MAR invites applications for the position of Associate Director. See the full job announcement and application instructions.

Join your colleagues on November 12 as NN/LM MAR hosts Medical Library Association’s fall webcast, “Survival Tips and Stories: Expanding the Library’s Services in Times of Disaster.” More information about the webcast is available here: http://www.mlanet.org/education/distance_ed/disaster/

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: Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Time: 2:00 pm-4:00 pm

Location: Smilow 1^st Floor Conference Room B, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY

*NOTE: You are invited to join us in person in New York City for the webcast. We cannot offer free remote access to the webcast from your own library.*

RSVP to rml@library.med.nyu.edu. Space is limited, so sign up early. You will be sent a confirmation e-mail with directions to the site by Friday, November 7. There is no charge for this event.

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

We look forward to having you join us!

We have received numerous calls over the past few days regarding LinkOut.

NLM has responded to our questions about these issues.

MyNCBI experienced a system glitch which affected library and publisher icons in PubMed. This was a transient system glitch which was resolved.

If you continue to experience problems, please contact the RML.

NN/LM MAR will offer two sessions of the class Measuring Your Impact: Using Evaluation for Library Advocacy this November. One session will be held in New York City at NYU’s Frederick L. Ehrman Medical Library on Wednesday, November 19, 2008 from 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.. The other session of the same class will be held in Hershey, Pennsylvania at the Penn State College of Medicine, George T. Harrell Health Sciences Library on Friday, November 21, 2008 from 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m..

Class Description:

Show the value of your libraries’ services. The ultimate goal of this class is to insure that library users and stakeholders will recognize and value the importance of their library’s services and of the librarian to the organization. Participants will become familiar with an evaluation process by using methods and tools for assessment, evaluation planning, creating logic models, data collection and reporting. The workshop will feature a case-based scenario that moves participants through the steps of an evaluation process. Class discussion, lecture, and exercises will help participants take away the skills needed to show the value of their library’s services.

Upon completion class attendees will receive 6 hours MLA CE credit.

Instructors:

Maryanne Blake, Outreach/Evaluation Coordinator, NN/LM, Pacific Northwest Region, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.

Sue Hunter, Planning and Evaluation Coordinator, NN/LM, Middle Atlantic Region, NYU Health Sciences Libraries, New York, NY.

Class Details:

Session 1: Wednesday, November 19, 2008, 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Location: New York University, Frederick L. Ehrman Medical Library, 550 First Ave., NY, NY.

Session 2: Friday, November 21, 2008, 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Location: Penn State College of Medicine, George T. Harrell Health Sciences Library, 500 University Dr., Hershey, PA.

Register for the class by sending an email to rml@library.med.nyu.edu. Please specify which class session you plan to attend. Registration is free. Class break refreshments and lunch are provided for attendees. The classes are limited in size. Please register by October 30, 2008. Directions and classroom locations will be provided to registrants closer to the class date.

The Schaffer Library of Health Sciences used the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Middle Atlantic Region Small Project Grant Award to fund the purchase of Adobe Captivate and Flash software. These products were used to create interactive web-based tutorials for third year medical students in the Family Medicine Clerkship.

Three tutorials demonstrate how students must participate in the editorial process of a daily news service, Physician’s First Watch. Each student is required to submit one newsworthy pitch and sign up for PFW conference calls. A fourth tutorial teaches students how to use Sakai’s wiki tool and the fifth tutorial teaches RRS technology.

Enid Geyer, MLS, MBA, AHIP

Associate Dean for Information Resources and Technology

Dartmouth College, Hanover NH

July 28^th-30^th, 2008

Small Project Award Report

Barbara S. Reich

Samuel and Sandra Hekemian Medical Library

Hackensack University Medical Center

Supporting Clinical Care: An Institute in Evidence-Based Practice for Medical Librarians was an intensive two and a half day program held at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire in late July of this year. It was my hope that by attending this course, I would acquire increased skills in supporting and teaching EBCP. This, in turn, would allow me to better teach residents, medical students, and nurses at all levels the skills involved in EBCP. Ultimately, these groups will learn to use PubMed and other sources of medical information more effectively and efficiently.

