Measuring Your Impact: Using Evaluation for Library Advocacy

Library users and stakeholders will recognize and value the importance of their library’s services and of the librarian to the organization. That is the ultimate goal of this six-hour workshop. The outcome for the class is that librarians will be able to show the value of their library’s services. Participants will become familiar with an evaluation process and will use and take away methods and tools for assessment, evaluation planning, creating logic models, data collection, data analysis and reporting. The workshop will feature group exercises that move participants through the steps of an evaluation process. There will be participant discussion and exercises in addition to lectures.

6 MLA C.E. Credits

Instructors: Sue Hunter, NN/LM MAR, and Cindy Olney, NN/LM OERC

Date/Time: Thursday, October 21, 2010, 8:30am – 4:00 pm

Location: Central New York Library Resources Council (CLRC), 6493 Ridings Road,  Syracuse, New York, 13206

Please register with the Central New York Library Resources Council

From the NLM Technical Bulletin, Sep-Oct 2010: 

 NLM Launches Digital Collections, a Repository for Access to and Preservation of Digitized Biomedical Resources

 On September 27, 2010, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) launched a new free digital repository, Digital Collections, which is complementary to the PubMed Central digital archive of electronic journal articles. The repository currently provides rich search, browse and retrieval of monographs and films from the NLM History of Medicine Division. Additional content and other format types will be added over time. Users can perform full text and keyword searching within each collection or across the entire repository. 

 See the collection at http://collections.nlm.nih.gov/

The recording of yesterday’s Value of Libraries webinar is now available.

If you have questions about participating in the Value of Libraries Study, please contact Neil Romanosky (neil.romanosky@med.nyu.edu) or Sue Hunter (sue.hunter@med.nyu.edu).

NLM Technical Bulletin, Sep-Oct 2010, 2011 Medical Subject Headings Now Available
The Introduction to MeSH 2011 is now available, including information on its use and structure, as well as recent updates and availability of data.

The National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Middle Atlantic Region is happy to announce the recipients for the Technology Improvement Awards!  The Technology Improvement Award is available to member libraries in amounts up to $7500 to allow them to purchase, install and upgrade information technologies that enhance access to health information.

Congratulations to all our award recipients!

The award recipients are:

• Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences – Kimberly Mitchell – Microform Scanning at the ACPHS Libraries
• Baruch College, Newman Library – Arthur Downing – Using E-readers to Strengthen Health Professional’s Information Skills for Decision-Making
• Biomedical Library, University of Pennsylvania – Anne Seymour – Don’t buy it! Borrow it! Lending Technology Tools for Teaching, Learning and Research
• Catskill Regional Medical Center – MaryAllison Farley – Technology Improvement
• Commonwealth Medical College – Linda Hogan – Improving Physician’s Access to Information Technology for Medical Education and Patient Care
• Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine – Peggy Gross – Basic Medical Concepts and E-Health Information: A service learning partnership between second year medical students and a 7^th grade PA state YMCA after school initiative
• Fox Chase Cancer Center – Beth Lewis – Talbot Research Library Public Computer Upgrade
• Hunter-Rice Health Sciences Library at Samaritan Medical Center – Michael Chartand – Mobile Computing Technology Upgrade Project
• Jersey Shore University Medical Center – Catherine M. Boss – An iPad Lending Library for On Call/Night Float House Staff in a Hospital Setting
• Library Consortium of Health Institutions in Buffalo – Martin Mutka – Implementation of Serials Solutions SUMMON
• Long Island Library Resources Council – Christina Rivera – OCLC ILLiad Upgrade for Enhanced Consortium Sharing
• Matheny Medical and Educational Center – Jungwon DeVone – Upgraded Workstations and Printer for Enhanced Library Patron Services
• Northport VA Medical Center – Mary Lou Glazer – Education lab/Wireless
• NYU Health Sciences Libraries – Emily Molanphy – Extending the Reach of Library Instruction with Adobe Connect
• Penn State Hershey George T. Harrell Health Sciences Library – Cynthia Robinson – Improved Access to Biomedical Information Resources via Ebook Readers
• Samuel and Sandra Hekemian Medical Library, Hackensack University Medical Center – Deborah Magnan – Upgrade of Liberty Integrated Library System
• St. John’s Riverside/Cochran School of Nursing – Paul Hersh – Catalog Accessibility Project for St. John’s Riverside Healthcare System
• St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital – Twila Snead – Training and Technology Access to NLM Resources
• Staten Island University Hospital – Yelena Friedman – Enhancing the Quality of PubMed Instruction Through Improving Library Training Facilities
• UMDNJ – Jenny Pierce – Going Mobile
• United Memorial Medical Center – Karen Lamson – UMMC Library Health Information Access Project
• University of Pittsburgh, Health Sciences Library System – Frances Yarger – Creating Virtual Offices and Classrooms with Apple’s iPad
• Vassar Brothers Medical Center – Mary Jo Russel – Library Technology Expansion Project
• White Plains Hospital Center – Rimma Perelman – To Improve Access To Library Services At White Plains Hospital Center

Posted on behalf of Angela B. Ruffin, PhD, Head, NN/LM NNO, National Library of Medicine: 

Applications for the Donald A. B. Lindberg Fellowship due November 15, 2010

The Medical Library Association (MLA) is now accepting applications for The Donald A. B. Lindberg Research Fellowship. The purpose of this fellowship is to fund research aimed at expanding the research knowledgebase, linking the information services provided by librarians to improved health care and advances in biomedical research. The endowment will provide a $10,000 grant, awarded by MLA through a competitive grant process, to a qualified health sciences librarian, informatician, health professional, researcher, educator, or health administrator.  Research in alignment with MLA’s research agenda’s top ranked research questions is preferred over other areas of research and is located at http://www.mlanet.org/research/agenda_2008.html.

