Bibby Library serves the dental community at the University of Rochester and the Eastman Dental Center. The library implemented Web 2.0 technologies to reach out to patrons.  These tools allow us to create and deliver customized information packages to our patrons.

Our Web 2.0 adventure began when we were seeking a novel way to highlight recent news in dentistry.  Previously, we linked a headline from our home page to a separate web page for each story.  However, maintaining these pages was cumbersome and we found that once a story was archived, it received few hits.

As a solution, the Bibby Library News and Tips blog was developed.  We use the Wordpress platform and display a widget on our website to highlight recent postings.  Fresh stories are added weekly and tagged with suitable terms. The blog features the latest news in dentistry as well as library services and resources. Information to be shared is gathered from a variety of sources using Google Reader, listservs, and newsletters. We offer e-mail and RSS subscriptions to the blog.

This initiative proved very successful; the blog generates as many as 200 hits per day.  Wordpress software provides statistics that include the number of hits, terms used to bring users to the blog, the most popular posts, and frequent jumping off links.  An analysis of this data reveals where our patrons’ interests lie, allowing us to expand those areas and tag items appropriately.

Few of our patrons are interested in using RSS readers.  Therefore, we focus on promoting e-mail subscriptions to the blog, which are managed through Feedburner.  Every few weeks we send an e-mail to our patrons, with links to the newest blog posts. Hits increase substantially following this effort.  We receive favorable comments from our patrons, indicating that the information is useful and relevant.

Web 2.0 tools also allow us to package information for specific users and user needs. Using Delicious, a social bookmarking platform, dental related websites are saved and tagged with appropriate terms.  A page on the Bibby website provides links to each Delicious category.  Thus, a pediatric dental resident might choose the pediatric dentistry category to find resources of interest.  RSS feeds and e-mail subscriptions are available so that users can be notified when new sites are added. In addition, we’ve added widgets to our blog and website so the most recently tagged sites are exhibited.  Data indicates that users are jumping off both our blog and website to these featured resources.

Another way in which we customize services is by using PubMed RSS feeds for specific topics.  For example, a search in PubMed for systematic reviews on tooth whitening is converted to an RSS feed.  The RSS feed is then saved and tagged in our Delicious account.  This makes the search results available to anyone who selects the tooth whitening category.

Library presence in Blackboard courses is another way we reach out to users.  For example, links to the Bibby website and “Ask a Librarian” are inserted in course menus.  In addition, RSS feeds to PubMed searches on course related topics are included in the course menu or schedule.  Statistics tracking is enabled for these features and indicates that the resources are being used.

Recently we began experimenting with Facebook and are pleased to see our fan base growing.  Our page is easy to maintain because most of the content is composed of RSS feeds from our blog and Delicious account.  To lure fans to our page we occasionally send news using the share feature.  Statistics indicate an increase in visitors after these efforts.

Employing Web 2.0 tools to serve our virtual and physical patrons is proving quite successful.  Most platforms provide statistics, allowing us to evaluate what works, what does not work, and what our patrons are looking for. With a broader perspective on our patrons and their needs, we are effectively delivering the latest services and information. Incorporating these tools into our own professional development activities will help to keep the momentum going.

Elizabeth Kettel
Librarian, Bibby Library at the Eastman Dental Center

Increasingly health sciences librarians are finding a need to move outside the library to provide small group instruction.  Technology facilitates the process and in 2009 the cost of outfitting the mobile classroom has been reduced significantly.  In a hospital setting providing instruction in the patient care setting ensures that your customers, hospital staff and physicians, are familiar with the extensive array of online medical resources that you work hard to create and for which you dedicate a considerable amount of funds.  By bringing instruction to the point of need there is a greater likelihood that hospital staff will learn how to use the library’s online resources and will actually use the tools.

GETTING STARTED

If your hospital is wired to the Internet the first and most important step has been completed.  If the hospital is not yet wired this is an essential component to tackle and the best way to begin the process is to get to know the head of information technology (IT) at your institution.  However, let’s assume that the hospital is fully hardwired.

Wireless Connectivity:

The next step would be to investigate installation of wireless Internet access.  At Kaleida Health in Buffalo, New York, the four hospital libraries (Buffalo General Hospital, Millard Fillmore Gates Circle, Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital, and Women & Children’s Hospital of Buffalo) were among the first departments to provide wireless access to the Internet.  We achieved this milestone with a grant from MAR in 2005.  We partnered with the health system’s IT department who supported the additional related costs because they wanted to test the use of wireless Internet connectivity and saw the libraries as a good test bed.  Having wireless access in the library gave the staff the ability to move around the library to provide instruction, one-on-one, to library users at their individual laptop computers.  Since 2005 wireless access to the Internet has been installed in many areas of our hospitals. The expanded wireless access provides an opportunity to move instructional activities from the library to other areas of the hospital.

