Trout Library Blog

Imagine stumbling across a century-old advertisement that sheds light on the remarkable women who shaped Harcum College. This thrilling discovery recently unfolded at the Charles H. Trout Library, where the archives gained three original advertisements for The Harcum School for Girls, published in Harper's Magazine. Generously donated by Mrs. Margaret Tucker DeTemple and Mr. David Lockwood, these seemingly modest documents open a window to the early years that shaped Harcum’s legacy. In this blog post, we’ll look at two of the three advertisements.

Cornelia G. Harcum

The earliest of these treasures is a 1919 advertisement mentioning Cornelia G. Harcum, Ph.D., as Head of the Academic Department. Cornelia, the elder half-sister of Harcum’s co-founder Octavius Marvin Harcum, was a trailblazer in academia and a brilliant scholar. According to her Wikipedia entry, she earned both a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1914—a rare feat for women at the time. Her distinguished career included teaching Latin at Vassar College and Wellesley College.

Harcum College archives confirm that Cornelia held the role of Academic Head at The Harcum School for Girls between 1919 and 1920, before leaving to join the Royal Ontario Museum of Archaeology and the University of Toronto. An accomplished researcher, Cornelia published extensively on food and culture in the Roman Empire. Her contributions earned high praise from her advisor at Johns Hopkins, David Moore Robinson, who described her as "one of the best archaeology students ever graduated from Hopkins." Despite her untimely passing in 1927 at the age of 49, Cornelia’s legacy endures through the advertisement that sheds light on her vital role in Harcum’s history.

Harcum in Harper’s

Years later, Harcum’s dedication to empowering women through education remained strong, as reflected in another intriguing advertisement from Harper's Magazine. While undated, clues help narrow its publication to the late 1920s. College records reveal that Mrs. L. May Willis, Academic Head, worked at Harcum College between 1921 and 1929. Further analysis shows that Harper's New Monthly Magazine became Harper's Magazine in 1925, leading to an estimated publication period of 1925-1929.

Mrs. Willis’s inclusion in this advertisement underscores Edith Harcum’s commitment to working with remarkable women educators. Mrs. Willis was a life-long educator. Read about Mrs. Willis in a previous blog post and her connection to artist Georgia O’Keefe. The advertisement also exposes a deliberate strategy to connect with students nationwide by advertising in widely-read publications. Intriguingly, Harcum also placed ads in Harper's Bazar, demonstrating the intention to expand its reach. This piece is not just a marketing relic; it’s a testament to Harcum’s evolving mission and national prominence.

A Vision Ahead of its Time

Both advertisements offer a compelling glimpse into Harcum College’s visionary approach to education. Edith Harcum’s philosophy of individualized learning broke barriers, providing opportunities for women in a time when such prospects were rare (Back 21). These artifacts, now part of the archives, encapsulate Harcum’s enduring legacy of empowering women through education.

The Harcum community is invited to explore these treasures and delve deeper into the rich history that shaped the College’s foundation.

Sources

Back, A. Harcum College: a centennial history. The Donning Company Publishers, 2016.

Barney, Brett, and Lisa Paddock. “Harper’s Monthly Magazine.” Encyclopedia of American Literature, by Inc. Manly, 3rd ed., Facts On File, 2013. Credo Reference, https://search.credoreference.com/articles/Qm9va0FydGljbGU6MTI0MzUxOQ==?aid=237793.

“Cornelia Gaskins Harcum.” Canada’s Early Women Writers, 18 May 2018.

"Cornelia Gaskins Harcum." Goucher College, Donnybrook Fair (1908 yearbook): 32. via Goucher College Digital Library., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=153653300

Miss C.G. Harcum archaeologist, dies. The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, Maryland, Friday, May 20, 1927, page 3

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-baltimore-sun-miss-c-g-harcum-arc/156735773/

Wikipedia contributors. "Cornelia Gaskins Harcum." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, 20 Oct. 2024. Web. 14 Mar. 2025.

