Jenny Pierce, MS
Public Services Librarian
UMDNJ-Health Science Library

Like many libraries the UMDNJ Health Sciences Library at Stratford has a board review collection. These books circulate for 7 days and are the most heavily used of our collection.

Formal cataloging isn’t always useful for this collection. Students refer to books by series or remember the covers. Previously all information regarding board review books was in an html file that listed them by subject. Updating that file was time consuming.

As part of the library’s effort to make information about board review books easier to find we are using the social networking site, LibraryThing.org, as an additional way to organize the Board Review Collection. Librarything uses tagging and other social bookmarking technology. Tagging creates a more intuitive way to both capture information and use it to search.

Part of our collection by title

We joined LibraryThing as a library. Any member can tag up to 200 books. We paid the membership fee so we can tag more. At $15 a year it’s a bargain!

One staff person tagged our entire board review collection and we have been adding books since.

Our tag cloud

Books are added using the ISBN code and a scanner. Tags are added using call numbers, series name and subjects. All information is based on the book’s cover.

Most books have a pre-existing cover image. If not a blank is created by the system.

In addition we have created a review bookmark for students, interns and residents to evaluate the books as learning resources. Once the review is returned the review is added by a staff member.

You can look at our Board Review Collection from our home page or at http://www.librarything.com/catalog/somboardreview.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/medsun/

provides a representative profile of reports from healthcare facilities, such as hospitals. MedSun improves understanding of medical device problems so FDA, healthcare facilities, clinicians, and manufacturers can better address safety concerns. Over 350 health care facilities, primarily hospitals, participate in the network. MedSun is unique because it educates health care professionals about the importance of monitoring, being aware of, and reporting device related problems to FDA and the manufacturer.

MedSun also ensures that new safety information is rapidly communicated to the medical community thereby promoting patient safety.

The content that FDA produces is not copyrighted. Stories can be reprinted without permission and copies can be downloaded and displayed free of charge. If you are an editor who wishes to use our material in your publication, we ask only that you acknowledge MedSun as the source and send us copies of your stories for our records.

If you click on “Subscribe to email updates” you will automatically receive monthly updates.

Questions may be directed to Tina Powell at 1-800-859-1292 or email at:

medsun@s-3.com

A new report out by Institute of Medicine of the National Academies works within the existing standards established by the  Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education which are an 80 hour week and 30 hour limit, but calls for five hour sleep breaks after 16 hours on the job and more days off.The report also recommends more supervision for first years.

Read more with links to the report on ars technica

Join a demonstration of the Valuing Library Services and Cost Benefit/ROI Calculators on Monday, December 8, 2008 at 2pm Eastern Time, 1pm Central. Barb Jones and Betsy Kelly from the MidContinental Region, NN/LM will reprise their MLA presentation on these tools to enable health science librarians to determine the return on investment and cost benefit of their libraries and services. Come with some numbers and let’s discuss how you can use the online calculators to show the value your library brings to your institution. To participate, come to this url: https://webmeeting.nih.gov/libraryvalue/

This demonstration will be held via Adobe Connect. If you have not used Adobe Connect before, feel free to log into the site in advance. The system might want to install an Adobe Connect plugin, and if it does, you should allow it. When the meeting begins, the system will normally ask you for your phone number and then call it so that you can hear the audio and participate in the discussion. If the system does not call your phone, join us using this toll-free number:
1-866-548-4716
Participant Code: 243436

For an advance peek at these great calculator tools, go to http://nnlm.gov/mcr/evaluation/calculator.html and http://nnlm.gov/mcr/evaluation/roi.html and see how you might be able to express your value in monetary terms!

This session is hosted by the NN/LM Outreach Evaluation Resource Center. For questions, contact Susan Barnes at sjbarnes@u.washington.edu or Cindy Olney at olneyc@coevalmail.com

The National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM), Middle Atlantic Region (MAR), is pleased to announce the following winners for the MAR EFTS Awards.

 Trinitas Hospital- Elizabeth, New Jersey 

St. Francis Hospital Medical Center- Wilmington, Delaware

Hamot Medical Center- Erie, Pennsylvania

South Jersey Healthcare- Vineland, New Jersey

Saratoga Springs Public Library- Saratoga Springs, New York

The Commonwealth Medical College- Scranton, Pennsylvania

Robert Morris University Library- Moon Township, Pennsylvania

Jameson Health System Library- New Castle, Pennsylvania

Holy Name Hospital- Teaneck, New Jersey

New York Methodist Hospital- Brokklyn, New York

Virtua Health West Jersey- Voorhees, New Jersey

Virtua Memorial Hospital- Burlington County

Western Pennsylvania Forbes Regional Campus Health Sciences Library- Monroeville, Pennsylvania

Penn State University College of Medicine- Hershey, Pennsylvania

St. Mary’s Medical Center- Langhorne, Pennsylvania

The purpose of the EFTS award is to promote participation in EFTS among Full DOCLINE members and to improve the ease and cost-effectiveness of resource sharing throughout the region.  The EFTS award creates opportunities for non-EFTS libraries to receive initial funding to join the program and for current EFTS members to receive funding to continue their resource sharing efforts.  All funds were distributed directly from NN/LM MAR and deposited to EFTS in the name of the winners.    