An application and more information about the fellowship can be accessed at www.mlanet.org/awards/grants/ or by contacting Lisa C. Fried, MLA’s Credentialing, Professional Recognition and Career Coordinator at mlapd2@mlahq.org.

The awardee will be notified in late February 2011. 

 Linda Walton, M.L.S.

Associate University Librarian & Director

Hardin Library for the Health Sciences

University of Iowa600 Newton Road, Iowa City, IA 52242

319-335-9873; 319-353-3752 (FAX)

As the Medical Librarian of the Fournarakis Medical Library of Richmond University Medical Center, a teaching hospital in Staten Island, New York, I have long hoped for a way to bring our library up to date with available technology for our patrons.  When I joined the library in 1998, we had two computers with dial-up modems.  Although we had progressed a little over the years, our IT services were seriously lacking.

So when I received the e-mail notification from the RML that technology grants were available, I jumped at the chance.  With the help of personnel from our IT department and an in-house grants expert, I confronted what seemed like the arduous process of grant application preparation.  When we were awarded the grant, I immediately notified all the personnel involved in the process, and a notice was included in our hospital’s internal newsletter.  It took some time to get everything in place, but with the help of hospital personnel, we were able to clear out the room and replace it with new shelving, new outlets, and a new coat of paint.  It took us about nine months from the beginning of the process (August 2009) to the final installation of all the equipment (May 2010).  We prepared a pre- and post-survey of our patrons, which showed that they are very happy with the final result.  The new computers are faster and have DVD and flash capacity, and we now have wireless access which has definitely improved patronage.  Many thanks to everyone involved in this endeavor.

Mary A. Hicks, M.L.S.
Medical Librarian
Richmond University Medical Center

The Office of Minority Health Resource Center (OMHRC) of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services is pleased to announce the American Indian/Alaska Native HIV/AIDS Tribal Awards for FY 2011:

Eligible Applicants
This award is for Federally Recognized Tribal Governments and American Indian or Alaska Native Tribal Consortiums and American Indian/Alaska Native organizations.
Application Deadline
Friday, October 15, 2010, 5 pm PST
Award Amount
$13,500 – a maximum of six awards will be made

Summary and Purpose
The project goal is to strengthen HIV/AIDS programs, and services responding to HIV/AIDS that target the American Indians/Alaska Native community at large, and those that specifically address the American Indian/Alaska Native LGBT and Two-Spirit community. This solicitation invites organizations and Tribes to continue or start programs focused on HIV/AIDS education, prevention, anti-stigma or testing.
The four objectives of the grant are to: (1) enhance or support HIV/AIDS education, awareness, anti-stigma and testing in the community, (2) provide funding for HIV/AIDS services, (3) support and encourage new HIV/AIDS Tribal programs, HIV screening or other HIV services and (4) expand the HIV/AIDS infrastructure and network for all American Indians/Alaska Natives through collaborative and transparent Tribal, Federal and community partnerships.

For more information as well as the application forms, contact Evonne Bennett-Barnes at ebennett@minorityhealth.hhs.gov

Discover how you can measure the impact of your library services on patient care!

MAR members are welcome to attend an interactive webinar on the Value of Library and Information Services in Patient Care Study.  Members of the study team will discuss the study background, benefits, and requirements for participation. The webinar will include ample time for questions and answers.

No registration is required for this webinar.  The session will be recorded for those who can’t make the live webinar.

When:  Tuesday, 9/28/2010 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

To join the meeting, go to:
https://webmeeting.nih.gov/valuestudy/

Dial-In:  1-888-757-2790
Pass-Code: 771442

If you have never attended a Connect Pro meeting before:

Test your connection: https://webmeeting.nih.gov/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm

Get a quick overview: http://www.adobe.com/go/connectpro_overview

If you have any questions about the Value Study webinar, please contact rml@med.nyu.edu

NLM recently launched a Web page for software developers listing all of the Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and Web services offered by the library.  The page is available at http://api.nlm.nih.gov/, and you can read more about it in the NLM Technical Bulletin.  NLM’s APIs and Web services are freely available to the public, and software developers can build applications that use the data and functionality they provide.

The NLM API page lists a new service from MedlinePlus.  The MedlinePlus Health Topics Web service provides access to MedlinePlus health topic data in XML format.  The service accepts keyword searches as requests and returns links to relevant English-language health topics in ranked order.  The output also includes supplemental data such as health topic summaries, related vocabulary, and keyword-in-context snippets. 

Documentation for developers is available on MedlinePlus at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/webservices.html.  You can also sign up on that same page to receive email updates about the service.  Please feel free to share this new service with your colleagues and technical teams.  If you build or learn of any applications that use the MedlinePlus Health Topics Web service, the MedlinePlus team would love to hear about it.  Let them know via the Contact Us link on MedlinePlus.

This MedlinePlus Web service differs from MedlinePlus Connect, which is a forthcoming product you may have heard about.  MedlinePlus Connect will connect electronic medical records, electronic health records and patient health records to MedlinePlus topic pages and drug information.  MedlinePlus Connect uses the problem codes and drug codes inherent in these systems to make the connections between the EMR/EHR/PHR and MedlinePlus.  The National Library of Medicine plans to release the MedlinePlus Connect service later this fall. 

A skilled developer could integrate the newly-released MedlinePlus Health Topics Web service to connect an EMR/EHR/PHR to MedlinePlus.  However, it’s best to wait for the release of MedlinePlus Connect, which leverages the standardized vocabulary used by the EMR/EHR/PHR.

If you have any questions, send them to the MedlinePlus team via the Contact Us link on MedlinePlus.