This post is inspired by a recent conversation with an alumna who graduated with the Class of 1948. Dr. Stork was her favorite instructor while at Harcum. I was happy to report that his bust is on display in the Charles H. Trout Library.  In fact, the sculpture of Dr. Charles Wharton Stork has been a permanent fixture within the Charles H. Trout Library since 1984. The story behind the sculpture is an interesting piece of Harcum history. 

Definition:

Bust: a sculpture of the head, shoulders, and upper chest of a person ~ Collins English Dictionary, 2014

Charles Wharton Stork was born in Philadelphia in 1881. He attended Haverford College, Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania. He pursued a career as an academic and literary author, poet, and translator.  He was well-known for his translations of Swedish and Danish poetry. You can find four of his books in our collection. He taught at the University of Pennsylvania until 1916. He left teaching for a time to pursue a writing career. His return to teaching brought him to Harcum College from 1935 to 1951. While teaching here, he continued to write poetry and publish. He submitted a poem to the inaugural issue of The Springboard, a literary magazine published by the students of Harcum College in 1935. 

Dr. Stork was returning to America from a trip to the British Isles on September 1, 1939 on the SS Athenia. On September 3rd, the British declared war on Germany. That same day, only three days into the voyage and 200 nautical miles northwest of Ireland, the ship was attacked by the German submarine U-30 and suffered severe damage from a torpedo. Fortunately, most of the 1,418 passengers and crew were able to escape to lifeboats, however 98 passengers and 19 crew members perished. Dr. Stork was one of the lucky survivors. He was able to board a lifeboat which was rescued by a Royal Navy destroyer. Stork wrote about his ordeal in an article for The Saturday Evening Post called “Sketches by an ‘Athenian'”. You can read the article in EBSCOhost Discovery. The full citation is listed below. The SS Athenia sank 14 hours after it was struck. It was the first UK ship sunk by Germany in World War II.

Dr. Stork was very well-liked by students at Harcum College. I have to wonder what reception he received upon arriving back to the Bryn Mawr campus in 1939. The 1943 yearbook was dedicated to Dr. Stork stating “We are fond of him as a friend, honor his ability, and appreciate all he has done to instill in us a richer appreciation of the finer things in life. ”

Stork was married and had four children. His eldest son Francis Wharton Stork was an artist and the sculptor of the bust. The sculpture is made of fiberglass and resin. It was gifted to Harcum College in 1984 by the artist. Two of Stork's children, daughter Rosalie Stork Regan and Francis Wharton Stork attended the unveiling of the sculpture held in the library. The sculpture has been on display in the Strauss Family Rotunda since it was unveiled 40 years ago and has a permanent home there. Francis Wharton Stork made a similar sculpture cast in bronze which was gifted to The Athenaeum of Philadelphia. 

Sources

“Charles Wharton Stork.” Department of English, The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, 2024, www.english.upenn.edu/people/charles-wharton-stork. 

Francis Wharton Stork, “Charles Wharton Stork,” General Collection, Museum Collection, The Athenaeum of Philadelphia, Athenaeum of Philadelphia Featured Collections, accessed October 18, 2024, https://omeka.philaathenaeum.org/collections/items/show/3483.

Mawdsley, Evan. “Sinking the SS Athenia.” Yale University Press, 4 Aug. 2020, https://yalebooks.yale.edu/2020/08/04/sinking-the-ss-athenia/.

Stork, Charles Wharton. “Sketches by an ‘Athenian.’” Saturday Evening Post, vol. 212, no. 19, Nov. 1939, pp. 33–98. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=f8feecb7-287f-3545-8d67-3c9c89363ae4. 

*Note: The password for EBSCOhost Discovery is found in your Harcum Hatch under “Library Database Passwords”. 

“Rosalie Stork Regan and Francis Stork with Charles Stork bust (1984),” Trout Library's Digital Archives & Special Collections, accessed October 17, 2024, https://harcumarchives.omeka.net/items/show/55.

