A technology award has enabled the Slotkin Memorial Library at Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Cherry Hill to purchase a ScanPro 300 microfiche scanner.

We now have access to many years of journal on microfiche.  While the Slotkin Memorial Library houses a variety of medical journals, our collection is unique with much of its collection focusing on behavioral health.

This award has enabled us to provide better service to our staff, as well as share our important collection with the libary community.

Francine Silverman- Barney A. Slotkin Memorial Library- Kennedy Memorial Hospital- Cherry Hill, NJ

St. Francis Medical Library truly needed two new printers for its Consumer Health Resource Center.  In June 2007 the NN/LM MAR honored our grant request for a Technology Improvement Award.  The two printers are utilized by the patients and community members that visit the library.  Now a patron can bring home a printed copy of information accessed on the computer.

In addition, patient education information from the NLM can be printed and distributed to the patient floors and waiting rooms.  The colored brochures increase the visibility and interest in the publications.  The printers are a great asset to our Consumer Health Center; we thank the Middle Atlantic Region for awarding us this much needed equipment.

Rosemary Figorito- St. Francis Hospital- Wilmington, DE

The project of bringing awareness to the Horse Therpay Program was a great success.  I originally brought up the idea to a recreation therapist while evaluating an art exhibit for the Veteran’s here at the hospital.  She told me they had thought about the program and were thinking of ways to raise funds.  I had seen an article in the New York Times about how Amputee Veterans at the Walter Reed VA were benefiting from the Horse Therapy.

I contacted the Chief of Recreation and we arranged a meeting.  The results were that there would be a two day event since we wanted to bring the Veteran’s to the Stable to get them interested.  The Director of Horseability stressed the importance of connecting the Library and showing the NLM resources.

On day one a May Pole was setup outside the Library.  Everyone was invited in and a demo session on PubMed and MedlinePlus was given to help them with their medical questions.   I believe the program went well.  The intent was to advertise the library and to bring awareness of NLM resources to this Veteran Community.  The sign now placed in front of the libary has certainly brought more patients in.  The only thing I would of done differently is that I would have had an additional demo session just for the professional staff (recreation therapist) gearing the discussion towards PubMed, the tutorials ad search techniques.  I touched on PubMed that day but the audience was primarily veteran patients and so I focused on MedlinePlus and the print resources.

Mary Lou Glazer- Veteran’s Administration- Northport Medical Library- Northport, NY

The Health Sciences Library was the recipient of a Micro-Award to exhibit at the 33rd Annual Maurice Goldenhar Family Medicine Update.  This popular annual continuing medical education event is sponsored by the Stony Brook University School of Medicine.  Dr. Goldenhar, after whom Goldenhar Syndome is named, was a long time member of the faculty and a strong supporter of the library.  This five day event was attended by over 90 physicians for the whole five days with additional one day attendees.

There were five vendors that exhibited all day Friday, June 1, 2007 including the Health Sciences Library.  Colleen Kenefick and Susan E. Werner staffed the exhibit to promote the products and services of the National Library of Medicine.  Since many of the attendees are in private practice, we were especially interested in promoting the Loansome Doc service.  There were many questions not only about this service, but also about PubMed, general library policies, and toxicology sources.

It was very busy and a little hectic before the first session, during the morning break, lunch break, and afternoon break.  The lunch was held in the exhibit area, so there was a burst of activity during this time.  Since the conference exhibitors were in a visible public area, there were many Stony Brook faculty, staff, and students attracted by the display and material was also given to them.

There are professional promotional materials that can be ordered by any NN/LM MAR network member.  We obtained these materials in advance and made packets of information for all the attendees.  An AIDS information card, ClinicalTrials.gov card, Good health information on the World Wide Web card, Loansome Doc fact sheet, National Center of Biotechnology information card, NLM Gateway card, PubMed card, Registering with Clinical Trials, and Toxicology brochure will be included in every packet.

We also included materials that were locally produced: Loansome Doc application materials, a library orientation handout, and a library contact information sheet.

