MIDLINE

This issue features our Midwest Chapter 2007 Joint Annual Meeting poster presenters reporting about their projects. Check out the information on our 2008 Annual Conference in Troy, Michigan. Learn everything you need to know about Chicago and MLA '08. Find out about our Midwest state association meetings. Read in the President's Message about social networking. And be sure to scroll down to Meet Our Newest Members!

Share your reactions and ideas with our readers. Just click on the Comments link below an article to submit your comment. Please join the conversation!

From Mary Markland, 2008 Midwest Chapter President
Library of the Health Sciences, University of North Dakota, Fargo, ND

Well, I did it...I signed up for a Facebook account. I've been meaning to do it for months but it always seems to slide down my to-do list. I was forced into it today as I wanted to look at the MLA groups on Facebook and I had to have an account to see them. Now to decide how much to put on my profile and if I will promote it for work-related purposes...

I feel like I'm doing fairly well with social networking - not out there on the bleeding edge but I've been trying to incorporate various tools into my professional and personal life. I've been using RSS feeds for keeping up-to-date for quite a while and I would really be lost without them. I got turned on to del.icio.us by Bryan Vogh, former Technology Coordinator for the GMR/NNLM. I had a massive list of bookmarks that needed organization and a thorough weeding. With del.icio.us, I've got a nice personal account that works for me. More interestingly, I've been using it a lot at work. I teach several EBM workshops on a regular basis and I was tired of constantly revising handouts. Apparently this is not an original idea but I created an EBM del.icio.us page and now it is so much simpler to keep everyone up-to-date. With that minor success, I decided to create a more general del.icio.us site for my job. I use it for presentations and general medical interests. My categories can use some revision but it works. I was excited to see a UND medical student link to me... and I don't even know the student. She's got a lot of great links too. I think I'm going to create a new business card with the account information and forgo all handouts. I'm also going to start putting my PowerPoint slides on SlideShare. Save a tree is my new motto! (The Fall issue of MIDLINE had a great article on social bookmarking.)

My library is slowly adding tools to our repertoire too. Our webpage can serve as an RSS reader, our staff manual is a wiki and we use Meebo for virtual reference. I'm interested in exploring how texting might work for virtual reference and how to conveniently provide links for journal RSS feeds. I was really impressed by the work being done on this at the Ebling Library at the University of Wisconsin. They had a paper at the Fall meeting you might want to check out.

One other tool I've been playing with is LinkedIn. I was invited to "link in" by some colleagues at the University of Michigan and it's been fun seeing who knows whom and how people can be connected. It vaguely reminds me of that 6 Degrees of Separation Game with Kevin Bacon except I think it is actually useful.

So what are you doing with these tools? If you are hampered by your IT departments, have you found solutions? Will you be my friend on Facebook or how about connecting up in LinkedIn? I am really interested in knowing what's going on in our chapter. Send me a note - it doesn't have to be more than a few sentences. I would like to compile some success stories to share. My email is markland at medicine.nodak.edu.

P.S. Don't forget there is an upcoming an upcoming MLA webcast,"Web 2.0 Principles and Best Practices: Discovering the Participatory Web," on Wednesday, March 5, 2008, at 1:00 p.m. Find more information about the program's goals, objectives, and online registration at:
http://www.mlanet.org/education/distance_ed/web2.0/index.html?focus_20070110

P.P.S. The Medical Library Association Facebook sites:

• Medical Library Association's Technology Trends
• Leadership and Management Section of the Medical Library Association
• MLA Social Networking Software Task Force
• Medical Library Association (unofficial)
• Educational Media & Technologies Section of Medical Library Association

The Spring meeting of the Midwest Chapter Executive Board will be held March 7, 2008 at the Marquette Hotel in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The meeting is open to all chapter members. The meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. and should be adjourned by mid-afternoon. Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

Please R.S.V.P. to President Mary Markland!

Submitted by Marlene Porter, Midwest Chapter Treasurer
Mulford Health Science Library, University of Toledo Health Science Campus,
Toledo, OH

The Financial Statement of February 14, 2008 shows a beginning balance of $53,986.11 and an ending balance of $52,801.42, for a net decrease of $1,184.69. This is due to expenses for the 2007 Annual Meeting and payout to 2006 Annual Conference hosts. See the updated 2008 account link: http://midwestmla.org/board/treasurer/2008.xls.

Information and forms are available here on the chapter website!

