MAC/Medical Libn Assn Meeting - Lea's report

The 2010 meeting of the Mid-Atlantic chapter of the Medical Library Assn was an accessible, fun way to meet with other health science librarians and catch up on news. Here are some of the more interesting items...

-- Nifty ideas that I'd like to kick upstairs (for administrative attention) --

1. Annual Research Fair

Event started by the Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences, Virginia Commonwealth University. They brought in the Office of Research Services, Creative Services, statisticians, and every other campus unit providing help somewhere along the research or publishing path. Each dept staffed a table, there were even vendor-sponsored booths.

2. Resources for Calculating Return on Investment/CBA (poster) - The report and guide include methods for evaluating “intangibles” and “social return on investment.”

3. What are the Effects that Two Author-fee Subsidy Programs Have on Researchers' Work Practices and Publishing Behaviors? -- UNC – CH provides $1,000/year to individual authors to reduce the impact of author fees.

4. Mapping patron needs and retooling staff duties

Information Sherpa: Assisting and Problem Solving along the Researcher's Path - Health Sciences Library, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO

Evaluated menu of reference and related services from the ground up – brainstormed to come up with a list of steps/needs along the “typical research path” for students and faculty. Used part of a vacant position to fill a large gap in services.

--Nifty ideas for me --

1. Mobile medical apps and mobile-friendly resources…

George Washington University developed a nice mobile-friendly site

* User surveys, content, library instruction/launch info reported in the poster Going Mobile: launching a mobile website and other mobile resources (pdf).
* LibGuide on mobile resources

The nice librarian staffing the poster confirmed the general, pain in the tush process for providing medical mobile resources to your patrons

* Mobile versions of vendor sites such as MD consult are easiest, since you just integrate them into your usual IP authentication system
* Mobile app download management can be time consuming, since each download (each patron) requires a serial number. The librarian must give a different serial number to each patron and keep a list (since the patron is likely to forget his/her number). She used to do this by sending a quick email to the students’ school email address (if they contacted her through a yahoo or gmail account, she would look up student info in their school directory). She has since delegated the provision and maintenance of serial numbers to a paraprofessional. VERY expensive, though DynaMed at least provides an unlimited number of downloads to academic institutions.

2. iPads are being adopted in health science and medical libraries. Deniz Ender (Rex Hospital Library and Information Research Center, Raleigh, NC) reported on the early stage of her grant funded project Using iPads in a Hospital Environment to Promote Clinical Applications. Ms. Ender compiled a list of the most popular free & paid medical mobile apps. She’ll make the iPads available to her users in November starting with an Open House.

Other librarians reported Open Houses or Sand box sessions in promoting new tech toys including iPads.


3. Updates from the NLM (National Library of Medicine) and the NN/LM SeA (National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Southeast Atlantic)

* PubMed Images database to launch in late October. Search for images in PubMed Central articles (will search the full text of image captions). PubMed abstract view will include image thumbnails.

* 1/4th of the abstracts added to PubMed are structured. Soon these will be searchable by section, eg “Methods.”

* The OLDMedline project (loading records from print indexes Cumulated Index Medicus 1960-65, Current List of Medical Literature 1947-59). Indexing records will go back to 1946, but budget issues have forced this project to come to a halt for the time being.

* Reminder that PubMed for handhelds is a research project (Lister Hill); it is NOT a production level system.

* Mobile Medlineplus http://m.medlineplus.gov/ - Reliable consumer health info with “universal” handheld device compatibility

* AIDSinfo mobile: http://m.aidsinfo.nih.gov

* TOXNET, including Hazardous Substances Data bank, Household Products database and more have additional content and linking


4. Upcoming workshops were mentioned w/out info on locations, dates, or links for calendar/registration pages

*2 day workshops from the NLM - Sequences, genomes, proteins, NCBI blast, human variation & disease (there “will be webinars” for these)
* Consumer Health – Dec workshop somewhere in the NNLM SeA region
* Nursing on the Net - Dec workshop somewhere in the NNLM SeA region
* Will duct tape cure my warts? – CAM workshop in Dec somewhere in the NNLM SeA region
* Health Literacy - Workshop somewhere in the NNLM SeA region, more details “available soon”
* Appraising the Evidence - Workshop somewhere in the NNLM SeA region, more details “available soon”
* PubMed for handhelds – Jan workshop somewhere in the NNLM SeA region
* E-science bootcamp – Summer 2011 workshop somewhere in the NNLM SeA region

Find Webinars!

