Levy Library Blog

Stay informed with updates, training, and tips on the Blackboard Ultra transition—updated regularly through the 2025–2026 academic year.

APRIL 25, 2025

Navigating the Transition to Blackboard Ultra Video Available

The Fall 2025 Blackboard Courses transition work continues!  Watch the transition workshop recording focused on what you need to know at vimeo.com/1078676280/d87e7ad62a?share=copy

We will do another round of workshops before the Spring 2026 semester for those of you who teach in the Spring to get accustomed to the Ultra interface. 

If you have questions or would like to schedule a consultation, contact the Levy Library Educational Technology Team at https://libguides.mssm.edu/educationaltechnology/connectwithEdTech or email edtech@mssm.edu  

APRIL 15, 2025

Upcoming Training Dates and a Sneak Peek of the New Experience

The Fall 2025 Blackboard Courses transition work has begun!  Watch the pre-transition workshop recording focused on what you need to know at vimeo.com/1074030966/bb7445584b?share=copy  

The next training is Navigating the Transition to Blackboard Ultra on Monday, April 21, 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm.  Please register at libcal.mssm.edu/event/14258733 even if you aren’t able to attend so you receive the recording.   [recorded video now available]

Here’s a sneak preview of the improved navigation menus in Ultra for instructors and students: 

If you have questions or would like to schedule a consultation, contact the Levy Library Educational Technology Team at https://libguides.mssm.edu/educationaltechnology/connectwithEdTech or email edtech@mssm.edu   

MARCH 12, 2025

Blackboard Ultra is Coming Fall 2025: What You Need to Know

Our online learning management system Blackboard enables learning anytime, anywhere. We are excited to upgrade to the Blackboard Ultra platform starting with the Fall 2025 courses.  This blog will provide project updates for the entire 2025-2026 academic year.  

Getting to Know Ultra

Ultra provides several benefits: 

• Improved course interface and navigation​
• ​Mobile-friendly experience​
• New features like course-specific Content Search​
• ​Streamlined workflow for learner submissions​
• Potential for future integration with Blackboard AI Design Assistant and other scholarly tools ​

We will share more on these Ultra aspects as they go live. 

Making the Transition

Upgrading to Ultra is a team effort among instructors and coordinators, enrollment management, Academic Systems, the Library's Educational Technology team, and Blackboard's experts. 

We welcome you to participate in real-time training, review videos and guides, or connect with us for specific support.  These courses will be recorded and links will be shared here. 

1. To get ready for the transition, please attend Preparing your Course for the Blackboard Learning Management System Transition to Ultra on Thursday, March 20th, 2025, Noon-1:30 PM. 
2. Many fall courses will be transitioned between April 1-30. The follow-up course, Navigating the Transition to Blackboard Ultra, Monday April 21st, 2025, Noon – 1:30, will help you once your courses have transitioned to Blackboard Ultra. 

There will be additional trainings for those whose fall courses are transitioned later this summer, and for spring courses that will transition in the fall.  We will link them here when they are scheduled.   

Stay in Touch

We look forward to introducing you to Blackboard Ultra through updates to this blog and a variety of communications.  We would be happy to speak with your group about the Ultra transition, please contact us at edtech@mssm.edu.

Kris Alpi, Associate Dean of Libraries & Information Sciences

A new year means new library workshops and we are happy to announce that our Spring 2024 library workshops are now open for registration!  

Join us via Zoom as our experienced librarians discuss a wide range of topics, including how to conduct a literature review, how to stay organized with reference management tools, evaluating patient education resources, selecting journal submission targets, and more! 

How do I register? 

For a full list of our Spring 2024 library workshops, please visit our Library Events and Workshops page.  

Can’t make it to one of our scheduled live sessions?  

We’ve got you covered! Simply visit the Levy Library YouTube Channel to watch our pre-recorded sessions anytime.  

For more information about library workshops, please contact us at refdesk@mssm.edu. 

Interested in knowing what’s going on in nursing today? Come one, come all, to Nursing Research Day, held this Friday, November 4th!

Nursing Research Day is an annual event held by the Center for Nursing Research in Innovation to celebrate the fantastic work of nurses around the Mount Sinai Health System and the greater New York nursing community, and to discuss important trends in the general nursing research community. This year’s theme is "Nursing Research in 3D: Diversity, Health Disparities, and Social Determinants of Health", and the agenda is packed with great content.

