The National Networkof Libraries of Medicine, Middle Atlantic Region is pleased to announce the recipients of our latest round of Technology Improvement Awards!

The recipients are:

• St. Barnabas Medical Center - Patricia Reusing - Acquiring and using Softlink to automate and streamline library processes.
• Geisinger Health System - Patricia Ulmer - Equipping the library with an assistive technology workstation.
• New York State Nurses Association Library - Warren Hawkes - Replacing their 10 year old hardwired network with a secure free-standing wireless independent network.
• Mercy Hospital - Grace DiVirgilio - Upgrading of library computers to to along with the library’s move to a new, higher traffic locale.
• St. Elizabeth Medical Center Library - Halyna Liszczynskyj - Upgrading of library computers and software.
• Albany Medical College - Enid Geyer - Using Lenovo Tablet PCs for developing support skills and remote reference.
• Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center - Susan Cleveland - Computer kiosks to provide consumer health information to patients, family members and visitors.
• Western Pennsylvania Hospital Forbes Regional Campus - Heidi Patterson - Upgrading library computers.
• Delaware Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health - Susanne Ingle - Upgraded computers and scanners for improved document delivery and reference services.
• Lourdes Medical Center - Beth Murtaugh - 24/7 access computer workstations.
• Western Pennsylvania Hospital - Heidi Patterson - Patient and Family Education Center computers.
• Matheny Medical Center - Jungwon DeVone - Computer and scanner upgrades for improved document delivery and patron computer access.
• Coney Island Hospital - Laraine Tursi - Upgrading of library computers, printers and faxes for improved document delivery, patron access and staff workflow.

Congratulations to all the award recipients!

All MAR network members keep an eye out for our next call for applications of Technology Improvment Award in late summer or early fall!  Next time it could be you!

The Center on Democracy and Technology has published a Policy Paper on the issues surrounding electronic health records. The paper, entitled “Privacy and Security Principles for Health Information Technology,” is broken down into three areas:

1. CDT Calls for the Adoption of a Comprehensive Privacy and Security Framework for Health Information Technology
2. Basics Required in any Health Information Technology Policy
3. CDT’s Suggested Implementation

As electronic health records continue to develop, expect to see more Think Tanks and organizations developing thoughts and positions as to how they should be handled.  ArsTechnica also has a good analysis of the paper.

Just a reminder to use the DOCLINE Out of Office Request Form to deactivate your DOCLINE account during scheduled vacations or summer library closures of more than 2 business days (not counting weekends).

Many of you have already submitted your forms–and we and the network members thank you for helping DOCLINE to work more effectively. If you have an upcoming vacation, remember to submit your out-of-office request at least two days ahead of the scheduled deactivation to allow time for entry into the system.

Finally, you do not need to submit a deactivation request for Friday July 4th.  DOCLINE time-triggered actions will not run on Independence day and normal routing will resume on Monday July 7th.  If your library will closed for an extended period of time over the July 4th weekend (e.g. the Thursday before or the Monday after), please do submit an out of office form for days other than July 4th.

To access the Out of Office Form, go to Institutions, Update, then Out of Office. Enter the date range when requests should not route to your library and click REQUEST APPROVAL.

The Smithsonian has created a photostream on the Flickr website with scans of photographs in their collection with no known copyright restrictions. This collection of photos becomes part of the Flickr Commons group and joins the photo collections of other institutions such as The Library of Congress, the Brooklyn Museum and the Powerhouse Museum.

View the Smithsonian Flickr photostream

The Mozilla organization has announced that its new version of Firefox will be released on June 17th. The new version comes with several new features including one-click bookmarking and faster performance. You can read more about the new features of Firefox 3 on their site.

Mozilla is also hoping to set the Guinness World Record for Most Software Downloaded in 24 Hour period by having as many people as possible upgrade in one day. You can pledge your support and upgrade to the newest version of this open source web browser!

NN/LM Middle Atlantic Region is pleased to announce five new affiliate members to our region.

Cohocton Public Library (Cohocton, NY) is part of the Southern Tier Library System. The mission of the Cohocton Public Library is to enhance the quality of life in a small, rural community by providing access to cultural, educational, and recreational materials in various formats and for all ages.

Monroe Township Public Library (Monroe Township, NJ) is located in a sprawling, suburban/semi-rural community in the southernmost part of Middlesex County, NJ. Its significant demographic characteristic is the presence of two large distinct populations: young families with pre-school and school age children, and older adults, most of whom live in the six pre-retirement and retirement communities located in the Township. The library is already planning summer health information courses for their community.

