The January 21st SCR CONNECTions Webinar recording is now available at https://webmeeting.nih.gov/p10185984/

Next session will be held on February 18th.
What: Downloadable Medical Applications on iPhones.
Time: February 18th, 10:30-11:30 AM Central Time
Link: https://webmeeting.nih.gov/scr/

See you then!

The 2009 Horizon Report discusses six emerging technologies and practices that are likely to have considerable impact on higher education, and could be widely implemented  for teaching, learning, research, content sharing, social activities, and creative expression in the next one to five years.

The research paper is a collaborative effort between the New Media Consortium and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI). Six areas that have been identified are mobiles, cloud computing, geo-everything, personal Web, semantic-aware applications, and smart objects. Definition and examples of how each technology is being or could be used are presented in the report. It also identifies key trends and critical challenges that facing education and learning organizations over the five-year period.

The report is available free of charge and under Creative Commons license. You can access the full report at http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2009-Horizon-Report.pdf or http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/CSD5612.pdf

You can read how the Project Advisory Board manages the process of selecting topics for the 2009 report on Horizon Wiki, where related resources are also listed.

Does it sometimes feel like PubMed is making improvements daily?  Wouldn’t it be great if there was a simple way to catch up with all the changes? Luckily, there is a simple solution.

Attend the National Training Center and Clearinghouse ’s (NTCC) PubMed class on February 3, 2009 from 8:30 am - 5:00 pm at the Houston Academy of Medicine - Texas Medical Center Library in Houston, TX.

Registration is still open and space is available.  And don’t forget that you will be awarded  7.5 MLA CE hours after completion.

A January 2009 PEW Internet & American Life Project report, Adult and Social Network Websites, shows that in the past 3 years, more and more adult Internet users have started using social network sites.  The figures rose from 8% usage in February 2005 to 35% in December 2008.

The survey results indicate that younger adults are much more likely to use social networks than their older counterparts, and the majority use the networks for personal instead of professional interests. For those who do use it for both personal and professional purposes, they usually maintain multiple profiles on different sites. MySpace is the most popular social network site among adult users.

With 75% of online adults between 18 and 24 and 57%  between 25 and 34 having a social network profile, there is huge potential for libraries to reach patrons through these sites.

Here are examples of some regional libraries with profiles on social network sites:

• Northeastern State University Libraries, Broken Arrow, OK on MySpace
• Harris County Public Library on LinkedIn
• John P. Ische Library / LSUHSC New Orleans Libraries on Facebook

For more information, see: Hendrix D, Chiarella D, Hasman L, Murphy S, Zafron ML. Use of Facebook in academic health sciences libraries. J Med Libr Assoc. 2009 Jan;97(1):44-7.

The Medical Library Association (MLA) Social Networking Software Task Force (official blog: http://sns.mlanet.org/blog/)  has a class, Media Sharing, that focuses primarily on screencasting and how you can use the technology to expand and promote your information services. It’s a self learning activity and you can log in any time to complete the work during Jan 19 - 25th. No registration is required.

The MLA Social Networking Software Task Force is offering a series of classes on Web 2.0 tools. You can find the complete schedule on their blog. Classes are free to current 2009 MLA members.

The February 2nd deadline to apply for all NN/LM SCR awards is fast approaching!

The following awards are now available:

Course Development Award:
Amount of funding: Two (2) projects up to $3,000 each
The purpose of the Course Development Award is to develop classes that meet the needs of the members of the NN/LM SCR and to enable Network members with expertise to share knowledge and skills with colleagues and enhance the NN/LM SCR education program.
For more information: http://nnlm.gov/scr/funding/cda.html

DOCLINE Library Improvement Project (DLIP):
Amount of funding: Four (4) projects up to $5,000 each
The purpose of the DLIP Award is to provide an opportunity to DOCLINE libraries, or libraries that are interested in becoming full DOCLINE users, to expand and improve existing library services.
For more information: http://nnlm.gov/scr/funding/dlip.html

Express Outreach Award:
Amount of funding: Eleven (11) projects up to $5,000 each
The purpose of the Express Outreach Award is to support a wide range of outreach projects aimed at improving access to and use of the health information found on the Internet, especially National Library of Medicine databases.
For more information: http://nnlm.gov/scr/funding/exp_outreach.html

Mobile Health Education Project Award (MHEP):
Amount of funding: Two (2) projects up to $6,000 each
The purpose of the MHEP Award is to provide an opportunity for Network members to provide access to health information utilizing mobile technologies.
For more information: http://nnlm.gov/scr/funding/mhep.html

Regional Symposium Award:
Amount of funding: One (1) project up to $8,600
The purpose of this award is to allow Network members to coordinate and implement a forum to support and enhance 2006-2011 Regional Medical Library Contract initiatives, including emerging health information technologies, hospital library advocacy, health information literacy, health information outreach to community based organizations, public health workforce, or allied health professionals, or assessment and evaluation.
For more information: http://nnlm.gov/scr/funding/symposium.html

To find a list of all NN/LM SCR funding opportunities, go to: http://nnlm.gov/scr/funding/index.html
For a list of past NN/LM SCR funded projects, go to: http://nnlm.gov/scr/funding/scrfunded.html

Do you ever wonder what the odds are that you’ll get the conditions your grandparents had?

The NN/LM SCR is offering the class ABCs of DNA: Unraveling the Mystery of Genetics Information for Consumers at the Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library, Houston, TX on February 12, 2009.

This class explores basic concepts such as genes and chromosomes and offers an overview of genetic disorders, genetic testing, genetic counseling, and the Human Genome Project. Ethical and legal issues associated with genetic disorders will be covered with regard to privacy, discrimination, and potential legislative impact on medicine and society. A variety of reliable health information resources will be demonstrated. This 4-hour hands-on class is intended for librarians, educators and the general public.

February 12, 2009  –  8:30 am -12:30 pm
Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library
1133 John Freeman Blvd.
Houston, Texas 77030
Street Level Classroom

There is no charge for the class but registration is required.  To register: http://nnlm.gov/scr/training/

This class is part of the Darwin 2009 Houston Celebration sponsored by the Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library.

The National Library of Medicine is encouraging the use of the Advanced Search feature in PubMed to search for specific citations.  The search is similar to the Single Citation Matcher and searches for a particular citation using the Author, Journal, Publication Data, Title, Volume, Index, and Pagination fields.

For more information, see: Nahin A. PubMed® Advanced Search Evolves. NLM Tech Bull. 2008 Nov-Dec (365):e6.