This article was downloaded by [New York University]On 23 November 2014 At 1855Publisher RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number 1072954Registered office Mortimer House 37-41 Mortimer Street London W1T 3JHUK

Medical Reference ServicesQuarterlyPublication details including instructions forauthors and subscription informationhttpwwwtandfonlinecomloiwmrs20

The Literature Arts andMedicine Database from theNew York University Schoolof Medicine the LiteratureArts and Medicine Database ofMedicinePatricia Tomasulo MLS AHIP aa Graduate Medical Education Ehrman MedicalLibrary New York University School of Medicine 550 First Avenue New York NY 10016 USAPublished online 08 Oct 2008

To cite this article Patricia Tomasulo MLS AHIP (2006) The Literature Arts andMedicine Database from the New York University School of Medicine the LiteratureArts and Medicine Database of Medicine Medical Reference Services Quarterly 25149-57

To link to this article httpdxdoiorg101300J115v25n01_05

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor amp Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all theinformation (the ldquoContentrdquo) contained in the publications on our platformHowever Taylor amp Francis our agents and our licensors make norepresentations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy completenessor suitability for any purpose of the Content Any opinions and viewsexpressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors andare not the views of or endorsed by Taylor amp Francis The accuracy of theContent should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with

primary sources of information Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for anylosses actions claims proceedings demands costs expenses damagesand other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly orindirectly in connection with in relation to or arising out of the use of theContent

This article may be used for research teaching and private study purposesAny substantial or systematic reproduction redistribution reselling loansub-licensing systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone isexpressly forbidden Terms amp Conditions of access and use can be found athttpwwwtandfonlinecompageterms-and-conditions

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The Literature Arts and Medicine Databasefrom the New York University School

of MedicinePatricia Tomasulo

ABSTRACT The Literature Arts and Medicine Database is a uniquedatabase created and maintained by the New York University School ofMedicine freely available to all on the Web Focusing on the medicalhumanities it provides annotations to over 2000 works of art such aspaintings poetry prose plays and film The annotations are written byan eclectic group of scholars that includes physicians scientists poetshistorians and critics [Article copies available for a fee from The HaworthDocument Delivery Service 1-800-HAWORTH E-mail address ltdocdeliveryhaworthpresscomgt Website lthttpwwwHaworthPresscomgt copy 2006 by TheHaworth Press Inc All rights reserved]

Patricia Tomasulo MLS AHIP (tomasulolibrarymednyuedu) is CoordinatorGraduate Medical Education Ehrman Medical Library New York University Schoolof Medicine 550 First Avenue New York NY 10016

Comments and suggestions should be sent to the Column Editors Roberta BronsonFitzpatrick (fitzparbumdnjedu) and Patricia Tomasulo (tomasulolibrarymednyuedu)

Medical Reference Services Quarterly Vol 25(1) Spring 2006Available online at httpwwwhaworthpresscomwebMRSQ

copy 2006 by The Haworth Press Inc All rights reserveddoi101300J115v25n01_05 49

ONLINE UPDATESA COLUMN FOR SEARCH ANALYSTS

Roberta Bronson Fitzpatrick and Patricia TomasuloColumn Editors

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2014

KEYWORDS Medicine in literature medicine in art medical humani-ties Literature Arts and Medicine Database

INTRODUCTION

The Literature Arts and Medicine Database is the largest part of the NewYork University School of Medicine Medical Humanities Web site which islocated at lthttpendeavormednyuedulit-medgt It is a free Web-based da-tabase of annotations of works of literature film and art that relate to the expe-rience of illness and medical education and practice The database wasdeveloped in 1993 by Drs Felice Aull Editor-in-Chief Martin Nachbar Ka-ren Brewer Director of the Ehrman Medical Library Roy Smith and IreneChen class of 1996 all from the New York University School of MedicineThe database is updated quarterly and each revised edition features theldquoWhatrsquos New in This Editionrdquo section (see Figure 1) This Whatrsquos New sec-tion includes a count with links to the new material added into the current edi-tion grouped into the categories of Art Artists Film Literature and AuthorsFor regular users of the database this feature serves as an alerting service forthe most recent annotations A summary of the total number of annotations inthe entire database is shown at the bottom of the Whatrsquos New page along withthe total number of keywords currently in use

DATABASE MISSION AND CONTENT

The databasersquos Web site is produced and maintained by the New York Uni-versity School of Medicine Hippocrates Project described in the ldquoAbout theDatabaserdquo link as the ldquomulti-disciplinary development laboratory for applica-tion of information technologies to medical educationrdquo Members of the data-basersquos Editorial Board select the material to annotate for this database based onits usefulness to ldquoteaching and scholarship in the Medical Humanitiesrdquo as statedin the ldquoAbout the Databaserdquo section The ultimate goal is to foster humane med-ical care through the study of the arts and literature and to help ldquodevelop andnurture skills of observation analysis empathy and self-reflectionrdquo The Edi-torial Board tab on the main navigation bar of the database provides links tobiographical information for all of the Board from the Editor-in-Chief to the21 invited Co-Editors and one Guest Editor who hail from many different uni-versities and health centers from across the United States and Canada Accord-ing to the Editorial Policy of this database the editors welcome suggestions forworks not yet included there The bulk of the content of this database consists ofannotations to works of literature A total of 2106 annotations of literary works

