Toxie, the ToxMystery guide cat, has gone back to school and can now speak Spanish. ToxMystery gamers can now move between English and Spanish as they explore the ToxMystery “house of hazards.”

The new ToxMystery en español has a “Para los padres” page giving parents more detailed information about potential household hazards. The “Para maestros” page is for teachers and has lesson plans and downloadable classroom activity pages in Spanish. ToxMystery can be used in science, health, and even for teaching in Spanish and English language classes.

ToxMystery (http://toxmystery.nlm.nih.gov) is purrfect for 7-11 year olds (and fun for all ages) to learn about possible chemical hazards around the home. ToxMystery is an e-learning game that uses animation, sound effects and positive reinforcement to teach students about environmental health hazards around the home.

Come play with Toxie and see if you can find the hazards in English and en español!

Over the next twelve months, the Health Sciences Library System (HSLS) at the University of Pittsburgh will introduce a pilot program to provide fast, cost-effective interlibrary loans to over 100 Pennsylvania and Delaware hospital libraries.  With its strong collection, including over 3,900 unique journal titles, prompt and efficient service, and proficient use of technology, the University of Pittsburgh is an ideal center for launching this resource sharing project.

Under this project, HSLS will provide document delivery services to hospital libraries for a discounted rate of $8.50 per article.  The program is limited to hospitals with under 500 beds in Pennsylvania and Delaware.  Participating libraries agree to the following:

• Requests must be submitted via DOCLINE

• Libraries must be willing to receive articles electronically through Ariel, Odyssey or Web PDF

• All libraries will be invoiced via EFTS

• Discounted rate does not apply to rush, urgent patient care or color copies

• Libraries will comply with fair use guidelines and copyright law

An initial group of libraries will receive a letter of invitation with more information in the coming week.

Interested libraries may contact Renae Barger, Reference Librarian and Document Delivery Coordinator, at rbarger@pitt.edu or call 412-648-9750 with any questions.  If you need help creating an EFTS account or have questions regarding DOCLINE, please contact the Regional Medical Library at rml@library.med.nyu.edu or toll free at 1-800-338-7657.

Waynesburg University’s Eberly Library (PAULPD) is the newest participant in DOCLINE. Waynesburg University, located in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, supports a strong and growing nursing program along with other allied health programs. Eberly Library will be participating in FreeShare and is moving to join EFTS.  Please join us in welcoming Waynesburg University to DOCLINE.

Today NLM released the “What’s New on MedlinePlus” page, available at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/whatsnew.html. Visit the page to stay up to date on new MedlinePlus topics, podcasts, featured sites, and new issues of the NIH MedlinePlus Magazine. The “What’s New” items will display for three weeks and are also available through an RSS feed. The “What’s New on MedlinePlus” page and corresponding RSS feed are available in both English and Spanish.

This page and RSS feed compliment the already-available MedlinePlus Health News RSS, which delivers press announcements and HealthDay news stories. The News RSS is available in both English and Spanish. You can access the “What’s New on MedlinePlus” RSS and the MedlinePlus Health News RSS from the E-mail Lists and RSS Feeds page at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/listserv.html.

The goal of the Outreach Evaluation Workshop Series is to develop the ability of those who conduct health information outreach projects to gather and use evaluation data for program improvement and decision-making.

These first two workshops, in a series of four, are hosted by NN/LM MAR and taught by Susan Barnes and Cindy Olney of the Outreach Evaluation Resource Center, NN/LM Pacific Northwest, University of Washington.

Community Assessment (3 MLA CE credits)
This workshop will help librarians and others involved in health information outreach to design quality programs and garner support for those programs by taking the right first step: collecting community and needs assessment information about the groups of people who will be involved.

Planning Outcomes-Based Outreach Programs (3 MLA CE credits)
This workshop will help librarians and anyone interested in health information outreach to focus on what they want to accomplish by designing outreach programs around intended results. Participants will learn to construct logic models to plan health information outreach projects, with project outcomes as the pivotal part of the plan.

Class date: Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Class times: Community Assessment: 9:00-12:00; Planning Outcomes-Based Outreach Programs: 1:00-4:00
Location: New York University, Frederick L. Ehrman Medical Library, 550 First Ave., New York
Registration: Register for either or both classes by sending an email to rml@library.med.nyu.edu

Registration is free. Class break refreshments and lunch are included for attendees. The classes are limited to 25 registrants. Please register by October 30, 2007.

It’s time to head back to school with the RML! Join MAR staff and network members for online classes from September through December—all you need is an Internet-connected computer and a telephone. Classes are FREE for NN/LM members. To join or renew your free membership, visit our web site.

Send us an e-mail to sign up for a class at rml@library.med.nyu.edu.

Eleven classes will be offered—and six are new!

EVALUATION

1. NEW! Clever Evaluation

Evaluating programs and projects is a lot like exercising: most of us know it’s very important and we plan to start doing it as soon as we have time. Cindy Olney, evaluation specialist for the National Network of Libraries of Medicine Outreach Evaluation Resource Center (OERC), will present a 90-minute session on evaluation methods that are quick, resourceful, and useful. Her strategies include using existing data, combining evaluation with other project activities, and enlisting the help of others in data collection. Cindy Olney has been an evaluation specialist since 1991 and has worked with the OERC since 2004. She specializes in planning and evaluation of health information outreach and public health projects.

October 9, 10:00 – 11:30am

PUBMED

2. PubMed MyNCBI

This class is presented in two parts. You may attend either session or both.

