by Martha Pedigo, librarian
Gateway Medical Center Health Science Library, Clarksville, TN

Gateway Medical Center in Clarksville, Tennessee has been a Community Health Systems hospital since Fall 2007.  Interested in identifying other hospitals in the system that provide medical library services, I obtained a list of CHS Hospitals and searched for each one in DOCLINE, the National Library of Medicine’s automated interlibrary loan (ILL) request routing and referral service.  When CHS libraries were located, I noted contact information and called to introduce myself.  I developed an email list to provide a quick way to communicate with other libraries’ staff members.

A natural progression was to consider forming a DOCLINE Group among participating CHS libraries.   I contacted Beth Wescott at our Regional Medical Library (Southeastern Region) to discuss technical aspects of forming a new Group.  We would need a minimum of 11 members and all agree to keep our holdings list in DOCLINE current.  I developed a brief survey to send to each library asking such questions as delivery capabilities (fax and/or scan), number of subscriptions, cell placement preference, etc.  Once everyone returned their information to me I sent LIBIDs to Beth along with what we wanted to be called…CHSL (Community Health Systems Libraries) and voilà! We are now a Library Group in DOCLINE flocking together with 12 members!

Benefits of being part of a group are the usual.  Although most of us may have never actually met, we can offer support and exchange ideas, drawing on common experiences.  We can help one another with interlibrary loans and other services.   As the English version of the phrase goes, attributed to William Turner in 1545, birds of a feather flock and fly together…or… like seeks like to congregate.

Members of the CHSL Flock:
Lutheran Hospital Medical Library, Fort Wayne, IN
Chestnut Hill Health System Medical Library, Philadelphia, PA
Vista Medical Center East Medical Library, Waukegan, IL
Gadsden Regional Medical Center Education/Library Services, Gadsden, AL
Porter Valparaiso Hospital Medical Library, Valparaiso, IN
Affinity Medical Center Medical Library, Massillon, OH
Southside Regional Medical Center Medical Library, Petersburg, VA
Deaconess Hospital Medical Library, Oklahoma City, OK
Easton Hospital Frank J. D’Agostino M.D. Medical Library, Easton, PA
Brandy Hospital Health Sciences Library, Coatesville, PA
Pottstown Memorial Medical Center Medical Staff Library, Pottstown, PA
Gateway Medical Center Health Science Library, Clarksville, TN

NLM is launching a new program to ensure that its holdings of journals, indexes, and other serials are as complete as possible. Your library can help by donating print volumes that you no longer wish to retain. If you are a DOCLINE library, use the new Web based system at www.nlm.nih.gov/journaldonation/ to find out what NLM needs.

The system is easy to use. All you need is a list of the titles and volumes you are planning to discard. You can search by title words or phrases or by ISSN. The system searches your DOCLINE holdings so titles are retrieved quickly. If NLM does not need any volumes of a title, the system notifies you immediately. If NLM needs volumes, the system displays a list of them, and you just click on the volumes you will donate. For some titles, the system cannot do an automatic check on what volumes are needed. In these cases, the system will ask you to enter the volumes you can donate, and NLM will send you an email when we determine which volumes we need. You submit your offer electronically from the system. You can print your offer or save it to an Excel file. NLM will send an email to confirm receipt of your offer and to provide instructions on how to have NLM pay for shipping.

If you are not a DOCLINE library, please contact us at 301-496-0081 or at NLMJournalDonation@mail.nih.gov to make donations. NLM appreciates your help with this important program.

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

For those interested in searching for emergency preparedness and disaster response materials in MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) and PubMed, take a look at the new MeSH descriptors listed here.

• Avalanches
• Climatic Processes
• Cyclones
• Droughts
• Earthquakes
• Floods
• Geological Processes
• Hospitals, Isolation
• Infectious Disease Medicine
• Landslides
• Nuclear Power Plants
• Resilience, Psychological
• Surge Capacity
• Tidal Waves
• Tornadoes

Looking at the MeSH Browser using the 2009 MeSH, and when entering the search term “hurricanes” a searcher is brought to the entry for “Cyclones”. “Hurricane(s)” is now an entry term for cyclones and not for “Natural Disasters” for that has changed to “Disasters” with 2009 MeSH.

The old heading “Natural Disasters” is being deleted and replaced by “Disasters.” Many entry terms from the old “Natural Disasters” heading have been elevated to stand-alone MeSH headings. New events, such as “Structure Collapse” have been added and specific events are no longer treed under “Disasters.” If the article discusses an event as being a disaster, indexers will coordinate with the heading “Disasters” and with the specific geographic locations of the occurrence.

What‘s New for 2009 MeSH

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/nd08/nd08_mesh.html

Start the New Year with new MeSH terms! You see, for 2009, 446 descriptors have been added to enhance your PubMed search results.

The National Library of Medicine’s NLM Technical Bulletin will keep you informed all year long with enhancements, updates and changes. Visit NLM Announces at https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=nlm-announces&A=1 to join, leave or change your NLM listserv options.

Household Products Database (HPD) Now Contains over 8,000 Entries

http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) Household Products Database has been updated and now includes 8152 brand name products, 2876 ingredients, and 375 manufacturers. In addition, 1634 products are now linked to the complete Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS).

