The National Network of Libraries of Medicine, South Central Region (NN/LM SCR) has scheduled two additional classes at the Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center (HAM-TMC) Library this summer. Can You Hear Me Now? How to Make a Podcast, June 25, 2008, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm and ABCs of DNA: Unraveling the Mystery of Genetics Information for Consumers, August 12, 2008, 8:30 am to 12:30 pm.

To register for these classes, please go to: http://nnlm.gov/scr/training/.

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When a family member is sick, it can be difficult to keep friends updated on the latest news. Websites like CarePages and CaringBridge allow users to create free websites to update family and friends on a person’s changing health situation. Friends can respond to the posts online with messages of support. While both services provide different features, in both cases all that is needed to create a web page is an email address and an Internet connection.

Story from the Houston Chronicle: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/tech/news/5828320.html

The National Network of Libraries of Medicine, South Central Region (NN/LM SCR) announces a new web page for Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Recovery: http://nnlm.gov/scr/services/prepare.html.

This web page highlights the NN/LM Emergency Preparedness & Response Toolkit, an emergency preparedness resource for libraries. Also included are links to emergency preparedness and recovery resources from the federal government; libraries, schools, and medical associations; community-based organizations; and animal health organizations.

As the health care websites offer more interactive features and have established their reputation for reliable medical information, they have seen an increase in their usage.

The NLM’s MedlinePlus (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/) is among those reliable websites. It saw an increase to its brain cancer topics after Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.

According to the Chief Medical Editor at WebMD, physicians these days are more willing to tell their patients to go to credible online health information resources since they enable patients to be better prepared for their physician visit.

Read full article at: http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2008/6/12/Health-Web-Sites-See-Spike-in-Use-as-Quality-Reliability-Increase.aspx?topicID=61.

The exhibition “Against the Odds: Making a Difference in Global Health” opened at the National Library of Medicine on April 17, 2008. This exhibition documents community partnerships throughout the world to prevent disease and improve quality of life. Using historical photos, first-person accounts, and examples of successful interventions, the exhibition traces a remarkable story of achievement against great odds.

To visit the exhibition online, go to: http://apps.nlm.nih.gov/againsttheodds/exhibit/index.cfm.

The National Network of Libraries of Medicine, South Central Region is glad to announce the new class: Can You Hear Me Now: How to Make a Podcast. The class can be offered in either a 2-hour schedule or a 3-hour schedule. This hands-on class is designed to provide a fun yet informative introduction to what is podcasting and how you can utilize this technology in your library services, to enable your users to access the information whenever they want, wherever they want and however they want it. Basic steps and suggestions on how to make a podcast will be covered and students will be able to enjoy hands-on practice on popular audio recording and editing software and make their first personal podcast!

This course has been approved for 2 or 3 hours of Medical Library Association (MLA) Continuing Education credits. For more information about the class, please go to: http://nnlm.gov/training/podcast/index.html.

If you are interested in hosting this class at your institution free of charge, please contact Shikun Jiang at: shikun.jiang@exch.library.tmc.edu.

As millions of Americans depend on public libraries for free access to computers and Internet resources, the increasing demand from the users and the growing community needs such as seeking educational, entrepreneurial and employment resources have put great pressure on the public libraries to get reliable, affordable and high-quality Internet access.

The “Internet Connectivity in U.S. Public Libraries” report is provided by the American Library Association (ALA) Office for Research & Statistics. It describes the range of Internet services public libraries provide and the diverse challenges faced by different types of libraries in order to improve Internet connectivity to their communities through the library. The document also links to related research on bandwidth in the United States.

The report includes the following sections:

• U.S. public libraries provide critical access to Internet services.
• Library Internet access speeds are improving, but often fall short of patron needs.
• Urban/suburban/rural communities face different Internet connectivity challenges.
• Libraries face unique challenges in meeting demand for high-speed Internet access.

Read the full article at: http://www.ala.org/ala/ors/plftas/connectivitybrief1.pdf.

Message from the Medical Library Association MLA-FOCUS 5/29/2008: Webcast for the 2008 MLA Web 2.0 Plenary Session.

The final plenary session, “Web 2.0 Tools for Librarians: Description, Demonstration, Discussion, and Debate,” featuring several of MLA’s top bloggers and Web 2.0 experts, was broadcast as the first-ever annual meeting live webcast. Participants answered questions from both the live audience and the online viewers. If you missed it, the webcast will be available to MLA members only until June 30, 2008.

To see the webcast, log on to the member-only area at: http://www.mlanet.org/members/mla08_plenary.html.

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services press release:

Hospitals in Louisiana and Mississippi still working to recover from the Hurricane Katrina disaster will receive $19.1 million in additional assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Three years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf coast, many state health care delivery systems are still attempting to rebuild. To date, HHS has provided the region with more than $2.5 billion to assist in funding for social services, health care, and efforts to rebuild the health care system in the states hardest hit by the storms.

The additional grant funds will help support provider operations until the Medicare prospective payment system can adjust for changes in local wage scales. Funding for hospitals and inpatient psychiatric facilities (IPFs) will be allocated to these two states with just over $10 million available to Louisiana and nearly $9 million to Mississippi.

States will have discretion to determine which hospitals and IPFs and/or regions are still experiencing the most post-Katrina difficulties and will receive grant funds. Facilities, however, must be located in counties or regions which continue to be designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as eligible to receive individual and public assistance.

View the entire press release at: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2008pres/05/20080506a.html .