by Michael Brewer - Team Leader for Undergraduate Services, University of Arizona Library, Tucson, AZ brewerm@u.library.arizona.edu

With the support and expertise of the ALA OITP Copyright Advisory Subcommittee, Michael Brewer, University of Arizona Library, has developed two new tools that are now available online. The first “108 Spinner” is specifically targeted to assist librarians with questions about when section 108 of the copyright code (the library and archives provision) applies. In general, this section allows for libraries or archives (under specific circumstances) to:

1. make copies of portions of works from their collections for users
2. make copies of entire works for users
3. make replacement copies of published works in their collections
4. make preservation copies of unpublished works in their collections.

The second tool “DitgitalSlider” helps you determine the copyright term of a work or whether it has fallen into the public domain. The URLs are:

http://librarycopyright.net/108spinner/
http://librarycopyright.net/digitalslider/

Below is a description of a team-taught Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Division of Health Sciences Informatics course on “Bringing Evidence to Practice” for health sciences librarians. It will be on Mondays from 9-12 in the fourth academic quarter starting March 23 and ending on May 11, 2009. The tuition for the 1.5 credit course is $1805. The course requires students to bring some background in statistics. The aim of the course is to teach core skills associated with the Informationist role in clinical and public health contexts – finding and presenting evidence to address a clinical or public health question.

Prospective students should contact Kate Oliver by email (koliver1@jhmi.edu) to discuss the prerequisites prior to registering. Kate would be happy to answer any other questions you might have.

ME 600.807. To Be Offered 2008-9, 4th quarter (Mar 23 - May 15, 2009),
Mondays 9-12.

Course Description: This course is designed for professionals seeking to
develop the core competencies needed to assume an informationist role in the
fields of clinical medicine and public health. Students will analyze and
present evidence to support decision-making in case scenarios drawn from
clinical or public health practice. A combination of lecture and laboratory
exercises will teach the skills involved in finding, analyzing, and
delivering evidence for clinical and public health decision-making:
identifying a question embedded in a case presentation, developing effective
search strategies for relevant evidence to address the question, evaluating
and synthesizing the identified evidence, and effectively presenting that
evidence. Evaluations will be based on participation in class, exercise
completion, and final oral and written presentations of assigned cases.

The prerequisites are a Master’s degree from an accredited Library and
Information Science program or permission of the instructor and Bloomberg
School of Public Health (BSPH) courses 140.611.01 Statistical Reasoning In
Public Health I and 140.612.01 Statistical Reasoning In Public Health II or
the equivalent. (These courses are offered during 1st and 2nd Quarters or as
a part of BSPH Summer Institutes. They are also offered through the Internet
as a part of the Distance Education program at BSPH). Evidence of the
applicant’s training and experience in literature searching will be an
important factor in the instructor’s evaluation of course applicants who
seek an exception to the prerequisite professional information degree.
Course enrollment is limited to 10 students. Minimum of 5 students required
to offer the course. 1.5 credits. Tuition: $1805.00

The course faculty are:
Kathleen Burr Oliver, MSLS, MPH, Course
Director koliver@jhmi.edu
Harold P. Lehmann, MD, PhD, FACMI, lehmann@jhmi.edu
Deborah Ann McClellan, PhD, dmcc@jhmi.edu
Karen A. Robinson, MSc, krobin@jhmi.edu
Claire Twose, MLIS, ctwose1@jhmi.edu

http://www.medlineplus.gov/maryland

Maryland Health -> Go Local is a statewide web-based directory of health services and programs designed to improve public access to health services, programs, and information. The Health Sciences and Human Services Library (HS/HSL), University of Maryland, Baltimore partnered with the National Library of Medicine to create this valuable resource. On the second anniversary of Maryland Health -> Go Local, the Library is presenting a new blog, Maryland Health -> Go Local eUpdate (http://www.hshsl.umaryland.edu/golocal/eupdate/), containing updates, news, and information about project developments and activities.

eUpdate includes a Featured Site which highlights a different program or service each month; and By the Numbers, which provides monthly statistics, including how many people visited Maryland Health -> Go Local and how many pages were viewed. It also allows you to request a speaker or training session, suggest a resource, or provide us with a testimonial about how Maryland Health -> Go Local helped you.