RESOURCES FOR THE MOBILE CLASSROOM

In late 2008 we received a new laptop computer, a gift from a hospital physician.  A second grant from MAR in 2008 was used to purchase a Digital Light Processing (DLP) projector. The laptop computer coupled with the DLP projector were the resources needed to roll-out our mobile classroom.  Because we wanted a full compliment of hospital software programs on the laptop the cost was approximately $1,000, which is a bit higher than standard retail cost.  We sought funds from MAR to cover the cost of the DLP projector and a replacement bulb, which came to just under $1,000.  Thus with $2,000 the Kaleida Health Library’s mobile classroom became a reality.

Using the Mobile Classroom

We have used the mobile classroom to train undergraduate college students serving as interns in an area public school to use MedlinePlus to access authoritative, understandable, reliable health information.  The interns are working with elementary school teachers in a train the trainer model to instruct the teachers how to use MedlinePlus and other NLM and NIH health information resources to teach school children about living a healthy lifestyle.  Many of the students are refugees from third world countries such as Somalia and Myanamar.  This project is a follow-up to the Somali-Bantu health education project completed in late 2008.

Currently planning is underway to offer an in-service health information training program for Buffalo city public school nurses.  The training session is planned for early May.  Many Buffalo City school nurses are Kaleida Health employees and we have a commitment to ensure that the nurses have access to the full spectrum of library services and resources as staff located in one of our hospitals.  Thus, we are working with the lead school nurse for Kaleida Health and the Director of Health Services for Buffalo City schools to offer the in-service program.  The program’s focus will include use of MedlinePlus to educate students about healthy lifestyle issues such as nutrition, infections, immunizations, safety and the like.  We will use both the DLP projector and the laptop to instruct the school nurses, thus taking full advantage of our mobile classroom.  We hope that this will be the first in a series of training programs for the school nurses.

By using the mobile classroom we will bring knowledge and information to an important new group of library users.  Without the technological resources described above this training program would not have become a reality.  It is our expectation that by introducing the school nurses to the myriad of resources available via MedlinePlus, and services available from Kaleida Health Libraries that the nurses will be empowered to use both more effectively and more frequently.  We also hope that the school nurses will view the libraries as a resource available to support their professional information needs.

Diane G. Schwartz, MLS, AHIP, FMLA
Director of Libraries
Kaleida Health
100 High Street
Buffalo, NY 14203

Email:  Dschwartz@kaleidahealth.org
Website:  http://library.kaleidahealth.org

As librarians we generally think of technology in terms of what it can do to help us provide better or expanded service or allow us to perform functions with greater ease and efficiency. We often fail to remember that our technological expertise provides us with social capital. This social capital only exists when those outside the library, particularly management, realize the amount of technical know-how required to provide access to a wide range of e-materials from a variety of providers  - and they won’t realize it unless you tell and SHOW them.

We all know the value of a well publicized launch of a new service, but building a tech savvy reputation means going beyond the usual. If you’ve set up an RSS feed or blog or for the library, don’t only give it a great intro, but offer workshops in setting up RSS feeds or blogs for departments, groups or clubs. Show your knowledge and your willingness to share.

Another approach is to see where a knowledge vacuum exists and fill it. For example, at my institution Academic Computing offered faculty many workshops on setting up a course in Blackboard and some very introductory workshops on Microsoft Excel. However, none of those workshops addressed integrating the Blackboard grade book with an Excel grade spreadsheet or how to use Excel to create bell curves, or other charts of student grades. So the library developed and offered such a workshop. By providing faculty with an expanded range of tools to analyze and display information we displayed our technical expertise, our involvement in the academic program, and our commitment to the use and analysis of information in all its forms.

We’ve also offered skills development courses to administrative support staff on the Microsoft Office Suite. Perhaps not really a library function, but our library staff are trained teachers where the IT staff isn’t. The Deans and other administrators were very happy that their support staff became more productive, IT was happy that they had one less task to do - and the library’s social capital expanded.

Obviously, it is very important to have a good relationship with the IT department. This means respecting its expertise and constraints. It also means letting IT staff know you “talk tech”. For example, help the IT staff understand that the “catalog” is not some low end listing of “stuff” but a complex relational database linking materials, authors, subjects, locations and users through rules and algorithms. Whenever possible, partner with IT. For example, develop handouts together, with library staff checking that all instructions are clear and don’t miss any steps. At our small campus there’s no IT help desk, so the library serves as a help point, pointing students to print or online instructions, helping them go through the steps and, if there is still a problem, contacting IT.