The Midwest MLA / MHSLA 2008 Conference is scheduled for October 17-21, 2008 at the Detroit Marriott Troy in Troy, Michigan. The conference hotel is located approximately 12 miles north of Detroit, just a 1/4 mile from Interstate 75. The conference is sponsored by MHSLA, the Michigan Health Sciences Libraries Association. Local arrangements are provided by MDMLG, the Metropolitan Detroit Medical Library Group. The Conference Planning Committee has been working diligently to finalize speakers and program offerings.

Come and learn about the FISH! Leadership Philosophy at the opening and keynote address when Deena Ebbert, FISH! Philosopher and motivational speaker, presents an event that is vibrant, compelling, insightful and provocative. Fire your imagination, expand your perspective, and invite powerful communication in the workplace. Don't miss this entertaining and inspiring experience!

Eugenie Prime, former Manager of the Corporate Libraries at Hewlett-Packard, will inspire us with her insightful and thought provoking plenary session. Prior to joining HP in 1987, Eugenie was President of the CINAHL Corporation. She speaks extensively in the areas of Information Management, Digital Libraries, Strategic Planning and Knowledge Management. Join us for a captivating and educational lecture when Eugenie shares her thoughts on maintaining a vibrant and healthy library!

For information on CE opportunities, concurrent sessions and other vital conference highlights, visit the conference blog at http://midwestmla2008.blogspot.com/! You may want to consider subscribing to the RSS feed for this website. You will then be notified when new items are added, such as the tentative program and detailed registration information.

A conference wiki also is available for use by attendees. If you need a roommate, want restaurant recommendations, transportation information, or suggestions on places to visit locally, please feel free to use the wiki. It is open to everyone, and registration is not necessary to post information on the wiki. The wiki can be accessed at: http://midwest2008conference.wikispaces.com/.

It's not too early to think about the poster session for the Midwest MLA/MHSLA Conference. Presentations will be on Monday, October 20th. Please submit ideas no later than March 31st to Beth Trapp at btrapp AT beaumonthospitals.com. Let's show our VITAL SIGNS: Keeping You and Your Library Vibrant and Healthy!

Submitted by Mary Hitchcock
Ebling Library, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI

Writing a history research paper can be daunting if you are unfamiliar with the process and/or resources of a specific subject field. The task is more difficult in the electronic world with numerous databases and the belief that "everything is online." Helping students research the history of the health sciences through traditional workshops coupled with a stagnant, dense, and unruly handout perpetuated the confusing and frustrating work of historical research. The only avenue available for assisting "lost" students were lengthy one-on-one research sessions; however, these did not instill the concept of how to identify a viable topic or how to use the wealth of resources available to thoroughly investigate it.

We decided a new approach was necessary to help students navigate the world of historical research and resources in a format that was online and easy to understand. By dissecting our original dense and bulky student handout, we identified the basic steps one would follow to conduct historical research. By creating this step by step outline, students and the public can begin "to think like a historian," and hopefully making research less of a unsatisfying and traumatic task. Collaborating with one of the Information Architecture Librarians, we developed an easy online research guide for anyone who needs help with historical research. The new "Resources for Students" guide has been extremely successful tool for students conducting historical research, along with identifying, largely, history focused databases which may assist in their research. Although, the databases are University of Wisconsin-centric and access to them may not be available to the public, the Student Resources Guide is open to the world via the Historical Services website within the Ebling Library homepage.

Submitted by Stephanie J. Schulte
Walter E. Helmke Library, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, IN

A brand new undergraduate informatics course was added to the IPFW nursing program in 2007. I had the opportunity to participate in the development and teaching of this course. Searching the literature, I found few hard core examples of what an undergraduate nursing informatics course entailed, let alone what the librarian's role should be or how information literacy concepts were incorporated. The informatics professor and I then planned the course based on the initial text for the course, Informatics and Nursing: Opportunities and Challenges by Linda Thede, the competencies reported in Staggers, Gassert, and Curran's 2002 Delphi study, and the Neuman Systems Model (NSM). Several competencies in the Delphi study were directly connected to ACRL information literacy competencies, and the NSM provided the backing for a cultural angle to the course. Thede's text supported efforts to teach more advanced search techniques with its chapters on databases and searching authored by Peg Allen.

The information literacy unit was entirely my baby. I developed all the content for the unit, and designed and graded the assignment which was worth 10% of the course grade. Unit content included readings from the text and seven screen capture tutorials with audio on various aspects of information needs of nurses. The assignment consisted of questions from the text related to indexing and differences in database content. A detailed article about the course development will be in the summer issue of Medical Reference Services Quarterly. Stay tuned for updates about this project!