Stay informed! Add Maryland Health ->Go Local eUpdate to your RSS reader! Copy this URL to your favorite reader: http://feeds.feedburner.com/GoLocalBlog

http://www.medpedia.com/about

Medpedia is just getting started. It is a long term project and is not yet a comprehensive resource. Medpedia is applying a new collaborative model to the collection, sharing and advancement of medical knowledge that, over time, will produce the world’s most comprehensive resource.

The Medpedia Project and Medpedia.com is maintained by Medpedia Inc., a brainchild of Ooga Labs, a technology greenhouse in San Francisco. It is produced in association with Harvard Medical School, Stanford School of Medicine, Berkeley School of Public Health, University of Michigan Medical School and other leading global health organizations. Medpedia will be a commons for the gathering of the information and people critical to health care. Many organizations have united to support The Medpedia Project.

Medpedia is for use by both medical professionals and non-professionals. Its intended uses and benefits include:

• Knowledge sharing and communications tool for people with similar medical interests
• Source of insight and new knowledge for medical professionals
• Historical repository for real-world discussions of medical topics of interest
• Up-to-date news of the latest developments in medicine

Visit Go Local Tennessee, one of the latest Go Local sites. Go Local connects users with local health services. To find local resources, you can go straight to your local area or use the Go Local link on a MedlinePlus Health Topic Page.

Their featured resource this week is Tennessee’s Disability Pathfinder, which provides information and assistance to individuals of all ages and all disabilities, family members, and interested persons in the community. Information includes a statewide bilingual HELPline, website featuring a database of agency services, state and national website resources on various disability topics and a disability events calendar. A project of the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities and the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. CALL 800.640.INFO (4636)

Thanks to all the SE/A members who responded to the mid-contract review survey in October and November. The year 04 budget is done and during its preparation we considered many of the ideas put forth by you in the survey. Here is a short review of what you said, more than once.

Services most important to you.

• Professional development opportunities
  • in-person workshops and classes
  • online/distance learning classes
  • webinars on current topics
  • informative presentations
• Support and advocacy
  • prompt and courteous customer service
  • online and phone consultations from knowledgeable and accessible SE/A staff
  • distribution of promotional materials for local use
  • site visits/onsite training
  • attendance at local professional association meetings
  • funding for technology improvements
  • letters to administrators
  • emergency preparedness efforts
  • ILL and DOCLINE
• Funding
  • outreach projects
  • introduction of express awards
  • technology funding

Unmet needs/suggestions for improvements.

• More outreach by SE/A staff for nursing, public health and rural health practitioners and more funding directed at these groups
• Group/consortial purchasing assistance/ Consortia development and support
• More Hispanic and bilingual materials and resources
• More marketing, promotion, development of promotional materials about libraries/librarians
• More funding to community based organizations
• More support for public libraries
• Increase funding for Go Local projects; more Go Local project development
• Research, assessments, funding to prove value of librarians
• Return to basic library management training for non-professionals/new librarians
• Funding for professional development
• Quality control of blog
• Webinars on technical services issues
• More online training; management in hard economic times training
• Be more visible, more site visits, more attendance at meetings
• More evidence-based resources and guides for librarians
• Share lessons learned from outreach projects
• Formal resource sharing/retention program

Strategies to advocate for libraries or librarians.

• Liaise with media/advertise in media such as state journals, local press, etc.
• Exhibit at meetings of hospital administrators, in communities at health fairs, grocery stores, etc
• Create promotional materials/campaign for local use
• Assistance with needs assessments
• Visits to librarians and administrators
• Partner with ALA, MLA and others to influence legislators
• Work with health professional associations for promotion of libraries/librarians
• Continue letters to administrators
• Illustrate librarians’ role in patient safety, patient outcomes, magnet status, etc.
• Continue to improve librarian skills through training
• Post/develop marketing tips for librarians

Suggestions for NLM programs and services.

