Author Archives: Donna

What Do These Numbers Have in Common: 5,308… 217… 11?

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The 2020 Synapse Publications Report can help you find out. This year our authors published 5,308 works! Of this total, we noted that 217 works were COVID-related. We also expanded our document publication types and now organize works under 11 different formats. The new formats include: Correspondence, Editorial, Guidelines, Journal Article, Miscellaneous, Research Letter, and Review.

Synapse is a public-facing resource and the authoritative bibliographic database of MSK publications, developed and maintained by a team of skilled librarians. While this report reflects the year in review, the Synapse database provides a record of the intellectual output written by MSK researchers, clinicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals. As of July 2021, Synapse contains over 90,290 entries [references] dating back to 1987.

I hope that by browsing the 2020 Synapse Publications Report, readers will gain a sense of the contributions made by MSK authors to the ever-growing body of scholarly research. If you are curious about our past annual reports, feel free to explore.

Donna Gibson
Director, Library Services



We’re Back to Regular Business Hours!

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We are delighted to announce that effective July 1, the MSK Library will be returning to regular business hours, Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 7:00 pm.

MSK staff will no longer have to register to reserve a seat and seating availability will return to a first come, first serve scenario.

There are guidelines that will remain in place. While vaccinated staff are not required to wear a mask, social distancing should continue to be followed. Unvaccinated staff are still required to wear their mask in public areas which includes the Library’s physical space.

Our patients and their caregivers are also welcome to return to the MSK Library to use available resources and consult with librarians on-site. For the safety of our patients, visiting and research hours for them will be Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays from Noon to 2:00 pm where all individuals in the Library’s space will need to wear their masks. In addition, no food/beverages are permitted in the Library, with the exception of bottled water.

For our Tri-Institutional colleagues, we recommend they contact us to confirm seating availability by calling our info desk (212.639.7439) or sending an email to Ask a Librarian.

As a friendly reminder, MSK Staff can continue to access the majority of the Library’s services and collections remotely. Visit our Virtual Library Services page to learn more. 

Donna Gibson
Director, Library Services

Reflecting on National Library Week’s Theme

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National Library Week was first sponsored in 1958 by the American Library Association (ALA). Libraries of all types (academic, research, special, school, public) across the United States recognize this special week in April. This year’s National Library Week took place April 4 – 10, 2021. The theme “Welcome to Your Library” focused on the importance of how we deliver library services beyond the traditional brick and mortar library.

While the MSK Library did not organize a celebration, I want to take a moment to reflect on this theme and how the MSK Library team (and other hospital and research libraries’ staff) respond to their user communities. 2020 changed how libraries interact with their users and COVID-19 pushed us to rethink how to best support our users and look for opportunities to continue to be part of their day-to-day work/life activities. Many libraries strived to continue to deliver a positive user experience with synchronous virtual reference and consultation services, moving training and orientation classes completely online, and creating safe areas where clients could drop by the library to pick up print materials. We have always offered online services, the pandemic amplified the need for ongoing promotion and awareness of how we can collaborate on information-intense projects, answer reference questions, or handle research requests, in a virtual setting.

MSK staff can learn more about our Virtual Services, but I also want to extend an invitation to our users to reach out directly to us to schedule a brief Library Orientation to better understand these services, and the digital resources accessible via the Library Website.

Finally, another way for users to gain insights and stay in touch with the MSK Library is through our social media presence, so don’t hesitate to start following us on Twitter or Instagram.  And feel free to send me your Twitter handle, so we can follow you!

Donna Gibson
Director of Library Services