Submitted by Katherine Chew
Bio-Medical Library, University of Minnesota-Minneapolis, MN

The "Road to Collaboration" started in October of 2003, when Katherine Chew, collections coordinator and reference librarian at the Bio-Medical Library, part of the University of Minnesota Health Sciences Libraries, developed a webpage entitled Writing Guides and Style Manuals in the Biological and Health Sciences. The webpage was in response to the number and variety of questions asked by patrons about citations styles and other publication issues. It grew from just a guide to style manuals to encompass such issues as copyright, plagiarism and Open Access.

During the fall of 2005, Katherine attend the MLA CE session "Developing a New Role for Librarians: Teaching the Publication Process," taught by Ann Weller and Carol Scherrer. Inspired by the class, Katherine developed a library-sponsored one session class for the following spring 2006 semester called "The Publication Process". Based on the feedback from that first class, for fall 2007, Katherine expanded the initial one and half hour session into a three part-series entitled "Writing in the Health Sciences," which contained the modules on the research process, health statistics and data sources, and the publication process.

With the success of the initial workshops, for the spring of 2007, the modules were re-grouped to highlight other library workshops that were complementary to the original, such as literature search techniques and RefWorks, taught by another health sciences librarian, Liz Fine.

Brenda Hudson, the science writer from the Academic Health Center's Office of Clinical Research attended several of the fall 2006 "Writing in the Health Sciences" workshops. Impressed, she contacted Cindy Gruwell, coordinator of instruction, to discuss the possibility of collaborating on workshops for researchers, faculty, and staff. Brenda was in the process of exploring and planning similar workshops, which would be hosted by her office.

Beginning in November 2006 and continuing through March 2007, Brenda chaired a planning committee comprised of librarians, rhetoric faculty, and staff directly involved in editing, reviewing, and teaching writing standards for publications in the sciences to develop, brainstorm, create and deliver this new writing series.

Hence, the "Scientific Writing Development" series was born. Consisting of four modules and held on successive Fridays, the modules explored a variety of topics, the writing process, anatomy of manuscripts, writing effective introductions /abstracts, and responding to reviewer comments, using panels comprised of librarians, rhetoric faculty, and other staff members.

Submitted by Judith L. Rieke
Harley E. French Library of the Health Sciences, Grand Forks, ND

Staff members of the University of North Dakota's Library of the Health Sciences maintained and utilized a staff manual located on a local shared drive and made up of MS Word documents for several years. In fall 2006 a task force was created to address problems that arose relating to content integrity, document responsibility, procedures for updating, organizational structure, and access. After an extensive review, we concluded that the problems were largely attributable to the inherent structure of the shared drive which depended upon a hierarchical system of folders and files. We began to look for an alternate format, and we decided that converting the library's staff manual to wiki format was a possible solution to our problems.

The task force was composed of six staff members. MediaWiki, a web-based wiki software application, was identified as the most suitable program for our needs. MediaWiki is a free software package originally developed for the Wikipedia encyclopedia. A test wiki was set up which provided a learning environment for data input. Subject and departmental categories were defined reflecting the manual's content. At least one category from this pre-defined list was required to be associated with each document. Additional categories reflecting content could be added at the discretion of the responsible person.

The group collaboratively reviewed existing staff manual documents and based upon content assigned them to individual task force members for conversion. After a brief period of training, staff began the conversion process. The actual conversion process exposed staff to formatting conventions, editing capabilities, tracking a document's history, and using discussion and watch features. Forms and other documents designed for printing were converted to PDF format. They were then uploaded to the wiki.

The task force met on a biweekly basis to review documents that had been converted and to address areas of concern. Minutes of the meetings were recorded and circulated to task force members to maintain momentum. After documents were finalized on the test server, they were moved to production. Other staff members were then given training and access to the staff manual.

The wiki provides desirable features such as flexibility for editing, automatic tracking of changes, easy identification of authorship, collaboration on documents, a nonlinear organizational structure with multiple access points, remote access, and password control. It also allows for relatively easy conversion of existing documents. Developing wiki input skills and finding the time for converting documents were among our challenges. The project also required a great deal of collaboration among staff in transforming our staff manual from what had become a rigid and outmoded environment to a more dynamic one

Our experience has been very positive to date. We see use of a wiki as an option that could be applied to a number of library applications where integrity and security of information, as well as ease of access to information and collaboration are needed.

