MIDLINE

No. 98 | Winter 2005
Newsletter of the Midwest Chapter / Medical Library Association

In this issue:

President's Message

MLA and Midwest Chapter News and Activities

What’s Happening: News and Announcements from around the Midwest Chapter

President's Message                            
By Sheryl Stevens, Midwest Chapter President
Raymon H. Mulford Library, Medical College of Ohio, Toledo OH
sstevens@mco.edu

Greetings Chapter Colleagues! 

I’m looking forward to a truly exciting year serving all of you and consider myself lucky to have the chance to work with the dedicated and energetic group of people that make up the 2005 Midwest Chapter Executive Board. Following the lead of the 2004 Executive Board and Melinda Orebaugh, our outstanding immediate past president, we’re putting together an ambitious agenda that we hope will help make the Midwest Chapter an even more effective and meaningful part of your professional life. 

High on my priority list are activities that directly support our chapter's goals, MLA’s goals, and the MLA President’s 2004/05 priorities.  For example, to help “Advocate for the Profession,” I’ll be asking one of our Board members to put together a page at our chapter website with links to library promotional materials and ideas that members can use to help market and promote the value of their services.  Also, I’d like the Government Relations Committee to do something similar for relevant legislative and policy issues to help members monitor developments and respond proactively.  In addition, to extend formal chapter recognition to the value of our colleagues’ contributions, I’ve asked the Awards and Scholarship Committee to work on setting up at least two new awards for outstanding achievement and/or service by members.

To help “Build Our Community,” I’ll be asking the Membership Committee to develop strategies for cultivating regular contacts with library schools in the chapter. To help “Encourage Lifelong Learning,” I’ll be asking the Education Committee to put together a page at the chapter website with links to distance learning programs and technology forums.  To facilitate “Creation and Communication of Our Knowledge,” I would like to see us (a generic “us” because I’m not exactly who at this point – perhaps one of you???) to identify a collaborative pool of research support within the chapter and to set up a web clearinghouse of “Pearls/Best Practices” in health sciences librarianship.

These are just a few of the proposed action items on my priority list!  I encourage you to review the entire document and send me any comments, suggestions, and additions.  And, of course, feel free to volunteer for anything on the list, or anything else that you think is worthwhile. We absolutely need and want your skills and talent.

Goals, priorities, action steps, progress reports – all of these good things (and more!) – will be topics of discussion at the chapter’s Spring Board Meeting in Chicago, set this year for Friday, March 18, at the Radisson downtown.  Board members – be on the lookout for more details from me about this in the very near future.  And, of course, we are all eagerly anticipating more details about our chapter event of the year, the annual conference, being held in North Dakota (September 16-20, 2005) for the very first time in our 55-year history of annual conferences. Conference Co-Chair Mary Markland has given me her word that the weather in Fargo on those particular days will be most excellent and not anything at all like the very North Dakota-ish minus 7° F that it is right now as I’m writing this.  So there you have it – Fargo in September: the place to be!

 


2005 Midwest Chapter Presidential Priorities
and Proposed Action Items


By Sheryl Stevens, Midwest Chapter President
Raymon H. Mulford Library, Medical College of Ohio, Toledo OH
sstevens@mco.edu

1) Advocate for the Profession

 2) Build Our Community & Enable Leadership 

3) Encourage Life Long Learning

 4) Create & Communicate Our Knowledge

5) Embrace Partnerships & Diversity

 6) Enhance Our Organizational Resources


Remember to Renew Your Membership!

By Bette Sydelko, Midwest Chapter Membership Secretary
Fordham Health Sciences Library, Wright State University, Dayton, OH
bette.sydelko@wright.edu

Time to renew your membership for 2005!

Membership forms were mailed in mid-January. If you have not received one, or if you accidentally misplaced it, or if you know you threw it away, you can still renew by using the electronic form on the Midwest Chapter/MLA website. Dues are $20.00 per year and the membership year for the chapter runs from January through December. Renewing by June 1st assures voting eligibility.

