I want to introduce you to the Lymebrary, a project of the Lyme Disease Digital Library, something I've been training for and working on for the past 2 years.
The Lymebrary is a website that gathers quality information about tick-borne disease, using collection methods used by consumer health libraries, and makes it searchable.
The archive includes many articles on both "sides" of the issue, and provides them without comment, believing that you, the reader, can make your own best decisions about Lyme disease. New articles are being added regularly.
Access to the archive portion of the website is password protected, but free -- like registering for a library card. It is restricted because in the future, we hope to add limited-access documents to the archive, like that full-text article you always wanted....
Sharon Hawkes Librarian Lyme Disease Digital Library
Posted by JKMMC09 (Member # 15795) on :
Thank you for doing this, great idea!
Posted by Vermont_Lymie (Member # 9780) on :
Congratulations!
Great idea, and though I have not spent much time at the site yet, it is a fantastic design; clear, easy to use, stylish.
The Lymebrary will be a great resource. Wishing you years of growth.
Posted by disturbedme (Member # 12346) on :
This is so great!
Congrats. Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
-
Sharon,
Fabulous. Too tired now to look around it but, at first glance, it is quite impressive.
This will make it much easier to refer people to the lyme literature. You might ask TreePatrol to add it to the NEWBIE thread.
Congratulations !
-
Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
hi sharon,
thanks for the notice about this new library being available.
took a quick look at it; LOVED "ARIAL" LARGE PRINT on screens i'd seen.
EXCEPT BOARD OF TRUSTEES PAGE; could that be changed to ARIAL also so it is legible? it's too important NOT to know who all is involved in this project.
i'm one of those who can NOT read TIMESNEWROMAN that runsallwordstogetherlike thisforme!
thanks for your consideration! xox
i looked also at your 1st 100 entries of articles, etc.
how are these set up? didn't seem to be alphabetical, etc. and dates were OLD, 2008, late 1990s..
so if someone could explain that on your new site, that would speed things up vs. looking thru ALL TITLES shown of around 200 entries.
thank you all for your efforts in this project! Posted by shazdancer (Member # 1436) on :
Thanks, guys. A few people have said they could not find their password link in their email. If this happens, let me know via the Contact Us page on the website and I'll see what I can do.
Hi betty,
Yes, the font and design were chosen with Lyme patients in mind. The font on the Directors and Advisors page has been changed to a non-serif font this morning.
The search functions don't do everything I would like, but they are fast. The return order is pretty random -- it is probably returning in the order I indexed them.
The tag searching which is available now on the website searches by topic, title word, and document type. It also recognizes the Boolean term AND (in all caps), so you can use it to narrow a search. The first return will present more search terms to help you hone in on what you're looking for.
In the future, I am hoping to add a full-text search engine that will work like Google (but it won't be Google, because that would include advertising). I also have a few other ideas cooking -- one thing at a time.
There are currently over 150 document links in the archive. That is not everything, and not even everything that would qualify to be included. But I think you will find a lot of goodies!
Thanks for the encouragement,
Sharon "shazdancer" on Lymenet
Posted by Nessa1815 (Member # 15697) on :
Haven't had a chance to look....but I LOVE THE NAME. Very clever. Made me chuckle. Not that it's funny...but very clever.
Like my brother says when he sees me cry, UUHH OHH, better call the "Waah-amublance" (Ambulance.) lol.
Posted by shazdancer (Member # 1436) on :
Thanks, Nessa.
{Bumping up for the evening crowd.}
Posted by Melanie Reber (Member # 3707) on :
Nice Nice NICE! Posted by kam (Member # 3410) on :
Very good!
I feel it would be good to keep this on the top of the front page of lymenet Medical.
Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
sharon,
thanks for changing the font on the 1 page i mentioned; easier reading this way!! big thanks for listening!! Posted by Anneke (Member # 7939) on :
AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
Posted by AmyPW8 (Member # 11504) on :
Brilliant!
Posted by jjeennnniiee (Member # 7964) on :
Neat, well-fitting name and awesome idea!!!
Thank you sooooo much!!!
Love, Light, & Health, Jennie
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
-
Glad this has a permanent place at the top !
-
Posted by shazdancer (Member # 1436) on :
Thanks, Lou, and thanks everyone for your endorsements.
You might also be interested in the blog links, which are on the right on the homepage. The Quote of the Week will offer medical and other literary quotes that might pique your interest, and the Lymebrary Desk blog will offer search hints, information about new documents or features, and anything that might be of interest to the Lyme community.
Happy searching,
Sharon
Posted by pab (Member # 904) on :
for doing the Lymebrary!