Plattsburgh Public Library (Plattsburgh, NY) saw an increase in circulation of over 3.5% in just the past year. Their active friends group and events calendar keep the library as an active member of the community.

Micro Tech Training Center Library (Belleville, NJ) is a professional health care and security industry training institute supporting programs in massage therapy, surgical technicians, medical assistants and more.

Plainfield Public Library (Plainfield, NJ) just celebrated their first community health fair in May. The library hosted the NN/LM as an exhibitor at this weekend event that brought together community partners, health professionals, and members of the public.

Please join us in welcoming these libraries to our region!

The NN/LM Middle Atlantic Region (MAR), as part of its efforts to improve resource sharing throughout the region, is now accepting applications from MAR Full DOCLINE Network members for the newly-created EFTS awards.

The purpose of the EFTS award is to promote participation in EFTS among Full DOCLINE members and to improve the ease and cost-effectiveness of resource sharing throughout the region. The EFTS award creates opportunities for non-EFTS libraries to receive initial funding to join the program and for current EFTS members to receive funding to continue their resource sharing efforts.

Non-EFTS libraries may request up to $200 in starter funds. Current EFTS members may request up to $500 in continuing funds. All funds will be distributed directly from NN/LM MAR and deposited to EFTS in the name of the applicant. Deadline for application is August 1, 2008.

For additional information, including online application forms, see http://nnlm.gov/mar/funding/ and select EFTS award.

Questions? Call 1-800-338-7657 or e-mail rml@library.med.nyu.edu.

In order for DOCLINE to work effectively, member libraries must accurately report their collections via DOCLINE SERHOLD–including maintaining a recommended minimum of 25 serial titles.

Over the next few weeks, MAR will be reaching out to those DOCLINE libraries that are reporting under 25 titles  in SERHOLD and encouraging them to add titles to SERHOLD or to explore new ways to increase their collection and their contribution to DOCLINE.

This is also a reminder to all libraries to take a moment to review their SERHOLD records and make sure that the titles they have listed are in fact titles available for lending.  If you have questions about your SERHOLD record in DOCLINE, please feel free to contact the RML at rml@library.med.nyu.edu or 800-338-7657.

Twila Snead is using her Micro-Award grant from NN/LM-MAR to increase the number of physicians registered to use St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital’s Virtual Medical Library and to get resource evaluation and feedback from those already using the extensive array of electronic resources.  Physicians who participated chose a 256k credit card style flash drive or digital golf scope both imprinted with the library logo and URL.  Her initial effort in conjunction with a physician’s seminar resulted in thirteen new physician’s registering to use the library website and fifteen physician’s responding to the three question survey.

Surprisingly many of the physician’s stated that the resources they normally use are already available through the website.  Other significant results were that 13 of the 15 physician’s expressed a desire to order articles directly through PubMed.  Twila will follow up with individual office visits to set them up and review procedures for Loansome Doc use.

Snead, Twilia.  St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital, Newburgh, NY.

Saint Peter’s University Hospital is a 458-bed teaching hospital located in central New Jersey.  It is fully accredited by the Joint Commission and was the tenth hospital in the nation to be certified as a Magnet hospital by the American Nurse Credentialing Center. Saint Peter’s has been an academic affiliate of Drexel University College of Medicine since 2005. Saint Peter’s University Hospital’s Medical Library’s mission is to support the clinical research and educational requirements of hospital staff and personnel through the maintenance of a comprehensive and current collection of medical, nursing, and allied health databases, books, journals and multimedia materials.  Patients and visitors may request simple health-related reference questions.  Due to the size of the memory (256 MB) the computers did not work to their fullest potential.  Three staff workstations have standard monitors, which limits the amount of workspace. 

The award money was used to purchase five new staff computers (Reference Desk, Circulation Desk, Interlibrary Loan Desk, Manager’s Office, Medical Librarian’s Office.) as well as two computers for patron use.  The computers were ordered in December 2007, with installation completed in February 2008.  There have been no desktop requests made to the IT helpdesk since the computers were installed.  Staff is able to open PDF’s without delay, as it was time consuming in the past.  Feedback from the patrons has been 100% positive.  They appreciate the upgrade and the additional workstation space the new computers provide.  The project has allowed both staff and patrons to work effectively, saving both time and sanity.  The Middle Atlantic Region (MAR) of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine for the opportunity to apply for this award.  Without the funding, our library would not have been able to purchase new computers. 

Creazzo, Jeannine.  Saint Peter’s Univeristy Hospital, New Brunswick, NJ.