50 MEDICAL REFERENCE SERVICES QUARTERLY

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2014

written by 1247 authors is available in the July 2005 edition This same editioncontains a total number of 88 annotations of works of art created by 55 artistsand 179 film annotations

SEARCHING THE LITERATURE ARTSAND MEDICINE DATABASE

Although the greater part of this database is devoted to annotations of morethan 2000 works of literature the first three main categories of links locatedon the left-hand sidebar of the database Web site (see Figure 1) are to annota-tions listed in alphabetic order by type of work

1 Art2 Literature3 Performing Arts

Online Updates A Column for Search Analysts 51

FIGURE 1 ldquoWhatrsquos Newrdquo from the Literature Arts and Medicine Database

Used with permission

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18

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2014

Another separate section offering ldquoEditorsrsquo Choicesrdquo appears directly be-low these three groupings of annotations and is followed by the last main sec-tion of different ldquoSearch Optionsrdquo These Search Options change according towhich of the three categories of the work of art is searched All of these linksare found on the left sidebar of the database Web site (see Figure 1) The onlypage that does not allow for all of these database features and search options isthe link for an order form of the print copy of the database located under theEditorsrsquo Choices section

The first three main sections of the database follow a similar format Linksto the bibliographic annotations appear first and are aptly captioned as ldquoAnno-tationsrdquo In both the Art and Literature sections the links are arranged in al-phabetical order by the name of the Artist or the Author of the annotated workThe link to the annotated work appears just to the right of the author or artistrsquosname The Performing Arts category contains links arranged in alphabeticalorder by the title of the name of the film or video annotated As of the July2005 edition 179 films are included in the database The next sections underthe Art and Literature rubrics ldquoArtistsrdquo and ldquoAuthorsrdquo provide links arrangedalphabetically of just the name of the author or artist without the name of theirincluded work These links provide basic biographical information about theauthor or artist along with accompanying links to their own works available inthis database For example the entry for the author William Carlos Williams(see Figure 2) displays basic biographical information about him along withlinks to his literary works annotated in the database It is also noted that he is aphysician with a list of his literary prizes included and a link captionedldquoOn-Line Author Siterdquo to the poetsorg Web site from the Academy of Ameri-can Poets

Meet The Artist Meet The Author Subsections

The next part features ldquoMeet the AuthorArtistrdquo This segment is a displayof links to a selected group of Web sites relevant to the author or artist such assites providing more extensive biographical information photos interviewsbibliographies and excerpts from their work These features are not found inthe Performing Arts section so unfortunately there are no links listed by nameof the film director or links to interesting Web sites about the film or the direc-tor Such a feature would be a wonderful addition to future versions of the da-tabase

ldquoRoomsrdquo for Viewing Listening Reading and Screening Subsections

The following subsections of the three main Art Literature and PerformingArts sections of the database include links to multimedia and audiovisual re-

52 MEDICAL REFERENCE SERVICES QUARTERLY

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ded

by [

New

Yor

k U

nive

rsity

] at

18

55 2

3 N

ovem

ber

2014

sources As expected the Art ldquoViewing Roomrdquo allows the user to see an imageof the work of art included in the database by clicking on the ldquoOn-Line Artrdquo linkMany of these art links go to the Paris WebMuseum site of images

In the literary ldquoListening Roomrdquo audio recordings of readings and com-mentary of a small number of the authors found in this database are freelyavailable from the ldquoOn-line Text and Audiordquo links A good amount of theapproximate 20 authors with these audio links have recorded their material ex-pressly for the Literature Arts and Medicine Database The Literature ldquoRead-ing Roomrdquo portion conveniently provides links to the full text of some of theliterary works in the database such as the complete Jane Eyre by CharlotteBronteuml

The Performing Arts ldquoScreening Roomrdquo currently links to online excerptsof three films and the ldquoTheatrerdquo section links to just one online video of a livetheatre performance of Clark Middletonrsquos ldquoMiracle Milerdquo Curiously an an-notation in the database was not found for this theatrical work but such a pro-

Online Updates A Column for Search Analysts 53

FIGURE 2 Author Listing for PhysicianndashAuthor William Carlos Williams

Used with permission

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

New

Yor

k U

nive

rsity

] at

18

55 2

3 N

ovem

ber

2014

vision of online performances is a wonderful use of technology Even morecurious a check of the various search engine options did not produce a link tothis work of art in the database at all

Editorsrsquo Choices Section

The next major part of the database the ldquoEditorsrsquo Choicesrdquo neatly mixesall three of the genres of work included in itndashArt Literature and Film Thefirst subsection called simply ldquoChoicesrdquo lists the name of the editor with alink to a brief annotation of the creative works chosen by the editor (see Figure3) This brief annotation in turn provides a link to the full record annotationthat is in one of the three main Art Literature or Performing Arts sections

Editorrsquos Biosketch Indexes and Book Order Form

There is another opportunity to see the biographical data of the database ed-itorial staff in the section called ldquoEditorrsquos Biosketchrdquo These are the same links

54 MEDICAL REFERENCE SERVICES QUARTERLY

FIGURE 3 Editorsrsquo Choices Table of Contents

Used with permission

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ded

by [

New

Yor

k U

nive

rsity

] at

18

55 2

3 N

ovem

ber

2014

as the ones on the navigation bar under the ldquoEditorial Boardrdquo link Next is aseparate set of indexes to the works designated as the editorsrsquo special choicesThese editorial selections are indexed in the standard system used by this data-base which is by author name and by title of the work Now for the first timean index by film director is provided although it indexes only the ten filmsspecially singled out by the editors out of the total 179 annotated in the wholedatabase The last option of this section is the Book Order Form which is forthe 2003 special ten-year anniversary edition of a print version of the EditorsrsquoChoicesndasha lovely and moderately priced gift book

