Salem Press

Library Journal - eReviews - eReviews is a regular feature in Library Journal focused on electronic reference. Cheryl LaGuardia is its author. She is the Research Librarian for the Widener Library at Harvard University and author of Becoming a Library Teacher (Neal-Schuman, 2000).

Library Journal - April 15, 2008

SALEM HEALTH
Salem Pr., salempress.com

Salem Health encompasses the complete content of the printed version of Magill's Medical Guide (LJ 2/15/08). At present, this includes reference sections on Anatomy & Physiology, Diagnosis & Testing, Diseases, Disorders, & Symptoms, Mental Health, Prevention & Lifestyle, Social Issues, Specialties & Health Care Providers, and Treatment & Therapy. There are over 1000 essays (from 500 to 3500 words each), more than 400 photos and illustrations, and nearly 650 sidebars and tables.

In a neat marketing twist, Salem Press is making Salem Health available for free (for up to three years) to those who purchase the printed five-volume set. This is unlimited, remote, and on-site access through 12/31/2010, with the complete content of the print, fully illustrated. In addition, the publisher plans to add six reference titles to the database over the next three years: Cancer, Psychology & Mental Health, Genetics & Inherited Diseases, Infectious Diseases & Conditions, Addictions & Substance Abuse, and Nutrition & Eating Disorders.

HOW DOES IT WORK? The homepage contains a single search box set by default to search the full text of the Guide. Users will find a link to Advanced Search. An insert box for the Spotlight on Medicine for March (the month of this review) notes that "March is national poison prevention month," showing a large skull-and-bones danger logo and including links to related areas of interest like Anthrax, Biological and Chemical Weapons, Bites and Stings, Environmental Health, Food Poisoning, Lead Poisoning, Mercury Poisoning, Occupational Health, Over-the-Counter Medications, Poisonous Plants, Safety Issues for Children, Snakebites, and Toxicology. At screen top is a series of nine action tabs: Home, Search, Browse, Indexes, Glossary, Profile, Logoff, Help, and About Salem Health.

CAN YOU USE IT? Having heard that a local hospital was just approved to start performing face transplants in the United States, I had to see what was in this file on it, so my first search was a simple search for face transplant. I got a result of eight articles, the first of which was a signed, 980-word article for Facial Transplantation.

The article discussed the indications and procedures, uses and complications (noting that "By the end of 2006, only two partial facial transplantations had been performed worldwide"), and perspective and prospects ("The procedure is still very experimental, involves great risks, and raises numerous ethical questions. Patients are participating in research, not receiving traditional medical care. Additionally, most medical personnel agree that it will be years before anyone knows whether the partial transplants performed in France and China are successful. If these early attempts fail, with recipients dying or left more disfigured than before, then support for further attempts will decrease").

The seven other articles that came up were for Grafts and Grafting, Kidney Transplantation, Hair, Kidneys, Skin, Ethics, and Nuclear Medicine. The Ethics article, 4,032 words long, provided a thoughtful discussion of such medical principles as autonomy, informed consent, paternalism, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, and confidentiality and privacy, along with a brief history of medical ethics.

All of this information seemed authoritative and up-to-date yet highly accessible and admirably succinct. All the articles are signed, and to the left of the article text are links to the proper citation for the articles. Users have the ability to export the citation to bibliographic management software (EndNote, BibTex, ProCite, Medlars, and Reference Manager formats are included already; I'd stump for adding RefWorks) and to save articles to their Profile area within Salem Health, where they can manage saved articles, citations, and searches. There are also definitions of key terms, brief summaries of conditions, links to related subjects, and a "For Further Information" section with a bibliography of more material on the subject of the article.

I took a look at Advanced Search and saw that it locates results using natural language Boolean operators—"with all the words," "with the exact phrase," "with at least one of the words," and "without the words"—letting you search full text, abstract, title, or top matter/keywords and allowing you to limit your search within specific subject categories.

My search to find results with all the words sleep apnea yielded 18 articles, ranging from Apnea to Respiration, and along the way I learned a new word: uvulopalatopharyngoplasty. Now I'm going to use it in a sentence: I now know that uvulopalatopharyngoplasty is the surgical procedure for removing excess soft tissue (including the tonsils) in the back of the mouth for sleep apnea sufferers who cannot tolerate the use of a CPAP machine. And what is a CPAP machine, you ask? A continuous positive airflow pressure machine, to keep airways open as you sleep.

The article here explains the causes and symptoms very well and clearly describes treatments and therapies. In the Perspectives section, the author notes, "The famous composer Johannes Brahms (1833–97) was thought to have developed sleep apnea in his later years when he gained weight. He was known to his friends to snore loudly at night. He also fell asleep during a performance by another famous composer, Franz Liszt."

The only addition I would recommend here would be to have active links to brief biographies of the contributors. And that's a minor quibble because all the pieces of this resource are excellent separately, and taken as a whole they are truly outstanding. (Check out the Glossary when you can: it is fascinating and endlessly informative.)

WHAT'S THE COST? Are you sitting down? If not, do. The price of the five-volume printed reference is $395. And that buys you three years of unlimited access to the online database.

HOW GOOD IS IT? Salem Press has created a winner here, which makes essential, reliable medical material accessible, both pedagogically and financially. A perfect ten!

BOTTOM LINE It's seldom that I can unreservedly recommend a product for all libraries everywhere, but with this pricing model and such content, I certainly can for Salem Health. An extraordinary reference resource.

Cheryl LaGuardia