Submitted by Judith L. Rieke
Harley E. French Library of the Health Sciences, Grand Forks, ND

In 2004, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) unveiled a web resource called American Indian Health to bring together health and medical resources for American Indians. To increase usability by the intended audience, a focus group and a user group have assisted with the ongoing development of the resource and collaborated with NLM to produce a usable resource.

A focus group was convened by NLM and met via teleconference in April 2005. There were 12 American Indian participants who provided feedback to the new web resource. The transcripts were analyzed and acted upon as appropriate. Also in 2005, plans were made by NLM to establish a user group. A librarian at the Library of the Health Sciences, University of North Dakota, was asked to be the coordinator for the initial group. She selected group members, established guidelines, trained group members, and monitored their work. The members are American Indians who live on or have close ties with Indian communities. They also must have a strong interest in or knowledge of Indian health issues.

The purpose of the user group is to evaluate, select sites, and promote the website. Their work is conducted via e-mail, telephone, and in-person meetings. They are paid for their time. The focus group provided the feedback on how American Indian people find health information. They noted that there is an absence of Indian specific information, easy to read information, lack of urban Indian information, and that many have problems with Internet access. They also provided feedback on using the American Indian Health web site. They appreciated a focus specific to Indians, good design, respected authority, timeliness of information, and content pertinent to focus audience. Through July 2007, the user group suggested 668 sites, reviewed and recommended new design elements, and promoted the resource at six North Dakota powwows and conferences.

The AIH web resource is enriched by user participation and collaboration. Resources are added, subject areas increase, and the site is easier to navigate. Challenges with implementing user feedback include technical and time constraints. Benefits for user group members include financial, knowledge about web site content selection, and a broader exposure to the many facets of Indian health. User group members are advocates for the resource within their communities and in their lives.

Submitted by Ulrike Dieterle
Ebling Library, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI

Collaboration is both a process and an outcome. It is a complex mix of clear communication, focused commitment, continued discovery and perpetual recovery. It involves planning, decision-making, problem solving, goal setting, sharing and flexibility. When successful, it can build long-lasting partnerships and rewarding results. Collaboration is essential to function successfully in today's ever-changing world. While few would negate the importance of effective collaboration, even fewer can claim to understand it and practice the basic concepts on a regular basis.

Based on a series of successful collaborations, related research and presentations, this poster provides an overview of core characteristics, guideposts for the collaborative journey, a sample toolkit to take along the way, and tips to avoid misadventures along the way. Check out the Toolkit of Effective Collaboration Bibliography.

Submitted by Mary Jo Boland
Health Resource Libraries, Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center, La Crosse, WI

The Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation was looking for a way to keep track of publications by hospital researchers. They contacted the library staff, and the GLine project was born. The GLine project was a joint effort by staff from the Library & Health Information Services, Information Systems, Research, and Nursing Research departments. The GLine database was created using RefWorks software, and made available on the Internet via RefShare software.

The GLine Database is available on the Gundersen Lutheran Intranet; the public can access the database via the Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation Research page. The database is searchable by author, descriptor, periodical and keyword. Search results can be sorted by title, publication year, publication type and many other options. Another feature of the database is the easy creation and printing of reference lists or bibliographies. GLine provides links to any available full text (for those on the Gundersen Lutheran network). Within RefWorks administration, there is a section that provides a link to OVID Linksolver (or other OpenURL servers).

For those who want the technical details, the Information Systems department created an easy-to-complete online form, made available on the Gundersen Lutehran Intranet. The information from this form goes to an Oracle database, which is accessed by the database editor and library staff. The database editor uses search capabilities within RefWorks to search PubMed and other databases for bibliographic records for any published materials. Because the searching is done from within RefWorks, the bibliographic records are downloaded seamlessly into the GLine database. Information about poster presentations, book chapters and patents must be input into the RefWorks database manually. There is some clean-up work involved, due to differences in the way descriptors are handled in the PubMed and OVID versions of databases. Essentially, we use the main descriptor, and strip out all the subheadings. A training manual provides instruction on using RefWorks, editing records in RefWorks, and adding hypertext links.

For more information, or a copy of our training manual, contact me at mboland AT gundluth.org.