Posted by lou (Member # 81) on :
I did not get a password after registering and have sent a message re contact us page.
Since I haven't seen this yet, I am wondering how it compares with the lymeinfo.net website which has been operation for some years now.
Posted by shazdancer (Member # 1436) on :
Aw, thanks, Meg! I appreciate those of you who have websites linking to it, as that helps raise the site on Google and other search engines.
Lou, I got your message, and hope that you are all set now. Apparently, some spam filters are throwing the website's response into the deleted file. If people are not seeing the website response, they should check the junk file. If not, they can email me via the Contact Us page.
And don't forget to check back from time to time, as I will continue to add documents. You might also keep an eye (or keep an RSS feed) on the blogs, which will be updated periodically.
-- I recently added a list of search terms to Subscriber page, which I hope will help when you are searching the archive. You can also easily search by author last name, or on words in the title of the article. http://www.lymediseasedigitallibrary.com/lymebrary/index.php
-- A similar list can be found on the Delicious.com page, on the right-hand side. Just click on a term there to enact the search. http://delicious.com/lymebrarian
-- If you are new signing up to the archive, don't forget to check your spam folder for confirmation.
Sharon
Posted by islandgirl (Member # 5914) on :
Way to go, Sharon. Thanks for all the work you have done on your site, plus all the good replies over the years on lymenet. Thanks
Posted by kehren (Member # 15220) on :
Went to check it out today but received errors when I clicked on the subscriber's link and then tried to submit a request on the contact page.
This was the error:
Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/local/pem/vhosts/125246/webspace/httpdocs/wp-content/themes/3col_w-blog/database-tpl.php:7) in /usr/local/pem/vhosts/125246/webspace/httpdocs/wp-content/themes/3col_w-blog/database-tpl.php on line 8
Posted by shazdancer (Member # 1436) on :
Hi Karen,
I emailed you, and hope it is straightened out.
-- Sharon
Posted by eric555 (Member # 18343) on :
hi,
maybe make a section of all documented important, famous, & rich people there...
maybe they too will start using the web site, imagine the publicity then, and thus acting more for this whole lyme & co project.
just a thought.
Posted by shazdancer (Member # 1436) on :
Sorry, Eric, it isn't going to happen. One of the important aspects of the Lymebrary is that people can use it anonymously.
The celebrities I sometimes mention as having Lyme have all spoken publicly about it. There are probably many more who do not go public with it. Remember, people might make themselves unemployable by saying that they could relapse at any time or that they have chronic pain or neurological problems.
I can tell you that we now have about 500 registered users, from at least 8 different countries and 5 different universities.
I hope to be able to add some features in the future, but outing users is not one of them.
-- Sharon
Posted by schnuddelka (Member # 8031) on :
This was long overdue, thank you so much for the gift of your time. You have saved and will continue to save lives! God bless everyone willing to do the right thing at any cost!
Thank you, infinity as my son would say!
Posted by attlse0609 (Member # 19163) on :
This is a wonderful resource...Thank You very much for the enormous effort and time spent!
Posted by 5dana8 (Member # 7935) on :
A major untaking and a fabulous site. Thanks so much !!!!
Posted by shazdancer (Member # 1436) on :
Thanks for your encouragement, Dana, on our one year anniversary!
We currently have over 650 registered users, and will be working on reviewing and updating the archive (of some 300 links) this summer.
It has been a busy year for Lyme advocacy, what with films, books, and legislation on the state and federal levels. Yet the numbers of new cases is still on the increase in many areas, so though we are increasing awareness, we are still far from solving the puzzle.
Thanks to everyone who has fought this fight, quietly and loudly, all over the globe.
~ Sharon www.lymebrary.com Posted by springshowers (Member # 19863) on :
Hi.>
How long to wait for a password email. I registered and did not get one..?
Thanks
Posted by shazdancer (Member # 1436) on :
Hi Spring,
It may be that the confirmation email went into your email's spam folder. Check there, and if you don't see it, send me a PM here or use the Contact Us form at the Lymebrary.
Regards, Sharon
Posted by StopTheItchPlz (Member # 23266) on :
I've been reading the Lymebrary and have to comment on how helpful and fascinating it all is!
Thank you for putting this together. This is simply fabulous. Well done!!
![[woohoo]](graemlins/woohoo.gif)
![[kiss]](graemlins/kissing.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[group hug]](graemlins/grouphug.gif)
![[bow]](graemlins/bow.gif)
![[bonk]](graemlins/bonk.gif)
for doing the Lymebrary!