Please help spread the word about membership in the Midwest Chapter. Know any new medical librarians? Encourage them to take advantage of membership in our organization and reap the benefits of networking, listserv access, and continuing education courses.


Treasurer's Report:
Meeting Finances Task Force Report and Scholarship Payment Policy

By Chris Shaffer, Midwest Chapter Treasurer
Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
chris-shaffer@uiowa.edu

The Meeting Finances Task Force met at the Fall 2004 Executive Board Meeting.  The task force reported to the board on October 26, 2004 (http://midwestmla.org/business/treasurer/meeting_finances_task_force_report.pdf) and the Meeting Finances Policy was approved with revisions on November 24, 2004 (http://midwestmla.org/business/treasurer/meeting_finances_policy.pdf).  Under the new policy, the host Finance and Budget Committee directs the finances of the annual conference according to an approved budget, while leaving all signature authority and bank accounts in the direct control of the chapter treasurer, subject to audit by the Midwest Chapter Audit Committee.

The Annual Meeting Scholarship Payment Policy was approved at the Fall 2004 Board Meeting and posted on the Chapter website at http://midwestmla.org/business/treasurer/annual_meeting_scholarship_payment_policy.pdf.  The policy provides for the treasurer to pay conference registration fees for scholarship recipients.  The balance of scholarships will be paid to recipients at the meeting, with no need for presentation of travel receipts.

On December 28, 2004, the board approved a payment of $1,236.44 to the Renaissance Springfield Hotel to cover shortages in the 2004 Annual Meeting accounts.

Chapter assets are $37,024.53 as of December 31, 2004. The budget, financial statement, ledger and accounts are available on the chapter website at http://midwestmla.org/business/treasurer/.


Chapter Will Sponsor Free Lunches at MLA '05 Roundtables

By Sheryl Stevens, Midwest Chapter President
Raymon H. Mulford Library, Medical College of Ohio, Toledo OH
sstevens@mco.edu

The Midwest Chapter will be sponsoring four free lunches (cost: $25 each) to the 2005 Chapter Council Presents Sharing Roundtables on May 16 at the Medical Library Association’s Annual Meeting in San Antonio. Two of the four will be part of the first-come, first-served pool of tickets being made available to new MLA members who register online for the meeting.  The other two will be reserved exclusively for Midwest Chapter members and are to be awarded by the chapter’s Awards and Scholarship Committee. The committee is in the process of deciding criteria for awarding the free lunches and will bring its recommendation to the executive board meeting on March 18.  Stay tuned to MIDLINE and the chapter listserv for more information.

The Roundtables have become one of the most popular events at the MLA Annual Meeting. Each table focuses on a pre-selected topic and has a facilitator to initiate discussion, encourage participation, and collect evaluations. In addition, a recorder documents the discussion for later posting at the chapter council website. (Note to AHIP members: Facilitators and recorders can earn one point toward membership!  If you would like to share your skills and expertise as a facilitator or a recorder, please email Jan LaBeause, Chair, Chapter Council Roundtables Committee.)


Meet the Speakers:
Midwest Chapter 2005 Annual Conference

By Lila Pedersen, 2005 Annual Conference Publicity Chair
Library of the Health Sciences, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND
lpederse@medicine.nodak.edu

Circle September 16-21on your calendar, and make your reservation now at the Fargo Holiday Inn  (877-282-2700) for the 2005 Annual Conference. The conference committees, we are proud to say, are running ahead of schedule in planning a memorable experience for you.