The Household Products Database is a consumer guide that provides information on the potential health effects of chemicals contained in more than 6,000 common household products used inside and around the home. It covers what’s under your kitchen sink, in your garage, in your bathroom, and on the shelves in your laundry room, providing what’s in these products, potential health effects, and safe handling.

Keep current with further changes and new developments in the HPD database, regularly visit the Division of Specialized Information Services site.

Are you bogged down processing invoices, bills and statements? Are you still waiting to put that check in the mail or for that check to come in the mail?

If you were an EFTS member, you could begin saving time and money. See the NLM
Technical Bulletin article to learn about the DOCLINE EFTS File Builder that will create the billing file to upload to EFTS. Did you know that the EFTS billing system is not just limited to payment processing for ILL and Document Delivery articles? You can post charges for such things as lost books and other services or fees provided by your library.

For information on joining EFTS, the EFTS staff at efts@uchc.edu or https://efts.uchc.edu/efts/Common/JoinEfts.aspx or Beth Wescott, your NN/LM SE/A Network Access Coordinator at bwescott@hshsl.umaryland.edu

Recently there has been much e-mail traffic about how to activate a proposed routing table.  Here’s some clarification. To move a saved, proposed routing table to “current,” click “Request Approval.” The separate “Save” button allows you to make proposed changes to your Routing Table over time as you identify lenders, check policies, reciprocal agreements, etc.  This Proposed Routing Table provides a safe space for you to work on your Routing Table while your current Routing Table continues to work for you.

When you’ve attained a mix you like, you request approval. At that time, your RML will review the changes to ensure your Routing Table conforms to regional guidelines and utilizes the routing algorithm to its fullest potential. The Proposed Routing Table concept allows the RML to assist you with fine-tuning your Routing Table before DOCLINE begins to use it.

For more information, see the FAQ:  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/doc_routing_table_changes.html

by Maria Collins, Collection Access Section, NLM collinm@mail.nlm.nih.gov

The guideline for delivery method is that the lender should send via the borrower’s preferred delivery method indicated in the Ship to: area of the receipt.  If that method is unavailable to the lender, the lender may send by any of the listed alternate delivery methods shown in the body of the receipt.  If a technical problem temporarily prevents delivery by all of the requested methods, the lender should contact the borrower to ask permission to send via a method not listed, or reject the request.  If the borrower does not respond or says no, the request should be updated as Not Filled for reason of Other. The lender’s institution record should be updated to reflect their current delivery abilities.

Libraries may wish to take this opportunity to review their borrow preferences to ensure they reflect their actual delivery method requirements. NLM strongly recommends selecting your preferred delivery method as your Network Delivery Method, and selecting acceptable alternate delivery methods.

The DOCLINE will match your delivery method choices with lenders providing those delivery methods and that also report owning the title and requested volume OR year.  Using the comments field to indicate delivery preference may result in inaccurate routing, unnecessary work by lenders, and delays in filling the request.

To update your borrow preferences and lending delivery methods, go to Institutions, Update, then go to the DOCLINE Options page.

For more information on how routing works, see the FAQ at:

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

Try adjusting the default bottom page margin to 0.50″. You can also adjust the top, left, and right margin settings if needed. In Internet Explorer 7.x, from the printer icon on the command bar, select page setup. In Internet Explorer 6.x and Firefox 2.x, select file, page setup.

Note: You may be limited by your printer as to how small you can make the margins.

Try adjusting the text size smaller. (View, text size)

Another fix involved installing the barcode font. The barcode prints in less vertical space than the ‘text only’ equivalent. See instructions for downloading the barcode font at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/docline/doclinebarcodes_withheader.html, or click on the help link at the top of the DOCLINE screen.

If only the browser footer prints on the second page, you can modify the header and footer settings to remove either or both. In Internet Explorer 7.x, from the printer icon on the command bar, select page setup. In Internet Explorer 6.x, select file, page setup. Delete the entries in the header and footer fields. In Firefox, select file, page setup. Click on the margins and header/footer tab and then click in the header and footer fields and select –blank– using the pull down arrow.

This information was taken from the FAQ at:

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

https://efts.uchc.edu/efts/EftsPublic/about.aspx

The Electronic Fund Transfer System (EFTS) is a transaction-based electronic billing system for interlibrary-loan (ILL) and document delivery. The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is committed to working with the University of Connecticut Health Center (UCHC) EFTS staff to expand the system on a national basis to National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) member libraries.

One hundred nineteen health sciences libraries in the Southeastern Atlantic region use EFTS for processing payment of inter-library loan transactions. With 1,246 members across the nation, EFTS effectively centralizes this activity by electronically billing participants. It also reduces the need for participating libraries to create invoices and to write checks for reimbursement of interlibrary loans and document delivery.

Other advantages of participation include monthly detailed transaction reports, the ability to handle charges for rush or fax service, the ability to vary charges to members of special groups, and the ability to handle non-DOCLINE transactions.

Benefits of EFTS

• Reduces Costs
• Improves Cash Flow
• Reduces Human Error
• Increases Efficiency
• Provides Management Reports

For “What participants are saying about EFTS” go to: https://efts.uchc.edu/efts/EftsPublic/WhatLibSay.aspx

For “How to Join EFTS” go to: https://efts.uchc.edu/efts/Common/JoinEfts.aspx