A library/IT partnership presents great opportunities. librarians (especially if they have faculty rank) can provide IT with a voice and support on academic committees while the library gains a voice and support on technical and infrastructure committees or task forces. Such cooperation usually results in many opportunities for informal interactions and discussions between library and IT staff that can lead to smoother technology improvement projects and better day-to-day support.

It is especially important to work with IT if higher administration is not that technologically au courant or not inclined to expand technology. If the Library and IT present a unified front on a request for upgraded bandwidth or new hardware or specialized software the request will have more power. Upper level administration will generally notice when the IT staff respects the technological expertise of the library.

Building social capital is not done just to improve the library’s image - it’s a way to have your qualifications recognized and to gain a seat at the planning table. All too often crucial technology decisions are made by planning groups that don’t include a representative from the library. It is important that someone from the library serve on every committee that addresses: IT; website development and maintenance; instructional technology; learning resources; and infrastructure planning. If you’re not in on the planning people who know little or nothing about libraries will make decisions that have a long range impact on the services you can offer, such as decisions about firewalls or filters - or even wiring.

Yes, wireless networks are great and eliminate the need for a network connection at every carrel, but you still need sufficient connections for current and future printers, desktop units, and networked projectors. What about power outlets? Are there enough and in the right location for computers, monitors, printers, photocopiers, scanners, projectors, clocks, lamps, and for students to keep their notebooks charged? Someone from the library needs to review the electrical schematics before any new library related construction or renovation is given final approval. If you’re not on the committee you’ll probably never get that chance.

Getting to the point where you have the opportunities you need and deserve to provide input isn’t easy. You must first develop your technological know-how to the point where you feel you have sufficient expertise and then be able to communicate that expertise to administration and IT. You might have to make many, many attempts to develop rapport with IT. Even with the respect of IT and some administrators you might find that the organizational structure or politics of your institution make it difficult for you to serve on the committees which impact the library. Even when you’re on a committee, it might be hard to agree on goals, let alone strategy. Often IT is more focused on security than access, and management more focused on budget than services. It is your job to show how your requests are reasonable and necessary; how they will improve services and support the institutional mission; and how they will position the institution for the next big trend while supporting current needs. The greater your social capital the easier that will be.

Shelly Warwick, MLS, Ph.D.
Director
Touro-Harlem Medical Library
Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine
Touro College of Pharmacy
shelly.warwick@touro.edu

Jenny Pierce, MS
Public Services Librarian
UMDNJ-Health Science Library

Like many libraries the UMDNJ Health Sciences Library at Stratford has a board review collection. These books circulate for 7 days and are the most heavily used of our collection.

Formal cataloging isn’t always useful for this collection. Students refer to books by series or remember the covers. Previously all information regarding board review books was in an html file that listed them by subject. Updating that file was time consuming.

As part of the library’s effort to make information about board review books easier to find we are using the social networking site, LibraryThing.org, as an additional way to organize the Board Review Collection. Librarything uses tagging and other social bookmarking technology. Tagging creates a more intuitive way to both capture information and use it to search.

Part of our collection by title

We joined LibraryThing as a library. Any member can tag up to 200 books. We paid the membership fee so we can tag more. At $15 a year it’s a bargain!

One staff person tagged our entire board review collection and we have been adding books since.

Our tag cloud

Books are added using the ISBN code and a scanner. Tags are added using call numbers, series name and subjects. All information is based on the book’s cover.

Most books have a pre-existing cover image. If not a blank is created by the system.

In addition we have created a review bookmark for students, interns and residents to evaluate the books as learning resources. Once the review is returned the review is added by a staff member.

You can look at our Board Review Collection from our home page or at http://www.librarything.com/catalog/somboardreview.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Leigh Mihlrad
Systems & Technology Librarian
Schaffer Library of Health Sciences
Albany Medical College
Albany, NY

A variety of Internet-based office products, such as Google Docs (http://docs.google.com), Zoho (http://www.zoho.com), and Microsoft Office Live (http://workspace.officelive.com) have popped up to challenge traditional desktop-based office products. While not new, they are developing new features that might pose a threat to more established (and expensive) products like Microsoft Office, as least for some. All are still in beta format, and are works in progress.

The best way to learn is by trying them out. All are free, though require registration. Sampling both desktop and Internet varieties gives you an idea of the pros and cons of each, as well as what kinds of projects each might be good for. Practicing with test files or other non-crucial material is advised. Try setting up margins, adding colors, changing presentation templates, etc. to see how things work.

