MIDLINE

*Deep breath* Ah... spring, my favorite season, has arrived, and the flora are in riot. I've been taking lots of bike rides and walks lately and have planted my first container garden this year. We'll see how that goes. Just like the flower beds, this issue is chock full of color. For starters, check out my interview with mover and shaker Melissa Rethlefsen and read about two health-literacy initiatives happening in the Midwest. And don't miss Karla Block's article about how Go Local assisted with flood disaster response in North Dakota and Minnesota. Lastly, I'd like to thank Ximena Chrisagis, Pam Rees, Amber Burtis and Mary Taylor for helping me collect and edit articles for this issue and forthcoming ones. And thanks, as always, to Clare Leibfarth for her final read through of the issue. After reading MIDLINE, I hope you take a moment to enjoy spring in the Midwest.

Cheers,
Jason

From Deborah L. Lauseng, 2009 Midwest Chapter President
Health Sciences Libraries, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

Are you excited about the prospect of sandy beaches, brilliant sunrises and tropical flowers? Or are you thankful for spring in the Midwest and saving your travel funds for the chapter meeting in Columbus? Regardless of whether you'll be landing in Honolulu soon or waiting to see colleagues across the region in October, the opportunities for staying informed abound. We have the MLA News, MLA Connections, MIDLINE, ConnectMidwest, state organizations, topical blogs... and the list continues. How do you stay connected? How do you sort through all the information coming at you? What technologies do you use to stay informed? Sometimes it all seems overwhelming.

This last week is a good example of the deluge of information and the use of social technologies as librarians worked quickly to distribute key emergency planning resources in light of the H1N1 swine flu. Our colleagues, and maybe even you yourself, worked with iGoogle tabs, Delicious tagging, wikis, blogs, widgets and more to share timely and vital information. Not only was the topic of interest, the use of technology was fascinating.

At the spring board meeting, we tried out Dimdim as a web-conferencing tool with video and audio options plus desktop and document sharing. The MLA Board has also experimented with video conferencing . These alternative meeting tools are likely to be integrated into how we conduct business from here on out. How do we go about learning these tools beyond "knowing about" them?

Some of us are using Camtasia and Captivate to convert our face-to-face instructional content so our users can learn the basics of Endnote in the middle of the night, for example. Still others in our profession have figured out that creating a quick Jing video is an easier method of answering a how-to question than explaining the step-by-step process over the phone. This is not to mention all the uses of sharing documents and calendars that Google offers. There are numerous technologies to learn and potentials for incorporating them into all we do. How do we, I, stay on top of it all?

Time and learning are the keys. And permission! Whose permission, you ask? Our own, I reply. We actively promote new resources and tools to our users; we spend time showing them betters ways to pull information together and stay current. But do we really take time to equip ourselves with the experience of new technologies and tools? Yes, some of us do. Others of us just briefly scratch the surface. We need to give ourselves permission and time to really explore and learn. How many of you participated in MLA's Dig Deeper with Social Media free CE sessions? How many of you completed the sessions you signed up for? I'll be honest: my goal was to do all four sessions. In the end, I only completed one. I had good intentions but did not give myself permission to take the time to complete the other three sessions. Even in the midst of other deadlines, I did not block out dedicated time. Do you sometimes have the same problem?

I encourage each of you over the next three months to take time to participate in a CE course even if it isn't technology-based or take three to four hours to explore a new technology or even one that has been around awhile that have yet to really learn. Delicious and Google Calendar are on my list. Give yourself time to be informed; give yourself permission to be equipped. Then put that new skill into practice benefiting yourself, your colleagues and potentially your users. And should you be one that quickly picks up and uses new technologies, thank you for patiently sharing and teaching the rest of us! Staying informed also means staying equipped.

Interview by Jason Young, MIDLINE editor
Genesis Medical Center, Davenport, IA

Melissa Rethlefsen is education technology librarian/assistant professor of medical education at the Learning Resource Center, the library of the Mayo Medical School. She writes extensively on social media for library and medical publications and is the lead author of the recent book Internet Cool Tools for Physicians. Her undergraduate degree is in English and history from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and she obtained her library degree from the University of North Texas.

Congratulations on being named a 2009 Library Journal Mover & Shaker. We in the Midwest Chapter are proud to have you as a member. Have you received any perks from this, such as a rock-star parking spot at Mayo?

Ha, yeah right. I am still too new at Mayo Clinic (four years) to even be able to park in the shuttle lots. But, in seriousness, the library staff, the medical students and Mayo Clinic staff have all been very supportive. They are great people to work with, and I couldn't have accomplished much without them.