Wikipedia contributors. "Charles Wharton Stork." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 30 Aug. 2023. Web. 18 Oct. 2024.

Recently, I was asked for records from our archive relating to Elizabeth "Libbie" Hall Wilis. What we found was a new piece of Harcum College history I think is worth documenting.

Willis was the Head of the Academic Department and Prinicpal from approximately 1921 to 1929 and later an advisor to Edith Harcum until approximately 1934. Elizabeth Hall Willis, who went by Libbie, obtained a degree in painting from Syracuse University. Before coming to the Harcum School, she had a career as an art teacher at the University of Arkansas and at Chatham Hall. It was while teaching art at Chatham Hall she met a student, Georgia O'Keefe. You can read about this encounter and the on-going professional relationship between Willis and O'Keefe in Linda Grasso's book Equal under the Sky: Georgia O'Keefe & Twentieth Century Feminism. 

Willis came to the Harcum School to lead the academics and college preparation program. Her title in 1921 was “Head of the Academic Department” but it was later changed to Principal. Throughout her time at Harcum, she was mentioned in the yearbook, Purple Patches, especially in association with her work with college preparation studies. In the "Class Will" in 1922 the students express fond appreciation and love for her. The 1923 yearbook was dedicated to Mrs. Willis. This is quite a show of support by the student body. Her portrait finally appears in the 1929 yearbook. She left Harcum School after 1929, although she was mentioned as an advisor in the 1934 academic calendar, perhaps she stayed in touch to advise Edith Harcum.  

The biggest surprise of all is that we found her on video. In those years, Edith Harcum’s son Bill Harcum was given a silent film camera and he took silent moving images around the school. The films were digitized and Bill Harcum gave commentary on the films. You can see Elizabeth Willis briefly at 0:12 seconds, right at the beginning of the film. Bill Harcum mentions Mrs. Willis by name and calls her the head mistress. 

Libbie Hall Willis had a interesting life as an artist and academic before and after her time at Harcum College. Harcum is fortunate to be able to claim her as one of our own.  

Election Day is Tuesday, November 7. Polls are open in Pennsylvania from 7am until 8pm.

Although 2023 is not a federal election year, there are still many important judicial and municipal races on the ballot. If you live in Philadelphia, for example, you will be electing a mayor. The right to vote is sacred, and we encourage everyone to exercise it. While off-year elections do not receive the same level of attention as presidential races, the outcome of elections for local offices and judgeships also can have a significant impact on your life -- sometimes a greater impact than higher-level offices. In addition, your vote is more likely to make a difference in municipal races since the constituency is smaller and races therefore can be decided by a handful of votes. Note as well that people who occupy local elected positions sometimes will run for higher office at a later date. So there are many reasons to go to the polls and vote!

The race at the top of the Pennsylvania ballot is for a vacant seat on the seven-member state Supreme Court. Click the hyperlinks below for information about the candidates:

• Daniel McCaffery (Democrat)
• Carolyn Tornetta Carluccio (Republican)

A good site to use for election information is Vote 411 from the League of Women Voters. It provides links that will allow you to verify your voter registration and to create a sample ballot for your precinct. The most efficient way to use the site is to enter your home address (the address at which you are registered to vote) into the box where you are given the opportunity to create "Personalized Voting Information." Click the Submit button, and you will see a list of the races on the ballot in your precinct. Click on individual races to see the candidates, information about them, and links to their websites. In some cases, appearing here are answers to interview questions that the candidates have submitted. Scroll down further to find the address of your polling place along with a map to help you locate where it is.

In addition to the source mentioned above, you can also find your polling location on the site of the Pennsylvania Department of State.

Ballotpedia, an online encyclopedia of American politics, is another good source for finding candidate information. The site also allows you to generate a sample ballot for your precinct by entering your home address.

