Koha Reports - Branch Wise Fine Details

In order to generate branch wise fine in Koha, run this SQL Syntax. 

It will through the output in excel file which you can filter branch wise. 

Finding a Medical Journal Search Engine

Search engines are designed to integrate with an online academic database of archived published literature.

Large medical journal databases index articles from thousands of journals all across the world.

Here are just a few databases commonly used by credible medical search engines:

  • EMBASE – owned by Elsevier with over 29 million records
  • MEDLINE – contains more than 22 million biomedical published articles in its archive
  • PsycINFO – contains more than 3.5 million records
  • Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR)
  • MedlinePlus

7 reliable search engines for your health writing

1. PubMed

PubMed is probably the first online search engine that comes to mind for health writers. It is a free online archive of medical journal articles maintained by the United States National Institutes of Health’s National Library of Medicine (NLM).

It contains over 25 million records and searches several databases – including interfacing with MEDLINE and other publications by the NLM, such as MedlinePlus.

You can easily refine your search per topic in PubMed by typing search terms to the MeSH (Medical subject text heading) to filter results and find specific journal articles. It’s also a great resource if you’re writing patient education materials.

2. Ovid

If you have a login access from your institution, there are other search engines that search MEDLINE, such as Ovid, Ebscohost and ProQuest.

3. Web of Science

Web of Science uses a large database of 8,700 international scientific journals from Thomson Reuters. The database includes a large number of international publications from Asia and requires a subscription to access the articles.

Web of Science has a useful database to search for scholarly research data on emerging trends if you’re writing protocols or guidelines. It covers over 250 disciplines in science, social science, arts and humanities.

4. Science Direct

You may already be familiar with ScienceDirect. It is a full-text scientific database, which can really help your writing when you need to read more than the abstract.

The search engine allows you to find articles in over 3,800 science, technology and medicine journals owned by academic publisher Elsevier.

Another similar portal is SpringerLink that has access to over five million articles in journals operated by publisher Springer.

5. Scopus

In 2006, an American researcher authored a review suggesting that, if you regularly use Web of Science to search for articles, Scopus can be a great complement – as neither resource includes everything published.

Scopus is a large database of over 60 million peer-reviewed literature also owned by Elsevier. Scopus interfaces with the EMBASE and MEDLINE databases to search records for journal articles.

You can access the full-text articles from more than 4,200 full-text journals, however login may be required via a subscription for some full-text journal articles.

6. Cochrane Library

If you’re looking for systematic reviews or meta-analyses, you should search the Cochrane Library. In addition to results obtained from the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR), Cochrane library search results can also include control trials in MEDLINE and EMBASE, Cochrane protocols and editorials.

Cochrane library is a subscription-based search platform. However, some open-access articles may be retrieved, depending on when the article is published.

7. Google Scholar

Google Scholar is a free medical journal search engine indexing journal articles from a variety of databases. If you regularly use Google to search online, using Google Scholar will come quite naturally and you can easily navigate and filter the results to suit your search.

Google Scholar is a great secondary search engine to use after your initial search. If you’re having trouble finding an article, often a search in Google Scholar can help you find the article.

Open-access search engines

If you don’t have access to full-text articles through an institution, there are several medical journal search engines that provide open access to free journal articles:


Zig-zag format………. so-called ‘QR Code’

Here, in the next few seconds, we are going to discuss more about QR codes and their uses in libraries for better services.

Curious to know?

You are supposed and must be.

QR Code……an abbreviation of ‘Quick Response Code’ was first introduced in 1994 by Toyota subsidiary Denso-Wave in Japan in the automotive industry. Based on my study through different resources, I understood ‘The QR Code’ as an advanced version of a barcode machine-readable optical label that contains information about any item and uses four encoding modes (numeric, alphanumeric, byte/binary, and kanji) to efficiently store data. QR Code consists of black squares which are arranged in squares and can be read by any QR image processing device or scanner (2D).

How to Generate QR Code?

Generating a QR Code is very easy in nature. There is free software available online as well as offline which you download and install in the system.