• Make LinkOut utility easier to use
• Create/identify mentors
• Develop/provide more information resources for use in public libraries
• Increase funding of NN/LM for outreach, CBO funding, library resources, library technology
• Keep manuals up to date with changes to products; develop different ones for each segment of population using resources
• Step up recruitment for the next generation of librarians
• Design new poster/promotional materials for products
• Larger awards/grants for organizations
• Improve Go Local – increase funding, method to capture data, etc.
• Lower reading level of materials in MedlinePlus
• Have more dialogues with librarians through symposia and other methods
• Do national campaign about the importance of hospital libraries/librarians
• Develop more resources for handhelds

There were many specific ideas and suggestions made that we will include in our future work plans. Because of your suggestions, we recently introduced the express award for hospital library promotion. We will discuss these findings with our regional advisory committees as well as with the other NN/LM offices to see how we can address some issues nationally. As always, the SE/A staff appreciates your feedback and feel free to contact us by phone, email or in person with additional insights or concerns.
Per your suggestion, we will see you around the region.

Here’s your chance to use your information/library science Master’s degree to very good purpose. If this Fellowship doesn’t fit with your interests or timing, please pass this announcement along to others who may wish to pursue application.

The Grace and Harold Sewell Memorial Fund will award two 12-month, paid “Learning Partnerships” placing experienced health sciences librarians within leading health care organizations for the purpose of both partners gaining a greater understanding of how best information sciences can be effectively applied in each environment. This on-the-edge fellowship offers mid-career librarians the opportunity to be fully immersed in the environment of a health care organization. The fellow will participate in team settings designed to utilize the librarian’s skills and knowledge in non-traditional ways, resulting in a tangible and valuable contribution to the host organization. For more information about the Grace and Harold Sewell Memorial Fund, the Learning Partnerships, fellowship application process, and eligibility requirements, please visit the Sewell Fund website at http://www.sewellfund.org/LearningPartnerships2009.htm.

Although only two Fellowships will be awarded, three Host Organizations have been selected to vie for the placements. They include:

• The Preston A. Wells, Jr. Center for Brain Tumor Therapy at the University of Florida, Shands/UF Hospital, and the UF Health Sciences Library in Gainesville are working together to experience how librarians can truly be members of the health care team. They are designing a position called a “clinical patient informationist”. This unique health care practitioner would work alongside clinicians and patients to directly impact patient care and outcomes.
• San Antonio Metropolitan Public Health District’s mission is to provide leadership and services for San Antonio and Bexar County to prevent illness and injury, promote healthy behaviors, and protect against health hazards. As a local governmental public health agency Metro Health works at the front line of community health by providing essential health surveillance, laboratory services, education and outreach, emergency response programs, regulatory activities and policy interventions. The Learning Partnership Librarian will take a leadership role in the development and implementation of two major department initiatives: (1) A comprehensive Employee Education & Development Program; and (2) An Information & Communications program to expand the use of information technology to promote awareness of Metro Health resources and services and respond to public information needs. Supplementing Metro Health as host of a Learning Partnership Librarian, the San Antonio Regional Campus of The University of Texas School of Public Health and the University of Texas Health Science Center Library have committed as partners to provide resources and mentorship for the Learning Partnership.
• The Public Health Foundation (PHF), incorporated in the District of Columbia, is a national, non-profit 501(c)3 organization with a clear focus on improving public health infrastructure and the performance of public health agencies and systems. For more than 35 years, PHF has been on the forefront of initiatives designed to strengthen and improve the infrastructure and performance of systems that protect and promote the public’s health. The mission of PHF is: Improving public health infrastructure and performance through innovative solutions and measurable results. This mission aims to help PHF achieve its ultimate vision to create “a high-performing public health system that protects and promotes health in every community.”

More information about the host organizations can be found on the Sewell Fund website at http://www.sewellfund.org/LearningPartnerships2009.htm

Eligibility:

• Only those individuals with an MLS or equivalent degree from an ALA-approved university program are eligible to apply for the fellowship. Candidates must be mid-career; applicants who have just finished their MLS will not be considered.
• Must be available for a full-time, 12-consecutive-month fellowship.
• Candidates must be United States citizens or have met the requirements of I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification for employment in the United States prior to application for the fellowship
• Prepare to sign a Partnership Agreement with the Host Organization and the Sewell Fund which specifies performance and reporting expectations.