At the end of the long day, 180 informational packets had been distributed and many questions answered about library activities and services.  It was a very satisfying experience and we would encourage other members to apply for this award and exhibit at similiar events in their areas.

Colleen M. Kenefick- S.U.N.Y -Stony Brook Health Sciences Library- Stony Brook, NY

Health information disparities exist across the United States.  The Rural Health Conference sponsored by the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health is an annual meeting that seeks to bridge the health information disparities gap among rural underserved health care professionals in Central Pennsylvania.

The focus of the NN/LM exhibit at the Rural Health Conference: Roots of Change was to increase the awareness of and access to quality health information for underserved health professionals in rural Central Pennsylvania communities.  Ultimately, the goal was to improve health outcomes by enhancing health literacy and contributing to the informed decision making process.

Approximately 150 health administrators and policy makers, health providers including physicians, social workers, nurses, healthcare advocates, health educators and rural community agency representatives and extension agents from across the state attended the Rural Health Conference.  Of the 150 attendees 85 visited the NN/LM exhibit to receive promotional materials and NLM database searching tips.  Topics of interested included diabetes, AIDS, environmental health and consumer health.

Valerie Gross- Penn State University- College of Medicine- Hershey, PA

The University of California at Berkeley has posted a number of full course lectures on YouTube. There are currently over 300 hours of lectures and special events covering topics ranging from bioengineering, physics, chemistry, peace and conflict studies, and others.

Read more about it from ArsTechnica

DOCLINE’s newest member is Saint Vincent College’s Latimer Family Library (PAULQU) in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Saint Vincent College is a Catholic Benedictine college with a 161 year history. The college supports graduate programs in nurse anesthesia and health services leadership and undergraduate programs in bioinformatics, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant, and pre-health.

Librarian Elizabeth DiGiustino has already added forty-four serial holdings and will manage day-to-day DOCLINE operations. The library participates in FreeShare.

As a special note of interest, Saint Vincent College is the home of an archive of papers from a very familiar face–Fred Rogers of Mister Roger’s Neighborhood.

Please join us in welcoming Saint Vincent College’s Latimer Family Library to the region and to DOCLINE.

Consumers often visit the public library to find health information. How do public librarians meet consumer health information needs? Delaware librarians have medical library expertise right in their own buildings, thanks to Delaware Consumer Health Information Services (DCHIS, http://www.healthyde.org), a program funded by Delaware Health and Social Services’ Division of Public Health and administered by the Delaware Academy of Medicine. DCHIS was established in 2003 and now covers Kent County, Sussex County, and New Castle County. Recently Arpita Bose, NN/LM MAR Outreach and Communications Coordinator, interviewed the DCHIS librarians, Patty Hartmannsgruber, Linda Leonard, and Susan LaValley, about their unique role as medical librarians in public libraries.

What do you do at DCHIS?

We are each stationed at a host public library: Patty is in Kent County at Dover Public Library; Linda is in Sussex County at Rehoboth Beach Public Library; and Susan is in New Castle County at Bear Public Library. Our duties include collection development, staffing the public reference desk, and programming.

What kinds of health programs do you present?

We have facilitated programs on diabetes and nutrition, homeopathy, and complementary medicine. One of the programs was called Facts Versus Quacks; it focused on evaluating health information web sites. We present the programs ourselves, or we have expert speakers lead the programs. Our events happen inside the library and also outside the library, at senior centers, for instance.

What other projects do you do?

We are responsible for Go Local Delaware, which links MedlinePlus with local resources in the state. Patty has also started to prepare a binder of consumer health resources along with sample questions that patrons might ask. Other public librarians will be able to refer to this binder when they receive consumer health inquiries.

What is the best part of your job at DCHIS?

We enjoy working with the public. This program gives us the opportunity to engage in a wide variety of activities, and we have the freedom to be creative about collection development and programming. We enjoy going outside the library to spread the word about consumer health. We attend senior expos, women’s health fairs, Spanish language health fairs, and alternative health expos. The public librarians in our branches also appreciate knowing that we are there to answer complex consumer health information questions.