Participants will explore how the practice of nursing can address inequalities in care based on race, gender, sexual orientation, income, insurance status, immigration status, abilities, or other characteristics; disparate health risks faced by structurally disadvantaged populations; and policy and practice conditions impacting divergent health outcomes. The discussion will also explore how a holistic approach to these research domains can strengthen the position of the nursing profession in the broader effort to advance health equity in the United States.

This event will feature keynote addresses by Lisa M. Lewis, PhD, RN, FAAN, Senior Associate Dean, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Professor, Rutgers University-Camden School of Nursing, and Jasmine L. Travers, PhD, MHS, RN, AGPCNP-BC, Assistant Professor, New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing; a moderated discussion featuring Maya Clark-Cutaia, PhD, MSN, RN, Assistant Professor of Nursing, New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing, Lenette M. Jones, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, Assistant Professor, Department of Health Behavior and Biological Sciences, University of Michigan School of Nursing, Adrian Juarez, PhD, RN, Assistant Professor, University of Texas Medical Branch School of Nursing, and Michelle L. Litchman, PhD, FNP-BC, FAANP, FADCES, FAAN, Assistant Professor, University of Utah College Of Nursing; and a special presentation by the Levy Library, given by Carrie Levinson, MSLIS, Reference and Instruction Librarian, Mount Sinai West/Mount Sinai Morningside. 

This event is open to all attendees. You do not need to be a nurse or Mount Sinai Health System employee to join. For more information and to register, please visit: https://nursing-research-day-2022.eventbrite.com

You can also check out a number of helpful resources for nursing research from the Levy Library collection and beyond:

Levy Library Guides:

• Nursing Research
• Writing Resources
• Resources on Racism and Bias in the Nursing Profession and Nursing Research

Mount Sinai Resources:

• The Center for Nursing Research and Innovation on Mount Sinai’s Research Roadmap
• Practical Implementation of Nursing Science (PINS), a Levy Library Press journal devoted to nurses engaged in clinical practice

External Resources:

• The National Institute of Nursing Research
• Sigma Repository
• American Nursing Association: Nursing Resources

Image courtesy of the Public Health Image Library.

Fall 2022 Library Classes are open for registration! Join us via Zoom to learn research tips and best practices directly from Levy’s experienced librarians. Classes cover a variety of topics, including conducting literature reviews, selecting a journal submission target, utilizing reference management software, and evaluating patient education resources.

Can’t make a scheduled live session? View session recordings anytime on Levy Library’s YouTube Channel! Keep reading for class descriptions and registration links.

September 2022

Analyze Scholarly Activity Using SciVal: Training for the ISMSS Research Community

• 9/14/2022      
• 12pm-1:30pm 

Join us to learn more about what you can do with Elsevier's SciVal! SciVal provides access to the research performance of thousands of research institutions and their associated researchers from 231 nations worldwide—so you can visualize research performance, benchmark relative to peers, develop strategic partnerships, identify and analyze new, emerging research trends, and create uniquely tailored reports.

Register here: https://libcal.mssm.edu/event/9547099

Conducting a Literature Review      

• 9/15/2022      
• 2pm-3pm       

This session will focus on the execution of a complete and organized literature search. We’ll discuss topic/question formation and learn how to develop a comprehensive search strategy. While the session will center on PubMed, the importance of other key databases, such as Scopus, will also be discussed. Attendees will leave this session feeling confident that they can…

• Form a searchable question
• Identify appropriate databases/information sources
• Create & execute a comprehensive search strategy
• Organize their results

Register here: https://libcal.mssm.edu/event/9416248

Journal Selection Tips & Tools

• 9/21/2022      
• 1pm-1:30pm  

Join us for a 30-minute Zoom session on Journal Selection Tips & Tools. In this session we'll cover:

• Using the Journal/Author Name Estimator (JANE) tool to identify appropriate publication targets
• Using the PubsHub database to compare journals on various criteria including impact factor, rejection rate, target audience, and publication turnaround time
• Writing a cover letter to the editor of your chosen target journal

Register here: https://libcal.mssm.edu/event/9416252

October 2022

Introduction to EndNote

• 10/6/2022
• 1pm-2pm       

EndNote 20 allows you to search online databases, organize references, and easily create properly formatted citations. In addition to covering the new features of EndNote 20, this class will give you the chance to practice using EndNote 20 to collect, organize, and maintain a 'library' of references, find and save full-text journal articles, and insert/format references in a MS Word document. The class will also cover searching and exporting citations from PubMed and Google Scholar.