Submitted by Jean Song
National Center for Integrative Biomedical Informatics
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

The growth of molecular information in the biomedical, clinical, and public health disciplines is well illustrated by the exponential increase in the number of databases, data sets, tools, and software being used to store, retrieve and analyze proteomic, genomic, and metabolomic data. Through the collaboration of the National Center for Integrative Biomedical Informatics (NCIBI) and the Health Sciences Libraries (HSL) at the University of Michigan, a four month pilot position, the Informationist, was created to provide a proof-of-concept model for a viable information professional position that would increase the quality and breadth of research support for the basic sciences and informatics at the university.

The objectives of this position were:

• To serve as the primary liaison for the NCIBI.


• To serve as a liaison for the molecular biology and genetics subject specialties in the HSL.


• To evaluate existing bioinformationist programs and develop an implementation plan for a permanent position at the University of Michigan.

Submitted by Doreen Bradley
Health Sciences Libraries, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

As the information environment has become vastly more complex, faculty are challenged with integrating the best knowledge resources into their curriculum as well as keeping up with students who are using newer technologies. As a result, librarians have become a valuable resource for faculty. We provide them with instruction on new and evolving information resources to help expand their knowledge of these resources and to integrate them into their teaching. There was a general feeling among our staff that we were teaching more for faculty, and that our expertise is increasingly being recognized. It was not until we quantified what we were teaching that we realized how much instruction we were providing for faculty.

Librarians are teaching not only an increasing number of sessions for faculty but also in more diverse content and format. Recent sessions for faculty include: Information Resources for M1 & M2 Faculty Group Leaders (focusing on psychosocial resources), a Medical Education Scholars Program Lecture covering how to start a journal club and keep current with the literature, technology classes and specialized searching workshops through a week-long campus series called "Enriching Scholarship," librarian lectures in many departmental grand rounds, plus sponsoring a series on Intellectual Property which combined library and guest presenters. We've also provided countless small group and individual consultations.

Response to library sessions has been extremely positive. We've received comments such as "WOW!!! I never knew such technology existed and I am so excited!!!," "It was really nice to have someone help modify what I am already doing to improve my productivity," and "Your conference was a valuable update to reference resources. I guess that many of us are stunned regarding the huge volume of new information bombarding us every day." Much of our increasing demand results from word of mouth, and from faculty who may be in one session and then request a similar session in his or her own department. Support from our medical school has also been invaluable.

In the near future, we plan to offer future sessions for M1 & M2 Faculty Group Leaders, create online learning opportunities, including podcasts, to reach more faculty, increase participation in grand rounds, and offer workshops on topics of interest to faculty, such as intellectual property, scholarly publishing, keeping current with the literature, Web 2.0 technologies.

Submitted by Edwin A. Holtum
Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

As a curator of rare medical books, I've been interested in efforts to simulate the "look and feel" (well, at least the "look") of the wonderful volumes in our collection. The internet reveals thousands of beautiful digital images of individual pages of rare and historic medical works but these two-dimensional images, by their very nature, fail to capture the delight we find in viewing books as objects composed of many moving parts. While nothing can match the encounter of physically handling a book, there have been some attempts to simulate the experience through computer animation. The most notable of these is NLM's magnificent project Turning the Pages Online that allows users to view the contents of five selected works by "turning" of the leaves of the books. Complete with audio narration, zoom capabilities, and high-end graphics, the project constitutes the "gold standard" for online book browsing. However, the cost of this project is well beyond the means of most medical libraries.

The good news is that for the rest of us, a "poor man's" version of book animation can be put together using inexpensive off the shelf software a digital camera, and simple photo-processing software. PageAuthor (available for approximately $140) is designed primarily for creating web-based advertising pamphlets. Using the product's built-in "page-turning" feature, it's a relatively simple process to snap a digital image of an open book and paste it into the PageAuthor template. By packaging a series of these images, it's possible to create a virtual book the pages of which can be "turned" by mouse-clicks, revealing entire or selected contents of a chosen work. The animation can be used in presentations or made available on the web. I'm happy to send more detailed instructions and some sample files for anyone wishing to try the technique.

Submitted by Beth Carlin
St. Francis Hospital, Evanston, IL

The conference was held at the Holiday Inn, Champaign/Urbana, one of those "dome" Holiday Inns with rooms facing a central atrium where the pool and dining area is located. The meeting rooms were large and comfortable. Several meals were packaged with the conference fee and catered by the hotel. The conference was very well organized and welcoming for members. We were cared for every step of the way. We owe it all to Stacey Knight-Davis, Conference Committee Chair and her committee. They were outstanding.

