The National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM), Middle Atlantic Region (MAR), is pleased to announce the following two winners for the MAR Planning Awards.

The purpose of the Planning Awards program is to plan or determine the feasibility for future library improvement and outreach projects. Library improvement includes strengthening the technological capabilities of libraries to respond to changes in the health information environment and to users’ needs, the ability of libraries to share resources, share and build on best practices, identify emerging opportunities and threats to libraries and develop a plan to address them. Outreach includes reaching out to communities that a library does not usually serve, or expand services to communities that are underserved and offering training, document delivery partnerships, collaborative programming and reference and research support. Planning is the foundation for success of any project.

Planning Award recipients:

1. Kathleen M. Miller

Rochester Regional Library Council, Fairport, NY

Project: Getting the (Healthy) Word Out: A Train-the-Trainer Approach for Nurses

2. Andrea Markinson

Medical Research Library, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY

Planning Grant for the “Learn More. Live Healthy!” Consumer Health Project

The National Library of Medicine would like to publicize your upcoming noteworthy projects about National Medical Librarians’ Month in October.

Submissions are due by this Friday, September 12, with the NLM site unveiling on October 1. Please submit by email to rml@library.med.nyu.edu:

Name of the institution

Title of project

Brief summary of the project

Name of project director

Key staff

A new study finds that in 2007, 56 percent of American adults—more than 122 million people—sought information about a personal health concern, up from 38 percent in 2001. Use of all information sources rose substantially, with the Internet leading the way. Consumers who actively researched health concerns widely reported positive impacts: More than half said the information changed their overall approach to maintaining their health, and four in five said that the information helped them to better understand how to treat an illness or condition.

The report, “Striking Jump in Consumers Seeking Health Care Information” (Tracking Report No. 20) is authored by Ha T. Tu and Genna Cohen. It was published in August 2008 by Center for Studying Health System Change.

Because of the upcoming Labor Day weekend, the deadline to submit your application for a MAR Health Literacy Award (new or existing project) has been extended to September 2.

Information on the awards, as well as online application forms, are available here:

http://nnlm.gov/mar/funding/

Women’s Health Resources from the National Library of Medicine

A new Web resource providing scientists and consumers with the latest information on significant topics in women’s health research from scientific journals and other peer-reviewed sources is now available through the National Library of Medicine (NLM). The NLM Division of Specialized Information Services, Office of Outreach and Special Populations has partnered with the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) to create this one-stop resource.

The 2008 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research Priorities for Women’s Health were used to identify overarching themes, specific health topics, and research initiatives in women’s health. Within each section of the Web site are topics with links to relevant and authoritative resources and research initiatives for women’s health.

Women’s Health Resources from the NLM Web site can be found at: http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/outreach/womenshealthoverview.html

Women’s Health Resources from the ORWH Web site can be found at: http://orwh.od.nih.gov/nat_lib_med.html

ALA Annual Conference Wellness Fair 2008

Anaheim, California

The ALA Workplace Wellness Task Force will host a Wellness Fair at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, CA, June 26 - July 2, 2008. In conjunction with this event, we invite you to submit a poster session proposal relating to our theme, “Be Well at Work.” Posters will be displayed during the Wellness Fair on Sunday, June 29, 2008.

Please help us share examples of successful workplace wellness initiatives for library employees. We encourage proposals relating to initiatives on any wellness issue. Some suggested subjects for poster sessions are diet and nutrition, ergonomics, exercise incentives, health education, health screenings, sick building syndrome, and stress management.        

The ALA Workplace Wellness Task Force will select posters for the Wellness Fair on the basis of quality and to represent a variety of wellness program themes and library types.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: March 15, 2008. A brief description of the poster (250 words or less) should be submitted via e-mail to Lynne Ring, lring@fortbend.lib.tx.us. Please include your name, institution, phone, fax, e-mail address, and poster title.

Review of proposals will begin immediately and successful submitters will be notified by April 15, 2008.

The NN/LM MAR Promotional Items order page has been updated!  

Check out the changes at http://nnlm.gov/mar/outreach/materials.html

The images are new and new items are available –

Health Hotlines Spiral-Bound Directory
Compilation of organizations with toll-free telephone numbers, derived from DIRLINE,  NLM’s online Directory of Information Resources
Size: 4 ½” x 8 ½”

Information Rx Store Postcard
Marketing tool for Information Rx, intended for physicians to refer patients to MedlinePlus
Size: 4” x 6” Limited quantities

MedlinePlus En Español Materials
Bilingual items for MedlinePlus en Español featuring Don Francisco, popular host of television show Sábado Gigante
Size: 2 ¾” x 8 ½” bookmark
Limited quantities available: 2” x 3 ½” business card and 8 ½” x 11” poster

NLM Classification Poster
Classification scheme for the arrangement of library materials in medicine and related sciences
Size: 18” x 24” Limit one per order

NLM Information Business Card
Convenient list of NLM consumer web sites plus customer service contact information
Size: 2 ¼” x 3 ½”

NLM Post-It Notes
Size: 3” x 4”, 50 sheets

Put in your order now to request more items that promote the NLM resources you rely on!