As an Office 2007 user, the biggest thing I noticed is that most of the Internet products do not yet let you upload Office 2007 documents. In Word 2007, file names end in “docx” (as opposed to “.doc” in previous verstions). Not surprisingly perhaps, Microsoft Office Live permits this. When trying to upload a .docx file in Google Docs, the system tells you that this file extension is not supported. This leaves the only option as saving the file in the older Word file extension, and uploading it that way. Zoho.com lets you export Office 2007 files from their site but not import them.

Internet-based products seem well-suited for collaborative projects, as they allow you to easily add collaborators. This permits easier editing than if doing them in Office, where one might e-mail a file back and forth. In some cases chat windows are also available, so you can talk to collaborators while working on a project. Expect fewer layout bells and whistles though. Fonts are limited, as are things such as bullet types and symbols. When I exported a file from Microsoft Office to Zoho, I found that many of my layout choices did not transfer over. I had to redo some of the bullet points and fonts. However, the content was all still there. The files also save a bit slower than they do when working in Microsoft Office.

Changes are afoot to bring the Internet products even closer to their desktop peers. Not long ago, you had to be logged onto the site to work on your files. Now, you can work on them even while “offline.” The spreadsheet products feature pivot tables. Most of the products also have their own blogs to alert users of new features.

As they offer fewer bells and whistles, I also found many of the Internet products easier to use for a beginner. Whereas PowerPoint might intimidate some, the Internet-based versions are more “click and add.” One could likely prepare a presentation or spreadsheet with very little prior experience.

Being relatively new products, things are not perfect with the Internet suites. Occasionally I experienced bugs, and the Microsoft versions certainly offer more layout choices. If one wants vast layout or customization options, then they might want to stick with the desktop versions. Privacy is also an issue, as desktop files appear safer, being saved on one’s computer or flash drive instead of another company’s server. However, Internet-based office products keep improving and offer more flexibility. They are certainly worth considering.

Live from Computers and Libraries 2008

Susan Robishaw
Assistant Director Health Sciences Libraries
Geisenger Health System

I’m getting my technological batteries recharged at Computers in Libraries 23rd annual conference. I’ve attended several over the years (too difficult to figure how many!) and I’ve always found it to be very worthwhile. Usually, I have a hard time deciding just which sessions to attend. Then there are the free Cybertours. These 15 minute, standing room only sessions take place in the exhibit hall. Given by “savvy web experts,” they compete for my limited time yet add value I’m reluctant to do without.

Today, I’ve been attending sessions on Integrating Hi Tech with Hi Touch. Of the morning’s sessions, the 2nd one on Digital Convergence & People Apps was more useful than the first one, which was interesting, but definitely public library oriented. The current session is High Touch with Customer Care. The first presenter spoke about patient education and did an excellent job! Her talk was relevant, practical and informative. She’s going to post her slides on her patientmatters blog. The current presentation is about taking summer reading online, so I’m tuning out.
The last session for today is “Library Staff Training: High Tech & High Touch. Staff training is a perpetual endeavor and doing it well is a challenge. I’m looking forward to learning some new techniques.

BTW: I finally feel like I’m a member of the “in” group. I brought my recently purchased laptop, a notebook actually. It has wifi, so I can log into the hotel’s wireless T-mobile network, use Word to compose this blog entry, and to take notes during presentations. I like to sit up front so I can hear better. Another advantage of sitting in the front is that there are tables with surge protectors. In the last session, my red Dell XPS was sandwiched between 2 other Dells. The one to my left was satisfactorily mundane: a gray notebook about the same size as mine, but visibly an older model. The owner commented favorably about mine. The one to my right, though, I must admit, caused me a few minutes of laptop envy; it was smaller and sleeker than mine, but still a pedestrian gray. Another Dell just sat down it’s both black and bigger. The owner doesn’t seem to mind though.

www.slideshare.net/informationgoddess29
http://patienteducationmatters.blogspot.com

Leigh Mihlrad
Systems & Technology Librarian
Schaffer Library of Health Sciences
Albany Medical College
Albany, NY

Getting Started With Virtual Reference

The choices for virtual reference, or chat reference, have increased vastly in the past few years. Previously, libraries had to pick one free service, such as AOL’s Instant Messenger (AIM) or Yahoo! Messenger, or pay for a service, like OCLC’s QuestionPoint product. You could only communicate with other users from your same service (AOL, Yahoo, MSN, etc); it was hard or impossible to communicate with people from different chat networks. Some products had one-year contracts, turning the virtual reference decision into a longer commitment.