A blog post on the ALA learning round table offers some great resources for keeping current with online webinars:

• Google Reader Bundle
if you use google reader for blog reading, here is an easy way to add a bundle of RSS feeds to your reader for library webinars.


• Brad Ward’s Library Webinars blog
a blog of various training opportunities for librarians.


• Stephanie Zimmerman’s Library-Related Training Opportunities Google Calendar
calendar of training opportunities.

Fall e-learning from ACRL

From online multi week seminars to 1-2 hour webcasts, check out some of these online learning sessions for academic libraries which you can attend without leaving your desk!

Here are the details from the 9/6/10 ALA News release:

Copyright and the Library Part 1: The Basics Including Fair Use (Sept. 13 - Oct. 1, 2010): Build an understanding of current copyright law, creating a “copyright palette” for your library and assessing a library’s legal risk with regard to current U.S. copyright law. Gain an understanding of the Fair Use clause, as well as how to legally apply fair use in the library, classroom and broader campus environments.

Designing Usable and Accessible Web Pages: Needs, Analysis, Design Planning, XHTML and CSS Standards, Accessibility Validation, and Usability Testing (Beginners) (Sept. 13 - Oct. 8, 2010): This hands-on course focuses on the basics of website planning, design and content development. The course will also examine Web standards, usability and accessibility. XHTML and CSS (external) will be introduced.

Creating Usable and Accessible Web Pages: XHTML and CSS Review, Navigation, Interactivity, CMS and Other Options (Intermediate) (Oct. 4 - Nov. 12, 2010): Participants in this online course will be able to use CSS layout to design highly accessible navigation and menus; create basic forms; use free JavaScripts to add functionality; design with multimedia; and understand strengths and limitations of CMS.

Successful Budgeting in Academic Libraries (Oct. 11-30, 2010): In this course, participants will learn essential budgeting skills, including how to develop and manage a budget and how to write a persuasive budget request.

Learning Objects: Creating Instruction To Go (Nov. 1-21, 2010): Find out more about learning objects and learn how to create a learning object using a Web 2.0 application or other suitable technology in this course.

The Not-So-Distant Librarian: Online Library Instruction to Engage Students and Faculty (Sept. 14, 2010): Learn practical tips and tools for designing, implementing and assessing online library instruction in this ACRL webcast.

From Idea to Publication Series: Understanding the Research Question (Sept. 23, 2010): Learn to formulate and define good research questions, select appropriate research methodologies and design the research study. Specific topics will include the development of useful questionnaires, techniques used in conducting telephone interviews, working with focus groups and constructing surveys to get the information they need.

So You Want to Create an Interactive Information Literacy Tutorial? (Oct. 19, 2010): Learn about the experience creating an interactive information literacy tutorial from beginning to end in collaboration with a multimedia designer in this webcast. Evaluate the potential of tutorial as an assessment tool and an opportunity for self-evaluation.

From Idea to Publication Series: Analysis and Writing (Nov. 4, 2010): Learn to apply the appropriate analysis methods to your project’s data or information, depending on the research methodology you are using. It is essential to have an understanding of the appropriate forms of analyses (along with their possibilities and limitations). Then comes writing. Readers must be able to comprehend your original question or problem, the process of selecting the appropriate methodology, your processes of analysis and the meaning of your findings.

Building a New Librarianship (Nov. 9, 2010): The future for librarians is bright, but not if we continue on our current path. We must bravely envision a new librarianship, one based on knowledge, activism and embedding ourselves deeply into the academy’s daily work. This session seeks to lay out a foundation for this new librarianship, with real world examples.

New Models for Credit-Bearing Information Literacy Courses (Nov. 16, 2010): Learn about best practices for credit-bearing information literacy courses in this ACRL webcast, based upon a literature review and several years of experimentation with various approaches to teaching a one-credit course.

From Idea to Publication Series: Submitting for Publication (Dec. 1, 2010): Learn how to select an appropriate journal or publisher, learn how to prepare a manuscript for submission and understand what the submission process will encompass. Also learn how to query editors and how to manage your own author rights, including open access licensing.

Online Forms: Interaction and Feedback without the “Paperwork” (Dec. 7, 2010): With courses and departments moving materials onto the Web or cloud computing platforms, review the possibilities available with interactive forms for the classroom and the department.