In this article, I will highlight our keynote speaker, Monica Mayer, M.D., and another invited speaker, Mary Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N. Dr. Monica Mayer is a Native American family physician at Trinity Community Clinic in New Town, in western North Dakota. She is dedicated to serving the health needs and improving the quality of life of native peoples in the area where she was born and raised. Through the InMed (Indians into Medicine) program, she obtained her degree from the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences. There is a fascinating transcript of an interview with her on Prairie Public Radio ( http://www.prairiepublic.org/features/lifesupport/stories/drmonica.html ), in which she discusses the challenges of practicing in a remote rural area that is medically underserved.  Long an informal student of the Lewis and Clark expedition, several years ago Dr. Mayer began concentrating on the medical aspects of the journey. She goes by the Indian name Good Medicine. The medicinal herbs and plants in the western Upper Missouri River area are of special interest to her. You will find an introduction to her topic at http://www.lewis-clark.org/content/content-article.asp?ArticleID=1193. Dr Mayer’s introductory comments are on the rich and fascinating Discovering Lewis and Clark educational site at http://www.lewis-clark.org/. This site is described as “a hyperhistory in progress...enhanced by at least one new interpretive episode each month, employing a variety of mutimedia techniques.” Before you leave the Discovering Lewis and Clark site, check out the online store and take a look at the 55 books for sale. Of particular interest to many will be Dr. Elaine Nelson McIntosh’s book The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Food, Nutrition, and Health.  It will provide a good background for Dr. Monica Mayer’s program.

Dr. Mary Wakefield will speak on patient safety. She is the associate dean for rural health at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences. She has been on the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Health Care Quality in America, which issued the 1992 report To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System. Recently she was elected to membership in the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, an advisory body to the government and private sectors on health care issues. In 1999, Dr. Wakefield testified before the Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Senate Education Committee on Appropriations concerning patient safety and medical errors. Her testimony may be read at http://www4.nationalacademies.org/news.nsf/isbn/s12131999?OpenDocument.

Visit the 2005 meeting website at http://midwestmla.org/2005conference/  for the latest conference news.


Call for Contributed Papers and Posters:
Midwest Chapter 2005 Annual Conference

Submitted by Barb Knight, 2005 Annual Conference Committee Member
Harley E. French Library, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND
bknight@medicine.nodak.edu

September 16-20, 2005 are the dates of the 2005 Annual Conference of the Midwest Chapter/MLA, which will be jointly sponsored by the Midwest Chapter/MLA and the Health Science Information Section of the North Dakota Library Association. The conference will be held at the Holiday Inn in Fargo, North Dakota. Be sure to stay up-to-date with conference information and announcements at http://midwestmla.org/2005conference/.

"Routes to Discovery" is the theme for this year's meeting.  This theme can accommodate a variety of topics. Come and share with your colleagues all the wonderful things that are happening in your libraries. The program committee currently seeks entries for several contributed paper sessions. Each contributed paper will have a presentation time of approximately 20 minutes. We are also seeking submissions for the poster session. We invite paper and poster submissions on any topics of interest to librarians and information specialists. Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

Please submit a 250-word abstract to describe your paper or poster. Include your name, position title, address, phone number and e-mail address. Deadline for submission is April 1, 2005. Decisions on acceptance will be made no later than June 1, 2005. Submit your paper abstract to Karen Anderson as an attachment at karen_anderson@und.nodak.edu, or fax to 701-857-5638, or mail to Karen Anderson, Angus Cameron Medical Library, Trinity Health Center East, 20 Burdick Expy W, Minot, ND  58701. Submit your poster abstract to Frances Cockrum as an attachment at cockrum.frances@mayo.edu, or fax to her attention at 507-284-2215, or mail to Frances Cockrum, 223 8th Avenue NW, Rochester, MN 55901-2714.

Abstracts for papers and posters submitted by mail must be postmarked by April 1, 2005.


New Member Profiles

Submitted by Mary K. Taylor, Midwest Chapter Member
Morris Library, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL
mtaylor@libsiu.edu 

Chad Fennell is Assistant Librarian, Web Development & Reference, at the University of Minnesota's Bio-Medical Library. His main responsibilities include web development, reference, instruction, and serving as liaison to the School of Public Health. His professional interests include public health and medical informatics. Chad's home town is Peoria, IL.