Twenty-four health sciences librarians, myself included, from various institutions throughout the United States and Canada were introduced to the concepts and practice of Evidence-Based Health Care through interactive lectures, small group discussion, and hands-on, case-based activities. A few hours each day were spent with the entire group together, being introduced to various concepts in a more-or-less lecture-based format. The vast majority of the time we were divided into smaller groups of eight participants and two instructors where we put the concepts into practice by using the PICO format to put together an answerable question and devise a search strategy, working with some of the basic statistical concepts, and reading and critically appraising various articles. At the end of the program, all participants agreed that the Institute was immensely successful, with the caveat being that it was very intense, and a three to four day course would be ideal.

The intended evaluation of this activity was proposed to be twofold: attainment of immediate goals will be assessed via my increased knowledge and skills in EBCP, and increased comfort in preparing and teaching EBCP both formally and informally. Long term goals will be assessed by written evaluations of formal EBCP classes at HUMC, and informally by increased use and recognition of HUMC Medical Librarians as experts in various aspects of EBCP.

This program was very successful. Certainly, my knowledge and skills were vastly increased, and my comfort level along with them. In particular, the methods and format for Critical Appraisal that were introduced vastly demystified this process for me – so much so that I am now actually excited by it rather than dreading it. Our Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs) will be benefiting from this as well. Directly due to my participation in this program, this fall we are beginning an ongoing Critical Appraisal Workshop with the APN group here at the hospital. Our goal through this ongoing series of workshops is to communicate this excitement and sense of demystification to this group so that they, in turn, can do the same with the staff nurses throughout the hospital. I am sure this will be the first of many projects to be engendered through my participation in this course.

The funds from this award were used to purchase a HP Color LaserJet 3600dn printer for the Library Services department.  The Medical Librarian created a variety of materials that were distributed in waiting rooms, posted on public bulletin boards and placed in display cases.

The primary goal of this project was to creatively and effectively reach more Library patrons with reliable health resources and information.  The unique and improved color printouts have already been effective in reinforcing the library’s objectives, highlighting its location within the building and promoting information about health literacy initiatives and programs.

Specifically, during the month of June, The Children’s Institute sponsored an intensive one month health literacy training initiative.  Color posters and printouts were instrumental in encouraging staff participation and reinforcing presentation topics and issues.

With the launch of the school year in early September, the library has seen more patients, teachers and students using the library for homework assistance, research queries and informal health literacy training.  The color printer is often used for printing assignments and reports.

Karen Liljequist- The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh

Hurricane Ike, South Central Region Medical Libraries, Hurricane Web Links, and a New Listserv.

As many of you are aware, the South Central RML is currently closed, and will remain closed until Thursday, September 18^th, due to affects of Hurricane Ike.  In accordance with the NN/LM National Emergency Preparedness & Response plan, South Central’s buddy RML, the Middle Atlantic Region (MAR), is backing up the office by taking calls and redirecting DOCLINE, when necessary.  A special thanks to MAR staff for temporarily taking on this important responsibility.

For information on emergency preparedness planning for libraries as well as some post-disaster updates, see the NN/LM Emergency Preparedness & Response Toolkit at http://nnlm.gov/ep/. I am pleased to report that the toolkit received a lot of traffic the day before Hurricane Ike struck the Gulf Coast, which shows that libraries are using the toolkit as a preparedness resource.  To see additional updates (or provide a status report), check the SCR blog, Blogadillo, at http://nnlm.gov/scr/blog/.

Also of note, the National Library of Medicine home page has added a news item on hurricane resources, “Online Resources for Hurricanes, Floods, and Disaster Preparedness and Recovery” at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/news/disaster_resources_online.html.