Complete details and registration information for all fall 2010 e-Learning opportunities are available online at http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/proftools/elearning.cfm. Contact Kathryn Deiss at kdeiss@ala.org or (312) 280-2529 for more information.

Library Liaisons Meet

The Library Liaisons met for a luncheon workshop on Wednesday, August 11. Prior to the luncheon, everyone reviewed four documents that concerned liaison responsibilities and policies. One document was a dated work entitled “Liaison Functions,” which was accepted by the UNCG Collection Management Committee in April 1998. The other three documents concerned liaison responsibilities and policies at three other universities—the University of Connecticut, Indiana-University-Perdue-University-Indianapolis (IUPUI), and Boise State University. Although the “Liaisons Functions” document from UNCG is dated and excludes user services responsibilities, it does provide some good information on collection management and development, as well as emphasizing the importance of communication and cooperation with teaching faculty. After discussing all four documents, the liaisons agreed that UNCG needed a new document that would summarize liaison responsibilities. The UCONN and IUPUI documents provide a good outline for such a new document—being 2-to-4 pages in length and highlighting both collections and user services responsibilities, as well as emphasizing the importance of communication and cooperation with teaching faculty. Stephen Dew and Kathy Crowe agreed to write the first draft of a new document for UNCG, which will later be shared with all liaisons for review.

The liaisons agreed that the luncheon workshop was a worthwhile event and that it was good to meet occasionally as a separate group, outside the regular monthly Collection Management Committee meetings, which include other members and focus entirely on collection responsibilities and issues. This summer, the Reference Department started a series of Round Table Meetings for liaisons to discuss instruction and user services responsibilities, and these events will be continued (probably just during interim periods). The liaisons agreed to continue the workshop luncheons (like this one) and to hold two each year, December and May, at the end of each semester.

ASERL's summer summit

I attended the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL) workshop because it was focused on the future of the government documents depository system in the southeast region. ASERL is trying to work within the system (and Title 44) to create a new model for depository libraries. The restrictions for being in the Federal Depository Library Program can be overly strict and at times archaic, but its overarching goal is valid--ensuring future access to government information.

The ASERL proposal attempts to create a regional focus for our depositories and to create Centers of Excellence (depositories that commit to collecting comprehensively in a particular agency or sub-agency). These centers would ensure that schools in the southeast have access to stronger print collections than one individual regional school could produce alone. (And I hear you asking already: "Isn't everything already online?" No, not everything is born-digital and no, not everything is being digitized. Not even all of the important stuff is being digitized. No one has the money to digitize it all, even Google). The idea is great and needed, but it will be a long process to get to that point. The group met (mostly government docs librarians and deans) to work through the report and brainstorm and collaborate on improvement. Hopefully this approach will make the FDLP system stronger! UNCG may try to become a Center of Excellence for a smaller agency or sub-agency, but more to come as we move forward.

"3 Topics in 30 Minutes" Schedule

The ERIT department in conjunction with the Staff Development Committee welcomes you to join us in the CITI lab for the first two of five scheduled courses covering the Microsoft Office suite. Two sessions will be offered for each class, occuring at 9:00am and 3:00pm.

Excel I: String Manipulation
In this 30 minute session held in the CITI lab, you will explore Excel's functions that manipulate cells which contain text. Click on the link to open the invitation and sign up!

August 10th at 9:00am: http://www.evite.com/app/publicUrl/FMPUXTAYMKXYBMLGENRZ/excel1-9am

August 11th at 3:00pm: http://www.evite.com/app/publicUrl/EGNNRXSLKFJRQKEFURFI/excel1-3pm

PowerPoint I
This class will start with some presentation basics before examining techniques such as advanced transitions and importing video/audio to spice up the appearance of your presentations. Click on the link to open the invitation and sign up!

August 17th at 9:00am:
http://www.evite.com/app/publicUrl/MSUBVDTXYHAYVOUOQJFZ/ppt1-9am

August 18th at 3:00pm: http://www.evite.com/app/publicUrl/FQFCCWLZTWQMOBTHQMLD/ppt1-3pm

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you there!

-- The Staff Development Committee

Free online classes through HP

Check out the classes available through the HP Learning Center - Free, online classes, available 24/7 in categories of digital photography, home office, business basics, IT basics, MS and Adobe, and graphic arts. Most classes contain 2-6 lessons with demos, quizzes, assignments, and message boards. Some are self paced and some have instructors w/ deadlines. You have to register to take classes but its free. More details here.