National Network of Libraries of Medicine
nnlm.gov
Archives
This page was archived on: May 02, 2008 | View page metadata
Document content is not current. Links may be broken.
| National Network of Libraries of Medicinennlm.gov |
Archives |
|
This page was archived on: May 02, 2008 | View page metadata | Document content is not current. Links may be broken. |
||
Newsletter for the South Central Region
On behalf of the NN/LM SCR staff, I would like to wish each of you a safe and happy holiday season and the best for 2005. Our holiday e-card to you is located at: http://nnlm.gov/scr/holiday_image2.htm.
Elizabeth Eaton and I attended the RML Directors' Mid-Year Meeting, hosted by the NN/LM Southeastern Atlantic Region at the University of Maryland at Baltimore Health Sciences and Human Services Library, Baltimore, MD, on November 30-December 1, 2004. Updates were presented on:
Staff of the University of Maryland Health Sciences and Human Services Library presented highlights of the library's outreach projects. Discussions throughout the meeting centered on the above mentioned Pilot Survey, the next NLM Long Range Plan, and Emergency Preparedness - Preventing Major Disruption in Delivery of Health Information Services.
Barbara Cosart resigned as Special Populations Outreach Coordinator effective December 17, 2004. We wish Barbara well with future endeavors. In the interim, responsibilities of this position have been reassigned to the Coordinators. If you have questions regarding these reassignments, please contact me.
Looking ahead…When the January-February 2005 issue of Network News is distributed, the 2006-2011 Regional Medical Library Request for Proposals will most likely have been issued by the NLM. The Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library is committed to serving the South Central Region as its Regional Medical Library for the upcoming five-year RML Contract period. When the Proposal is received and reviewed, we will actively solicit each Network member's input for the Proposal via a web form. We encourage you to begin brainstorming with staff members, colleagues, and consortia members on directions you would like considered for your area of the Region and be prepared to make suggestions to us via the form.
The NN/LM SCR has available the Health Information Outreach to Special Populations Request for Proposals (RFP) (http://nnlm.gov/scr/outrch/specpop_rfp11-04.htm). The purpose of this award is to improve access to and utilization of health information resources among special populations. It is open to Network members in the South Central Region.
Up to two awards will be made for 12-month projects with funding up to $25,000 each.
Proposals are due in the NN/LM SCR office by 5:00pm, February 18, 2004.
Elizabeth Eaton, Michelle Malizia, Karen Vargas and I attended the Symposium on Community-Based Health Information Outreach held at the NLM on December 2-3, 2004. It was a very full agenda for the 1.5-day Symposium. We heard from a number of speakers from various backgrounds including representatives of community-based organizations (CBOs). Topics ranged from approaches to outreach, strategies to eliminate health disparities through partnerships, overviews of several outreach projects, to approaches to evaluate outreach projects. There were lots of great ideas shared that we will be able to integrate into Regional programming and use in assisting Network members with outreach efforts throughout your communities. Please do not hesitate to contact any of the NN/LM SCR staff members who attended the Symposium for additional information.
NN/LM SCR Network members and speakers who were invited to participate in the Symposium included:
The archived version of the Symposium webcast (http://nlmoutreachsymposium2004.org) is linked from the Symposium website for anyone who may have missed the broadcast. RealPlayer is required to view this broadcast and can be downloaded from their website (http://www.real.com).
Many of the white papers presented at the Symposium are also linked to the website. The proceedings of the Symposium will be published in a special supplement to the Journal of the Medical Library Association later in 2005.
The NLM is making available, for one time only per project, $25,000 to fund state or regional Go Local projects (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/golocal.html) through NN/LM.
MedlinePlus's Go Local projects link MedlinePlus users to health services in their local community and direct users of the Go Local sites to MedlinePlus health topics. For example, users get medical information on diabetes from MedlinePlus and then visit a Go Local site for nearby health programs, services and providers. NLM is expanding the Go Local project to include more states or regions.