Search Options

The final feature on the sidebar of the database Web site is the grouping ofdifferent search options for finding annotations or annotators All of the data-base sections allow for searching by the preset assigned Keyword and also byWordPhrase This WordPhrase search provides complete free-text searchingby author artist word or phrase

The sections on Art and on the Performing Arts share these same four meth-ods of searching

1 WordPhrase for All Sections2 WordPhrase for Specific Section ie Art or Film or Literature3 Keyword4 Annotator

The Keyword search is a preset list of 134 general subject terms such asldquoAnatomyrdquo ldquoDepressionrdquo ldquoLoverdquo or ldquoPrayer as Medicinerdquo Clicking on akeyword results in a page with links to the annotations organized by the maingenres of the creative arts found in this database For example clicking on theassigned keyword ldquoNative American Experiencerdquo in the Keywords subsection(see Figure 4) results in a display of links to annotations in the areas of ArtFilm and Literature The illustration here cuts off all but the first of some30 other literature annotations since the largest part of the database is com-prised of literary annotations

With the marked emphasis on literature it is fitting that the Literature sec-tion supports the richest search options available in the database There are an-other four more ways to search for literary annotations in addition to the firstfour options listed previously

5 Title6 Genre7 Era8 Special Author

Online Updates A Column for Search Analysts 55

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ded

by [

New

Yor

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nive

rsity

] at

18

55 2

3 N

ovem

ber

2014

The Title search is a straightforward alphabetical list of the links to the an-notated literary works by title but the last three search modes offer very spe-cial and unique searching capabilities The Genre option allows searching byspecific literary genre with nearly 40 different ones available from Anthol-ogy to Fairy Tale to Sonnet to Treatise Eras may be searched from Ancienttimes to Early Mid Late 20th Century and up to the 21st Century

Last but not least is the ability to search by five different types of authors

1 Female2 Male3 Physician4 Nurse5 Selected Ethnic Groups

The Ethnic Groups currently available include

bull AfricanAfrican Americanbull AsianAsian American

56 MEDICAL REFERENCE SERVICES QUARTERLY

FIGURE 4 Keyword Search Example

Used with permission

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

New

Yor

k U

nive

rsity

] at

18

55 2

3 N

ovem

ber

2014

bull LatinaLatinobull Native American

With more than 80 of this database made up of annotations to works ofliterature it is only natural that the most sophisticated search options would bedeveloped for this area of artistic endeavor

While the search options here are many and somewhat more varied thanthose found in other databases the specialized nature of this databasersquos con-tent drives the wealth of ways available to search here For many users theclear and simple Text Search for ALL the sections (Art Literature and Per-forming Arts) may be the easiest and fastest method of searching and findingmaterials here Otherwise it is also very easy to just browse among the threemajor groups of annotations or just enjoy what the editors recommend in theirselection of Editorsrsquo Choices

CONCLUSION

This very special database is dedicated solely to the connections betweenthe arts and medicine It has been privately produced under the auspices of theNew York University School of Medicine program in Medical Humanities forover 12 years and it is freely available to all on the Web It is extremely easy tonavigate and browse and provides diverse search options suitable to studentsprofessionals and the general public It does not appear to be a very well-known database to librarians or to many users so it is hoped that this reviewmay generate some well-deserved attention and greater use

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For more information about the Literature Arts and Medicine databasecontact

Felice Aull PhD MA Editor-in-ChiefHead Literature Arts and Medicine ProjectNew York University School of Medicine550 First AvenueNew York NY 10016Voice 212-263-5401E-mail medhumpopmailmednyuedu

Online Updates A Column for Search Analysts 57

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

New

Yor

k U

nive

rsity

] at

18

55 2

3 N

ovem

ber

2014

Another separate section offering ldquoEditorsrsquo Choicesrdquo appears directly be-low these three groupings of annotations and is followed by the last main sec-tion of different ldquoSearch Optionsrdquo These Search Options change according towhich of the three categories of the work of art is searched All of these linksare found on the left sidebar of the database Web site (see Figure 1) The onlypage that does not allow for all of these database features and search options isthe link for an order form of the print copy of the database located under theEditorsrsquo Choices section

The first three main sections of the database follow a similar format Linksto the bibliographic annotations appear first and are aptly captioned as ldquoAnno-tationsrdquo In both the Art and Literature sections the links are arranged in al-phabetical order by the name of the Artist or the Author of the annotated workThe link to the annotated work appears just to the right of the author or artistrsquosname The Performing Arts category contains links arranged in alphabeticalorder by the title of the name of the film or video annotated As of the July2005 edition 179 films are included in the database The next sections underthe Art and Literature rubrics ldquoArtistsrdquo and ldquoAuthorsrdquo provide links arrangedalphabetically of just the name of the author or artist without the name of theirincluded work These links provide basic biographical information about theauthor or artist along with accompanying links to their own works available inthis database For example the entry for the author William Carlos Williams(see Figure 2) displays basic biographical information about him along withlinks to his literary works annotated in the database It is also noted that he is aphysician with a list of his literary prizes included and a link captionedldquoOn-Line Author Siterdquo to the poetsorg Web site from the Academy of Ameri-can Poets