Online QR code generator:

There are many online QR Code generators but I find this one very useful for my purpose.

http://www.qr-code-generator.com/

You can generate the QR Code for URL, vCard, Text, E-Mail, SMS, Facebook, PDF, MP3, App Stores, Images, etc. You need to simply select one option and enter the information. See the example mentioned below.

I entered my website detail and created QR Code which generated the image at right. Now I can download the image and use it wherever I want to use it for my purpose.



Offline QR Code Generator:

There are many free good QR Code generators that can be downloaded but I found this one very best for my purpose. https://sourceforge.net/projects/zint/files/zint/test/

This file can be downloaded and QR Code can be generated in Windows OS.



The generated image can be saved as a PNG file and used for different purposes.

How to read QR codes?

To read QR Code, you need any device with a QR code reader or scanner which can collect the QR Code information, convert it into a readable format and display the message.

The best method is to install the freely available Android Application which can easily be downloaded and installed on any Smart Phone.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=tw.mobileapp.qrcode.banner&hl=en

Likewise, there are many other applications that can help you to read the QR Code through your smartphone.

How to use in Academic Libraries and Education?

Any library can generate the QR Code for the following and provide better services.

1.      Website containing all the services:

If you are having a website and also a service division separately containing all the details, then simply copy the link and generate the QR Code.

 

2.     List of e-resources:

Generate the QR Code for a list of e-resources, if you have all listed on a single page OR you can generate the QR Code separately also for different resources.

3.     Contact Library Staff as vCard

To provide a quick and ready reference, it is always advisable to generate the QR Code of staff as vCard and list them all on a single page and make it available to the users. If the user is willing to store your contact detail, he/she is supposed only to scan the code and store the information in the smartphone. Later he can use it for his/her purpose.

4.    Posters/Pamphlets:

Some libraries have their own Posters / Pamphlets in order to promote and market their services. QR Code may be one of the easy methods in the promotion of these kinds of services by adding the QR Code on posters/pamphlets.

5.     Workshop Banners:

Libraries keep conducting workshops for research scholars, faculty, and other professionals. Sometimes, if users find it difficult to remember the dates and venue with time, a QR code may be an easy tool to reach the scheduled workshop on time and date.

6.    Information Literacy Pamphlets:

Being Information Managers and called library professionals, it is our responsibility to introduce literacy programs for the users so that users can get easy access to our library services and resources.

a.      Circulation Privileges QR Code

b.      Fine details QR Code

c.      OPAC QR Code

d.     New Arrivals List QR Code

e.      Login Page QR Code

f.       Announcements QR Code

g.      Download Page QR Code

h.     Google Map QR Code with location (How to reach?)

7.     Wi-Fi access details:

We can provide the information through QR Code about Wi-Fi access in the library if you have this provision. Users will get the details through QR code about how to use and how to access and will also be able to store the information for future use in the phone easily.

 

Apart from all these, there are other possible areas, which can be introduced with the help of QR Code effectively.

8.    Create your own QR Code for vCard:

The best part I found of the QR Code is that it enables you to create a vCard with your personal details which can easily be stored in Smart Phone by scanning through any 2d Image Scanner. I tried to implement it with my vCard and it worked successfully. The detail is mentioned below:


Please add, if you have any other service apart from the above-mentioned points.

 

Thanks,

DP Tripathi

Increase the value of library services:

The use of technology is spread just like a mushroom in every walk of our life nowadays and everyone almost feels really helpless whenever there is a gap in these technologies in our day-to-day life's routine work. Technology has also widened the scope of our working areas as well as our level of thinking but, if we just have glimpses of the days two decades ago in our mind, we hardly used to hear the terms like automation, digitization, content management system, etc. Without the use of technology also, library professionals were able to provide services to their library patrons effectively and the system used to be very strong those days from a user satisfaction point of view. Those days it was really a tough task for any library to market its products & services as the medium of communication was not that much strong in comparison to what it is today. Even then, the libraries were able to disseminate information and assist in research and academic work by providing personalized services, customized services, evaluating different services, etc.

I am trying to draw your attention to the value of library services in the digital era......