Students living on campus may register to vote either at their campus address or their home address. For students who are registered at their campus address, type Harcum's address (750 Montgomery Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA, 19010) into either Vote 411 or Ballotpedia to see the races on the ballot in Harcum's precinct. The polling place for Harcum's precinct is:

First Presbyterian Church of Ardmore
5 West Montgomery Avenue
Ardmore, PA 19003

To keep up with the latest news related to the election, remember to consult the extensive number of sources that I have included in my News, Politics, & Current Events library guide. 

EBSCOhost has just released a browser extension that makes it easier than ever to connect to full-text materials.  EBSCOhost Passport browser extension shows you when the material is available in full text when you are searching on virtually any web page where DOIs are present. This means when you are searching on PubMed or Google Scholar, you'll see an icon that will allow you to click through to the full text if it is available via the Charles H. Trout Library. 

The browser extension is currently only available for Chrome but more browser extensions are coming soon. To install the browser extension, visit the Chrome web store listing. Click Add to Chrome. Search for Harcum College when prompted to select your institution. If prompted for a password, see our one-minute video on how to access passwords.  

Once the extension is installed, just search PubMed, Google Scholar, or the web as you normally would. When an article is available in our EBSCOhost databases, you'll see an icon alerting you that the material is available. Simply click on the icon and the full text will open in a new tab. 

When searching in PubMed and Google Scholar there will be an additional more results icon near the search box that will show additional results available in EBSCOhost 

To learn more about EBSCOhost Passport and how to install it, click here.

Happy searching! If you need assistance with your research, please reach out to us!

With Earth Day coming up on April 22, I invite you to peruse my Climate Change, Energy & Sustainability library guide and also have a look at our book display on the slatwall just inside the Library entrance. A link to the guide can be found by Clicking on Research Guides on the Library's homepage and then clicking on the Special Topics tab.

The guide contains tabs for relevant websites, databases, videos and podcasts, books, articles, reports, and more. The website tab is broken down into the following categories: Climate Change Research & Data, Climate Change News, Weather, and Sustainability & Renewable Energy. Among the many interesting and informative websites that you will find are: Climate Central, which provides research and reporting by leading scientists and journalists about climate change and its impact on the public; Skeptical Science, which explains climate change science and rebuts misinformation; World Weather Attribution, which details studies that examine the extent to which climate change is responsible for individual weather events; and a link to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Below are some highlights from the book display. All books on the display are available to be checked out:

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

Call Number: 363.73 .C321A 1994

Originally written in 1962, Rachel Carson documents the environmental harm caused by the indiscriminate use of pesticides. Her book helped to launch the environmental movement.

 

 

 

 

Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit by Al Gore

Call Number: 363.7 .G665 2006

Originally published in 1992, the former vice president describes how human actions and decisions can endanger or safeguard the vulnerable ecosystem that sustains us all, focusing on the threats that everyday choices pose to our climate, water, soil, and diversity of plant and animal life.

 

 

 

 

The Climate Book by Greta Thunberg

Call Number: 363.73874 .T536 2023

Greta Thunberg has gathered the wisdom of over one hundred experts - geophysicists, oceanographers and meteorologists; engineers, economists and mathematicians; historians, philosophers and indigenous leaders to equip us all with the knowledge that we need to combat climate disaster. Includes illuminating and often shocking grayscale charts, graphs, diagrams, photographs, and illustrations to underscore research and arguments.

 

 

Climate Change: What Everyone Needs to Know by Joseph Romm

Call Number: 363.73874 .R766 2018

Provides an overview of the science, conflicts, and implications of our warming planet. Broken down into the following seven chapters: Climate Science Basics, Extreme Weather and Climate Change, Projected Climate Impacts, Avoiding the Worst Impacts, Climate Politics and Policies, The Role of Clean Energy, and Climate Change and You. Each chapter features numerous questions on the covered topic that the author answers in a detailed yet understandable way.

Enviromedics: The Impact of Climate Change on Human Health by Lemery Auerbach; Paul Auerbach; Jay Lemery

Call Number: 613.1 .L552 2017

Written by physicians, this book clarifies the science, dispels the myths, and help readers understand the threats of climate change to human health.