Meet The Artist Meet The Author Subsections

The next part features ldquoMeet the AuthorArtistrdquo This segment is a displayof links to a selected group of Web sites relevant to the author or artist such assites providing more extensive biographical information photos interviewsbibliographies and excerpts from their work These features are not found inthe Performing Arts section so unfortunately there are no links listed by nameof the film director or links to interesting Web sites about the film or the direc-tor Such a feature would be a wonderful addition to future versions of the da-tabase

ldquoRoomsrdquo for Viewing Listening Reading and Screening Subsections

The following subsections of the three main Art Literature and PerformingArts sections of the database include links to multimedia and audiovisual re-

52 MEDICAL REFERENCE SERVICES QUARTERLY

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

New

Yor

k U

nive

rsity

] at

18

55 2

3 N

ovem

ber

2014

sources As expected the Art ldquoViewing Roomrdquo allows the user to see an imageof the work of art included in the database by clicking on the ldquoOn-Line Artrdquo linkMany of these art links go to the Paris WebMuseum site of images

In the literary ldquoListening Roomrdquo audio recordings of readings and com-mentary of a small number of the authors found in this database are freelyavailable from the ldquoOn-line Text and Audiordquo links A good amount of theapproximate 20 authors with these audio links have recorded their material ex-pressly for the Literature Arts and Medicine Database The Literature ldquoRead-ing Roomrdquo portion conveniently provides links to the full text of some of theliterary works in the database such as the complete Jane Eyre by CharlotteBronteuml

The Performing Arts ldquoScreening Roomrdquo currently links to online excerptsof three films and the ldquoTheatrerdquo section links to just one online video of a livetheatre performance of Clark Middletonrsquos ldquoMiracle Milerdquo Curiously an an-notation in the database was not found for this theatrical work but such a pro-

Online Updates A Column for Search Analysts 53

FIGURE 2 Author Listing for PhysicianndashAuthor William Carlos Williams

Used with permission

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

New

Yor

k U

nive

rsity

] at

18

55 2

3 N

ovem

ber

2014

vision of online performances is a wonderful use of technology Even morecurious a check of the various search engine options did not produce a link tothis work of art in the database at all

Editorsrsquo Choices Section

The next major part of the database the ldquoEditorsrsquo Choicesrdquo neatly mixesall three of the genres of work included in itndashArt Literature and Film Thefirst subsection called simply ldquoChoicesrdquo lists the name of the editor with alink to a brief annotation of the creative works chosen by the editor (see Figure3) This brief annotation in turn provides a link to the full record annotationthat is in one of the three main Art Literature or Performing Arts sections

Editorrsquos Biosketch Indexes and Book Order Form

There is another opportunity to see the biographical data of the database ed-itorial staff in the section called ldquoEditorrsquos Biosketchrdquo These are the same links

54 MEDICAL REFERENCE SERVICES QUARTERLY

FIGURE 3 Editorsrsquo Choices Table of Contents

Used with permission

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

New

Yor

k U

nive

rsity

] at

18

55 2

3 N

ovem

ber

2014

as the ones on the navigation bar under the ldquoEditorial Boardrdquo link Next is aseparate set of indexes to the works designated as the editorsrsquo special choicesThese editorial selections are indexed in the standard system used by this data-base which is by author name and by title of the work Now for the first timean index by film director is provided although it indexes only the ten filmsspecially singled out by the editors out of the total 179 annotated in the wholedatabase The last option of this section is the Book Order Form which is forthe 2003 special ten-year anniversary edition of a print version of the EditorsrsquoChoicesndasha lovely and moderately priced gift book

Search Options

The final feature on the sidebar of the database Web site is the grouping ofdifferent search options for finding annotations or annotators All of the data-base sections allow for searching by the preset assigned Keyword and also byWordPhrase This WordPhrase search provides complete free-text searchingby author artist word or phrase

The sections on Art and on the Performing Arts share these same four meth-ods of searching

1 WordPhrase for All Sections2 WordPhrase for Specific Section ie Art or Film or Literature3 Keyword4 Annotator

The Keyword search is a preset list of 134 general subject terms such asldquoAnatomyrdquo ldquoDepressionrdquo ldquoLoverdquo or ldquoPrayer as Medicinerdquo Clicking on akeyword results in a page with links to the annotations organized by the maingenres of the creative arts found in this database For example clicking on theassigned keyword ldquoNative American Experiencerdquo in the Keywords subsection(see Figure 4) results in a display of links to annotations in the areas of ArtFilm and Literature The illustration here cuts off all but the first of some30 other literature annotations since the largest part of the database is com-prised of literary annotations

With the marked emphasis on literature it is fitting that the Literature sec-tion supports the richest search options available in the database There are an-other four more ways to search for literary annotations in addition to the firstfour options listed previously

5 Title6 Genre7 Era8 Special Author

Online Updates A Column for Search Analysts 55

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

New

Yor

k U

nive

rsity

] at

18

55 2

3 N

ovem

ber

2014

The Title search is a straightforward alphabetical list of the links to the an-notated literary works by title but the last three search modes offer very spe-cial and unique searching capabilities The Genre option allows searching byspecific literary genre with nearly 40 different ones available from Anthol-ogy to Fairy Tale to Sonnet to Treatise Eras may be searched from Ancienttimes to Early Mid Late 20th Century and up to the 21st Century