The first day was CE classes. Two half-day classes and one full-day class were offered with a guided tour of the University of Illinois Veterinary Medicine Library if you didn't want to spend your whole day in classes. I attended the CE class "Integrating RSS Feeds into Library Services" held at the one of university libraries in their computer lab. We were bused to the lab and back. The weather was rainy and cold so the bus ride was greatly appreciated. I love those practical classes, which give you step-by-step instruction with practice exercises. I want to be able to learn the information and apply it immediately when I return to work. I really dislike those classes, which have endless handouts. You can never use them when you get back to work since you don't have time to read them all. Lauree Hart, the instructor, was straightforward and complete. It was a delight.

I didn't attend the other classes but I did go on the tour of the Veterinary Medicine Library. We actually got to see the veterinary hospital and the newly completed museum. Beautifully designed and organized historical veterinary artifacts displayed in a high tech atmosphere for research and study. The display cabinets surrounded the room with multi-media carrels in the center.

The Veterinary Teaching Hospital was very interesting. It had huge doors for large domestic animals to enter. There were stalls for recovery and giant operating rooms. The scale of the building was very large with cement hallways, and of course, it was damp and smelled like a barn. We saw sheep and horses being treated. They just got a new CAT scan system with data storage, which displays at one of the crossroads in the hospital hallways. Students were studying several scans displayed at one time. The director of the library guided and arranged the tours. He also drove the bus! The veterinary personnel especially impressed me. They gave of their time graciously to explain their operations. They were a very articulate and knowledgeable group.

We have a reception in the evening called Nancy's Reception. This is in honor of Nancy Stump, former committed member of HSLI who passed away in 2004. The exhibits and posters were displayed. I was pleased and surprised by the number of posters and exhibitors who attended. I exhibited for Midwest Chapter MLA and interested several students in joining Midwest Chapter. The reception was a food fest as well. On the second day we had exhibits, posters, keynote speaker, and presentations. If, Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe, head of the Undergraduate Library and keynote speaker for this meeting, is any indication of the future of libraries in Illinois, we have nothing to worry about. The story of the turnaround she and her staff underwent in redesigning the undergraduate library to meet the needs of their undergraduate clientele in this 2.0 digital age was phenomenal. I can't do it justice. Just know that the students now know the library as "club undergrad."

We had an update from the NNLM-Greater Midwest Regional Office. Another highlight was the launching of our Health-E Illinois MedlinePlus Go Local. Loyola Medical Center Library in partnership with HSLI shared the celebration of "Health-E Illinois." Dr. Ludwig from Loyola was given a check from HSLI for the continuing maintenance and update of the Health-E Illinois. The Health Sciences Librarians of Illinois contribute again to the future of health information in Illinois. Several attendees left before the business luncheon took place, but they really missed out. There were loads of giveaways in a drawing for those who stayed. I won a gift card to Best Buy!

Submitted by Lonnie Wright
Central Baptist Hospital, Lexington, KY

2007 was a banner year for library education in the Bluegrass state. In the spring KMLA hosted a class in Lexington on electronic journals taught by Stephanie Aken of the University of Kentucky. The class was titled "Herding E-Journals" and had a western theme. Several of the participants dressed in western attire (although not mandatory) and a chuck wagon buffet was provided by the host institution, Saint Joseph Hospital.

Holly Ann Burt was on hand in Louisville in September to provide a class on PubMed training. The class was held at the University of Louisville and provided the participants with an in depth look at PubMed as well as other databases from the National Library of Medicine.

Holly Ann Burt was on hand in Louisville in September to provide a class on PubMed training. The class was held at the University of Louisville and provided the participants with an in depth look at PubMed as well as other databases from the National Library of Medicine.

Last but not least, twenty-five participants gathered in Paducah, Kentucky for the final CE of the year. The class was titled "Don't Fence Me In: An Exploration of Barriers to Nurses Using the Library for Research." Carmen Davidson of Western Baptist Hospital and Lonnie Wright of Central Baptist Hospital were part of a panel that discussed ways to promote library services to busy clinical staff. This event was open to nurses, nursing students, nursing faculty as well as librarians from across the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

INDIANA - The 2008 Annual Meeting of the Indiana Health Sciences Librarians Association (IHSLA) will be held April 10 and 11, 2008, at the Marten House, Indianapolis, Indiana. This year's meeting theme is "Don't Hesitate! Innovate: Transforming the Future of Medical Librarians." A CE Course on health literacy will be taught by Melinda Orebaugh, MLS. Get all the details here. Early bird registration ends March 21!

