FREE Training in New York City, February 8 & 9, 2011 and Hershey, PA April 5 & 6, 2011

The National Training Center and Clearinghouse (NTCC), in conjunction with the National Network of Libraries of Medicine Middle Atlantic Region (NN/LM MAR) is offering two FREE hands-on classes in two different locations in our region. The following two classes will be taught in each location by the staff of the NTCC:

New York City

PubMed® (7.5 MLA CE Hours)

Tuesday, February 8, 2011 in

TOXNET® and Beyond (6.0 MLA CE Hours)

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Hershey, PA

PubMed® (7.5 MLA CE Hours)

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

TOXNET® and Beyond (6.0 MLA CE Hours)

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

All the training sessions are FREE and intended for health sciences library staff, public librarians, health professionals, and anyone interested in using these free National Library of Medicine (NLM) databases. 

TO REGISTER for either or both of these classes, or to look for other class locations, simply click on this registration form link  http://nnlm.gov/ntcc/classes/schedule.html

From the NLM Technical Bulletin:

LinkOut® for Libraries Frequently Asked Questions Page

Libraries interested in participating in LinkOut may also be interested in the new LinkOut for Libraries Frequently Asked Questions page. On this page, librarians will find answers to questions such as “What is LinkOut?” and “What is the LinkOut Library Submission Utility?” Additional questions and answers will be added in the future. These questions are also available on the LinkOut for Libraries Training and Educational Resources page.

The National Network of Libraries of Medicine Middle Atlantic Region is happy to announce the recipients for the Health Literacy Awards!  These awards were open to Full and Affiliate Network members in amounts of up to $15,000 to help them create or develop health literacy projects within their library or organization or by partnering with other libraries or organizations. Congratulations to all our award recipients.

The award recipients are:

• Alfred I duPont Hospital for Children of the Nemours Foundation – Kristina Flathers – Pilot program: Bringing health literacy to pediatric transition of care
• East Brunswick Public Library – Karen Parry – Just for the Health of It
• Literacy Volunteers of New Jersey – Jessica Tomkins – Improving Health Literacy Skills of Low Literate Adults
• UMDNJ University Libraries – Judy Cohn – Developing Health Literacy Skills in a Health Disparate Population
• University at Buffalo, Health Sciences Library – Ophelia Morey – Bridging the Gap: Health Information Outreach for the Uninsured

Here are three recent updates from the NLM Technical Bulletin:

 NLM Technical Bulletin, Sep-Oct 2010, MedlinePlus Web Service
In September 2010, NLM released a search-based Web service that provides access to MedlinePlus health topic data in Extensible Markup Language (XML) format. Software developers can utilize this service to build applications that incorporate health information provided by MedlinePlus.

 NLM Technical Bulletin, Sep-Oct 2010, Enhanced PubMed My Bibliography Feature
The PubMed Send to menu will soon be updated to allow users to add PubMed search results directly to their My NCBI My Bibliography.

 NLM Technical Bulletin, Sep-Oct 2010, PubMed Display Enhanced with Images from the New NCBI Images Database
The PubMed Abstract display for PubMed Central articles will be enhanced to include an image strip generated from the soon-to-be-released National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Images database.

The NNLM’s Emergency Preparedness Toolkit site has been re-designed based on the results of the usability study conducted earlier this year.  The site now features a cleaner presentation of information and resources and some new features, including an area for EP&R-related Twitter feeds and easier access to weather-related alerts and warnings.

The  NN/LM DOCLINE Best Practices for Users page is a great way to get a quick refresher on—or introduction to, if you’re new—DOCLINE etiquette and practices.  This list started with users on the DOCLINE listserv and has been vetted by NN/LM DOCLINE coordinators throughout the nation.

Recently there has been some discussion regarding libraries marking requests “filled” in the DOCLINE system before they are actually sent.  In order to save everyone time and potential confusion, please only update requests to “filled” after the item has actually been sent to the borrower. (This is item #8 under “Filling Requests” on the Best Practices page.)