Full Network members interested in creating and maintaining a Go Local site for their state or region should review the requirements, qualifications, and other information in the Go Local Participation Guidelines document (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/golocaldocs/Go_Local_Participation.doc).
The NN/LM SCR Technology Advisory Committee has been revising and expanding the Technology Factsheets (http://nnlm.gov/scr/techsheets/index.htm). The most recent addition is:
Looking for an alternative to Internet Explorer? While Microsoft's Internet Explorer product still has over 90% of the browser market share, it is slowly losing dominance because of concerns over security and its sluggish reaction to common web page annoyances such as pop-up ads and spywear.
Mozilla
While Netscape (http://www.netscape.com) is still around, its popularity has largely been eclipsed by a first cousin of sorts, Mozilla (http://www.mozilla.org). Mozilla was originally created on the same programming code as Netscape. Mozilla is unique in that it is an open source browser, which means that its programming code is open to anyone who wants to work with it. Many software developers are constantly trying to remove bugs from the code. Another reason for its popularity are the browser enhancements, called extensions, available to customize the browser and make it individualized. The Mozilla package includes several applications in addition to the basic browser, including chat software, web development tools, and other programs. Mozilla is a free program.
Firefox
Mozilla recently released a new product called Firefox (http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/). Like Mozilla, Firefox is free open source software. The primary difference between Mozilla and Firefox is that Firefox is solely an Internet browser and does not contain the other functionality tools available from Mozilla. One of the most useful features of both Mozilla and Firefox is the ability to utilize tabbed browsing, which allows multiple web pages to be open simultaneously in the same application window.
Opera
Another browser alternative is Opera (http://www.opera.com/). Also free, Opera bills itself as "the fastest browser on earth." Like Mozilla and Firefox, Opera features tabbed browsing as well as other enhancements such as an email client and password management.
Yahoo Browser Listing
http://dir.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/software/internet/world_wide_web/browsers/
Listing of many currently available browsers
CNET
http://www.cnet.com/
Review of browsers and their enhancements
On December 6, 2004, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) issued a new clinical alert: NHLBI Stops Study Testing How Long Children with Sickle Cell Anemia Should Have Blood Transfusions to Prevent Stroke. It is available at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/databases/alerts/sickle_transfusion.html.
On December 22, 2004, the National Institute on Aging (NIA) issued a new clinical alert: Use of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Suspended in Large Alzheimer's Disease Prevention Trial. It is available at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/databases/alerts/nonsteroid.html.
The list of current Clinical Alerts and Advisories can be found at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/databases/alerts/clinical_alerts.html.
NLM has replaced the Information System grant with the Translational Informatics grant program. The NLM Translational Informatics grant emphasizes the use of information technology to bring usable, useful health-related information to end-users. "Informatics" can be broadly defined to include equipment, software, knowledge resources and services, and human expertise.
This grant can be used to support a variety of health-related information activities including, but not limited to:
Proposals should address how health-related information will be brought to end-users through training and other activities. Applicants who propose to create a web-based resource should discuss how they will address content features such as selection, source credibility, currency, accuracy, and completeness.
Projects dealing with digitization of print materials, the installation of online library catalogs, or other programs that duplicate NLM products and databases (such as Go Local consumer health initiatives) are not appropriate for the Translational Informatics grant.
NLM anticipates making 8-10 new awards for this program each year. Individual awards may not exceed $150,000 for one year, $300,000 over two years, or $450,000 over three years, in direct costs. As with other NLM awards, applications are accepted three times a year (February 1, June 1, and October 1).
The first deadline for applications is February 1, 2005.
For more information, see: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-05-012.html#PartII.
Walgreens (http://www.walgreens.com/) has become a partner in the American Library Association's (ALA) The Campaign for America's Libraries program. The purpose of the campaign is "to speak loudly and clearly about the value of libraries, librarians and library workers in the 21st century."