Last but not least is the ability to search by five different types of authors

1 Female2 Male3 Physician4 Nurse5 Selected Ethnic Groups

The Ethnic Groups currently available include

bull AfricanAfrican Americanbull AsianAsian American

56 MEDICAL REFERENCE SERVICES QUARTERLY

FIGURE 4 Keyword Search Example

Used with permission

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

New

Yor

k U

nive

rsity

] at

18

55 2

3 N

ovem

ber

2014

bull LatinaLatinobull Native American

With more than 80 of this database made up of annotations to works ofliterature it is only natural that the most sophisticated search options would bedeveloped for this area of artistic endeavor

While the search options here are many and somewhat more varied thanthose found in other databases the specialized nature of this databasersquos con-tent drives the wealth of ways available to search here For many users theclear and simple Text Search for ALL the sections (Art Literature and Per-forming Arts) may be the easiest and fastest method of searching and findingmaterials here Otherwise it is also very easy to just browse among the threemajor groups of annotations or just enjoy what the editors recommend in theirselection of Editorsrsquo Choices

CONCLUSION

This very special database is dedicated solely to the connections betweenthe arts and medicine It has been privately produced under the auspices of theNew York University School of Medicine program in Medical Humanities forover 12 years and it is freely available to all on the Web It is extremely easy tonavigate and browse and provides diverse search options suitable to studentsprofessionals and the general public It does not appear to be a very well-known database to librarians or to many users so it is hoped that this reviewmay generate some well-deserved attention and greater use

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For more information about the Literature Arts and Medicine databasecontact

Felice Aull PhD MA Editor-in-ChiefHead Literature Arts and Medicine ProjectNew York University School of Medicine550 First AvenueNew York NY 10016Voice 212-263-5401E-mail medhumpopmailmednyuedu

Online Updates A Column for Search Analysts 57

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

New

Yor

k U

nive

rsity

] at

18

55 2

3 N

ovem

ber

2014

sources As expected the Art ldquoViewing Roomrdquo allows the user to see an imageof the work of art included in the database by clicking on the ldquoOn-Line Artrdquo linkMany of these art links go to the Paris WebMuseum site of images

In the literary ldquoListening Roomrdquo audio recordings of readings and com-mentary of a small number of the authors found in this database are freelyavailable from the ldquoOn-line Text and Audiordquo links A good amount of theapproximate 20 authors with these audio links have recorded their material ex-pressly for the Literature Arts and Medicine Database The Literature ldquoRead-ing Roomrdquo portion conveniently provides links to the full text of some of theliterary works in the database such as the complete Jane Eyre by CharlotteBronteuml

The Performing Arts ldquoScreening Roomrdquo currently links to online excerptsof three films and the ldquoTheatrerdquo section links to just one online video of a livetheatre performance of Clark Middletonrsquos ldquoMiracle Milerdquo Curiously an an-notation in the database was not found for this theatrical work but such a pro-

Online Updates A Column for Search Analysts 53

FIGURE 2 Author Listing for PhysicianndashAuthor William Carlos Williams

Used with permission

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

New

Yor

k U

nive

rsity

] at

18

55 2

3 N

ovem

ber

2014

vision of online performances is a wonderful use of technology Even morecurious a check of the various search engine options did not produce a link tothis work of art in the database at all

Editorsrsquo Choices Section

The next major part of the database the ldquoEditorsrsquo Choicesrdquo neatly mixesall three of the genres of work included in itndashArt Literature and Film Thefirst subsection called simply ldquoChoicesrdquo lists the name of the editor with alink to a brief annotation of the creative works chosen by the editor (see Figure3) This brief annotation in turn provides a link to the full record annotationthat is in one of the three main Art Literature or Performing Arts sections

Editorrsquos Biosketch Indexes and Book Order Form

There is another opportunity to see the biographical data of the database ed-itorial staff in the section called ldquoEditorrsquos Biosketchrdquo These are the same links

54 MEDICAL REFERENCE SERVICES QUARTERLY

FIGURE 3 Editorsrsquo Choices Table of Contents

Used with permission

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

New

Yor

k U

nive

rsity

] at

18

55 2

3 N

ovem

ber

2014

as the ones on the navigation bar under the ldquoEditorial Boardrdquo link Next is aseparate set of indexes to the works designated as the editorsrsquo special choicesThese editorial selections are indexed in the standard system used by this data-base which is by author name and by title of the work Now for the first timean index by film director is provided although it indexes only the ten filmsspecially singled out by the editors out of the total 179 annotated in the wholedatabase The last option of this section is the Book Order Form which is forthe 2003 special ten-year anniversary edition of a print version of the EditorsrsquoChoicesndasha lovely and moderately priced gift book

Search Options

The final feature on the sidebar of the database Web site is the grouping ofdifferent search options for finding annotations or annotators All of the data-base sections allow for searching by the preset assigned Keyword and also byWordPhrase This WordPhrase search provides complete free-text searchingby author artist word or phrase

The sections on Art and on the Performing Arts share these same four meth-ods of searching