For more information about the fellowship, please visit the Sewell Fund website at http://www.sewellfund.org/LearningPartnerships2009.htm

In observance of Presidents’ day, a federal holiday, the National Library of Medicine will be closed on Monday, February 16, 2009.

DOCLINE will be available on Monday, but DOCLINE Customer Service will not be staffed on the holiday. Participants may send a message to NLM via the Contact DOCLINE link within DOCLINE or email custserv@nlm.nih.gov. NLM staff will respond to your question on the next business day.

DOCLINE’s Time Triggered Actions will run on Monday. For more information on Time Triggered Actions, see the FAQ at:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/doc_time_triggered_actions.html

DOCLINE Team
National Library of Medicine and NN/LM

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/disted/pubmedtutorial/

The National Library of Medicine® is pleased to announce a new look for the PubMed Tutorial. The tutorial was reorganized to give searchers a better understanding of what is in PubMed and the controlled vocabulary before going on to build a search and manage the results. The tutorial is available from the PubMed homepage sidebar from the Tutorials link.

The tutorial update includes changes to PubMed through October 2008 including the My NCBI redesign released in September. A version incorporating the latest changes including the Advanced Search page and revised Summary display is in process.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/jf09/jf09_pm_tutorial.html

PubMed® Tutorial Redesigned and Updated. NLM Tech Bull. 2009 Jan-Feb;(366):e11.

by Beth Wescott, editor, SEA Currents, bwescott@hshsl.umaryland.edu

Diabetes Resource for Spanish Speakers

http://estudiabetes.com/ is a social networking site in Spanish dedicated to people of all ages with diabetes condition, and to the parents of children with diabetes. The main purpose is to share experiences in dealing with the disease, as well as to share with others information about diabetes. The site also provides breaking news on diabetes.

Office of Minority (OMH)/Oficina de Salud de las Minorías

http://www.omhrc.gov/espanol/ offers Spanish-language health information on a wide range of health topics, a profile about the health of Hispanic Americans, and health news. OMH is part of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

MedlinePlus Información de Salud de la Biblioteca Nacional de Medicina

http://medlineplus.gov/spanish/ es un portal médico informativo. Contiene guías, enciclopedia, tutoriales interactivos, así como novedades y noticias sobre temas relacionados. Véase también el primer número de la revista NIH MedlinePlus Salud ya está en línea. ¡Visítela!

Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Library Knowledge Path: Spanish-Language Health Resources

http://www.mchlibrary.info/KnowledgePaths/kp_spanish.html

This guide, or knowledge path, has been compiled by the Maternal and Child Health Library at Georgetown University. It points to current, high-quality Spanish-language health resources for health professionals and consumers. The first section presents general resources that cover a wide range of health topics, while the second section lists resources that focus on specific aspects of maternal and child health.

Spanish-Language Health Guides for Workers Older Than 50 …

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has two checklists to help workers stay healthy at 50+. The checklists help answer questions about what daily steps can be taken for good health, whether one needs medicines to prevent disease, and which screening tests are needed and when to get them. “Mujeres: sigan sanas después de los 50″ and “Hombres: sigan sanos después de los 50,” are available at www.ahrq.gov/consumer/women50sp.pdf and www.ahrq.gov/consumer/men50sp.pdf, respectively. The wall chart, “Seguir sanos después de los 50,” is available at www.ahrq.gov/consumer/50pluspostersp.pdf.

http://www.childrenshealthfund.org/publications/healthed.php

The Children’s Health Fund is committed to providing health care to the nation’s most medically underserved children and their families, in part, by creating low-literacy health education materials to assist children and their families in learning about a variety of health related topics. Their culturally relevant booklets and brochures are available in English and Spanish.

The Hesperian Foundation

http://www.hesperian.org/, a non-profit publisher of books and newsletters for community-based health care, has recently published two titles in Spanish: Un manual de salud para mujeres con discapacidad, the Spanish version of A Health Handbook for Women with Disabilities and Helping Children Who are Deaf, Ayudar a los nios sordos. Packed with simple activities, this book is a great resource for parents, caregivers, health promoters, and others in teaching children who do not hear well how to communicate to the best of his or her ability. Both titles can be downloaded and purchased from their new Spanish website http://www.espanol.hesperian.org/ and the online library with free downloads http://www.hesperian.org/publications_download.php