Walgreens' role in this campaign is to fund a major initiative that will promote libraries as sources of accurate, reliable health information. Walgreens will provide a package of 25 brochures that outlines the new Medicare-approved program to all public libraries in the country. These brochures provide information that will better enable people to understand the drug discount card and make informed decisions.
In addition, a series of seminars are planned at 10 libraries throughout the country between November 2004 and November 2005. These libraries were chosen in locations where there were Walgreens pharmacists that could assist with the program. The seminar topics include the Medicare Drug Discount Card Program; understanding medication; the best use of over the counter medications; and diabetes, asthma, and heart disease. The libraries selected will also receive grants of $25,000 to conduct these seminars.
In the NN/LM SCR, Houston Public Library, Houston, TX, was selected as one of the 10 libraries to conduct the health seminars with Walgreens. The other libraries selected are:
For more information, see the following ALA press releases:
ALA, Walgreens team up to bring Medicare information to libraries (http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=News&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=67309%3E)
10 library systems selected for "Be Well Informed @ your library®" (http://www.ala.org/ala/pr2004/october2004/bewellinformedlibraries.htm)
NLM and OCLC allow batch updating of holdings data for libraries that have serial holdings data in DOCLINE and in OCLC. This batch updating is an alternative to manually maintaining holdings in both DOCLINE and OCLC. Currently, a library can maintain holdings online in both systems, maintain holdings online in DOCLINE and have holdings automatically provided to OCLC on a quarterly basis, or maintain holdings in OCLC and have OCLC create a SULOP (Serials Union List Offline Product) file that NLM will use to update holdings in DOCLINE.
To assist libraries in deciding if batch updating is a viable option, NLM has made the following available:
Acton D. Updating Serial Holdings in DOCLINE® and OCLC® NLM Tech Bull. 2004 Sep-Oct;(340):e8. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/so04/so04_doc_oclc.html.
FAQ: Batch Update. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/faqdocline.html#serholdbatchupdate.
The base fee is the standard charge for an interlibrary loan request. The base fee is entered on the library's Institutions' Service and Fees page. Base fees can be established for Library Groups, other reciprocal partners, and for libraries with no prior resource sharing agreement (Other ILL).
Each year, NLM conducts the aptly named "MEDLINE Year-End Processing" during November and December. During this time, NLM temporarily discontinues adding indexed citations to PubMed until the new year's MeSH is added and other improvements are made to MEDLINE. On December 14, 2004, PubMed's MEDLINE citations, translation tables, and the MeSH database were updated to reflect 2005 MeSH.
For more information on this year's MEDLINE Year-End Processing, see:
Tybaert S. MEDLINE®/PubMed® End-of-Year Activities. NLM Tech Bull. 2004 Sep-Oct;(340):e4. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/so04/so04_end_year.html.
Pash J, Schulman J. What's New for 2005 MeSH®. NLM Tech Bull. 2004 Nov-Dec;(341):e8. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/nd04/nd04_mesh.html.
Tybaert S, Rosov J. MEDLINE® Data Changes - 2005. NLM Tech Bull. 2004 Nov-Dec;(341):e9. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/nd04/nd04_med_data_changes.html.
Schulman JL. Drug Trade Names - Enhanced Access and International Coverage in MeSH®. NLM Tech Bull. 2004 Nov-Dec;(341):e10. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/nd04/nd04_trade.html.
In order to augment PubMed retrieval with additional non-MEDLINE citations, a new translation has been implemented if the searcher enters an entry term for a MeSH heading. This translation will include a Title/Abstract search for the MeSH heading associated with the entry term that is limited to citations outside the MEDLINE subset of citations.
For more information, see: PubMed's Automatic Term Mapping Enhanced. NLM Tech Bull. 2004 Nov-Dec;(341):e7. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/nd04/nd04_atm.html.
One significant change to the 2005 MeSH is the addition of the MeSH term "Humans" under the taxonomy of Hominidae. The change in terminology will not affect most PubMed searches using Automatic Mapping or the Limits feature, but might require new searching strategies for MeSH searching.