We have been using technology to speed up our efficiency but have we ever thought about the value of library services being provided? Does it reach society & its users successfully? And so on...If the answer is 'Yes'......then great and if 'No'.....we must think it over about how can it reach?

In my opinion, social media or networking has been playing a very effective role in maintaining public relations......it is working just like a bridge between two ends.

In order to stay up-to-date in the socially networked environment and meet the growing needs of their users, libraries, therefore, need to adopt new technologies and face the challenges for the delivery of better services.

Active response is expected from all of us for the popularity of social networking sites e.g. most popular Facebook, Twitter, etc., and their expanding role in the creation, use, and dissemination of information by engaging us as a central medium for interacting with library patrons and providing services to meet their information needs.

Public conversations, blog posts, updates, events, and resources must be followed by us and as much as possible, we must extend help. We are supposed to work as active learners and participants of social media and identify the needs of library users and must provide positive solutions by providing relevant information, important links as per their information needs, etc.

To promote the library and its users in knowledge creation, it is urgently required for libraries to adopt social networking tools in their library services. With the help of social networking websites, other libraries can be connected for accessing their OPAC, other relevant informative pages, research guides, e-newsletters, calendars of events, etc.


In order to increase the value of our library services, we must play the roles of the social networking librarian:

  • Understanding the nature of social networking sites,  
  •  Creating web pages and content,
  •  Establishing a friendly user interface over the network,
  •  Evaluating and applying information,
  •  Assisting users by providing quality online library services.

 

Thanking you

DP Tripathi
NIT Jalandhar

Koha: List of No Dues Certificate in Koha

SELECT discharges.discharge_id, discharges.borrower, borrowers.borrowernumber, borrowers.cardnumber, borrowers.surname, borrowers.firstname, borrowers.address, borrowers.email

FROM discharges

LEFT JOIN borrowers 

on discharges.borrower = borrowers.borrowernumber


Thanks
DP Tripathi 

Do we really deserve to be known as Information Manager/Librarian in Digital Era?

Dr. S.R. Ranganathan, also known as the ‘Father of Library Science in India’ propounded the five laws of library science in 1928 which was later published in the year 1931 in the form of a Book. The law says:

1. Books are for use

2. Every reader his/her book

3. Every book its reader

4. Save the time of the reader

5. The library is a growing organism

Every law has its implications and as per each implication, the ‘SERVICE’ is the key point for any kind of library.

As per the first law ‘Books are for use’, the books available in the library are for use. In another way, if we analyze then it means that books in libraries should not be kept away from the user and it has to be utilized. Then only the first law will be satisfied. There are also some related issues with the term USE such as the physical location of the library, library timings, circulation policy, furniture, and qualified staff.

As per the second law ‘Every reader his/her book’ means ‘Books for All’. The meaning says that every reader should get the books required.

As per the third law, ‘Every book its reader’, it mainly focuses on DOCUMENTS which says that each document in the library has its own reader. Now, it is up-to libraries to find out the methods to attract readers so that each document finds its reader. The most useful method was suggested ‘Open Shelving’ where the readers will be free from any restrictions in order to reach any particular document.

As per the fourth law ‘Save the time of the reader’, the library and its staff are mainly responsible for the recognition of the excellence of the library by meeting the needs of library users efficiently. In another way, we can say that library users should get their books/information quickly as per their demand. It means the staff should have strong skills for reference, technical services and also easy circulation of documents.

As per the fifth law, ‘The library is a growing organism’, the library should be continually changing place for the growth of qualified staff, physical size and collection of the library, and uses of resources effectively.

Due to the advent of technology, the scenario of libraries has changed and many new changes have taken place in libraries everywhere. Now, we are equipped with high-end technological tools with the capability to provide high-end services and highly qualified staff with infrastructure. In other words, over a period of time, we have slowly shifted to the digital world. But, still, the question remains in the mind that

“Do we really deserve to be known as Information Managers/Librarians?”

Are we really providing the services to our library users as per their expectations?

Please check!

DP Tripathi

NIT Jalandhar