Members of the MidContinental Region,

Have you been thinking about your need for extra funding for library services and considered applying for the Continuity of Health Information Award? The NN/LM MCR is still offering up to $15,000 for projects and efforts in three broad areas: Health Information Literacy, Hospital Library Advocacy, and Emergency Preparedness.

We’ll be holding repeated sessions to go over the intention of these awards, review the proposal form and talk over your ideas. Full details are at http://nnlm.gov/mcr/funding/

Sessions will be held Tuesday (Dec 23), Monday (Dec 29) and Tuesday (Dec 30) at 1pm MT, 2pm CT. The length of the session will depend on your questions and your ideas, but plan on 45 minutes for the introduction and review of the proposal form. You’ll also have the time talk over your ideas and get advice. If you’ve attended once and now have questions, feel free to drop in again.

Join us at http://webmeeting.nih.gov/mcrupdate/Sign in as a guest with your first and last names. Enter your phone number when prompted, for the system to call you.

Remember: Your state liaison is available to advise you on applying for this (and other funds) if you can’t make a scheduled session./ch

Tiddly Backpack is a free, easy to use off line wiki. After downloading the software, place it on a USB memory stick and edit your wiki anywhere. Then, you can e-mail or upload the wiki so others can view it. The wiki is all in one file. Download it here: http://www.tiddlybackpack.com/ [SD]

Christmas Holiday:

NLM will be closed December 25 and 26. MCR offices will be closed December 24, 25, and 26.

New Year’s Holiday:

NLM and MCR will be closed January 1.

We wish you all a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year!

On Thursday, December 18, from 3 - 4 pm EST, join The Disparities Solutions Center and representatives from the American Hospital Association and the National Association of Public Hospitals (both to be confirmed) as [they] continue [the] Robert Wood Johnson Foundation sponsored web seminar series with an event launching Improving Quality and Achieving Equity: A Guide for Hospital Leaders. This Guide is constructed to be clear, concise, practical, and easy to read. It is targeted to hospital leaders - including CEOs, VPs, and others that focus on quality, safety, finance, and risk management. The 60-minute, interactive, web-based seminar is free and open to the public. Register online now as space is limited. http://tinyurl.com/63d4en [posted on Joint Commission Hospitals, Language, and Culture List] scb

Google also has a new ‘branch’ called Google.org. The site “aspires to use the power of information and technology to address the global challenges of our age: climate change, poverty and emerging disease.” Included in the new site is a section called: Explore flu trends across the U.S. The page includes a flu shot locator by zip code. http://www.google.org/flutrends/ [rb]

Deadline: No later than Feb. 1, 2009.

The National Network of Libraries of Medicine MidContinental Region (NN/LM MCR) is accepting proposals for the Continuity of Health Information Award. The purpose is to fund innovative projects in three areas:

• Advocacy
• Health Information Literacy
• Emergency Preparedness

This solicitation asks Network members to choose one focus area and develop a project that will be funded up to $15,000. Full and affiliate members (with the exception of Resource Libraries) are eligible to apply. Further information is at at: http://nnlm.gov/mcr/funding. Proposals not funded may be resubmitted in subsequent years. Project awards to be announced Mar. 1, 2009 with project completion by Nov. 1, 2010.
If you have questions, or require assistance call 1-800-338-7657 or contact these liaisons who have details:
Marty Magee
Barb Jones
Siobhan Champ Blackwell
John Bramble
Jim Honour
Dana Abbey

Contact Information: http://nnlm.gov/mcr/about/staff.html [jh]

The online class - “Thinking Like an MBA” - will be offered beginning Jan. 12 , 2009 and ending Feb. 6., 2009. The four one-week modules include topics on Project Management, Time Management, Money, Resources (people) and Change Management. The class is free and upon completion students will receive four MLA CE credits. To register, e-mail mmagee@unmc.edu.

In Other Words…Health and Health Literacy Information Resources From the NLM 
By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L
On Call Magazine, December 4, 2008

The NLM is part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. It is the largest medical library in the world and contains numerous databases and electronic resources. A PubMed search, though, can return an overwhelming list of resources. This article highlights ways to narrow searches so users can more quickly find the specific materials they need. http://www.healthliteracy.com/articles.asp and http://www.boston.com/jobs/healthcare/oncall/ [scb]

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/news/odds_apha_blueribbon.html
The National Library of Medicine’s traveling exhibition, Against the Odds: Making a Difference in Global Health http://apps.nlm.nih.gov/againsttheodds/index.cfm , earned a best exhibit blue ribbon at the American Public Health Association (APHA) 2008 meeting. Schools of public health that would like to host the traveling exhibition can contact the Association of Schools of Public Health http://www.asph.org/index.cfm. The Association is coordinating the tour of the exhibit to schools of public health with support from the Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Work Force http://phpartners.org/. [scb]