Register here: https://libcal.mssm.edu/event/9416305

Patient Education: Evaluating Consumer Health Websites

10/20/2022

1-1:30pm

In this session, we'll cover:

• Factors to consider when selecting patient material Identifying credible websites
• Criteria for evaluating reliable a consumer health website
• Levy Library Patient Education resources

Register here: https://libcal.mssm.edu/event/9416316

November 2022

Zotero in 30 Minutes

• 11/10/2022    
• 1pm-1:30pm  

Join us for a 30-minute Zoom session on Zotero basics. In this session we'll cover:

• Setting up Zotero on your desktop and creating your online account
• Using Zotero Connector to capture webpages, PDFs, and more
• Adding citations to your library directly from the web (PMID, DOI) and using Zotero's Magic Wand feature
• Using the Zotero Microsoft Word plugin to automatically insert citations and create your bibliography in Google Docs / Microsoft Word.

Register here: https://libcal.mssm.edu/event/9416320

December 2022

Introduction to EndNote      

• 12/8/2022
• 2pm-3pm       

EndNote 20 allows you to search online databases, organize references, and easily create properly formatted citations. In addition to covering the new features of EndNote 20, this class will give you the chance to practice using EndNote 20 to collect, organize, and maintain a 'library' of references, find and save full-text journal articles, and insert/format references in a MS Word document. The class will also cover searching and exporting citations from PubMed and Google Scholar.

• Register here: https://libcal.mssm.edu/event/9416334

2021 is wrapping up! Don't miss out on the remaining Levy Library Open Classes for the rest of the year. Keep reading for class descriptions and registration links...

So You Want to Do a Systematic Review?

Thursday, November 4, 2021

2:00pm - 2:30pm

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Thinking of starting a systematic review and don’t know where to start? This 30 minute session will introduce you to what’s involved in conducting a systematic review, best practices for conducting a quality review, and library resources available to you.
In this session we’ll cover:

• Distinguishing between systematic reviews and literature reviews
• Methodology & best practices
• Systematic review support available via the library

Zotero in 30 Minutes

Tuesday, November 9, 2021

1:00pm - 1:30pm

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The Peer Review Process

Thursday, November 18, 2021

2:00pm - 2:30pm

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Understanding the peer review process & how to navigate it is essential for anyone interested in scientific publishing. This 30 minute session will cover peer review basics, including:

• Common types of peer review
• Peer review decisions & what your peer reviewed document will look like
• Best practices for responding to comments and resubmitting a revised document

Introduction to EndNote

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

1:00pm - 2:00pm

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Endnote just got an upgrade! EndNote 20 allows you to search online databases, organize references, and easily create properly formatted citations. The new, modern interface also includes updates like:

• Reference summaries that put critical information first
• A redesigned online search experience
• An updated PDF viewer with annotation tools
• Improved deduplication features

In addition to covering the new features of EndNote 20, this class will give you the chance to practice using EndNote 20 to collect, organize, and maintain a 'library' of references, find and save full-text journal articles, and insert/format references in a MS Word document. The class will also cover searching and exporting citations from PubMed and Google Scholar.

We recommend downloading EndNote via Levy Library prior to this session, so that you may follow along with the instructor. Please use the link below to download the software, and be sure to follow the instructions exactly: https://libguides.mssm.edu/endnote/download.

On Tuesday, October 5th, the Levy Library presented the latest event in its Research Insider series. Free or Fee: How Open Access Publishing Impacts Your Choices as an Author takes a look at the ways in which Open Access is changing how you publish your research, what requirements funding agencies impose on researchers, and who owns the copyright of published works.

Keep reading to:

• Learn more about the featured speakers of this event
• Watch a recording of the seminar
• Access presentation materials
• Stay connected with us for future events 

June M. Besek, Esq.