If you have any questions or feedback about DOCLINE best practices or procedures, please contact MAR Network Services Coordinator Neil Romanosky: neil.romanosky@med.nyu.edu

From NLM, 10/19/2010:

The DOCLINE Team would like to take a moment to acknowledge a DOCLINE milestone – the 30 millionth request was entered into DOCLINE today.  The 30 million requests includes both Loansome Doc and DOCLINE transactions.

DOCLINE Request # 30000000 was entered by Saint Louis University on October 19, 2010 at 12:06 pm Eastern Time.  University of Nevada School of Medicine in Reno filled the request 4 hours later at 4:06 pm Eastern Time.

DOCLINE serves over 2,900 libraries in the United States, Canada, and other countries around the world.  Currently, DOCLINE libraries report more than 1.6 million serial holdings. The current fill rate is 92.9% and the average number of libraries to which a request must route before completion is just 1.26! The average time for lenders to fill a DOCLINE request is 1.04 days.

Many thanks to our DOCLINE users for their dedicated service to health professionals and the public in need of biomedical literature and health information, and for the years of support to the DOCLINE system and your many ideas for improving DOCLINE.

- The DOCLINE Team (Barbara, Brent, Karen, Lis, Lisa, Maria, and Tugger)

An interesting New York magazine article about the financial troubles facing hospitals in New York City and what they mean for the future of health care.

A message from Kathel Dunn, Associate Fellow Coordinator, NLM:

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is accepting applications for its Associate Fellowship program, a one-year training program for recent MLS graduates and librarians early in their career. 

In the first half of the year, a formal curriculum offers exposure to library operations, research and development, intramural and extramural research, development and lifecycle of NLM’s web-based products and services and the extensive outreach and education program reaching consumers, special populations, health professionals and librarians. In the second half of the year, Associate Fellows have the opportunity to choose projects based on real-world problems proposed by library divisions and work with librarians and library staff over a six-seven month period. Successful projects have led to peer-review publications and to services that have become a regular part of library operations.

 The September through August program also offers professional development and an introduction to the wider world of health sciences librarianship that may include: 

• Supported attendance at national professional conferences, often including the Medical Library Association’s annual meeting, the American Medical Informatics Association annual meeting and others
• Spring Practicum at a health sciences library in the contiguous United States
• Additional brown bags, seminars, field trips and learning opportunities available on the National Institutes of Health campus
• Opportunities to meet and interact with senior management at the National Library of Medicine
• Experienced preceptors from National Library of Medicine staff
• Potential to compete for a second year fellowship at a health sciences library in the United States

 The Fellowship offers:

• A stipend equivalent to a U.S. Civil Service salary at the GS-9 level ($51,630 in 2010)
• Additional financial support for the purchase of health insurance
• Some relocation funding
• Assistance in finding housing 

Who is eligible?

All U.S. and Canadian citizens who will have earned a MLS or equivalent degree in library/information science from an ALA-accredited school by August 2011.  Both recent graduates and librarians early in their career are welcome to apply.  Priority is given to U.S. citizens. 

Applications and additional information are available on the Web at www.nlm.nih.gov/about/training/associate/.  Application deadline is February 3, 2011.   Between 4 and 7 fellows will be selected for the program.

Feel free to contact me for further information.  I can be reached at 301-435-4083 or dunnk@mail.nih.gov. 

 Kathel

Kathel Dunn, PhD, Associate Fellowship Coordinator

National Library of Medicine

Bldg 38, Rm 2N-19

8600 Rockville Pike

Bethesda, MD  20894

301-435-4083

dunnk@mail.nih.gov

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/about/training/associate/

Please join the NN/LM’s  Middle Atlantic Region and your colleagues to watch the “The ABCs of E-Books: Strategies for the Medical Library” on Wednesday, November 10, from 2pm to 3:30pm at NYU Medical Center. To register to attend this webcast, please contact rml@library.med.nyu.edu  Once you have been registered, you will receive information as to the exact location of the class and travel directions.