Part I. Learn how to customize your PubMed experience using MyNCBI (formerly Cubby). Save your favorite citations, and keep current with automatic searches—the results will come straight to your inbox. Change the look of PubMed with custom tabs and highlighted search terms.

Part II. Create shared filters for your library users’ using MyNCBI. Shared filters allow you to activate LinkOut icons, specify display formats, and limit search results. Shared Filters are an important feature for any library that participates in NCBI’s LinkOut program.

Part I: Monday, October 29, 11:00am – 12:00pm

Part II: Monday, November 5, 11:00am - 12:00pm

3. NEW! PubMed for Academic Librarians

This ninety-minute class is targeted to academic librarians who are new PubMed users. If your library supports programs in nursing, allied health, complementary therapies, or other biomedical sciences, learn how to use the power of PubMed to locate scholarly journal articles.

Thursday, December 6, 10:00am – 11:30am

RESOURCE SHARING AND DOCUMENT DELIVERY

4. LinkOut

This hands-on class is designed to provide step-by-step direction on how to activate LinkOut for a library’s print and electronic journal collections, so that users are able to view holdings and access full-text through the PubMed interface. Topics covered are registration for LinkOut, entering holdings, displaying a library’s icon for branding purposes, and access to free full-text through LinkOut. MLA CE credits available.

Three hours, divided into two sessions. *Attendance at both sessions is mandatory to receive CE credit*

September 27 and October 4, 3:00 – 4:30pm

November 27 and December 4, 11:00am – 12:30pm

5. DOCLINE for Beginners

The title says it all! If you are new to DOCLINE, this one-hour class will provide an overview.

Thursday, September 20, 10:00 – 11:00am

Tuesday, October 23, 2:00 - 3:00pm

6. DOCLINE: Reports, Routing Tables and More

This one hour class will cover some of the more specialized topics in Docline, including the reporting features and routing tables. Registrants are welcome to submit their “problem questions” to be answered during the course. This class is intended for current DOCLINE users and is not an introductory class.

Wednesday, September 26, 1:00 – 2:00pm

Friday, November 2, 11:00 am – 12:00pm

7. NEW! Copyright and ILL

Guidelines? Law? CONTU? This course will give a basic introduction to copyright including the exclusive rights of copyright holders, copyright duration, and fair use. Learn how copyright affects ILL and how librarians can better balance ILL service needs with copyright law. You will also gain an understanding of the features in DOCLINE that address copyright law.

Tuesday, October 2, 2:00 – 3:00pm

Thursday, November 29, 11:00am – 12:00pm

TECHNOLOGY

8. Creative Commons: What Is It?
The digital age has caused a plethora of problems concerning copyright. Along comes the concept of Creative Commons to help define the rights of creators, users, and consumers. What is it and how is it used? Take this one hour online class and learn more!
Monday, October 8, 3:00 - 4:00pm

Thursday, November 15, 3:00 - 4:00pm

9. NEW! Using Wikis in Education

Wikis are gaining in use and acceptance in corporate and healthcare environments as quickly as they are in academia. Health sciences librarians with formal or informal responsibility for user education can learn more about wikis in this 90-minute class, taught by Marcy Brown, a clinical medical librarian with close to fifteen years of experience in secondary research services. She holds a master’s in Library and Information Science, a graduate certificate in Healthcare Information Technology, and is currently working toward a second graduate degree in Educational Technology. Note: Class size limited to 25 participants.

Monday, November 5, 9:30 – 11:00am

CONSUMER HEALTH

10. NEW! Consumer Health Information at the Public Library

Public librarians, do you receive health information requests at the reference desk? Do you want to plan programming on health topics? Learn about National Library of Medicine’s free, authoritative consumer health web sites like MedlinePlus and NIH Senior Health.

Monday, October 8, 10:00 – 11:00am

Monday, November 12, 1:00 – 2:00pm

11. NEW! Consumer Health Funding for Public Libraries

The hour-long online course will provide an overview of funding available from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) and National Library of Medicine. The class will review the existing awards from the NN/LM Middle Atlantic Region, review how awards are created and eligibility in applying for the awards. The class will also discuss options for public libraries to supplement awards with training, promotional items and other assistance from NN/LM MAR staff.

Thursday, October 4, 2:00 – 3:00pm

Tuesday, November 6, 10:00 – 11:00am

We Act for Environmental Justice and Libraries for the Future bring you:
Genes and Justice: A Community Symposium on Health, Race and Rights

Monday, September 24, 2007
8:00am – 5:00pm
Reception 5:00pm – 7:00pm

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
515 Malcolm X Boulevard/Lenox Avenue (at 135^th Street)
New York, NY 10037-1801

Now that the Human Genome Project has completed our genetic map, communities must address the opportunities and challenges posed by scientific progress. This symposium begins a series of conversations for communities of color to assess the implications of the growing role that genetic information plays in our society. Through dialogue, we hope to advance policies that promote health, equity and justice.

http://www.weact.org/genesandjustice/index.html

The September issue of NIH News in Health, the monthly newsletter bringing you practical health news and tips based on the latest NIH research, is now online at http://newsinhealth.nih.gov/. In this issue:

Feature Stories:

• Is Baby Babbling on Schedule? — Milestones in Speech and Language
• Spotting Autism Spectrum Disorders — Early Detection Important for Outcome

Health Capsules:

• Can You Listen to Two Things at Once?
• Mourning the Death of a Spouse

Featured Web Site:

• Cancer Risk: Understanding the Puzzle