 

 

 

 

The Clean Energy Age: A Guide to Beating Climate Change by B. F. Nagy

Call Number: 333.79 .N152 2018

A guidebook containing Top Ten lists that will help individuals and organizations save money while taking aim at the source of most of our carbon emissions. Explores opportunities for homeowners, governments, corporations, media, and others.

 

 

 

Sustainability Made Simple: Small Changes for Big Impact by Rosaly Byrd; Laurèn DeMates

Call Number: 338.927 .B995 2019

An introduction to sustainability and sustainable living that explores the relationship between everyday life and the intricate global environmental issues of today, including air and water pollution, deforestation, and climate change. Provides new and relatively easy ways to incorporate sustainability into daily life.

Remember that if you have questions about these resources or any others, please don’t hesitate to ask us. You may visit the Library during the hours posted on the Library's homepage, email us at library@harcum.edu, use our chat service, or call us at 610-526-6085.

As April is National Autism Awareness Month, I would like to detail some of the resources that Trout Library has to offer on the topic. I have created an Autism library guide, the link to which can be found by clicking on Research Guides on the Library's homepage and then selecting Special Topics. The guide contains a tab that lists autism related websites, such as the Autism Society and Autism Speaks as well as information about the condition from organizations such as the CDC and the WHO. A video tab will lead you to Kanopy films, Ted Talks, and a number of useful YouTube videos. Other tabs in the guide provide you with articles on the topic, print books in our collection, eBooks from EBSCO eBooks Academic Collection, open access books, and podcasts.

I have also put together a book display, which is located on the slatwall just inside the Library entrance. The following are some books on the display, which are available to be checked out:

Right from the Start: A Practical Guide for Helping Young Children with Autism by Karin Donahue; Kate Crassons

Call Number: 371.94 .D674 2020

Describes practical strategies to help autistic children manage their emotions and behavior, learn social and play skills, and cope with challenging sensory experiences.

 

 

 

 

 

A Parent's Guide to High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder : How to Meet the Challenges and Help Your Child Thrive by Sally Ozonoff; Geraldine Dawson; James C. McPartland

Call Number: 618.92858832 .O999 2015

Containing real-life stories and everyday problem-solving ideas, provides parents the facts that they need about high-functioning autism spectrum disorder, including Asperger syndrome.

 

 

 

 

Rethinking Autism: Variation and Complexity by Lynn Waterhouse

Call Number: 618.928 .W292 2013

Reviews the scientific research on causes, symptomology, course, and treatment of autism spectrum disorder and draws the conclusion that "autism" does not exist as a single disorder.

 

 

 

 

Neurotribes: the Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity by Steve Silberman

Call Number: 616.9 .S582 2016

Considers the idea that neurological differences such as autism, dyslexia, and ADHD are not errors of nature or products of the toxic modern world, but the result of natural variations in the human genome.

 

 

 

Rex: a Mother, Her Autistic Child, and the Music That Transformed Their Lives by Cathleen Lewis

Call Number: 618.928 .L673Y 2008

The inspiring story of Rex, a boy who is not only blind and autistic, but who also happens to be a musical savant.

 

 

 

 

Emergence: Labeled Autistic by Temple Grandin; Margaret M. Scariano

Call Number: NAR 618.928 .G753EY 2005

The first-hand account of a courageous autistic woman who beat the odds and cured herself.

 

 

 

 

Thinking in Pictures: and Other Reports from My Life with Autism by Temple Grandin

Call Number: 616.85882 .G753YT 1995

Temple Grandin's personal account of living with autism and her extraordinary gift of animal empathy.

 

 

 

 

 

Remember that if you have questions about these resources or any others, please don’t hesitate to ask us. You may visit the Library in person during the hours listed on the homepage, email us at library@harcum.edu, use our chat service when it is available, or call us at 610-526-6085.

We are reaching the point in the semester where you are likely working on research projects. The Trout Library is here to help you with that! 