Joan Giglierano is an Assistant Professor and Knowledge Management Librarian at the John A. Prior Health Sciences Library of The Ohio State University. Her main responsibilities include managing the ASK Desk, a new single service desk that provides circulation, reference and IT support services. Her professional interests include public services, information commons, and virtual reference. Joan is originally from Cincinnati, but she has lived in Columbus for 15 years. She attended library school at Indiana University. She adds, "I'm happy to return to health sciences librarianship after a long detour, during which I worked in a large public library; for an information services provider, and for a bibliographic utility. I'm eager to get involved in the Midwest Chapter/MLA by serving on committees as soon as opportunities arise."

Holly Morse is a Technical Services Librarian at the Medical College of Ohio's Raymon H. Mulford Library. Her responsibilities include cataloging, including classification and subject analysis. She also is responsible for maintaining the integrity of the library's catalog. Holly's professional interests include "all things cataloging!" She received her M.L.I.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2002, and a B.A. in Music from Alverno College in Milwaukee in 1999. While an undergraduate, she was a volunteer at a local hospital library, and says that " It was my first taste of medical librarianship, and the positive experience has been with me ever since." Her home town is Mackinaw City, MI. She enjoys choral music, instrumental music (oboe), and soap making. Ailurophiles should note that Holly says she has "four cats and 28 fish in an aquarium (the fish are in the aquarium, not the cats, except for one mischievous kitty that decided to take a swim once).  Kitties and fish get along beautifully."


MLA '05


Have you received your MLA '05 Preliminary Program in the mail yet? The theme of this year's meeting—Futuro Magnífico—shouts out the positive, inspiring, and passionate feeling medical librarians have about the profession and themselves. The meeting will be held May 14-19, 2005 in San Antonio, TX. For all the information you need, visit the meeting website http://www.mlanet.org/am/am2005/index.html.


Happy Anniversary Hardin Library!


Submitted by Edwin A. Holtum, Midwest Chapter Representative-at-Large
Hardin Library of the Health Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
edwin-holtum@uiowa.edu

On October 6, 2004, the University of Iowa, Hardin Library for the Health Sciences (http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/hardin/) celebrated its 30th anniversary with festivities that included a special presentation by University President David Skorton, music, refreshments, exhibits, demonstrations, and tours of the recently remodeled public service area on the main floor. A video entitled Reflections on Hardin Library 1974-2004 was also created for the occasion and was premiered during the celebration.

Since its completion, in 1974, Hardin Library staff members have played a leading role in the health science information revolution as they sought to take advantage of the burgeoning technology that has characterized the last three decades. The library is
 recognized as one of the most innovative in the country and has established a sterling reputation for service excellence through its close partnership with health science staff and faculty. The Hardin Library staff is justly proud of its history and its accomplishments.

The library's website (www.lib.uiowa.edu/hardin/news_dec04.html#hardin30) contains additional information on the open house, including photos, the special video noted above, Dr. Skorton’s remarks, and a slide show on the history of the library.


Medical Information at the Point of Need:
Technology Education to Improve Clinical Uses of PDAs


By Patricia W. Martin and Theresa S. Arndt, Midwest Chapter Members
Taubman Medical Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI
pmartin@umich.edu  tarndt@umich.edu

In the Fall of 2003, the Taubman Medical Library received a $5,000 Technology Improvement Award from the NN/LM GMR to purchase a dozen handheld computers (PDAs) and develop hands-on classes for healthcare providers. Our objectives were to increase awareness and use of PDA clinical information applications and provide practical instruction. Half of the PDAs purchased use the Palm platform and half the Pocket PC platform.  Because the university medical center has not agreed on an institutional standard for PDAs, we saw an additional role in helping healthcare providers try out each platform and decide which best suited their needs.

