The University Libraries (UL) of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) were awarded a Technology Improvement Award by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) Middle Atlantic Region in 2010-2011.  UMDNJ is made up of four campuses throughout the state of New Jersey.

The funding was used to purchase mobile devices, accessories, apps and ebooks so that staff could learn how they work and better support the University community.  UL staff purchased three iPod Touch devices (the Stratford site already had one), four iPads, and four Archos 7 Internet Tablets which use the Android operating system.  These devices supported UL staff education in mobile technology.  The devices were useful as well in the creation of mobile optimized web pages by allowing staff to test new products.  A mobile subcommittee, made up of UL staff, created a plan to better integrate mobile devices and resources into library services.

After reviewing open source software and vendor-created mobile applications the UL staff decided to purchase LibraryAnywhere from LibraryThing for Libraries for the next year.  This will allow UL staff to provide immediate access to the library’s catalog for mobile devices, allowed each campus to set up library information, such as hours, and will give users the ability to contact a librarian from a mobile device.  UL staff also discovered there was very little written on how to choose a mobile app.  Because of this UL staff created an evaluation form for apps that could be used across campuses.

Promoting mobile device resources at UMDNJ using LibraryAnywhere

Moving forward, UL staff will use what they have learned with the devices to better educate the University community.  We hope to show University faculty and Administration that the UL can provide leadership and support in the use of mobile resources for health care education and patient care.

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

The University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences Library System (HSLS) seeks applications for the positions of Consumer Health Coordinator, Network Services Coordinator, Outreach Coordinator and Technology and Communications Coordinator for the National Network of Libraries of Medicine – Middle Atlantic Region (NN/LM-MAR). Energetic, creative and service-oriented librarians, interested in collaboration, teamwork, and innovation, are encouraged to apply.

See the University of Pittsburgh, Health Sciences Library for complete position announcements: http://www.hsls.pitt.edu/about/positions/

NLM Technical Bulletin, May-Jun 2011, NLM Gateway Transitioning to New Pilot Project Site

On December 1, 2011, the NLM Gateway will transition to a new pilot project from the Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications (LHNCBC). The current version of the NLM Gateway provides search access across multiple databases; however, all but one of these databases is available from other NLM sources, and most users of those databases search them directly and do not use the NLM Gateway. Only one database, Meeting Abstracts, is uniquely located on the Gateway system. Although NLM has invested in and supported the NLM Gateway for eleven years, based on current budget limitations and the results of evaluations of the use of NLM Gateway, the Library has recently decided to discontinue this service, as currently configured, and transition to a new pilot project site.

NLM is pleased to announce that the first books digitized for the MHL collection are publicly available in our Repository  “Digital Collections”.

For more information about the collection  “Medicine in the Americas”  see the news announcement at:

 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/news/medicine_in_americas.html

 http://collections.nlm.nih.gov/muradora/

CDC’s Public Health Informatics and Technology Program Office is seeking a visionary yet practical public health informatics leader toward a strong infrastructure for tomorrow’s prevention-oriented health care system. The Division of Informatics Solutions and Operations creates and maintains services used widely across public health: directory, messaging, transport, vocabulary provisioning, inventory systems, data warehousing, data access, help desk services and more. This infrastructure is transforming to address new HITECH promises and challenges. Please let any potential candidate know they must APPLY BEFORE JUNE 1.

For information: http://jobview.usajobs.gov/GetJob.aspx?JobID=98313521&JobTitle=Supervisory+IT+Specialist&q=supervisory+IT+Specialist&where=&brd=3876&vw=b&FedEmp=N&FedPub=Y&x=0&y=0&AVSDM=2011-05-18+08%3a47%3a00

“Health Information Center Development,” a project supported through an NN/LM MAR Small Project Award,  involved the Lancaster General Health Sciences Library partnering with professionals who work directly with senior citizens.  The three targeted collaborative groups were The Library System of Lancaster County, Lancaster County Senior Center personnel, and the Lancaster Activity Directors Association.

On April 26, 2011, the library hosted a session attended by senior center personnel from throughout Lancaster County. The session started off with a video that emphasized the issues—and possible consequences–associated with low health literacy.  The presentation then detailed information-seeking behaviors of seniors, clarifying the important role the targeted audience plays in supporting older adults in health information literacy.  In addition, recommended resources were demonstrated, including HealthyLancasterCounty.org, the Library System of Lancaster’s Health Information Network.  The portal is the gateway to numerous local and national organizations and resources, including MedlinePlus for Seniors, NIH Senior Health, and the National Institute on Aging, which were also individually explored in the session.

Participants were given the opportunity to provide feedback through pre- and post-session surveys.  Although not statistically significant,  all attendees answered “True” to the post-survey items indicating that the session had improved their ability to find good health information for seniors, and made them more confident in their ability to find good health information.  All participants received a mouse pad (pictured below) that included project information and a link to HealthyLancasterCounty.org, bookmarks to distribute to seniors at their work sites, and copies of selected government health-related publications, which they can also obtain on their own.  We look forward to following up with those who attended, as well as to expanding our outreach to others who would benefit.

