Trout Library Blog

For those of you in the OTA and PTA programs, the Trout Library has an array of resources that will help you in your studies. For these and all other programs at Harcum, we have created a Library Guide in order to help organize the resources that are available to you. Library guides contain tabs for Databases, Books, eBooks, Useful Articles, Open Educational Resources (OERs), Videos, and more. Guides for individual health topics are available as well. To find the Library Guides, click on the Library Guides icon under Quick Links on the Library’s homepage. The topic guides feature subjects such as Stroke, Back Pain & Spinal Cord Injuries, Sports Therapy & Medicine, Parkinson’s Disease, and Multiple Sclerosis.

On the Library’s homepage, you will also find a link to our Databases page. This page lists all the databases to which Trout Library subscribes. The subscription databases are denoted by a bear icon. To access these databases from off campus, you will need a username and password that can be found in the Library Database Password List under Quicklinks in Harcum Hatch. Health databases in this category include CINAHL and Consumer Health Complete. CINAHL is the primary database that you would use to find peer-reviewed articles in the health fields. Consumer Health Complete is better for health-related articles in popular and trade publications.

Also on the Databases page, you will find databases denoted by a blue looking glass icon. These databases are open access and thus freely available to the general public. They do not require a password for access. Health-related databases in this category include BioMed Central, PLOS (Public Library of Science), PubMed, ScienceOpen, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. They include a considerable amount of full text availability, as do CINAHL and Consumer Health Complete. PubMed is an especially beneficial resource to use if you want to limit your results to various levels of evidence-based research. PTA students should take a look at PEDro, a free database of over 49,000 trials, reviews and guidelines evaluating physiotherapy interventions.

If you wish to search for eBooks, we have EBSCO eBooks Academic Collection, which is also available through a link on our Databases page and requires a username and password. Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB), which is available to the general public, is another good source to use.

For a video tutorial on any of the databases mentioned here, please visit our Database Tutorials page. There is a link to it on the Library’s homepage.

In health-related courses, the citation formats that are used tend to be AMA (American Medical Association) and NLM (National Library of Medicine). We have a Cite Sources guide available through a link on our homepage with tabs for AMA and NLM.

Remember that if you have questions about these resources or any others, please don’t hesitate to ask us. You may contact the Trout Library by sending an email to library@harcum.edu, or you may use our chat service during the hours posted on the Library’s homepage. You may also request a Zoom session with a librarian by filling out the form available through a link on the homepage.

Harcum College website recently underwent revision. I'm sure you'll agree that the site looks amazing. As a result of the revision some links were moved around including the link to the library website. It wasn't moved far; let me show you how to find us.  

On the new Harcum College website there is a main navigation menu along the top of the page. Look for ACADEMICS. Library Services is listed under that menu. 

The link to Library Services can also be found further down the page between News and Upcoming Events in a horizontal scrolling menu pictured below.

Links to library resources, such as the database A-Z list, research guides, and  e-books are available in the Quick Links menu of your Harcum Hatch. Likewise, the passwords for the library databases are always available within your Harcum Hatch. 

It is also recommended to bookmark the link https://harcum.libguides.com/troutlibrary in your favorite browser. Remember to save the bookmark on your phone too.  Save the website as a favorite or a bookmark in your browser so you can get back to it again quickly.

Roxanne Sutton

Reference and Special Collections Librarian

rsutton@harcum.edu

610-526-6022