Chair, ABA Section of Intellectual Property Law

Executive Director, Kernochan Center for Law, Media, and the Arts

Columbia Law School

June M. Besek is the Executive Director of the Kernochan Center for Law, Media and the Arts and a Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law School in New York City. Her research and teaching focus on copyright and related rights, particularly concerning new technologies.  She is the author of many articles and studies on copyright law.  

She currently serves as Chair of the American Bar Association’s Intellectual Property Law Section.  She is also a member of the Section’s Copyright Reform Task Force, and is the Section’s liaison to the American Law Institute’s Copyright Restatement Project. 

Ms. Besek is on the editorial board of the Journal of the Copyright Society of the U.S.A. and the board of advisors of the Columbia Journal of Law & the Arts. She is also a member of the board of Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, New York. She earned her law degree from New York University School of Law and her undergraduate degree, in economics, from Yale University

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Ashley Farley, MLIS

Program Officer 

Knowledge & Research Services, Gates Foundation

Over the past decade Ashley has worked in both academic and public libraries, focusing on digital inclusion and facilitating access to scholarly content.

She completed her Masters in Library and Information Sciences through the University of Washington’s Information School.

Ashley is a Program Officer of Knowledge and Research Services at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In this capacity she focuses on the foundation’s Open Access Policy’s implementation and associated initiatives. This includes leading the work of Gates Open Research, a transparent and revolutionary publishing platform. Other core activities involve supporting the strategic and operational aspects of the foundation’s library. This work has sparked a passion for open access, believing that freely accessible knowledge has the power to improve and save lives.

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Dr. Tom Olijhoek, PhD

Editor-in-Chief

Directory of Open Access Journal (DOAJ)

Tom Olijhoek has been living and working in Africa for many years. After obtaining his PhD in molecular microbiology from Amsterdam University (1982)  he has been at the Max Planck Institute in Berlin for 7 years. He has spent seven years in Kenya and  Algeria doing research on malaria, sleeping sickness and meningococcal epidemics. Since 2012, Tom has advocated open access and open science as Open Access working group coordinator for Open Knowledge International. In 2013 he became a member of the DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals) advisory board who were instrumental in redefining the criteria for being indexed in DOAJ. Since 2014 Tom has been Editor in Chief at the DOAJ. 

From January 2018,  his main task has been the managing of the global DOAJ ambassador program and global outreach activities including connecting to other open communities like the Creative Commons Global Network and OCSD Net. From 2019-2021 the program has a special focus on Africa. He is also a member of the programming committee of Force11 where he teaches at the yearly Force11 Summer School on the topic of how to evaluate scientific quality for journals, articles and individual scholars.

His current research interests are, copyright and licensing in open access publishing, development of new ways to assess the quality of scholars and scholarly works and follow research in the area of soil microbiology in relation to soil health and human health (microbiome research).

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Sara Rouhi

Director, Strategic Partnerships

PLOS

Sara is responsible for supporting PLOS' growth strategy by identifying and developing new business and partner opportunities focusing on libraries, institutions, societies, other publisher and service providers, and other geographies and sectors currently unexplored by PLOS.

A member of the PLOS leadership team, Sara has led the effort to build out PLOS' partnerships with institutions globally, including launching PLOS first non-APC-based business models in 2020: Flat Fees and PLOS Community Action Publishing (CAP). The doubling of PLOS international customer base in less than year was the result of extensive consultation with libraries and consortia to understand their needs and challenges during and post-COVID as well as their expectations for transparency and collaboration.

In addition to leading of the Partnerships team and collaborating cross functionally on the PLOS leadership team, she is active industry-wide as a member of the SSP Board of Directors and consults for the SPA-OPS work from Plan S and COUNTER and their work around native OA usage status.

At Digital Science Sara managed business development, sales strategy and thought leadership for Altmetric in the Americas while also taking on team lead responsibilities for these same areas with Digital Science’s new Dimensions platform. She is a member of ISMPP, the SSP Board of Directors, and mentors colleagues and early career professionals in #scholcomm. 

You can watch a recording of the event with the video below or on our YouTube channel.

Want to go back and take a 2nd look at the material? Click here to view the presentation slides from our panelists.

To stay in the loop with all of our future classes and seminars, follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter!