In JAAPA’s “Ask a Librarian” this month, topics that include how to evaluate the results of evidence-based literature searches, as well as use of the Evidence Pyramid for categorizing results:  http://bit.ly/vSHbZG.

Free registration is required to access JAAPA’s columns and articles, and you may choose Institution/Library as a profession.

December 1^st is coming fast.  Here’s a reminder in the Technical Bulletin on this important topic:  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/nd11/nd11_gateway_transition.html.

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) has enhanced the Drug Naming Standard for Electronic Health Records.  The RxNorm standard clinical drug vocabulary produced by the NLM is now said to contain more accurate and complete connections between National Drug Codes (NDCs) and standard non-proprietary names of medications recommended for use in electronic health records (EHRs).  NLM, a component of the National Institutes of Health, claims to be the world’s largest medical library.

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The MAR staff will be out of the office Wednesday – Friday, November 30 – December 2, 2011. We will be attending an NLM orientation in Bethesda, MD.

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at MAR!

- Barbara Epstein
- Renae Barger
- Lydia Collins
- Kate Flewelling
- Missy Harvey
- Tristan Lucchetti

The MAR offices will be closed Thursday and Friday, November 24 – 25, 2011 in observance of Thanksgiving.   We wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving!

The MAR Outreach Coordinator, Kate Flewelling, will be in Syracuse, NY, on December 12 to teach the following classes.

Patient Safety Resource Seminar:  Librarians on the Front Lines / 8:30 am – 12:30 pm

This interactive seminar focuses on ways librarians can become more involved in patient safety processes and activities—both within their institutions and organizations and in providing patient safety resources for health professionals, for administration and staff, and for patients and families.  Topics include understanding the definitions and issues of patient safety; locating where patient safety practices and contacts exist within an institution; identifying appropriate resources; and library advocacy in the area of patient safety.  These four hours of lecture, discussion and brainstorming help librarians in all fields become effective agents for improving patient safety.

Nursing on the Net:  Health Care Resources You Can Use / 1:30 pm – 5:30 pm

Looking for the latest developments in patient care but finding too much, too little or inadequate information?  Participants will learn to use and evaluate web based health information resources, find online news services, continuing online education courses, and consumer health websites.  Participants will also learn to search the National Library of Medicine MEDLINE database of over 19 million citations using the PubMed interface.  The workshop will also cover MedlinePlus, the National Library of Medicine website for consumer health information.

Sponsor:  Central New York Library Resources Council, 6493 Ridings Road, Syracuse, New York 13206
Registration information:  http://www.clrc.org/wrf/.

The MAR offices will be closed Thursday and Friday, November 24 – 25, 2011 in observance of Thanksgiving.   We wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving!

NLM will be closed Thursday, November 24, 2011 in observance of Thanksgiving.   The National Network Office wishes all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving with all of the trimmings!

NLM is pleased to announce that Steve Emrick has been selected as the Terminology QA & User Services Unit Head, and Sara Tybaert as the Bibliographic Data Management Unit Head in the MEDLARS Management Section.

Steve Emrick joined the National Library of Medicine in 2007 as part of the MMS UMLS team where he performed UMLS data QA, developed Web documentation, and launched the UMLS Webcast series.  Before that, he worked in Juneau, Alaska at the Juneau Empire newspaper where he managed content on the Juneau Empire’s Website.   Steve also served as a Noncommissioned Officer in the United States Army as a Signals Intelligence Analyst in the Republic of Korea, in both the 2^nd Infantry Division and 501^st Military Intelligence Brigade.

Steve will transition to this position effective November 20, 2011.  As the Unit Head, Steve will be responsible for the management and supervision of his Unit and will assume the role of MMS UMLS Coordinator which oversees the production and quality assurance cycle of bi-annual UMLS releases.

Sara Tybaert has an established history of excellence in LO.  Sara came to the NLM with a diverse skill set that formed the foundation for her success working with multifaceted data and systems.  As a contractor with Library Systems and Services, she participated in the reclassification from the Dewey Decimal System to the NLM Classification of two libraries.  At OCLC she coordinated the activities of LS/2000, an integrated library system.  While employed with Centel Federal Services Corp, she provided technical support for DATALIB, an integrated library system, and JOURNALINK, a comprehensive union list service.

Sara’s start date is December 4, 2011.  Sara will continue her responsibilities related to maintaining NLM’s premier MEDLINE data including:  the coordination of Year End Processing; data quality control and testing; Serials Extract File collaboration; systems design, maintenance and testing; and, complex customer support duties while assuming her new supervisory role.

Dianne Babski, Head
MEDLARS Management Section
National Library of Medicine