We subscribe to many databases that you should find very useful as you pursue your research. A significant number of these databases use the EBSCO platform, which provides a uniform appearance as well as very similar search options and methods. In this blog post, I am going to list the EBSCO databases that we have and briefly explain their features.

Our EBSCO databases cover a wide range of subject areas. The following is a list of the ones that are available through links on our A-Z Databases page:

• Academic Search Complete (Multidisciplinary – All Subjects)
• Business Source Premier (Business articles as well as market research reports, industry reports, country reports, company profiles and SWOT analyses)
• Business Book Summaries (Business books)
• Regional Business News
• CINAHL (Health-related material, much of it peer-reviewed)
• Consumer Health Complete (Health-related material, much that is not peer-reviewed)
• Dentistry & Oral Sciences Source (Dentistry and Dental Hygiene)
• Criminal Justice Abstracts (Criminal Justice)
• Violence & Abuse Abstracts (Sociology and Criminal Justice)
• eBooks Academic Collection (Full-text eBooks)
• ERIC (Education)
• Teacher Reference Center (Education)
• GreenFile (Environment)
• Library Information Science & Technology Abstracts (Library Science)
• Newswires
• OpenDissertations (Abstracts of dissertations with links to some full text)

The EBSCO databases are subscription databases, which means that they are available only to members of the Harcum community and not to the general public. (Subscription databases are indicated by the lock icon on the Databases page.) As a result, to access these databases from off campus, you will need a username and password that can be found in the Library Database Password List. Find the password list by logging into Harcum Hatch and selecting the Library Database Password icon on the far righthand side of the bottom row. The login information is the same for all the EBSCO databases. If you are on campus, no username and password are needed.

The EBSCO databases are straightforward to search. You may search an individual EBSCO database or multiple EBSCO databases simultaneously. When you enter an EBSCO database, you are brought to a screen containing three search boxes:

You will also see a variety of limiters. The limiters vary from database to database but generally include full-text availability, peer-reviewed articles, published date, source type, and number of pages.

Some of the databases also feature a thesaurus that will help you narrow down your search terms. Once you execute a search, you are able to refine your results further if you wish to do so. Choose an article and you are able to save it, print it, or email it. In addition, EBSCO provides a tool that will generate citations in APA (7th Edition), MLA (9th Edition), and AMA (11th Edition) among other formats. If you use this tool, always remember to confirm the accuracy of the citation using our Cite Sources guide.

For a detailed visual demonstration of how to search EBSCO databases, please visit our Database Tutorials page. There you will find individual video tutorials (5-10 minutes each) for a number of the databases listed above.

Remember that if you have questions about these resources or any others, please don’t hesitate to ask us. You may visit the Library in person during the hours listed on the homepage, email us at library@harcum.edu, use our chat service when it is available, or call us at 610-526-6085.

With the last month of the semester approaching, many of you are likely working on major papers and projects. I thought that this would be a good time to review what plagiarism entails and the importance of citing your sources properly.

Plagiarism is using the words, thoughts, or ideas of someone else without giving credit. It can take many forms and can be intentional or accidental. Below are some guidelines to follow:

• Quoting an author's exact words often strengthens your argument. When you do so, you must provide a citation for the source of those words immediately after the quotation.
• Sometimes you will paraphrase an author's words using your own words and phrasing. You must still provide a citation when you paraphrase in order to avoid plagiarism. So as not to plagiarize accidentally, you should compare your paraphrased writing with the author's exact words to make sure you have not copied phrases or sentences from the author​ without stating that you have done so.
• The original source must be cited even if the borrowed information is used for different purposes from those intended in the original source. If you organize your ideas in the same way in which an author organized his or her ideas, cite the source of the organizational scheme.
• Information drawn from personal communications, speeches, conversations, interviews and other spoken words must be documented with a citation.
• If multiple students write a paper as a collaborative group project, one of the authors cannot submit or reuse the paper for another assignment. Any information borrowed from a paper that you write collaboratively should include citations for the information taken from the original paper.
• Information that is commonly known by the public or the intended readers of a paper does not need to be cited. The general rule is that if you can find the information in at least five separate sources, a citation is not necessary. However, if you are not sure whether an idea is common knowledge, use caution and cite the source.