1 WordPhrase for All Sections2 WordPhrase for Specific Section ie Art or Film or Literature3 Keyword4 Annotator

The Keyword search is a preset list of 134 general subject terms such asldquoAnatomyrdquo ldquoDepressionrdquo ldquoLoverdquo or ldquoPrayer as Medicinerdquo Clicking on akeyword results in a page with links to the annotations organized by the maingenres of the creative arts found in this database For example clicking on theassigned keyword ldquoNative American Experiencerdquo in the Keywords subsection(see Figure 4) results in a display of links to annotations in the areas of ArtFilm and Literature The illustration here cuts off all but the first of some30 other literature annotations since the largest part of the database is com-prised of literary annotations

With the marked emphasis on literature it is fitting that the Literature sec-tion supports the richest search options available in the database There are an-other four more ways to search for literary annotations in addition to the firstfour options listed previously

5 Title6 Genre7 Era8 Special Author

Online Updates A Column for Search Analysts 55

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

New

Yor

k U

nive

rsity

] at

18

55 2

3 N

ovem

ber

2014

The Title search is a straightforward alphabetical list of the links to the an-notated literary works by title but the last three search modes offer very spe-cial and unique searching capabilities The Genre option allows searching byspecific literary genre with nearly 40 different ones available from Anthol-ogy to Fairy Tale to Sonnet to Treatise Eras may be searched from Ancienttimes to Early Mid Late 20th Century and up to the 21st Century

Last but not least is the ability to search by five different types of authors

1 Female2 Male3 Physician4 Nurse5 Selected Ethnic Groups

The Ethnic Groups currently available include

bull AfricanAfrican Americanbull AsianAsian American

56 MEDICAL REFERENCE SERVICES QUARTERLY

FIGURE 4 Keyword Search Example

Used with permission

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

New

Yor

k U

nive

rsity

] at

18

55 2

3 N

ovem

ber

2014

bull LatinaLatinobull Native American

With more than 80 of this database made up of annotations to works ofliterature it is only natural that the most sophisticated search options would bedeveloped for this area of artistic endeavor

While the search options here are many and somewhat more varied thanthose found in other databases the specialized nature of this databasersquos con-tent drives the wealth of ways available to search here For many users theclear and simple Text Search for ALL the sections (Art Literature and Per-forming Arts) may be the easiest and fastest method of searching and findingmaterials here Otherwise it is also very easy to just browse among the threemajor groups of annotations or just enjoy what the editors recommend in theirselection of Editorsrsquo Choices

CONCLUSION

This very special database is dedicated solely to the connections betweenthe arts and medicine It has been privately produced under the auspices of theNew York University School of Medicine program in Medical Humanities forover 12 years and it is freely available to all on the Web It is extremely easy tonavigate and browse and provides diverse search options suitable to studentsprofessionals and the general public It does not appear to be a very well-known database to librarians or to many users so it is hoped that this reviewmay generate some well-deserved attention and greater use

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For more information about the Literature Arts and Medicine databasecontact

Felice Aull PhD MA Editor-in-ChiefHead Literature Arts and Medicine ProjectNew York University School of Medicine550 First AvenueNew York NY 10016Voice 212-263-5401E-mail medhumpopmailmednyuedu

Online Updates A Column for Search Analysts 57

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2014

vision of online performances is a wonderful use of technology Even morecurious a check of the various search engine options did not produce a link tothis work of art in the database at all

Editorsrsquo Choices Section

The next major part of the database the ldquoEditorsrsquo Choicesrdquo neatly mixesall three of the genres of work included in itndashArt Literature and Film Thefirst subsection called simply ldquoChoicesrdquo lists the name of the editor with alink to a brief annotation of the creative works chosen by the editor (see Figure3) This brief annotation in turn provides a link to the full record annotationthat is in one of the three main Art Literature or Performing Arts sections

Editorrsquos Biosketch Indexes and Book Order Form

There is another opportunity to see the biographical data of the database ed-itorial staff in the section called ldquoEditorrsquos Biosketchrdquo These are the same links

54 MEDICAL REFERENCE SERVICES QUARTERLY

FIGURE 3 Editorsrsquo Choices Table of Contents

Used with permission

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2014

as the ones on the navigation bar under the ldquoEditorial Boardrdquo link Next is aseparate set of indexes to the works designated as the editorsrsquo special choicesThese editorial selections are indexed in the standard system used by this data-base which is by author name and by title of the work Now for the first timean index by film director is provided although it indexes only the ten filmsspecially singled out by the editors out of the total 179 annotated in the wholedatabase The last option of this section is the Book Order Form which is forthe 2003 special ten-year anniversary edition of a print version of the EditorsrsquoChoicesndasha lovely and moderately priced gift book

Search Options

The final feature on the sidebar of the database Web site is the grouping ofdifferent search options for finding annotations or annotators All of the data-base sections allow for searching by the preset assigned Keyword and also byWordPhrase This WordPhrase search provides complete free-text searchingby author artist word or phrase

The sections on Art and on the Performing Arts share these same four meth-ods of searching

1 WordPhrase for All Sections2 WordPhrase for Specific Section ie Art or Film or Literature3 Keyword4 Annotator

The Keyword search is a preset list of 134 general subject terms such asldquoAnatomyrdquo ldquoDepressionrdquo ldquoLoverdquo or ldquoPrayer as Medicinerdquo Clicking on akeyword results in a page with links to the annotations organized by the maingenres of the creative arts found in this database For example clicking on theassigned keyword ldquoNative American Experiencerdquo in the Keywords subsection(see Figure 4) results in a display of links to annotations in the areas of ArtFilm and Literature The illustration here cuts off all but the first of some30 other literature annotations since the largest part of the database is com-prised of literary annotations