For more information, see: Savage A, Knecht LS. 2005 MeSH Changes to Hominidae and the Check Tag Human; Resulting PubMed and NLM Catalog Change to Search for Animals. NLM Tech Bull. 2004 Nov-Dec;(341):e6. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/nd04/nd04_human.html.
The Entrez system has a new database called NLM Catalog (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=nlmcatalog). It provides access to NLM bibliographic data for over 1.2 million journals, books, audiovisuals, computer software, electronic resources, and other materials via the NCBI Entrez retrieval system. Supporting automated mapping features such as explosions on MeSH terms, the new database is an alternate search interface to the bibliographic records resident in LocatorPlus (http://locatorplus.gov/).
For more information, see: Jacobs AE. New Entrez Database: NLM Catalog. NLM Tech Bull. 2004 Sep-Oct;(340):e2. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/so04/so04_entrez_cat.html.
The papers of Wilbur Augustus Sawyer and C. Everett Koop have been recently added to Profiles in Science (http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/). Wilbur Augustus Sawyer (1879-1951) was a key figure in preventive medicine and international public health during the first part of the twentieth century. Among many other notable achievements, he was one of the architects of the World Health Organization. C. Everett Koop (b. 1916) is an American pediatric surgeon and served as the U.S. Surgeon General from 1981-1989. He turned the office into an authoritative platform from which to educate the nation on major public health concerns including smoking, violence, and most urgently, AIDS.
The Collection Development Manual of the National Library of Medicine, 4th ed. (2004) is now available at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/tsd/acquisitions/cdm/. The Manual, commonly known as the CDM, is a collection development policy document issued by NLM, a description of the collection, and a working tool utilized by staff who select materials.
For more information, see: Eannarino JC. Collection Development Manual of the National Library of Medicine, 4th ed., Now on the Web. NLM Tech Bull. 2004 Nov-Dec;(341):e4. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/nd04/nd04_collect.html.
For more information, see the ChemIDplus Help page: http://chem.sis.nlm.nih.gov/chemidplus/documentation/help/chemidfs2webAdvanced.jsp.
The NLM Cataloging Section implemented the 2004 amendments to the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, 2nd ed., 2002 revision, in September 2004. Most changes consist of clarifications to and amplifications of existing rules. Some rules have been renumbered.
For more information, see: Bain ES. National Library of Medicine® (NLM) Adopts 2004 Amendments to Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules. NLM Tech Bull. 2004 Nov-Dec;(341):e2. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/nd04/nd04_aacr.html.
The NN/LM SCR committees meet during the South Central Chapter of the Medical Library Association Annual Meeting. The following are summaries of this year's meetings held in Houston, TX.
The NN/LM Document Delivery Committee (DDC) met on October 23, 2004. Re Mishra, Education-Communications Coordinator, informed the members about DOCLINE 2.3. The focus of the meeting was the revision of the Document Delivery Manual (http://nnlm.gov/scr/netwk/ddindx.htm) and topics were assigned.
The list of current DDC Members can be found at: http://nnlm.gov/scr/netwk/ddcmembers.htm.
The NN/LM SCR Outreach Contacts Committee met on October 23, 2004. Michelle Malizia, Outreach Coordinator, answered questions on specific issues arising from the new Outreach Subcontract format such as invoicing and activities substitution. Karen Vargas, Consumer Health Coordinator, distributed some notes from the Consumer Health Advisory Committee meeting, held August 2004. She briefly spoke about some of the highlights of the meeting.
The list of the current Outreach Contacts Committee Members can be found at: http://nnlm.gov/scr/outrch/outrchmbrs.htm.
The NN/LM SCR Technology Advisory Committee (TAC) met on October 23, 2004. Greg Bodin, Technology Coordinator, led the discussion on a variety of technology topics pertinent to the NN/LM SCR office and the Region including suggestions for future articles and methods for dissemination of information. Volunteers were encouraged to finish updating and expanding the Technology Factsheets (http://nnlm.gov/scr/techsheets/).