Five different citation styles are used at Harcum: APA (American Psychological Association), MLA (Modern Language Association), ASA (American Sociological Association), AMA (American Medical Association), and NLM (National Library of Medicine). APA is generally used in the social sciences with ASA being specific to sociology. MLA would be used in English courses and some of the humanities. MLA and NLM are used in the health sciences.

Typically a brief in-text citation is included at the end of a directly quoted or paraphrased comment in a paper, and a full citation is then listed in the References or Works Cited page at the end of the paper. Each citation format is different in terms of the placement of information as well as the rules regarding the use of italics, punctuation, capitalization, and whether to use a hanging indent. Ask your instructor or consult your syllabus to determine which style to use for your paper.

The Library has print manuals for each style on reserve behind the front desk. You may also consult our Cite Sources guide for tips and examples. Purdue OWL is another good resource to use for citation help. In addition, we created modules as a non-credit course in Canvas called Information Literacy & Library Resources. These are quick PowerPoint presentations and ungraded quizzes that are available for you in order to review and test your understanding and knowledge of each citation format used at Harcum. The PowerPoints are also available in the Information Literacy library guide, which you may access under the Getting Started menu on the Library's homepage.

If you have any questions about citations or any other research matter, please reach out to us. You may visit us in person during the posted Library hours, send an email to library@harcum.edu, use our chat service when it is available, or call us at 610-526-6085.

This week we are going to profile a library database that would be especially useful to students in the Dental programs at Harcum: Lexicomp for Dentistry. This database will provide you with drug information that you may need for your studies and your career. In it you will find tools to help answer prescribing, diagnosis and treatment questions, with dental-specific pharmacology on prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, and natural products. Although this version of Lexicomp contains material that is focused on the needs of people in the dental profession, students in other Allied Health programs should be able to find useful information in this database as well.

To access Lexicomp for Dentistry, click on the Databases icon under Quick Links on the Library’s homepage. This will bring you to an alphabetical list of all of our databases. Scroll down to Lexicomp and select it. Since Lexicomp is a subscription database, you will need to enter a username and password if you are off campus. To find this information, log into Harcum Hatch and you will see a purple icon for Library Database Passwords on the righthand side of the bottom row. Click on this icon and choose the username and password for Lexicomp.

To do a drug search in Lexicomp, simply enter the name of the drug into the search box, click on the blue search button, and then click on the link under Dental Lexi-Drugs in the upper left-hand corner of the resulting screen. You will be brought to a screen that contains a Dental Lexi-Drugs monograph record, the main record in the database. The following are some features of a Dental Lexi-Drugs monograph record:

• Brand names
• Generic availability
• Pharmacologic category
• Use, including off-label if applicable
• Allergy considerations
• Adverse reactions
• Effects on dental treatment and on bleeding
• Dosing for various categories of patients
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding considerations

The following is an image of the top portion of the Dental Lexi-Drugs record for Penicillin G Procaine (You would scroll down to view the rest of the record):

As you can see in the blue bar and hyperlinks across the top of the record, Lexicomp contains a number of other useful features. Some include:

• Drug alerts and interactions
• Drug I.D. (Enter characteristics of an unknown drug to help identify it.)
• Drug images
• Adult and pediatric patient education (Answers common questions patients may ask)
• Various types of calculators, including those for dosage and unit conversion
• Toxicology of substances

More detailed instruction on the contents and use of Lexicomp for Dentistry can be found in our video database tutorial. Choose Database Tutorials under Quick Links on the Library’s homepage and then select Lexicomp.

Remember that if you have questions about this resource or any other, please don’t hesitate to ask us. You may visit the Library during the hours posted on the Library's homepage, email us at library@harcum.edu, or call us at 610-526-6085.