With the marked emphasis on literature it is fitting that the Literature sec-tion supports the richest search options available in the database There are an-other four more ways to search for literary annotations in addition to the firstfour options listed previously

5 Title6 Genre7 Era8 Special Author

Online Updates A Column for Search Analysts 55

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ovem

ber

2014

The Title search is a straightforward alphabetical list of the links to the an-notated literary works by title but the last three search modes offer very spe-cial and unique searching capabilities The Genre option allows searching byspecific literary genre with nearly 40 different ones available from Anthol-ogy to Fairy Tale to Sonnet to Treatise Eras may be searched from Ancienttimes to Early Mid Late 20th Century and up to the 21st Century

Last but not least is the ability to search by five different types of authors

1 Female2 Male3 Physician4 Nurse5 Selected Ethnic Groups

The Ethnic Groups currently available include

bull AfricanAfrican Americanbull AsianAsian American

56 MEDICAL REFERENCE SERVICES QUARTERLY

FIGURE 4 Keyword Search Example

Used with permission

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

New

Yor

k U

nive

rsity

] at

18

55 2

3 N

ovem

ber

2014

bull LatinaLatinobull Native American

With more than 80 of this database made up of annotations to works ofliterature it is only natural that the most sophisticated search options would bedeveloped for this area of artistic endeavor

While the search options here are many and somewhat more varied thanthose found in other databases the specialized nature of this databasersquos con-tent drives the wealth of ways available to search here For many users theclear and simple Text Search for ALL the sections (Art Literature and Per-forming Arts) may be the easiest and fastest method of searching and findingmaterials here Otherwise it is also very easy to just browse among the threemajor groups of annotations or just enjoy what the editors recommend in theirselection of Editorsrsquo Choices

CONCLUSION

This very special database is dedicated solely to the connections betweenthe arts and medicine It has been privately produced under the auspices of theNew York University School of Medicine program in Medical Humanities forover 12 years and it is freely available to all on the Web It is extremely easy tonavigate and browse and provides diverse search options suitable to studentsprofessionals and the general public It does not appear to be a very well-known database to librarians or to many users so it is hoped that this reviewmay generate some well-deserved attention and greater use

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For more information about the Literature Arts and Medicine databasecontact

Felice Aull PhD MA Editor-in-ChiefHead Literature Arts and Medicine ProjectNew York University School of Medicine550 First AvenueNew York NY 10016Voice 212-263-5401E-mail medhumpopmailmednyuedu

Online Updates A Column for Search Analysts 57

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

New

Yor

k U

nive

rsity

] at

18

55 2

3 N

ovem

ber

2014

as the ones on the navigation bar under the ldquoEditorial Boardrdquo link Next is aseparate set of indexes to the works designated as the editorsrsquo special choicesThese editorial selections are indexed in the standard system used by this data-base which is by author name and by title of the work Now for the first timean index by film director is provided although it indexes only the ten filmsspecially singled out by the editors out of the total 179 annotated in the wholedatabase The last option of this section is the Book Order Form which is forthe 2003 special ten-year anniversary edition of a print version of the EditorsrsquoChoicesndasha lovely and moderately priced gift book

Search Options

The final feature on the sidebar of the database Web site is the grouping ofdifferent search options for finding annotations or annotators All of the data-base sections allow for searching by the preset assigned Keyword and also byWordPhrase This WordPhrase search provides complete free-text searchingby author artist word or phrase

The sections on Art and on the Performing Arts share these same four meth-ods of searching

1 WordPhrase for All Sections2 WordPhrase for Specific Section ie Art or Film or Literature3 Keyword4 Annotator

The Keyword search is a preset list of 134 general subject terms such asldquoAnatomyrdquo ldquoDepressionrdquo ldquoLoverdquo or ldquoPrayer as Medicinerdquo Clicking on akeyword results in a page with links to the annotations organized by the maingenres of the creative arts found in this database For example clicking on theassigned keyword ldquoNative American Experiencerdquo in the Keywords subsection(see Figure 4) results in a display of links to annotations in the areas of ArtFilm and Literature The illustration here cuts off all but the first of some30 other literature annotations since the largest part of the database is com-prised of literary annotations

With the marked emphasis on literature it is fitting that the Literature sec-tion supports the richest search options available in the database There are an-other four more ways to search for literary annotations in addition to the firstfour options listed previously

5 Title6 Genre7 Era8 Special Author

Online Updates A Column for Search Analysts 55

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

New

Yor

k U

nive

rsity

] at

18

55 2

3 N

ovem

ber

2014

The Title search is a straightforward alphabetical list of the links to the an-notated literary works by title but the last three search modes offer very spe-cial and unique searching capabilities The Genre option allows searching byspecific literary genre with nearly 40 different ones available from Anthol-ogy to Fairy Tale to Sonnet to Treatise Eras may be searched from Ancienttimes to Early Mid Late 20th Century and up to the 21st Century

Last but not least is the ability to search by five different types of authors

1 Female2 Male3 Physician4 Nurse5 Selected Ethnic Groups

The Ethnic Groups currently available include

bull AfricanAfrican Americanbull AsianAsian American

56 MEDICAL REFERENCE SERVICES QUARTERLY

FIGURE 4 Keyword Search Example

Used with permission

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

New

Yor

k U

nive

rsity

] at

18

55 2

3 N

ovem

ber

2014

bull LatinaLatinobull Native American

With more than 80 of this database made up of annotations to works ofliterature it is only natural that the most sophisticated search options would bedeveloped for this area of artistic endeavor