Three different hands-on classes were developed: Choosing a PDA – Which PDA is right for you? allows clinicians to compare the two platforms, Introduction to the Palm and Introduction to the Pocket PC provide instruction on using specific productivity applications and medical information products. Class size is limited to give each attendee his/her own PDA and to keep the student-instructor ratio low.

Nine clinicians attended the first two classes. Feedback on in-class evaluations and a follow-up e-mail survey has been very positive. Waiting lists for currently scheduled sessions indicate that demand for this instruction exists and that the library is filling an unexploited niche for this service. In addition, there has been a 23% increase in hits on the Library’s PDA webpages in the 5 months following advertising of the first class, as compared to the 5 months prior to this communication.

Evaluation of the success of this project is ongoing. Additional classes will be taught as long as demand persists. In spite of the small amount of data collected thus far, we believe this project has been successful in demonstrating the potential for increased library involvement in institution-wide PDA-related projects and activities. It has also helped raised awareness within our health system of the library’s expertise in using up-to-date information delivery technology.


National Training Center Classes:
State Library of Iowa


By Pam Rees, Midwest Chapter MLA Chapter Council Representative
State Library of Iowa, Des Moines, IA
pam.rees@lib.state.ia.us

The Medical Reference Department of the State Library of Iowa in Des Moines, Iowa hosted medical database online searching classes through the National Library of Medicine's National Training Center January 10-12, 2005 in the state library's computer lab. The National Training Center has experienced instructors who conduct in-depth searching classes in the NLM databases. There is no charge for this training and excellent training manuals are included in the classes. Maureen Czujak and Mary Van Antwerp taught a full-day class on PubMed, a full-day class on TOXNET and a half day course on the NLM Gateway and Clinical Trials databases during the three days they were here. The registration procedure is done through the National Library of Medicine's website where there is also a description of the classes. Go to the National Training Center and Clearinghouse website http://nnlm.gov/mar/online for class information or to http://nnlm.gov/mar/online/schedule.html to see current training schedules. An article describing the courses can also be found in the NLM Technical Bulletin http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/ja04/ja04_train.html. Medical Library Association continuing education credits are awarded for these classes.

The National Training Center is also interested in experimenting with webcast instruction to broadcast training courses to multiple sites. If you are interested in this type of training, contact Maureen Czujzk mczujak@NYAM.ORG or MaryVan Antwerp mvanantwerp@NYAM.ORG. For information on arranging classes for your institution, contact any of the following: 

National Training Center and Clearinghouse, The New York Academy of Medicine
1216 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10029
Phone: 212-822-7396 or 800-338-7657, press 2
Fax: 212-534-7042, e-mail: ntcc@nyam.org

or,

Eva Daniels, Online Assistant, National Training Center and Clearinghouse, The New York Academy of Medicine
1216 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10029
Tel: (800) 338-7657 (press 2) or (212) 822-7396
e-mail: edaniels@nyam.org


Member News


Ginger Bopp, St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center, Toledo, OH has been appointed to the Library Advisory Board of the New England Journal of Medicine for 2005-2006.

La Ventra E. Danquah, Coordinator, Education and Community Services, Wayne State University, Shiffman Medical Library, Detroit, MI authored the article "Addressing health disparities: African-American consumer resources on the web" in Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 2004;23(4):61-73.


State Meeting Roundup

OHIO -- The Ohio Health Sciences Library Association (OHSLA) will hold its Spring 2005 Meeting on Thursday, April 7, 2005 from 9:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. at the at the Center for Education and Learning on the campus of the Mount Carmel College of Nursing in Columbus. Paul Bracke (Arizona Health Sciences Library) will present "Wireless in the Medical Library"; 4 MLA CEUs will be available. Optional tours of the Center for Education and Learning will be provided after the CE course. For additional information and registration, visit http://www.ohslanet.org/.

