Low-Tech Scavenger Hunt Model for Student Orientation.

Scavenger hunts are an effective, fun way of orienting new students to the library. The low-tech nature and small scale of the scavenger hunt program described here might be more suitable for health sciences libraries than other models, particularly for libraries with small staffs. This model also includes a unique optional element useful for library marketing.

Helping improve dissemination of research: Toastmasters is a novel mechanism.

Competencies for health professionals and students often include the ability to transfer knowledge to different audiences in a variety of ways. Consultation, presentation, teaching, multimedia, and posters are some examples. A recent question on a national listserv about writing, editing, and proofreading services in health sciences libraries prompted this column about a potentially novel way of helping students and faculty in health disciplines to improve their abilities to communicate professionally.

[Observed smoking in car: results of a study of the Regional Health Prevention Service of Veneto, Northern Italy].

Objective: to estimate the prevalence of smokers inside cars or duty vehicles and the presence of children exposed to second hand smoke on board, in the NHS districts of Veneto Region.

Design: an observational study was carried out by the technicians of the Prevention department from October 1st to October 17th 2008. The observers had to record sex of the driver and of the passengers, their presumed ages, verify if drivers or passengers were smoking, and if there were any children on board.

[Smoking in car: monitoring pollution of particulate matter, of organic volatile compounds and of carbon monoxide. The effect of opening the driver's window].

Objective: to identify the most suitable marker for monitoring ETS inside a moving car, and to verify the efficacy of window opening to reduce ETS pollution inside the car.

Design: experimental pilot study. SSETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: monitoring of ETS markers in a moving car.

Lessons learned from single service point implementations.

Interest in consolidating service points within health sciences libraries continues. This article proposes a definition of a library single service point and mentions some notable examples in academic health sciences libraries. The experiences of two of these libraries are summarized and compared, and the advice culled from those experiences is shared.