It’s a new series of classes presented by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, MidContinental Region! We’re focusing on the “spotlight” aspect - choosing limited websites on which to focus, and practice time with exercises in each monthly session. The first is “Update on PubMed” - presented by Rebecca Brown on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009 for one hour - 1:00 MT, 2:00 CT.
This online training is FREE, and requires no registration. All you need is a computer with Internet access and a phone. All classes can be accessed by going to https://webmeeting.nih.gov/mcrupdate and log in as a guest. The series is targeted for the fourth Wednesday each month. Upcoming dates and topics include:

• Feb. 25 -MedlinePlus and the Household Products Database
• March 25 - Educational Resources for Kids
• April 22 - Drug Resources

Cambio de Colores (Change of Colors) 2009 Conference
Latinos in the Heartland
http://www.cambiodecolores.org
May 18-20, 2009
Millennium Center
University of Missouri - St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
The deadline for submitting abstracts is January 23rd, 2009.
The full Call for Abstracts is available in the Web, at the following address:
http://www.cambiodecolores.org/2009/Documents/2009CallForAbstracts.htm
Cambio de Colores is an annual conference that, since 2002, brings together researchers, practitioners, and community members to discuss the issues that Missouri and Heartland states face as a result of the demographic changes that became evident in the 2000 Census. The 2009 meeting will be a multi-state conference.  For this occasion, the  University of Missouri’s Cambio Center is working in cooperation with the twelve-state North Central Regional Center for Rural Development, and the Immigrants in Midwestern Communities Inter University Network.

2009 Public Health Preparedness Summit
Public health preparedness professionals from across the nation will share innovative best practices, tools, and resources to help you build and sustain your community’s capacity to prepare for, respond to, and recover from a public health emergency or disaster. http://www.phprep.org/2009/?CFID=2487407&CFTOKEN=48417005

“Netniintoono” (”The Place Where We Live” is a language revitalization project at Arapahoe School that presents an Arapaho alphabet through children’s photographs of their community on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. Arapaho elders and culture teachers created the alphabet by matching students’ black and white images with an Arapaho phrase, in order to use student photography to teach the Arapaho language in school. These images and phrases have been displayed in a traveling exhibit, language dictionary, on a DVD, and in jigsaw puzzles and other learning materials. More information about the project can be found in the fall 2008 issue of Mountains and Minds http://www.montana.edu/mountainsandminds/fall2008/windriver/index.html, Montana State University’s newsletter. You can also see the slideshow and video produced by the project. http://www.montana.edu/mountainsandminds/fall2008/webexclusives/windriver/index.html [posted on National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition]

I will be in Utah for our “Site Visit” review from our National Network Office of the National Library of Medicine funders. You can read more about it online at http://nnlm.gov/mcr/evaluation/nnlm_sitevisit.html

There is an open session being held via teleconference if you can get to a Resource Library in one of the six states covered by the NN/LM MCR. You can find a list of those libraries here: http://nnlm.gov/mcr/evaluation/nnlm_sitevisit_contact.html The session is being held Wednesday, November 19th from 12:00-1:50MT, 1:00-2:50CT. Things may be quiet on the blog for the rest of the week.

Do you live in one of the six states of the MidContinental Regional Medical Library? (NE, CO, WY, MO, KS, UT) http://nnlm.gov/mcr/ Are you interested in partnering with a medical or public library  http://nnlm.gov/members/ (or are you already an NN/LM MCR member library?) See this announcement of funding available from the NN/LM MCR - The Continuity of Health Information Award http://nnlm.gov/mcr/funding/Continuity.html

If you are outside the MCR region, see what the RML in your region offers for funding http://nnlm.gov/funding/

A series of four trifold brochures that focus on health concerns for each of the four federally designated racial and ethnic populations have been updated. Take a look at the PDF files and download them for use at your institution - have as handouts for customers, use them at trainings and health fairs, email the link to other community and public health organizations! http://nnlm.gov/mcr/resources/community/minority.html#A4

A short feedback form is being distributed and open to anyone in the MidContinental (Nebraska, Kansas, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and Missouri)  region who wants to comment on the resources and services of the RML and the NLM .The form is open October 7th, 2008 through November 4th, 2008. Click here to provide feedback : http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=VfkWUiHiVHJ9jJFLq1lgHg_3d_3d

Do you live in one of the six states of the MidContinental Regional Medical Library? (NE, CO, WY, MO, KS, UT) http://nnlm.gov/mcr/ Are you interested in partnering with a medical or public library  http://nnlm.gov/members/ (or are you already an NN/LM MCR member library?) See this announcement of funding available from the NN/LM MCR - The Continuity of Health Information Award http://nnlm.gov/mcr/funding/Continuity.html

If you are outside the MCR region, see what the RML in your region offers for funding http://nnlm.gov/funding/

Learn more about research programs with hospitals/grants officers in your region that are interested in applying for American Heart Association (AHA) research dollars or are interested in learning more about this important arm of the association. The national center will hold a Web cast for Midwest Affiliate hospitals on Wednesday, November 19, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. CT to promote funding opportunities for the January 2009 deadline and to introduce Grants@Heart.org, their new Web-based grants management system.

The MWA is the Midwest Affiliate, an 11 state region comprised of: KS, MO, NE, IA, SD, ND, WI, IL, MN, MI, IN. Affiliates are regional structures developed under the national American Heart Association national office for flexibility and structure at the field level.

Grants@Heart will enable Grants Officers to review and submit applications; Fiscal Officers are able to view all AHA awards at their institutions; Peer Reviewers can review Applications, write Critiques and nominate other Peer Reviewers all in one place, while Applicants manage their application from start to finish. New to the Midwest Affiliate is the Undergraduate Student Research Fellowship. This Fellowship is designed to encourage promising students, including women and members of minority groups underrepresented in the sciences, from all disciplines to consider research careers while supporting the highest quality scientific investigation broadly related to cardiovascular disease and stroke.

The Web cast will last approximately one hour, and there will be a period of time during that hour for questions and answers. Web cast connections will be limited, so registration will be first come, first served. Due to cost constraints and availability, we politely ask that only one line is utilized per hospital. We will be using audio as well, so the office(s) or room(s) will need to have audio capabilities such as speaker phones, in addition to computers with Internet access. If you are a hospital that would like to participate, please RSVP to Promo@heart.org, and put “Webcast” in the subject line.
[posted on Kansas Rural Health Information Service (KRHIS)]

Fabric of the Family: The Effects of Domestic Violence
http://conferences.unl.edu/domestic/
A Regional Conference Focusing on How Domestic Violence Affects Women and Children
Sponsored by United States Department of Health and Human Services, Region VII Office on Women’s Health (Region VII includes IA, KS, MO and NE)
September 25, 2008
Jack Reardon Center-Kansas City, KS
The central focus of this conference is to increase the awareness of domestic violence and the effects of domestic violence on women and children through education, skill building and resource services.