You majored in English and history. How did you get from there to working in a health sciences library?

Well, that's kind of a long story. Part of it is told in the Library Journalarticle, but let's just say it all began because I wanted to stay around campus over the summer between my second and third years. My roommate, who worked at the University of Minnesota Bio-Medical Library, suggested I try getting a job as a page. The rest is history. The reason I stayed in medical libraries is three-fold: Kathy Robbins, Del Reed, and Diane Jordan. Kathy, in particular, convinced me that medical libraries are the best.

How did you become interested in the technology side of librarianship?

When I got my current job at the Mayo Clinic Libraries, my official title was education technology librarian. I'd done some Web design in my previous positions, but for this one I wanted to make sure I was on top of the technologies important to students and libraries. I quickly came to find a few technologies indispensable to my job, including blogs, RSS and social bookmarking, and it went from there.

How do you stay on top of new technologies? Are there certain blogs and journals you read regularly?

I read constantly. All day long at work, I have Google Reader, Gmail, Delicious, Twhirl, and FriendFeed running, and I try to clean out Google Reader at least once a day. I only have 158 subscriptions in Google Reader, but it's enough. I also read JMLA and skim lots of other journals like JAMA, NEJM, BMJ, BMC Medical Education, etc.

You recently co-authored a book and you've written several articles and present frequently. How do you find time to do all of this?

Good question. Well, I did my MLS degree online in a year while working full time. This doesn't seem like a whole lot of work in comparison. It's been harder now that I canceled my Internet access at home, I must admit, but I rather like having enforced time away from the Web.

Do you think most Web 2.0 developments are here to stay? Which, if any, would you like to see go away?

I do think that most will, or will at least evolve in better form-can you imagine the world without AJAX or crowdsourcing? I'm not sure what the next evolution of the specific tools will be, but it will be fun watching. As far as ones I'd like to see go away... I can't really think of any. I would like to see some clear leaders emerge for some of this stuff, because it's exhausting keeping up with every possible tool for any given task, but I think that's just a dream.

In a nutshell, what's Web 3.0 all about? When will libraries begin to see it implemented?

In a nutshell, it's about structured data and using structured data to organize and find things better, provided that by Web 3.0 what we mean is the semantic Web. I think that, in large part, we're already seeing inklings of the semantic Web already, but I think it will be a long time before we can declare that the semantic Web is here.

Have you ever taken a technology fast? If so, please tell me about it.

Well, as soon as I finished my book, I canceled my Internet access at home, so all I have is my BlackBerry. So other than obsessively carrying my BlackBerry around with me, I basically am on a technology fast whenever I am at home. We'll see how much longer I can take that without cracking. It's been almost a year!

Will the physical library exist in 50 years?

I think people will always need books, a place to gather and people to help them find what they need. Whether this remains true in medical libraries, that I don't know. I'd like to think so, just because people do need space away from home to congregate, whether for quiet reflection or group study. My guess is that medical libraries will continue to shrink in physical size as better tools for accessing information are made available. I look forward to the day when I can read a paper like the Vickies do in Neal Stephenson's Diamond Age.

What's your greatest professional accomplishment?

I think I'd have to say getting the staff of the Mayo Clinic Libraries interested and engaged in using new technologies.

What's your greatest personal accomplishment?

I got some help from friends figuring this one out, and I will have to go with making good cheesecake. Getting platinum medals on everything except Equinox in [James Bond 007 video game] Nightfire comes close, though. One day I hope to say that my greatest personal accomplishment was climbing Mt. Huashan. Look it up on YouTube, or watch this.

What was the best book you've read recently?

I really enjoyed The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I mostly read young adult fiction these days. Good stuff.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I like to read (surprise!), watch movies, ride my bike and listen to music, all pretty much your average normal stuff. I also like to make elaborate bows for presents and bake hideously fattening desserts, which I proceed to immediately give away to the unsuspecting.

Submitted by Elizabeth Smigielski, Recording Secretary
Kornhauser Health Sciences Library, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY

The annual board meeting was held March 27 in Chicago. The highlights were:

The chapter will cover the wages (up to $1,500) for a University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) library science graduate student to begin working on the chapter archives, which are housed at UIC and are in dire need of management. Chapter Archivist Mary Hitchcock met with archivists at UIC prior to the board meeting to review the archive contents and create a project plan.

The chapter's contribution to the annual meeting will be increased from $1,500 to $5,000 in 2010. Other ideas considered were increasing scholarship and award amounts and creating a new award or scholarship. A general increase of meeting support was chosen because it benefits a larger number of chapter members.

