He’s free!  Its Tugger our DOCLINE mascot. The folks at NLM thought it was time for you to see another more serious side of Tugger so he is available again. This time he is pictured here with the thing that really drives resource sharing in the health sciences, journals.  If you would like the opportunity to add DOCLINE wallpaper to your pc or maybe just update what you already have then use the link below to capture the side of Tugger that suits you most.

DOCLINE Wallpaper

If you have not had a chance to enjoy the benefit of the GMR’s free Lending Library, be sure to take a look at what it includes.  Our lending library includes items on topics as diverse as systems librarianship, consumer health reference, copyright liability, conflict management and more.   There are also some great resources for you to earn MLA CE Credit.

Some items that have arrived recently:

• Tailoring Health Messages: Customizing Communication with Computer Technology, by Matthew Kreuter et al. (2000)
• Health Informatics for Medical Librarians, by Ana D. Cleveland and Donald B. Cleveland (2009)
• iFusions: MLA Annual Meeting 2009 2-CD Set
• Guía de recursos sobre la parálisis, Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center (2003)
• Paralysis Resource Guide, Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center (2003)
• Blueprint for Your Library Marketing Plan, by Patricia H. Fisher and Marseille M. Pride (2006)
• Information Literacy Assessment, by Teresa Y. Neely (2006)
• Creating Your Library Brand, by Elisabeth Doucett (2008)
• Is Consulting for You? A Primer for Information Professionals, by Ulla de Stricker (2008)
• Engaging the Community in Decision Making, by Roz Diane Lasker and John A Guidry (2008)
• Addressing Patients’ Health Literacy Needs, Joint Commission Resources (2009)
• Intellectual Property: Everything the Digital-Age Librarian Needs to Know, by Timothy Lee Wherry (2008)

If you have any suggestions of items to be included in the lending library, please email us at gmrlib [at] uic.edu.

For those of you who attended yesterday’s web session “PubMed Redesign,” by David Gillikin, thank you for your participation (and patience!). There was an overwhelming response to this web meeting. The system became overloaded and many people encountered technical problems. We apologize for all of the audio and other technical problems you may have encountered during the session. The recording of this session can be found here: https://webmeeting.nih.gov/p10795826/.

There will be other sessions offered across the country for other regions in the near future. Undoubtedly the audio quality will be better and there will be different questions asked so we will make the recording of at least one of those sessions available to you as well.

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About fifty children of Southern Illinois University (SIU) School of Medicine employees visited the SIU School of Medicine Medical Library on Take Your Child to Work day, Friday, July 17, 2009. The Medical Library was one of the stops during a day of activities throughout the School.

ToxMystery and Understanding Medical Words, two National Library of Medicine tutorials, were introduced to several groups in our computer training room and public computer area. ToxMystery lets you find hazards around your home (http://toxmystery.nlm.nih.gov), and through MedlinePlus, a consumer health information site, the tutorial Understanding Medical Words teaches the meaning of medical words by interacting with patients and doctors (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/medicalwords/). The children earned certificates of participation and were given ToxMystery activity books which included the web addresses of the sites.

I recently exhibited for the NLM at the National Wellness Conference in Stevens Point, WI.  If you have not attended this conference before, I highly recommend it.  Some of the program offerings this year:

• Wellness Career Paths
• Positive Practice Environments: Mandate for the Nursing Workforce
• Emotional Wellness for Professionals
• eHealthy: Using Internet Resources for Optimal Well-being in Seniors

I attended a session after a fun day of exhibiting called Organizational Wellness: Building a Psychologically Healthy Workplace.  The speaker discussed how psychological health has a major impact on all areas of our work life.  If the psychological health of workers and the organization itself is failing, it can have an effect on physical health, work productivity, team effort and the like.  There are costs associated with a psychologically unhealthy workplace.  Some of these include: executives expect more and more from employees without reciprocal compensation, staff overreacting to minor issues, and decisions being made about the organization but in isolation from its environment.

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Christina Wray Creech
Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, Center for Disability Information and Referral
2853 E. 10th Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47408

Do you remember that giddy feeling you got the first time you explored the Internet, or the first time you were reading something for school and you really “got it?” It’s an AMAZING feeling that opens whole new worlds up, and accessible technology is one of the great tools that can help people with disabilities connect and communicate in the classroom and beyond.  There are a lot of different options out there, both with software and hardware, and it can be difficult for people to know where to begin in finding the right fit for themselves or their students.  Now, thanks in part to a Technology Award from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine Greater Midwest Region, the Center for Disability Information and Referral (CeDIR) can offer visitors the opportunity to try out a variety of different software and navigation tools at an adjustable height table to see what works best for them!

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Celebration of Dance, Song, Unity and Health Information!

by Kate MacDougall
Outreach Librarian
University of Michigan Health Sciences Libraries
Ann Arbor, MI

On June 27 and 28, 2009, the University of Michigan’s Health Sciences Libraries participated in the 8th Annual Mending the Sacred Hoop Powwow in Tecumseh, MI. The Leh-Nah-Weh Native American Organization hosted the event on the fields of the Cal Zorn Recreation Center. The Health Sciences Libraries shared information about MedlinePlus and the various Native American health information resources available through the National Library of Medicine.

See http://tiny.cc/SgI0U for complete set of event photos.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is offering $4.7 billion of stimulus money on the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program.   The goal of this program is to support the deployment of broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas, to enhance broadband capacity at public computer centers, and to encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service.

“Funded at $4.7 billion, BTOP provides grants to support the deployment of broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas, to enhance broadband capacity at public computer centers, and to encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service. Through this support, BTOP will also advance the Recovery Act’s objectives to spur job creation and stimulate long-term economic growth and opportunity.” - From the BTOP About  Page.

Applications can be downloaded for review beginning July 7.

NTIA is encouraging the electronic submission of applications (applicants requesting more than $1 million in assistance must file electronically).  Applicants who are requesting less than $1 million in assistance may forego electronic filing if this would impose a hardship.

Application Deadline:  Electronic applications must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. ET on August 14, 2009.   Paper submissions must be postmarked no later than August 14, 2009, or hand-delivered no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on August 14, 2009.

This funding is for round 1.  Timelines for rounds 2 and 3 have not been determined as of yet.

More details will be available on the ALA Broadband Funding page and you can review a webinar that took place on July 8 for further clarification.  For those of you in Chicago attending the ALA Annual Conference, please consider attending the Washington Office Update - which will take place 8 to 10 a.m. Saturday July 11 in McCormick Place West (MCP), Room W-474 or visit John Windhausen at the ALA Membership Booth.

For those of you attending the American Library Association Annual Conference in Chicago this year, please be sure to stop by the GMR’s booth. We will be exhibiting for the National Library of Medicine, booth #3651. A handout of NN/LM presentations and presence at the Conference will be available at the booth.

In addition, in conjunction with our sister NN/LM region, the MidContinental, we are presenting a poster as part of the 2009 Diversity and Outreach Fair. The Diversity and Outreach Fair will take place Read the rest of this entry »

Gerald “Jerry” Dujsik retires today from his position as Director, Learning Resources, Illinois College of Optometry (ICO) in Chicago. Jerry as been at the College for over 23 years. He received his MALS in 1970 from Rosary College (now Dominican University). He began his library career at the age of 19 as a student assistant while attending the University of Illinois at Chicago and worked as a hospital librarian before starting at ICO in the then-new Learning Resources Center in 1986. Read the rest of this entry »