Our August “Midday at the Oasis” will be held on Tuesday, August 11 at 11:30 AM (PT), 8:30 AM (HT). We are making an exception to the usual Midday schedule in order to reprise David Gillikin’s 2009 MLA presentation—a preview of the upcoming PubMed redesign. Read more »

A few years ago, I was co-teaching a consumer health class to library school students. In addition to the traditional health websites, my colleague presented a few examples of user-generated content—sites where ordinary people were posting stories about their own health conditions on discussion lists or on their personal blogs for anyone to see. One particular example involved a young woman who had a suspicious mole that turned out to be a type of skin cancer. She posted her story and pictures on her blog, which elicited a flood of responses from people with their own stories. Another example was Ronda’s Migraine page, a support community that offers a journal area where people can post their own stories, a live chat area and discussion forums. This site was started in 1996 and is still going strong! Read more »

This spring, our office conducted a survey of Network members about outreach strategies for community-based organizations (CBOs). The purpose of this survey was to define the most effective strategies being used by Network members to reach out to CBOs. The survey included topics such as strategies used to establish partnerships and approaches used to raise awareness about NLM resources among CBOs. Read more »

By Amy Knehans
Pharmacy/Health Sciences Librarian
Edwin H. Mookini Library
University of Hawai’i at Hilo
knehans@hawaii.edu

I moved to Hilo, Hawaii, in 2005. Hilo is located on the east side (windward) of Hawaii Island, also known as the “Big Island“. The town overlooks Hilo Bay and is surrounded by two volcanoes, Mauna Loa, considered active, and Mauna Kea, dormant. Disasters are not unknown in this area. Read more »

On July 15, NN/LM PSR staff will host the first of its monthly web conferences, “Midday at the Oasis.” These conferences will be held from 1-2 pm Pacific Time on the third Wednesday of each month. As the name implies, we are hoping that you will take a break in your day to quench your thirst for news about what’s happening in the region, and for knowledge about new NLM and NN/LM resources, programs, and services. We look forward to sharing what we know and to your sharing with us what you need and find helpful in your work. Read more »

The National Library of Medicine (NLM), which coordinates the NN/LM program, conducted a mid-contract site visit at UCLA on October 21, 2008. The purpose of the site visit was to help the staff of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Pacific Southwest Region (NN/LM PSR) and NLM understand how we are serving our Network members, learn how we can strengthen our program to meet current and emerging needs in the region, and gather ideas for how NLM can help us as we provide the types of activities and services needed in the region today and in the future. NLM visited all eight RMLs in the NN/LM in 2008 to learn about regional accomplishments, issues and challenges, and priorities. Read more »

The Rural Assistance Center (RAC) is a comprehensive information portal created by the Department of Health and Human Services which provides access to a full range of available programs, funding, and research about rural communities. The site is available at http://www.raconline.org. Read more »

For the 2009-2010 contract year, NN/LM PSR is offering a new funding opportunity for major outreach subcontract awards. In addition, the maximum funding amount for the popular express outreach awards program has been increased from $6,000 to $12,000 per project. The deadline for major outreach award submissions is July 31, 2009; express outreach award proposals may be submitted at any time. All projects funded by the two programs must be completed by April 30, 2011. All projects will be funded through a subcontract mechanism (purchase order agreement). Any Network member is invited to submit a proposal. Read more »

The Medical Library Association’s educational webcast, “Finding Work-Life Balance: Strategies for You and Your Institution,” was a success! Read more »

A few tidbits from NLM at the MLA Annual Meeting this year: Read more »