A newly formed subcommittee is looking into conducting the 2010 spring board meeting virtually to save resources. We successfully test-drove a virtual meeting software program by having Allan Barclay join us via the Web. The MLA Board held its first virtual conference in February.

The chapter has decided to add password protection to more information on the chapter website. Only members may access financial information and the membership directory. Membership Secretary Rebecca Caton sent the new username and password to members in early April. Please email her if you didn't receive the email.

Finally, minutes from the 2008 fall board and executive meetings were approved and are available on the chapter website.

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

As of April 30, 2009, the financial statement shows a beginning balance of $35,345.57 and an ending balance of $57,092.53, for a net increase of $21,846.96. This is due to expenses ($31,232.88) for the 2008 Annual Conference.

It was necessary for the treasury to transfer $5,000 out of the money market fund into the checking account to cover regular chapter expenses until the 2008 Annual Conference submitted a check of $18,915.19 to cover expenses. The $5,000 was transferred back into the money market fund upon receipt of the 2008 Annual Conference check. Some of the net increase is also due to incoming checks from vendors for the 2009 Annual Conference; those funds total $6,416.98.

The 2009 Midwest Chapter budget was approved at the Spring 2009 Board meeting held March 27, 2009. Some of the highlights include:

• Hiring a student worker to organize the chapter archives ($1,980)


• Printing a credentialing display ($300)


• Utilizing Acteva for membership payments ($1,000)


• Purchasing a chapter table skirt/runner for displays ($500)


• Additional postage for shipping the chapter display to states ($200)


• Increasing the conference grant to the 2010 Annual Conference ($5,000)


• Subscribing to PBWiki Professional for the chapter's policy and procedure manual ($400)


• Subscribing to videoconference software ($500)

Submitted by Barbarie Hill, 2009 Publicity Chair
Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Cincinnati, OH

Plans for the 2009 Midwest Chapter Annual Conference are firming up, and a lot of new information has been added to the website. Check it out, and start making your plans to come to Columbus to "Seek, Explore, Discover" with us October 3-6.

The Continuing Education Committee is planning courses on a variety of topics from which you can choose to start your conference experience on Saturday, Oct. 3. You can learn how to make a podcast or develop a strategic plan; explore communicating with physicians or measuring our impact; or advance your PubMed searching skills or learn more about understanding health care literature.

Saturday evening will be a great time to socialize and catch up with colleagues from around the region at a welcome reception in the Hyatt with appetizers and music to start the conference off on the right foot. Afterward you'll have the opportunity to attend the Short North Gallery Hop for dinner, shopping and art.

Sunday will be a very busy day. The official conference program will hit the ground running (literally) with plenary speaker Clifford Stoll and fill the day with a panel discussion of "What Administrators Want," an NLM/GMR update, contributed papers, time with vendors and a business meeting. The events don't stop there, though. In the evening you'll enjoy a gala event with dinner, tours and entertainment at the Ohio Statehouse.

Monday will be another full day featuring plenary speaker Lorcan Dempsey and an MLA update, a panel on "Scholarly Communication," a poster session and the GMR Technology Forum. It's a full schedule, but we'll have the evening to relax before more CE classes on Tuesday when we can learn about distance learning or emergency preparedness.

If you're unable to attend the MLA annual meeting this year, the Midwest Chapter meeting may be your only chance to meet with colleagues from across the region and recharge your professional batteries by engaging with stimulating speakers and attending top-quality CE courses. You'll get all of that at a bargain rate, too! If your institution pays only a part (or none) of the cost for you to attend professional meetings and you're footing the bill yourself, you'll want to get the most for your money. A regional meeting is the most cost-effective investment you can make in your professional advancement.

Registration for the conference has not yet opened, but you can still begin now to prepare by:

• checking out the conference website


• submitting your travel request to your administrators


• submitting a paper or poster abstract (May 31 is the deadline)


• choosing CE courses of interest to you


• making a reservation at the Hyatt on Capitol Square in Columbus for Oct. 3-6


• talking to your colleagues about attending.

See you in Columbus in October!

Compiled by Ximena Chrisagis, State Liasions Committee Chair and Representative at Large, Fordham Health Sciences Library, Wright State University, Dayton, OH

Iowa
Submitted by Paula Whannell
Iowa Methodist Medical Center, Des Moines, IA

The Health Sciences Subdivision of the Iowa Library Association met April 24 at Mercy College of Health Sciences in Des Moines. Max Anderson of the NN/LM Greater Midwest Region (GMR) taught a course on podcasting in the morning session. Attendees had time for hands-on practice to get acquainted with the software and to develop a brief podcast.

