturers have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Companies may not market as dietary supplements any products that are intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Ingredients of dietary supplements in this database are linked to other National Library of Medicine databases such as MedlinePlus® and PubMed® to allow users to understand the characteristics of ingredients and view the results of research pertaining to them, including the following characteristics:

-Uses in humans
-Adverse effects
-Mechanism of action

The Database can be searched by brand names, uses noted on product labels, specific active ingredients, and manufacturers.
Warnings and Recalls from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), related to specific ingredients and supplement brands have also been provided.

The database is designed to help both the general public and health care providers find information about ingredients in brand-name products, including name, form, active and inactive ingredients, amount of active ingredient/unit, manufacturer/distributor information, suggested dose, label claims, warnings, percentage of daily value, and further label information.

When you are looking for quality, published health & medical information, visit the "Health & Medicine" section of the library's Databases & Websites.

For more information about dietary supplements and herbal treatments, take a look at the Drug & Herb Finder and the Alternative Health Encyclopedia that are part of the Health & Wellness Information Center.

Newsbank Hot Topics for November

Looking for a research topic for school...
Just want to keep up with current events...

Newsbank has provided the following hot news topics for November, 2007. These topics can be searched by visiting the America's Newspapers or Access World News databases.

Here's a few sample topics (you can get the full list below):

HEALTH - Superbug MRSA
TOPIC: A superbug found in over 1600 Australian hospital beds and causing scores of deaths as well as showing up heavily in the US is identified as Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). What is the major obstacle to patient recovery presented by superbugs? How do staph infections transmit?
SEARCH TERMS: staphylococcal infections

ENVIRONMENT - California Wildfires
TOPIC: A rash of terrible wildfires have caused about a half of million people to flee their homes in southern California. What have been some of the obstacles faced by firefighters when trying to contain and extinguish these fires? What are some of the causes of the fires?
SEARCH TERMS: California AND fires

Civics, Government and Politics - Primary and Caucus Schedules
TOPIC: The Democratic Iowa caucus has been rescheduled to January 3, 2008. This change aligns to what other political schedule? What are some of the overall changes in this primary season for schedules of presidential primaries and caucuses?
SEARCH TERMS: caucuses OR primaries AND presidential election AND 2008

ENVIRONMENT - Georgia Drought
TOPIC: A severe drought is limiting the water supply in Georgia, especially in the metro Atlanta area. What has been an environmental concern that has prevented Atlanta from some water that could ease its drought? What are some other contributing factors to the drought?
SEARCH TERMS: Georgia AND drought

SPORTS - Joe Torre
TOPIC: Manager of the New York Yankees, Joe Torre, has resigned his position after rejecting a controversial offer. What were the specifics in the contract that Torre found objectionable? What are the outstanding contributions made by Torre to baseball that will constitute his legacy? Will he be part of baseball next season?
SEARCH TERMS: Joe Torre

Want to see more? Get the full list of Hot Topics (PDF format).

NoveList Notes - November, 2007

New and Revised Explore Fiction Lists in NoveList

NoveList and NoveList K-8's ready-made book lists are great sources for eager readers and busy librarians. NoveList is now pleased to announce that all of our genre-based Explore Fiction lists have been completely revamped and updated. In addition to the updated lists, we have added several new genre lists, including Historical Fiction and Graphic Novels at the Adult level, based on requests from our users.
All of the popular genres, including Mysteries, Romance, Science Fiction, Fantasy and Historical Fiction, are covered in the Explore Fiction lists. Each genre contains a number of lists covering popular sub-genres, for example "Contemporary Romances" and "Romantic Suspense" under the Romance genre. Each list contains 15 to 20 titles, carefully selected by experienced librarians.

Run out of book discussion group ideas? Looking for an easy way to find a good book to read? Use Explore Fiction lists as a quick source for a book display on Classic Science Fiction titles. Create bookmarks with our new Adult Historical Fiction Explore lists to pass out to your readers or place in the historical fiction titles on your new books shelf. This will not only pull your patrons into your collection, it will keep them coming back for more.

Here's how to access NoveList's Explore Fiction lists:
1. Select the Browse Lists tab.
2. Under the Explore Fiction heading, select the appropriate reading level link. To find the new Adult Historical Fiction list, select the "Adult" link.
3. You will see a list of genres to choose from. Select the "Historical Fiction" link.
4. A listing of sub-genres will display. Choose a topic of interest, for example "Immigrant Experience," to see the full list of titles.

At the end of each Explore Fiction list, you will find a description that will give you more information about the books on the list or how you can find more books like those listed. Please note that at each list, you can select a title to link directly to the book record for an annotation, reviews, and links to other resources.

When you are all out of book display ideas, looking for a new way to promote the use of your library, or just in need of a ready-made book list to keep your speedy readers satisfied for awhile, turn to NoveList's Explore Fiction lists for help.

NoveList can be found on the Find a Good Book section of the library's Databases & Websites page.

PC Magazine's Top 100 Web Sites of 2007

Here is PC Magazine's list of the Top 100 Classic Web Sites in 2007. You'll see a lot of familiar URLs on this list, and we hope there are also quite a few that you haven't heard of before. These sites are established and generally best-of-breed in their respective categories.

Also get their picks for the top new or under-the-radar sites of 2007. You may not know many of the sites on this list, but you should! See the full list of Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites of 2007.

Check out some of the top Info & Reference sites.

Auto Repair Reference Center

Auto Repair at your fingertips!

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a reference library with information about recalls, maintenance intervals, repair procedures, and service tips for your automobile? The Auto Repair Reference Center (ARRC) provides this information for most models of automobiles and light trucks from 1945 to the present. It is useful for both do-it yourselfers and professionals. This premium resource is available free to members of our library system.

To access this database, click on the Databases & Websites link, then on the Home and Auto link. Next, choose the Auto Repair Reference Center. If you are using a computer from home, you will then need to type in your library card number. The database is easy to use - simply choose the year of your vehicle, then the manufacturer, then the model. You can view service bulletins or repair procedures. There are additional features, including general videos about brakes, fuel management, heating and air conditioning, etc. These videos are located in the “Auto IQ” tab on the top of each page in the database.


Quick Fact Sheet
ARRC Tutorial video

Price It! Antiques & Collectibles

It’s like “Antique Home Show!”

Price It! Antiques & Collectibles — powered by GoAntiques.com — is the most comprehensive antique and collectible pricing tool in the world.

The antiques and collectibles market is one of the fastest growing markets in the U.S., with an estimated 25% of the population collecting something — and that figure is expected to increase in the coming years. To support this rapidly growing trend, Thomson Gale offers Price It! Antiques & Collectibles — a ‘value maximizer’ for anyone who purchases, sells or collects art, antiques and collectibles. This indispensable online tool helps you ascertain an item’s current realistic market value by aggregating data from its own GoAntiques.com database as well as established, reliable sources like ebay, TIAS and dozens of auction houses. Now your patrons will always have the latest information on the collectibles they seek. And Price It! Antiques & Collectibles can be used from wherever its users have remote access to your library’s holdings…at home, on the road, even from a live auction!

Get a Quick Fact sheet (PDF).

See some Sample Searches.

You can find the Price It! Antiques & Collectibles database with the library's Databases & Websites under "Consumer Information" and "Home & Auto".