Cynthia McClellan
Director, Health Sciences Library
Lancaster General Health

Today NLM released a new version of the MedlinePlus tour in English (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tour/tour.html) and Spanish (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tour/tour.html). 

The tours highlight important features of MedlinePlus.gov and describe where you can find certain types of information on the site. The tours last approximately 8 minutes and they include audio. We invite you to view the tours to see all the wonderful features MedlinePlus and MedlinePlus en español have to offer!  There’s also a downloadable version of each tour so you can play them without an Internet connection.  If you have comments or questions about the MedlinePlus tours, send a message to the MedlinePlus team via the contact form on MedlinePlus.gov.

On September 15, 2010, Hunter-Rice Health Sciences Library was granted funds from the Middle Atlantic Region of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine to purchase six Apple iPads, two Amazon Kindle DX book readers, and a 24-inch Samsung monitor.  The project lasted from  November 1, 2010, until April 30, 2011.   The devices were used by staff and patrons from all the institutions served by the library, which includes eight hospitals in a very rural areas of northern New York State near the Canadian border.  iPads  were distributed to staff and patrons starting on November 4, 2010.  The circuit rider librarian to whom the iPad was assigned wrote in her report,  “The iPad is lighter and smaller than most books I have to carry and is easy to connect to a wireless Internet network.  That makes it possible to check for articles in PubMed and check the Worldcat catalog for book availability, while talking to the patron wherever they happen to be.”

Circuit Librarian Leslie Beale using an iPad to perform a literature search for a patron.

The iPads generated quite a bit of buzz about the Hunter-Rice Library/Hospital Library Program.  We circulated (or put on a waiting list) iPads to 11 staff physicians, including two medical directors, one senior resident, two residents, and one medical student.  In addition, we circulated iPads to 19 nurses of all specialties and 13 various allied health positions including speech pathologist, medical transcriptionist, and management information systems technicians.  Patrons were from four hospitals (Samaritan Medical Center, Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center, Canton-Potsdam Hospital, and River Hospital).  We still have over 20 people on our waiting list to check out an iPad.

Michael K. Chartrand, M.A.
Library Technician
Hunter-Rice Health Sciences Library

The University of Rochester Medical Center Libraries in Rochester, NY, was awarded a Technology Improvement Award by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) Middle Atlantic Region in 2010-2011.  The award was used to implement a laptop lending program in the Edward G. Miner Library, with the goal of improving access to digital resources by expanding availability and access to public computers for library customers.

Five laptop computers (three PC’s and two Macs) were purchased and configured for checkout through the integrated library system.  A team at Rochester developed policies and a borrowing contract to ensure the ongoing security of the systems.  In addition, the devices are configured with LoJack for Laptops™ to facilitate recovery in the event of loss or theft.

The program was implemented at the beginning of 2011.  Usage and satisfaction data were collected before, during, and after a two-month evaluation period.   One of the data collection tools was a desktop pop-up survey. The survey was configured to ask a question about the laptop service, thereby both advertising the service and collecting data about user awareness of the service.

Findings suggest that advertising was successful in making users aware of the service, and that people who used the service were satisfied with it.  In general, people chose laptops instead of desktops because of the setting/location of use, portability, and comfort.

The initial role of the service will enhance and complement the access afforded by public desktops. The library will continue to operate the service and re-evaluate its role and scope as user awareness, experience, interest, and usage patterns evolve.

Michael Bell
Assistant Dean for Information Technology–River Campus Libraries
Assistant Director, Information Technology–Medical Libraries
University of Rochester

From the NLM’s  Reference & Web Services Section:

Want to learn more about who is using MedlinePlus and MedlinePlus en español?  Looking for the latest user statistics for your next presentation or outreach activity?

The National Library of Medicine is pleased to announce the results of the 2010 MedlinePlus user survey, powered by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI).  The survey results give you a snapshot of a representative sample of MedlinePlus and MedlinePlus en español users,  their demographics, their reasons for visiting the site, and how they use the health information provided by MedlinePlus.  Thousands of users voluntarily responsed to our online survey in 2010. Thank you if you were one of them.

Visit http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/survey2010/index.html to view the 2010 survey results for MedlinePlus.gov and http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/survey2010/index.html to view the 2010 survey results for MedlinePlus en español.  You can also find links to the 2010 survey results on the English and Spanish “About MedlinePlus” pages in the right column.

We hope you’ll find this data interesting and helpful in your efforts to reach out to new and existing health information customers.  Please let us know if you have any questions or comments about the results.

 For more inofrmation, go to – http://apps.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/contact/index.cfm?lang=en&from=http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/faq/faq.html