The National Library of Medicine is pleased to announce the launch of two new exhibitions; “Harry Potter’s World: Renaissance Science, Magic, and Medicine,” and “Everyday Miracles: Medical Imagery in Ex-Votos.”

“Harry Potter’s World” explores the plants, animals, and magic featured in the Harry Potter book series and their roots in Renaissance traditions that played an important role in the development of Western science. The exhibition incorporates the works of several 15- and 16th-century thinkers mentioned in Harry Potter and looks at topics such as alchemy, astrology, and natural philosophy, as well as the ethical issues faced by both the fictitious characters from the novels and the historical figures that influenced them. This exhibition runs through December 31, 2008.

“Everyday Miracles” examines the relationship between faith and healing as expressed in personal devotional painting from Italy and Mexico called ex-votos. These small religious paintings that were commissioned by the faithful for perceived “healing miracles” were hung in community churches as testimony to their devotion and gratitude. The exhibition also showcases Spanish colonial medical texts, which are displayed in the History of Medicine Division Reading Room. This exhibition runs through January 31, 2009.

Both exhibitions, as well as accompanying texts from the History of Medicine Division’s collections, can be viewed in the History of Medicine Division Reading Room and the lobby of Building 38. For more information about the new exhibitions, please call 301-594-1947 or email nlmExhibition@mail.nih.gov, or visit their websites at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/harrypottersworld and http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/exvotos/.

Sign language interpreters will be provided. Individuals with disabilities who need reasonable accommodation to participate should contact Erika Mills by phone at 301-594-1947 or by email at millser@mail.nih.gov, and/or the Federal Relay (1-800-877-8339).

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has launched an improved and more accessible version of healthfinder.gov. Healthfinder.gov’s features include links to over 6,000 government and nonprofit health information resources on hundreds of health topics. Information is presented in English and Spanish. The improvements will help users find what they want on those sites. Another new tool offered on the site is myhealthfinder, which provides personalized recommendations for clinical preventive services specific to the user’s age, gender, and pregnancy status.

News Release: http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/pr2008/healthfinderpr.htm

The NN/LM SCR will present three classes at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Library in New Orleans, LA, on November 3 and 4, 2008.

Monday, November 3, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Can You Hear Me Now? How to Make a Podcast

Monday November 3, 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Can You Hear Me Now? How to Make a Podcast

This free, 3-hour 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!

Tuesday, November 4, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Getting the Best out of DOCLINE

Attendees will learn how to use the features of DOCLINE effectively. Additional topics include DOCLINE upgrades, reports, Loansome Doc and EFTS.

To register for the classes, go to: http://nnlm.gov/scr/training/register.html.

If you have any questions, please contact Re Mishra at ruicha.mishra@exch.library.tmc.edu or 713-799-7880.

Forwarded from Joy Summers-Ables, President of SCC/MLA:

It’s comforting to hear the updates from our colleagues along the Gulf of Mexico, so that we know how you’re doing.  The impact from Hurricane Ike has been devastating and it’s apparent that moving back into these areas and subsequent recovery will take some time.

On behalf of SCC, I’d like to let extend a willingness to assist those in affected areas that may have needs, regardless of the nature.  Please pass this message along to those that do not have means to access email.  Inquiries or requests made to SCC can be sent to me and will be distributed appropriately.

We hope that you, your families, co-workers and friends are safe; you continue to be in our thoughts and prayers.

Joy Summers-Ables, President
South Central Chapter/ Medical Library Association
joy-summers@ouhsc.edu

The NN/LM SCR office will be closed Monday, September 15 - Wednesday, September 17. We will reopen on Thursday, September 18.

The RML office did not receive any damage and the RML staff are safe. Our thoughts go out to our colleagues in the Houston-Galveston area, particularly those on the coast and in the Galveston area.

If you need DOCLINE assistance prior to Thursday, September 18th, the SCR has made arrangements with the NN/LM Middle Atlantic Region (New York University) to assist Network members to deactivate DOCLINE accounts. You can reach them at 212-263-2030 or via email: rml@library.med.nyu.edu

For those of you affected by Hurricane Ike:

Please post information on the status of your libraries before, during and after the storm.

The Maternal and Child Health Library has released three new resource briefs that provide information on electronic resources for public health professionals, health care providers, and families.

Genetics: Resource Brief is a guide to current resources on genetics and genomics, genetic testing, genetic counseling, genetic disorders, and newborn screening. This brief is available at http://www.mchlibrary.info/guides/genetics.html.

Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) and Families: Resource Brief focuses on psychological and social impacts of ART on children conceived via ART and on their families, as well as ethical and legal issues associated with ART.  It is available at http://www.mchlibrary.info/guides/ART.html.

Environmental Health: Resource Brief focuses on environmental issues that affect the health of pregnant women and children. This brief is available at http://www.mchlibrary.info/guides/environmentalhealth.html.

Maternal and Child Health Library resources on other maternal and child health topics are available at http://www.mchlibrary.info/guides.html.

The Refugee Health Information Network (RHIN - http://www.rhin.org) is a national collaborative partnership that has created a database of high quality multilingual, public health resources for those providing care to resettled refugees and asylees. RHIN is guided by refugee health professionals and health information specialists. All content available for downloading through RHIN is available at no charge.

RHIN resources include:

• Health education materials in various languages and formats (brochures, fact sheets, videos)

• Provider tools (including information on refugee populations and cultures)

• Links to related Web sites

RHIN also provides links to existing sites specializing in refugee health, access to medical information from the National Library of Medicine, and a variety of posted documents from health care providers throughout the country. In selecting materials RHIN places greatest emphasis on identifying, collecting, and making available materials that have been produced by U.S. Federal and state government agencies, major national organizations, academic institutions, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations. Web sites that are linked to by RHIN are constantly evaluated to ensure substantive information is provided and quality is maintained.

Join the Department of Health and Human Services for the online launch of the “Ask Medicare” Initiative for caregivers, partners and media.  The live webcast launch is Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 12pm to 1pm Eastern Time.  To learn more and to register for the webcast, visit http://www.hostingimagesemail.com/hhs/september2008/index.htm

Many libraries in the South Central Region were impacted after Hurricane Gustav. Most have experienced power outages. This blog posting will be updated periodically as we learn about the library statuses in Louisiana. If you have any updates, contact the NN/LM SCR office at michelle.malizia@exch.library.tmc.edu. Best wishes to our friends in Louisiana.

Hopefully, we won’t need to use the hurricane blog entry for the remainder of the hurricane season.

Library Updates as of 9/5/08

• LSUHSC - New Orleans opened on September 8, 2008
• McNeese State University opened on September 4, 2008
• Ochsner Medical Library opened on September 5, 2008
• Tulane Health Sciences Library will reopen on Monday (no library damage)