IOWA - The Iowa Library Association Health Sciences Subdivision will be meeting at Des Moines University on April 18, 2008. The business meeting will be held in the morning along with a tour of the DMU Human Simulation Lab. The afternoon will be devoted to a workshop "Prescription for Success: Consumer Health Information on the Web" taught by Jacqueline Leskovec, Outreach and Evaluation Coordinator for the Greater Midwest Region.

KENTUCKY - The Kentucky Medical Library Association Spring Education Meeting will be held April 29, 2008 at the Hospice of the Bluegrass Library in Lexington. Course presenter will be Diane Wolf, MSLS.

NORTH DAKOTA - The Health Science Information Section of the North Dakota Library Association will meet Friday, April 18, 2008 in Fargo, ND. The program will be "Communication: How to Communicate in an Open, Honest, and Effective Way" presented by Linda Schwartzwalter, Organizational Development Coordinator at MeritCare.

OHIO - The Ohio Health Sciences Library Association spring meeting will be Friday, April 4th, 2008 at the Medical Heritage Center in the Prior Health Sciences Library, The Ohio State University. The 4 hour CE class on "Health Literacy" will be presented by Janet Petty, MLIS, AHIP and Sandra Cornett, PhD, RN.

WISCONSIN - The Wisconsin Health Science Library Association will be skipping its regular spring annual meeting since MLA will be close by in Chicago this spring. WHSLA will have its annual business meeting in Chicago during the MLA meeting on Tuesday, May 20th. A 4-hour CE class is also being planned to be held in Stevens Point, WI. The tentative date is April 25th. Watch for details!

This 3 day class will be offered in Chicago, IL on March 26, 27, and 28, 2008.

Day 1 places an emphasis on the first two steps of the EBM process:
formulating a searchable clinical question and efficiently searching the
literature. Tools available to facilitate the EBM process will be
introduced. These tools include PubMed Clinical Queries, Cochrane
Database of Systematic Reviews, practice guidelines and other electronic
resources available. The course will provide an overview of levels of
evidence, research design, and bias in publication. Librarians will have
the opportunity to work as teams, each sharing his/her unique
perspective and knowledge.

Days 2 and 3 provide an in-depth exploration of the third step of the
EBM process, critically appraising the medical literature for validity.
This class is intended for health sciences librarians who wish to learn
the evidence-based medicine process of critically appraising articles
for validity and analysis of results. This class will provide an
in-depth understanding of the statistical concepts used in the medical
literature. This will be done in the context of analyzing journal
articles and answering case-based clinical questions with an emphasis on
therapy and diagnosis. A focus will be placed on the epidemiological
concepts fundamental to understanding the clinical literature such as
number needed to treat, absolute risk reduction, likelihood ratio,
confidence interval and intention to treat.

COST: $375 [includes 21 MLA CEs, lunch (all 3 days), workbook and
materials, coffee, snacks]

CE HOURS: The two-day course has been approved for 14 MLA CE hours;
the one-day course has been approved for 7 MLA CE hours

FACULTY: Jordan Hupert, MD; Leo Niederman, MD; Alan Schwartz, Ph.D.
and Sandra De Groote, MLIS; Cleo Papas, MLIS

For more information and to register, visit:
http://www.uic.edu/depts/lib/lhs/temp/ebm/ebmclass.shtml

Submitted by James Shedlock, Co-Chair, Local Assistance Committee
Galter Health Sciences Library, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL

What better place for the 2008 Medical Library Association annual meeting than Chicago! Chicago has something for everyone: shopping, museums, gourmet restaurants and a great variety of ethnic food, big city ambience, baseball, friendly neighborhoods, distinctive American architecture, the beauty of Lake Michigan. It's all there for you to see and enjoy when you visit the Windy City, that Toddlin' Town, May 16-21, 2008.

We know location is an important factor for many members and occasional attendees of the MLA conferences. But at the heart of the meeting is the opportunity to learn and update our skills. Key speakers for MLA 2008 include Andrew Zolli, a futurist and technology leader, who will deliver the John P. McGovern lecture on Sunday morning, May 18. Zolli's specialty is delivering provocative and challenging ideas about how technology connects with and affects people. He is the "curator" of the Pop! Tech conference, which specializes in bringing thought leaders together to forecast the social impact of technology and what means for our future.

