title: Customized USB flash drives used to promote library resources and services to first-year medical and dental students.
abstract: In line with its institution's commitment to keep new student orientation/welcome events "green," Columbia University's Health Sciences Library (HSL) applied for a National Network of Libraries of Medicine Middle Atlantic Region (NN/LM MAR) Small Projects Award(1) in Spring/Summer 2009 to explore paperless modes of outreach. This article describes the project that resulted from this funding, whose purpose was to determine whether customized 1 GB USB flash drives are a good vehicle for distributing library promotional materials to incoming medical and dental students. This project gave HSL librarians the opportunity to connect with students in a way that had not been done before and to consider how these new students use/view the information the library produces.
authors.affiliation: Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library of Columbia University, 701 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA. km2056@columbia.edu
authors.forename: Konstantina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsoukas
authors.forename: Anca
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Meret
authors.forename: John T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Oliver
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Purcell
mesh_terms: D016287:Computer Peripherals; D006801:Humans; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval / Q000379:methods*; D007993:Libraries, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009042:Motivation; D013335:Students, Dental; D013337:Students, Medical; D014481:United States