Finally, a new listserv, DISASTR-OUTREACH-LIB, is now available as a discussion forum for librarians, information specialists and others interested in disaster information outreach to their communities and responding to information needs for all-hazards preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery. It is also the primary source for information announcing the activities of the National Library of Medicine’s Disaster Information Specialist Pilot Project. List members may post comments and resources of interest to those involved in disaster information outreach as well as relevant announcements of meetings, training, conferences, job openings, etc. The listserv is provided by the National Library of Medicine’s Disaster Information Management Research Center.  You can sign up for the list and view the archives at https://list.nih.gov/archives/disastr-outreach-lib.html.

Please contact Cindy Love, lovec@mail.nlm.nih.gov, if you have any questions or comments about the listserv.

The September issue of NIH News in Health, the monthly newsletter bringing you practical health news and tips based on the latest NIH research, is now online at http://newsinhealth.nih.gov/.  In this issue of NIH News in Health:

Good Health to Go
Eating Smart at School
Even in the chaotic world of the school cafeteria, children can make smart food choices. You can play a key role in helping children learn the fundamentals of healthy living—eating well and staying active—whatever pressures they face outside home.
full story

Back to School with Diabetes
Plan Ahead for a Smooth Start to School
Notebooks, erasers, pencil sets and backpacks are on most kids’ back-to-school lists. But if your child has diabetes, you should add a few extra tasks to the list. Planning ahead, and getting help from others, will help pave the way for a successful year.
full story

Health Capsules:

• Children’s Physical Activity Drops
• Diabetes and a Healthy Pregnancy
• Featured Web Site: NIDA Goes Back to School

Click here to download a PDF version for printing.

Subscribe to receive email alerts when new issues of NIH News in Health are posted by going to https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=nihnewsinhealth-l&A=1.

The Touro-Harlem is a new library serving both the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Touro College of Pharmacy at new facilities on 125^th Street. When we opened in September 2007 we wanted a way to brand our print and electronic materials as being from the library while still associating the library with the two separately administered schools we serve. As an initial step in our branding process, we contracted with a graphic designer to develop a proposal for a distinctive logo for the library. One of our requirements was that the logo should incorporate the Touro College emblem to indicate our official association with the College. With the proposal in hand, we successfully applied for an NN/LM grant to produce the logo and associated designs.

With our requirements already detailed in our request for proposal, the designer quickly prepared several draft versions of the logo for our consideration. Our staff reviewed these and made some requests for revisions. This process was repeated a few times until we finally had the logo we thought would work well in a variety of contexts.

The next step was for the designer to incorporate the logo into designs for letterheads, memos, faxes and button icons for our Linkout items in PubMed. The first three items were produced relatively easily. The designer submitted three designs but one stood out to the library staff and was selected.  This design featured a banner with clear, modern and elegant type style and subtle grey accents. We also liked the white space on the right side of design, which provided us with space to label specific type of materials, such as Tech Tip or Pathfinders.

But with the button icons we hit a snag. We hadn’t considered the physical and file size constraints for logos in PubMed in specifying the logo design.  We couldn’t get our logo small enough without losing too much detail. The designer went back to his high-end Mac drawing board and came up with buttons that used the same typeface as our letterhead.

Now we were finished, we thought. The designer sent us the final files in tif and jpg formats, but we found some display inconsistencies between the tif file created on a Mac and our use of them on an IBM PC. We finally figured out the proper conversion protocol and all worked splendidly.

Now each library staff member has a custom designed and personalized letterhead, fax, and memo templates for their use in MS Word. Our button icons have been uploaded to PubMed and the library orientation materials for our summer sessions have all been produced using the new design.

Our next step is to apply for another mini-grant to help us produce some branded promotional materials with the new logo , such as mousepads, pens and bookmarks.  We’re even thinking of a semester launch party that features a cake with our new logo, but we understand NN/LM doesn’t fund food. Guess we’ll have to look to other budget areas.