More information on the TAC, including goals and objectives of the committee and the current list of members, is available at: http://nnlm.gov/scr/tech/tacmbrs.htm.
In his book, Connecting Young Adults and Libraries, 3rd ed., (2004), young adult librarian Patrick Jones says that focus groups show that librarians stereotype teenagers as loud and obnoxious. Teenagers describe librarians to be out of touch with the times. With these preconceptions, health reference to teenagers can be difficult. However, finding ways to provide health reference to teenagers can be especially necessary since the health decisions that teenagers make now can affect the rest of their lives.
According to the CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance - United States, 2003 (http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/SS/SS5302.pdf), among high school students nationwide:
A Kaiser Family Foundation report, Generation RX.com: How Young People Use the Internet for Health Information (http://www.kff.org/entmedia/20011211a-index.cfm), states that of youths aged 15-24 who have been online, 75% have searched for health information on the Internet at least once. According to Skinner, H. et al, How Adolescents Use Technology for Health Information: Implications for Health Professionals from Focus Group Studies, (J Med Internet Res. 2003 Dec 18;5(4):e32. PMID:14713660) (http://www.jmir.org/2003/4/e32/), students have as much frustration as adults when searching the Internet for health information. As one student said, "It can get just overwhelming on just the number of sites that have nothing to do with what you're looking for."
How can librarians help? Go where the teens are! Health programs at the library may not attract teenagers. Outreach ideas include visiting school health classes or teen clubs and organizations. One of the most successful ways to reach teenagers is to use other teenagers. The Peer Tutor Pilot Project at South Texas High School for Health Professions' Biblioteca Las Américas (Med High Library) (http://bla.stisd.net/Peer%20Tutor_Project.htm), Mercedes, TX, has trained students as peer tutors who in turn teach fellow students, teachers and parents how to use MedlinePlus. This successful project has won many awards and is being used as a model by other libraries.
Another way to reach teenagers is to build good teen reference web pages. Mid-Hudson Library System, NY, uses teen interns to evaluate and recommend health websites for their library health information pages (http://midhudson.org/hip/main.htm).
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, over 2 million prisoners are held on any given day in Federal, State, or local jails. While it may be tempting to assume that their information needs are mainly limited to legal issues, prisoners require health information just as much as their non-institutionalized counterparts.
In November 2004, Karen Vargas and I had an exciting opportunity to exhibit at the National Commission on Correction Health Care (http://www.ncchc.org/) conference. While the NN/LM SCR office has exhibited at numerous conferences and health fairs, this was our first foray into the world of corrections on a national scale. To say we did not know what to expect was putting it mildly, so we brought promotional materials for all of the NLM databases. Our only exhibit booth rule was to keep an open mind and let visitors tell us what resources would best fit their needs.
Attendees to the conference ran the gamut of the corrections and health care fields:
Individuals working in the correctional field face a wide array of specialized health issues including:
Not surprisingly, by far the most popular NLM database featured in the exhibit booth was MedlinePlus. Everyone expressed the need for patient-friendly materials. While most prisoners do not have access to computers themselves, correctional health care workers were excited about their own ability to print and distribute the patient education documents contained on MedlinePlus. The availability of easy-to-read materials was an added bonus.
Other NLM products of particular interest to conference attendees included the perennial favorite PubMed and the Visible Human Project. The latter attracted particular attention because the male cadaver was that of a Texas death-row inmate. Many visitors to the exhibit booth were very interested in viewing the digital image dataset that comprises the Visible Human.
In the final analysis, the National Commission on Correctional Health Care conference was a great success allowing the NN/LM SCR to reach a unique and largely untapped market for health information.
For a list of correctional facilities in your state, see: http://www.usdoj.gov/prisoninfo.htm.
Published bimonthly by the
National Network of Libraries of Medicine,
South Central Region
Supported by NLM Contract N01-LM-1-3515
NN/LM SCR Regional Advisory Committee
Chair
Mary Ryan
Network News Editor
Ruicha Mishra