Of interest to public libraries:

The American Library Association is pleased to announce that it is working with WGBH Boston on the upcoming national outreach campaign for the film The Truth About Cancer, which will air on PBS April 16th at 9 p.m. (check local listings). The 90-minute documentary film, followed by a 30-minute expert panel, hosted by news journalist and cancer survivor Linda Ellerbee will be the launching pad for events and projects across the country focused on creating community conversations around cancer survivorship.

ALA and WGBH encourage libraries to reach out to their local PBS stations to collaborate with them on events surrounding this film. In addition, WGBH encourages libraries to reach out to its national outreach partners on this project including the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS), Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the John Wayne Cancer Foundation, Lance Armstrong Foundation, YMCA of the USA and the Coalition of Cancer Cooperative Groups. These collaborations will provide an excellent opportunity for libraries to develop new—or strengthen existing—community partnerships, while offering a valuable service to their communities.

To assist in these outreach efforts, WGBH will offer extensive online resources, including downloadable handouts, which will be available on www.pbs.org/takeonestep <http://www.pbs.org/takeonestep> starting in March 2008. In addition, a limited number of free Outreach Toolkits including two event posters and a DVD Screener that will include 30 minutes of the film and the full expert panel to libraries that request them. WGBH asks that libraries not hold public screenings using the DVD screener until one week prior to the premiere broadcast.

To order the Outreach Toolkit, please go to:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/takeonestep/request.html

Materials are limited and are available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

This collaborative project with WGBH is administered by the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of ALA. Contact Barbara Macikas, RUSA, bmacikas@ala.org <mailto:bmacikas@ala.org> or 1-800-545-2433, ext. 4395.

Join your colleagues on November 20, 2007 as NN/LM MAR hosts Medical Library Association’s fall webcast, “Scholarly Publishing and Open Access: Straight Talk.” More information about the webcast is available here: http://mlanet.org/education/distance_ed/scholarlypub/index.html

Take advantage of this national continuing education event. Share ideas with your colleagues about current topics, learn techniques from MLA member experts, and earn MLA CE contact hours.

Date: Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Time: 2:00 pm-4:00 pm plus optional post-webcast discussion, facilitated by Mark E. Funk, AHIP, Samuel J. Wood Library, Weill Cornell Medical College, and MLA President

Location: New York University Medical Center, New York, NY

RSVP to rml@library.med.nyu.edu. You will be sent a confirmation e-mail with directions to the site by Friday, November 16. There is no charge for NN/LM members.

The RML has also purchased a DVD for loan after the webcast.

We look forward to having you join us!

The conference entitled, “Health Literacy: Tools for Improving Health Communications” was held on May 30, 2007.  The conference was co-sponsored by the New York Medical College (NYMC) Health Sciences Library (HSL) and School of Public Health (SPH) along with the Northern Metropolitan Hospital Association (NorMet).  It was jointly funded by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) and the New York State Department of Health.  The conference goal was to provide health professionals and hospital staff with an educational opportunity to develop awareness of health literacy issues and improve communication skills with individuals throughout the Hudson Valley Region of New York.  In fact, the revelant issues and communication skills needed are basic to all health professionals.  NN/LM network members, regional health professionals, and individuals from community agencies were encouraged to attend.  The expectation was that the conference would serve as a platform from which to develop a regional coalition and be able to draw upon the community building skills already in place among the participants: it did.  One outcome was the creation of a health literacy tool kit, which was soon followed by a virtual version.  The conference page web now includes the scope and agenda for the conference as well as the tool kit, with new links added as needed http://library.nymc.edu/PHInformatics/hltoolkit.cfm.  When the so-called “dancing nurses” video shown by one of the speakers was requested more than 14 times, the link was immediately added to the site: http://www.ahrq.gov/QuestionsAreTheAnswer//.

Attendees rated the conference overall close to excellent by all measures by the end of the day, and post-conference survey evaluations completed July 16, 2007 also generated extremely positive results.  Although plans initially estimated 100 likely attendees, the final total was 194 individuals.

Diana J. Cunningham, MLS,MPH- New York Medical College- Health Sciences Library- Valhalla, NY