WISCONSIN -- “Building Foundations for Castles in the Air” is the theme of the 2005 WHSLA )Wisconsin Health Science Library Association) Conference to be held Monday and Tuesday, April 25 and 26, 2005 at the Oshkosh Hilton Garden Inn, in Oshkosh, WI. It will be hosted by the Fox River Valley Area Library Consortium. The keynote speaker on Monday will be Laurie Raupp, speaking on Generations in the Workplace: Communication Skills for Blending Veteran Workers, Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, and the Millennials, as technology changes, the role of librarians and the ways they can communicate information changes as well. Customers are becoming savvier in the use of multiple formats and types of media. The WHSLA Membership Luncheon will be held at noon at the hotel, followed by a short business meeting. Roundtable discussions on Monday afternoon will be:

The social event of the conference will be an evening at the Paine Art Center, a Tudor Revival mansion, including a tour of the mansion and its art collection, and a dinner catered by Zuppa’s, served in the Carriage House. Following lunch or dinner will be updates from OVID, and possibly Badgerlink. Tuesday morning will start with a sunrise seminar and update from GMR, during breakfast. Continuing education sessions for Tuesday include:

Watch theWHSLA website http://www.whsla.mcw.edu/  for registration information in February. We look forward to seeing you at the conference!

MICHIGAN -- Please join MHSLA (Michigan Health Sciences Libraries Association) for our annual conference, which will be held September 21-23, 2005 at Crystal Mountain Resort in Thompsonville, Michigan. The conference is entitled, “Camp MHSLA: E-Ventures in Learning” and will feature MLA accredited continuing education courses, speakers, concurrent sessions, and special events that highlight the natural beauty of Northern Michigan. More details will be forthcoming. Consult the website www.mhsla.org or e-mail Barbara Platts, Munson Medical Center at bplatts@mhc.net

ILLINOIS -- The Health Science Librarians of Illinois Annual Meeting will be held November 2-4, 2005, in Bloomington, IL. The meeting's theme "Lead Excel Advance Develop" promises to provide speakers and continuing education opportunities that appeal to a wide variety of interests. For added value, an extra half-day of CE courses has been added. The meeting will be held at The Chateau, within walking distance of shopping and restaurants. Bloomington is easy to reach by Interstate, Amtrak, or air. The Chateau provides free pickup by prior arrangement. For more information, please contact Toni Tucker at 309-438-7402 or ttucker@ilstu.edu

 

MIDLINE is published in electronic format four times a year by the Midwest Chapter/Medical Library Association. The newsletter and archives are available at http://midwestmla.org/MIDLINE/. Statements and positions expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily represent the official positions of the Chapter, the Chapter Board, or the Editor. Contributions from all Chapter members are welcomed and encouraged. Copy deadlines for coming issues are as follows:
IssueCopy DeadlinePosting Date
Spring 2005April 15, 2005May 15, 2005
Summer 2005            July 15, 2005August 15, 2005
Fall 2005 October 15, 2005   November 15, 2005  
Winter 2006January 15, 2006   February 15, 2006

Contributions may be edited for brevity, clarity, or conformance to style. The Medical Library Association Style Manual, available at http://mlanet.org/publications/style, provides guidelines for MIDLINE contributors. All copy should be submitted in electronic format to the editor, Clare Leibfarth (e-mail: LEIBFARTH@exchange.oucom.ohiou.edu). Photos should be submitted as .jpeg files.

Mailing address changes should be reported to: Bette Sydelko, Membership Secretary, Midwest Chapter/MLA, Fordham Health Sciences Library, 125D Medical Sciences Bldg., Wright State University, Dayton, OH 45435 (e-mail: bette.sydelko@wright.edu). 

The Midwest Chapter/Medical Library Association website is located at http://midwestmla.org.

Clare Leibfarth, Editor
Doctors Hospital of Stark County
400 Austin Avenue N.W.
Massillon, OH 44646