Tom Basler, director of the health sciences library at the Medical University of South Carolina, is the 2008 Janet Doe Lecturer. Tom is a careful thinker and innovator of technology applications in libraries. An associate of Janet Doe when he worked at the New York Academy of Medicine, he has established a distinguished career in health sciences librarianship. Tom's words of wisdom, combined with his "straight to-the-point" speaking style, will be an important learning opportunity.

The 2008 National Program Committee is planning a special morning session on Wednesday, May 21, about Web 2.0 applications for librarians. The session panelists will explore and debate the uses and impacts of social networking in health sciences libraries. It's another not-to-be-missed learning opportunity.

Not to be overlooked, there will be a slew of specialized papers and posters. And on top of these formal activities, there will be plenty of informal opportunities to learn from each other. Coming to the annual meeting is about networking: meeting people, from colleagues to vendor representatives, and sharing ideas. What better place to do networking than in Chicago? Take a stroll along the Chicago River. View Lake Michigan at the end of the block. See the Wrigley Building and the Tribune Tower across the street from the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Visit MLA headquarters. You have a magnificent opportunity to learn in a magnificent setting. As a life-long learner, come to Chicago in 2008!

For more details about the 2008 MLA annual meeting, visit the official website and the MLA '08 blog.

Submitted by Mary K. Taylor
Morris Library, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL

Sue Coenen is Outreach Librarian at the Medical College of Wisconsin Libraries in Milwaukee, WI. Her main responsibilities include providing "health information outreach in the Milwaukee area, primarily in Medically Underserved Areas of the city; currently working on a project with a group of parish nurses serving central city parishes. That project ends soon, but a new project funded by another NN/LM GMR Health Disparities subcontract will begin shortly in which MCW Libraries is partnering with a parish nurse who serves as the coordinator at a free health clinic in the city." In addition, Sue works at the reference desk, and is working on an online consumer health tutorial and the revision of the library's consumer health web pages. Sue's professional interests include consumer health information, information literacy, and the creation of online tutorials. She received an MS in curriculum and instruction (1993) and an MLIS (2004) from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. She also has a BA in English education (1986) from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Sue adds, "I was formerly a middle school teacher and made a career change a few years ago. I very much enjoy librarianship and am glad that I made the decision to enter this profession."

Andrew Crow is a Library Technician at the Abbott Northwestern Hospital Central Library, which is part of Allina Hospitals and Clinics in Minneapolis, MN. His responsibilities include delivery of and access to health science information. He says "I'm a new librarian as of January, 2007." Andrew received his MLIS from the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, MN, and his undergraduate degree in history from Augsburg College, Minneapolis, MN. His interests include meditation.

Jeanine M. Harkonen is a solo librarian at Parker Medical Library, Grady Memorial Hospital, in Delaware, OH. Her professional interests include cataloging. Jeanine, who spent some time "away from librarianship for a few years," says that she is happy to be back. She is a returning member of the Midwest Chapter of the Medical Library Association. Jeanine received her MLS from the Indiana University School of Library & Information Science. She has a bachelor's degree in English from the Ohio State University, and worked at the OSU Pharmacy Library during her undergraduate years. She grew up in northern Ohio (Cleveland), but now calls central Ohio (Columbus) home. Jeanine is part of a "small faith group at church raising funds to sponsor a service dog trained by Canine Companions for Independence. She adds, "I share my life at the moment with a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Henry. I am hoping to increase the size and diversity of our little household with a Clumber Spaniel. Spaniels rock!"

Martha Jermé is a Health Sciences Librarian at Raynor Memorial Libraries at Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI. Her main responsibilities include reference, instruction, and collection development for health sciences programs (clinical laboratory science, nursing, physical therapy, physician assistant studies, speech pathology & audiology, and transfusion medicine). Her professional interests include evidence-based health care and health statistics. Martha received her MLIS from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1990. She also has a MSN from New York Medical College/Pace University. Her home town is Whitefish Bay, WI. She enjoys bicycling, kayaking, classical music, reading, and yoga.

MIDLINE is published in electronic format four times a year by the Midwest Chapter/Medical Library Association. The newsletter archives are available at http://midwestmla.org/midline-archive/. Statements and positions expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily represent the official positions of the chapter, the chapter executive board, or the editor. Contributions from all chapter members are welcomed and encouraged.

Copy deadlines for future issues are as follows:

Spring 2008: April 15, 2008
Summer 2008: July 15, 2008
Fall 2008: October 15, 2008
Winter 2009: January 15, 2009

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 (email: leibfarth@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
Medical Library
Affinity Medical Center
400 Austin Avenue N.W.
Massillon, OH 44646