What’s next for DCHIS?

We are rethinking our image to give us more name recognition in the public libraries. We are planning a name change, logo change, and branding for ourselves. We have become involved with a coalition of health educators and plan to ask them about marketing strategies for our services.

For more information about DCHIS, visit their web site, Healthy DE.

Would you like your library to be featured In the Region? Contact Arpita Bose (arpita.bose@library.med.nyu.edu) for more information.

Delaware Consumer Health Information Services Librarians (from left): Susan LaValley, Linda Leonard, Patty Hartmannsgruber. Not pictured: PJ Grier, Director of Library and Information Services, Lewis B. Flinn Library, Delaware Academy of Medicine

We are pleased to announce the National Medical Librarians Month 2007 featured librarians from the Middle Atlantic Region:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/lo/profiles07/mar.html

You can also learn what your colleagues around the country are doing for National Medical Librarians Month 2007:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/lo/profiles07/

The City College of New York’s (CCNY) Cohen Library will host Changing the Face of Medicine: Celebrating America’s Women Physicians,” October 10 through November 30. The traveling exhibit, to be on display in the library atrium, was developed by the Exhibition Program of the History of Medicine Division of the National Library of Medicine in collaboration with the American Library Association Public Programs Office. This will be its only showing in the New York metropolitan area.

Several events will be held at CCNY in connection with the exhibit:

Dr. Jo Ivey Boufford, President of the New York Academy of Medicine, featured in the exhibit, and an authority on global health, will be keynote speaker for an opening reception Wednesday, October 17, 2007 at 6:00 PM in the Archives Reading Room. She will speak on “Women and Medicine: Leaders in Public Health and Health Policy.” Dr. Marthe R. Gold of the Sophie Davie School of Biomedical Education at The City College will offer opening remarks.

“A Lady Alone,” a one-act play about Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to obtain formal medical education in the United States, will be performed by actress Linda Kelley 4:30 p.m. Monday, October 22, in the Archives Reading Room. Prior to 1847, women did not have access to becoming doctors in the United States. An ardent medical and social reformer, Dr. Blackwell founded the New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children in 1857, which still exists today as the New York Downtown Hospital. Dr. Bruce Logan, Chair of the Department of Medicine at the New York Downtown Hospital, will reflect upon the early days when poor women received care, women physicians could practice medicine, and female medical students could study and practice clinically.

Demographic changes in the U.S. population require a diverse physician workforce in terms of gender and ethnicity. Dr. Nereida Correa and Dr. Elizabeth Theresa Lee-Ray, both featured in the exhibit, are leaders in promoting cultural and linguistic competency in dealing with the Latino-Hispanic population. The program on “Women in Leadership positions in Medicine: Shattering the Glass Ceiling” to be presented in the Archives Reading Room on Monday, October 29, at 6:00PM will showcase their achievements. Dr. Erica I. Lubetkin of the Sophie Davie School of Biomedical Education at The City College will offer opening remarks.

CCNY is very pleased and very proud that the program on Thursday, November 15, 2007 at 6:00PM covers the accomplishments of the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education alumnae: Dr. Traci Burgess (1989), Dr. Nicola Davis (1994), and Dr. Suzette Oyeku, (1997). They will discuss their experiences and strategies for “Breaking down Barriers of Racism and Sexism in Medicine” in the Archives Reading Room.

For details and a complete list of events please visit the City College Libraries exhibit web page at http://origin.admin.ccny.cuny.edu/library/events.html

This traveling exhibition has been made possible by the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health Office of Research on Women’s Health. The American Medical Women’s Association provided additional support.

For more information on the Changing the Face of Medicine exhibition at City College, please call the Exhibition Coordinator at (212) 650-6826. Visit the exhibition web site at the National Library of Medicine to learn about the 330 woman physicians, selected from women in medicine throughout U.S. history, to be featured in this exhibit. Learn about their sources of inspiration, the challenges they faced, and their accomplishments at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/index.html