While the search options here are many and somewhat more varied thanthose found in other databases the specialized nature of this databasersquos con-tent drives the wealth of ways available to search here For many users theclear and simple Text Search for ALL the sections (Art Literature and Per-forming Arts) may be the easiest and fastest method of searching and findingmaterials here Otherwise it is also very easy to just browse among the threemajor groups of annotations or just enjoy what the editors recommend in theirselection of Editorsrsquo Choices

CONCLUSION

This very special database is dedicated solely to the connections betweenthe arts and medicine It has been privately produced under the auspices of theNew York University School of Medicine program in Medical Humanities forover 12 years and it is freely available to all on the Web It is extremely easy tonavigate and browse and provides diverse search options suitable to studentsprofessionals and the general public It does not appear to be a very well-known database to librarians or to many users so it is hoped that this reviewmay generate some well-deserved attention and greater use

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For more information about the Literature Arts and Medicine databasecontact

Felice Aull PhD MA Editor-in-ChiefHead Literature Arts and Medicine ProjectNew York University School of Medicine550 First AvenueNew York NY 10016Voice 212-263-5401E-mail medhumpopmailmednyuedu

Online Updates A Column for Search Analysts 57

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

New

Yor

k U

nive

rsity

] at

18

55 2

3 N

ovem

ber

2014

The Title search is a straightforward alphabetical list of the links to the an-notated literary works by title but the last three search modes offer very spe-cial and unique searching capabilities The Genre option allows searching byspecific literary genre with nearly 40 different ones available from Anthol-ogy to Fairy Tale to Sonnet to Treatise Eras may be searched from Ancienttimes to Early Mid Late 20th Century and up to the 21st Century

Last but not least is the ability to search by five different types of authors

1 Female2 Male3 Physician4 Nurse5 Selected Ethnic Groups

The Ethnic Groups currently available include

bull AfricanAfrican Americanbull AsianAsian American

56 MEDICAL REFERENCE SERVICES QUARTERLY

FIGURE 4 Keyword Search Example

Used with permission

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

New

Yor

k U

nive

rsity

] at

18

55 2

3 N

ovem

ber

2014

bull LatinaLatinobull Native American

With more than 80 of this database made up of annotations to works ofliterature it is only natural that the most sophisticated search options would bedeveloped for this area of artistic endeavor

While the search options here are many and somewhat more varied thanthose found in other databases the specialized nature of this databasersquos con-tent drives the wealth of ways available to search here For many users theclear and simple Text Search for ALL the sections (Art Literature and Per-forming Arts) may be the easiest and fastest method of searching and findingmaterials here Otherwise it is also very easy to just browse among the threemajor groups of annotations or just enjoy what the editors recommend in theirselection of Editorsrsquo Choices

CONCLUSION

This very special database is dedicated solely to the connections betweenthe arts and medicine It has been privately produced under the auspices of theNew York University School of Medicine program in Medical Humanities forover 12 years and it is freely available to all on the Web It is extremely easy tonavigate and browse and provides diverse search options suitable to studentsprofessionals and the general public It does not appear to be a very well-known database to librarians or to many users so it is hoped that this reviewmay generate some well-deserved attention and greater use

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For more information about the Literature Arts and Medicine databasecontact

Felice Aull PhD MA Editor-in-ChiefHead Literature Arts and Medicine ProjectNew York University School of Medicine550 First AvenueNew York NY 10016Voice 212-263-5401E-mail medhumpopmailmednyuedu

Online Updates A Column for Search Analysts 57

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

New

Yor

k U

nive

rsity

] at

18

55 2

3 N

ovem

ber

2014

bull LatinaLatinobull Native American

With more than 80 of this database made up of annotations to works ofliterature it is only natural that the most sophisticated search options would bedeveloped for this area of artistic endeavor

While the search options here are many and somewhat more varied thanthose found in other databases the specialized nature of this databasersquos con-tent drives the wealth of ways available to search here For many users theclear and simple Text Search for ALL the sections (Art Literature and Per-forming Arts) may be the easiest and fastest method of searching and findingmaterials here Otherwise it is also very easy to just browse among the threemajor groups of annotations or just enjoy what the editors recommend in theirselection of Editorsrsquo Choices

CONCLUSION

This very special database is dedicated solely to the connections betweenthe arts and medicine It has been privately produced under the auspices of theNew York University School of Medicine program in Medical Humanities forover 12 years and it is freely available to all on the Web It is extremely easy tonavigate and browse and provides diverse search options suitable to studentsprofessionals and the general public It does not appear to be a very well-known database to librarians or to many users so it is hoped that this reviewmay generate some well-deserved attention and greater use

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For more information about the Literature Arts and Medicine databasecontact

Felice Aull PhD MA Editor-in-ChiefHead Literature Arts and Medicine ProjectNew York University School of Medicine550 First AvenueNew York NY 10016Voice 212-263-5401E-mail medhumpopmailmednyuedu

Online Updates A Column for Search Analysts 57

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

New

Yor

k U

nive

rsity

] at

18

55 2

3 N

ovem

ber

2014