Coming soon: To improve the look of the PubMed Summary results Web page, as well as to make it easier to scan titles, the positions of author names and the title of the article will be reversed. The article title will soon display on top and serve as the link to the AbstractPlus format. Author names will appear under the title; the rest of the citation remains the same.

Read the Technical Bulletin article.

Due to the lapse of time between confirmation of award receipt and the actual receipt of the payment, some modifications had to be made to the item order. The shredder was a different brand, but the same quality, and several hundred dollars less (we were unable to get the original quoted price because of a state contract renegotiation). As a result of that major different, an additional toner cartridge was ordered, and two of the ‘regular’ cartridges were upgraded to the ‘extra’ toner cartridges. Lubrication sheets for the shredder were also purchased. Also because of the time delay and contract changes, two of the three printers ordered where of a different series due to discontinuation of the previous series (there was minimal price difference).

The purpose of improving the technology in the Library was to increase the patronage of the physical library, as well as to encourage patrons to use the space for research and discourse. By upgrading the existing printers, and adding a new printer to the computer lab, patron satisfaction has been significantly improved. No longer are there ink stained, illegible print outs from the previous dinosaurs of printers, and no longer are there patrons waiting for the printer to ‘warm-up’ (previously a ten minute process). In the computer lab, students are now able to print out class work, tip sheets, or screenshots, adding value to the attended workshop. The shredder is in a central location, in a locked file room, easy and convenient for the shredding of confidential papers. The scanner has already seen quite a bit of use, as it was immediately converted to upon receipt – the old scanner was given to another team because it was still in usable order, just not for high volume use.

Receiving new public printers has made us rethink the organization and layout of the Library and how useable it is for its patrons. The three public access computers are not in the line of sight from the front entrance so people are surprised to learn that there are computers in the Library. In a similar fashion, there are several public study tables in the back of the Library that are tucked out of the way and are not often used. There are plans in place to rearrange the furniture of the Library before the end of the year, moving the computers and the tables to the front of the Library and the shelving units to the back, with the intention of making patrons aware of the technology improvements and creating a more user-friendly and inviting space.

A before and after photo will be posted on the DSAMH Medical Library webpage as soon as the page’s edits go through the approval process and can be found here: http://www.dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dsamh/medical_library.html

Susanne Ingle, MSIS, MLS - Delaware Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Medical Library

New Castle, DE 19720

Over 250 information professionals attended the Delaware Library Association’s Annual Meeting in Dover, Delaware on May 9, 2008.  Delaware Health Source’s three consumer health librarians exhibited promotional items (featuring new logo and tagline) at a designed table.  These items were: jumbo tote bags (distributed exclusively at this event), pens, bookmarks, and table banner.  Consumer health librarians interacted with librarians and library staff members from libraries statewide, emphasizing distribution of new bookmarks within their host libraries.  Meeting attendees who visited our exhibit table also received brochures about the consumer health libraries, reminding them of the information services we offer statewide.  On a related note, the Delaware Academy of Medicine was honored during the day’s conference as an outstanding library in the state of Delaware.  Also, the Academy’s electronic resources librarian presented a 10 minute overview of DelMIRA (www.delmira.org) e-resources at the DLA Business Meeting.

PJ Grier- The Delaware Academy of Medicine, Newark, DE

The National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Middle Atlantic Region is pleased to announce the awarding of the Library Space and Its Impact Conference Award to Cynthia Robinson, Director, Valerie Gross, Assistant Librarian, and Marie Fitzsimmons, Assistant Librarian, all of the George T. Harrell Health Sciences Library, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA.

The Library Space and Its Impact Conference Award is one award of $15,000. This award supports full network members to host a one-day conference on models or best practices in libraries’ reduction of space and/or re-purposing of existing space as well as identifying emerging roles for librarians in this changing environment. The award recipients will host a conference in April 2009 entitled, Transformational Change in Health Sciences Libraries: Space, Collections, Roles.

Congratulations to the award recipients.

For information on currently available NN/LM MAR awards, please visit the funding page on the MAR website, nnlm.gov/mar/funding

Join your colleagues on November 12 as NN/LM MAR hosts Medical Library Association’s fall webcast, “Survival Tips and Stories: Expanding the Library’s Services in Times of Disaster.” More information about the webcast is available here: http://www.mlanet.org/education/distance_ed/disaster/

Take advantage of this national continuing education event. Share ideas with your colleagues about current topics, learn techniques from MLA member experts, and earn MLA CE contact hours.

Date: Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Time: 2:00 pm-4:00 pm

Location: Smilow 1^st Floor Conference Room B, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY

*NOTE: You are invited to join us in person in New York City for the webcast. We cannot offer free remote access to the webcast from your own library.*

RSVP to rml@library.med.nyu.edu. Space is limited, so sign up early. You will be sent a confirmation e-mail with directions to the site by Friday, November 7. There is no charge for this event.

The RML has also purchased a DVD for loan after the webcast.

We look forward to having you join us!