Lately there have been more choices, resulting in more libraries offering chat reference. Aggregate IM clients, such as Trillian or Meebo, permit people to be on multiple services (AOL, Yahoo, Google Chat, etc.) simultaneously. They are also free, which permits people to try them out without making a service commitment. Certain clients, such as Meebo, are web-based and do not require a download, which could be an advantage in libraries where downloads are restricted. Products can be embedded into web pages in some cases, enabling libraries to reach users wherever they might be. Patrons do not even have to download a product in many cases; they can simply type a message to librarians directly from the library’s web page.

Having used IM reference in two libraries, I have noticed some things that users might want to consider when getting started. These opinions are only mine, and would surely vary by individual.

First, does your library want to answer questions only from your patrons, or join a cooperative and share the job with fellow libraries? Joining with other libraries can expand the hours the service is offered to patrons, but might require answering questions on unfamiliar topics. Organization is required between the libraries, and chat policies might vary by institution.

Second, the technological considerations of your particular environment should be considered. Can staff download software? Are there firewalls in place that might make outside communication difficult? IM programs have gotten more flexible, with more web-based services than ever before. Also, how stable is the product? Internet research, journal literature, and asking colleagues at other libraries are good ways to ferret information out ahead of time.

Next, do you want a service that saves your questions? Some products (typically paid ones) are better at storing chat transcripts than others.

Other things to consider are training time/materials needed (paid services provide this, while free ones typically do not), what types of questions to answer (short versus more in-depth questions), and how to promote the service once the library goes live with it.

These are by no means all of the considerations or challenges that a library faces when implementing virtual reference, but some things to think about. It is a service in many ways similar to traditional face-to-face reference, but with different challenges. Today’s college students (and medical students) have grown up with this type of communication, and it is a good option for libraries to consider in their reference arsenal.

Technology and Libraries is a new feature on The Marquee that allows librarians to discuss their thoughts on how technology intertwines with a libraries functions - good or bad. Susan Robishaw, the chair of our technology committee, is our first poster.

My Historical Perspective
Susan Robishaw
Assistant Director Health Sciences Libraries
Geisenger Health System

We just moved into a new library a few months ago. It’s in a brand new, technologically sophisticated building. We had been in the old, “temporary” library for 25 years; the move gave us a much welcomed opportunity to integrate the patchwork of technology and machines that accumulated over the years.

The new library has 17 public access pcs, 7 staff pcs, including an Ariel workstation with a color scanner, and a wireless laptop. Our classroom is equipped with 1 instructor and 7 student pcs. Physicians can use the classroom pcs, but not the public ones, to access our EMR system. The meeting room has a computer-compatible plasma screen tv. Both rooms are equipped with “Wall-Talkers,” a gridded whiteboard cut to our specifications, and attached to the walls. The library has Geisinger wireless, public wireless and 10 stations for public cabled Internet access. Our state-of the-art multifunctional photocopiers serve as the default printers for the pcs as well as black & white scanners and fax machines.

When I came here 20 years ago this fall, the library had a photocopier, an OCLC terminal, and a TI Silent 700 terminal with an acoustic coupler. To receive or send a fax, we had to go the system administration headquarters, a ¼ of a mile away. This was quite a contrast to the corporate library where I worked in Texas before coming to Geisinger. There I had 2 IBM pcs, a fax, and access to company wide email on a DEC mainframe. (I also had the opportunity to participate in a beta test of the first Macs, though, ultimately, the company decided to follow the IBM path.)

As the reference librarian at Geisenger, I received the first library pc. It had a modem so I could use it to access NLM, BRS and DIALOG. Over the years we added newer pcs, one at a time. We kept the older ones, too, eventually, building a collection of 10 pcs all different brands and/or models. I was the pc person. I did the troubleshooting and even installed modems and additional memory cards.

Today, we have 4 IT people assigned to the library to manage our pcs and software, a help desk which is staffed 24 hours per day and a contract for hardware support. In 1993, we participated in a National Science Foundation grant to bring the Internet to Geisinger. In 1995, we introduced our locally hosted networked version of Ovid (then CD+), piggy-backing on the T1 and T3 lines that connected our hospitals and far-flung clinics in order to implement our EMR. In 1996, the library was one of the first departments to have a site on our company intranet.

In the last 12 years, we have increased our electronic collection, moved from a card catalog to an online one and transitioned to completely electronic document delivery to our customers. We really pound RefWorks/RefShare for individual and collaborative projects.

Yet I feel like I’m falling behind, technologically-speaking. We don’t have a blog or a wiki and we aren’t using Web 2.0. Should we be?

We still have the TI Silent 700, though.

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