Forwarded from Joy Summers-Ables, President of SCC/MLA:

It’s comforting to hear the updates from our colleagues along the Gulf of Mexico, so that we know how you’re doing.  The impact from Hurricane Ike has been devastating and it’s apparent that moving back into these areas and subsequent recovery will take some time.

On behalf of SCC, I’d like to let extend a willingness to assist those in affected areas that may have needs, regardless of the nature.  Please pass this message along to those that do not have means to access email.  Inquiries or requests made to SCC can be sent to me and will be distributed appropriately.

We hope that you, your families, co-workers and friends are safe; you continue to be in our thoughts and prayers.

Joy Summers-Ables, President
South Central Chapter/ Medical Library Association
joy-summers@ouhsc.edu

The NN/LM SCR office will be closed Monday, September 15 - Wednesday, September 17.  We will reopen on Thursday, September 18.

The RML office did not receive any damage and the RML staff are safe.  Our thoughts go out to our colleagues in the Houston-Galveston area, particularly those on the coast and the in the Galveston area.

If you need DOCLINE assistance prior to Thursday, September 18th, the SCR has made arrangements with the NN/LM Middle Atlantic Region (New York University) to assist Network members to deactivate DOCLINE accounts.  You can reach them at 212-263-2030 or via email: rml@library.med.nyu.edu

For those of you affected by Hurricane Ike:

Please post information on the status of your libraries before, during and after the storm.

The Maternal and Child Health Library has released three new resource briefs that provide information on electronic resources for public health professionals, health care providers, and families.

Genetics: Resource Brief is a guide to current resources on genetics and genomics, genetic testing, genetic counseling, genetic disorders, and newborn screening. This brief is available at http://www.mchlibrary.info/guides/genetics.html.

Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) and Families: Resource Brief focuses on psychological and social impacts of ART on children conceived via ART and on their families, as well as ethical and legal issues associated with ART.  It is available at http://www.mchlibrary.info/guides/ART.html.

Environmental Health: Resource Brief focuses on environmental issues that affect the health of pregnant women and children. This brief is available at http://www.mchlibrary.info/guides/environmentalhealth.html.

Maternal and Child Health Library resources on other maternal and child health topics are available at http://www.mchlibrary.info/guides.html.

The Refugee Health Information Network (RHIN - http://www.rhin.org) is a national collaborative partnership that has created a database of high quality multilingual, public health resources for those providing care to resettled refugees and asylees. RHIN is guided by refugee health professionals and health information specialists. All content available for downloading through RHIN is available at no charge.

RHIN resources include:

• Health education materials in various languages and formats (brochures, fact sheets, videos)

• Provider tools (including information on refugee populations and cultures)

• Links to related Web sites

RHIN also provides links to existing sites specializing in refugee health, access to medical information from the National Library of Medicine, and a variety of posted documents from health care providers throughout the country. In selecting materials RHIN places greatest emphasis on identifying, collecting, and making available materials that have been produced by U.S. Federal and state government agencies, major national organizations, academic institutions, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations. Web sites that are linked to by RHIN are constantly evaluated to ensure substantive information is provided and quality is maintained.

Join the Department of Health and Human Services for the online launch of the “Ask Medicare” Initiative for caregivers, partners and media.  The live webcast launch is Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 12pm to 1pm Eastern Time.  To learn more and to register for the webcast, visit http://www.hostingimagesemail.com/hhs/september2008/index.htm

Many libraries in the South Central Region were impacted after Hurricane Gustav. Most have experienced power outages. This blog posting will be updated periodically as we learn about the library statuses in Louisiana. If you have any updates, contact the NN/LM SCR office at michelle.malizia@exch.library.tmc.edu. Best wishes to our friends in Louisiana.

Hopefully, we won’t need to use the hurricane blog entry for the remainder of the hurricane season.

Library Updates as of 9/5/08

• LSUHSC - New Orleans opened on September 8, 2008
• McNeese State University opened on September 4, 2008
• Ochsner Medical Library opened on September 5, 2008
• Tulane Health Sciences Library will reopen on Monday (no library damage)

In late October 2008, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) will discontinue using the American Hospital Association directory on MedlinePlus and MedlinePlus Go Local. NLM staff will develop a replacement page linking to selected resources for areas beyond the Go Local service area. The following alternative resources for hospital directory and service information are available: the American Hospital Directory, http://www.ahd.com/freesearch.php3; the US News Hospital Directory Search, http://health.usnews.com/directories/hospital-directory/; and UCompareHealthCare, http://www.ucomparehealthcare.com/hospital/.

In commemoration of the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s devastating impact to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, and in light of the current hurricane season, the Library of Congress announces a website titled “Learning from Katrina,” which provides insights for better responses to record and artifact damage by hurricanes.

On this site, http://www.loc.gov/preserv/emergprep/katrinarespond.html, visitors can hear seven interviews with professional conservators who helped salvage collections affected in August 2005.

For more information, see the Library of Congress news release: http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2008/08-148.html

The State Library of Louisiana established a blog on August 29 to provide a mechanism for libraries to alert the public and colleagues about their status during an emergency situation.

Louisiana Library Status Blog: http://prepare.lib.la.us/blog/