During the afternoon, Jacqueline Leskovec of the GMR presented a session via Adobe Connect on upcoming changes to PubMed. She demonstrated the use of the advanced searching screen and the citation searcher and covered term-mapping changes, the spell checker and MyNCBI.

The last session of the day was the group's annual business meeting. Plans were shared about the Iowa Library Association's fall meeting to be held in Des Moines in October. Linda Walton, director of Hardin Library for the Health Sciences at the University of Iowa, reported on the Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan for the state. An election was held for 2010 officers. Finally, attendees shared information about their own libraries, reporting new activities as well as discussing the impact of the current economy on library personnel, materials and services.

Kentucky
Submitted by Mary Congleton
University of Kentucky Medical Center Library, Lexington, KY

The Kentucky Medical Library Association's (KMLA) next meeting and continuing education event will take place June 12 at the University of Kentucky's William T. Young Library Auditorium in Lexington. Lisa Traditi, head of education and assistant professor at the Health Sciences Library, University of Colorado, Denver, will present the four-hour CE program "The Librarian and the Evidence: Our Role in EBHC." For more details, contact KMLA President Mary Congleton.

Minnesota
Submitted by Donna Barbour-Talley
North Memorial Health Care, Robbinsdale, MN

The Health Science Libraries of Minnesota (HSLM) will hold its annual meeting June 5 at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul. The morning session will feature a workshop titled "Copyright Issues for Health Sciences Librarians" presented by Dorothy Salo, digital repository librarian at the University of Wisconsin. The event is free for current HSLM members and $30 for others. The annual business meeting will follow lunch.

North Dakota
Submitted By Karen Anderson
Angus L. Cameron Medical Library, Trinity Health, Minot, ND

The Health Science Information Section (HSIS) of the North Dakota Library Association (NDLA) held its spring meeting April 17. The meeting was held in Grand Forks. Because of flooding in the state, librarians also participated from sites in Bismarck and Fargo.

We discussed our scholarship fund for attending Midwest Chapter meetings, approved policy handbook changes and our 2009 Annual Conference Program. Travis Schulz is working to get Max Anderson from the GMR to present a program on screencasting. Theresa Norton presented the history and progress of the NDLA blogs. Facebook and other NDLA updates were given. NDLA has a wiki that is being used for the development of the conference manual. Once completed, it will be linked to the website. Officer candidates for next year are Mary Markland for chair-elect and Theresa Norton for secretary.

We had a Midwest Chapter report and then discussed which city will host the 2014 Midwest Chapter Meeting in North Dakota. It will be an agenda item for the fall meeting. Barb Knight reported on the GMR Regional Advisory Council (RAC) meeting. She also reported on Go Local for North Dakota. The Go Local project focus has changed from inputting records to auditing and upkeep. Flood resources have been included recently. NLM is developing a disaster-preparedness module that will be available later in 2009.

Ann Pederson discussed our Emergency Preparedness Plan. During the recent flooding, there were some problems using the regional checklist. It did not always fit the situation. If we had a blog established for emergencies, it would be an easy way to stay apprised of situations at various libraries. We should have buddies within and outside the state. We also talked about having remote access and backup for our systems. Ann is planning to schedule a separate meeting to address these and other items for the plan.

In the afternoon, Max Anderson gave a GMR update and presented an excellent podcasting workshop, "Can You Hear Me Now: How to Make a Podcast."

Ohio
Submitted by Ximena Chrisagis, State Liasions Committee Chair and Representative at Large, Fordham Health Sciences Library, Wright State University, Dayton, OH

The Ohio Health Sciences Association (OHSLA) held its 2009 spring meeting April 3. Mt. Carmel Health Sciences Library Stevo Rosksandic and his staff were the gracious hosts. Twenty-six people attended. For the morning session, Max Anderson presented his "Can You Hear Me Now: How to Make a Podcast" CE course.

The OHSLA business meeting was held during lunch. Treasurer/Membership Chair Susi Miller announced that as of April 3, OHSLA had 94 members, including 6 new members and 2 students. President-Elect/Program Chair Jacqueline Harris announced that OHSLA is offering a scholarship to the 2009 Midwest Chapter Meeting and encouraged OHSLA members who meet the eligibility criteria to apply.

The Midwest Chapter/MLA 2009 Annual Conference will take place at the Hyatt on Capitol Square in Columbus from October 3-6. Annual Meeting Planning Committee co-chairs Marlene Porter and Bette Sydelko announced the featured speakers: author Cliff Stoll and OCLC's Lorcan Dempsey. They gave a progress update and encouraged all OHSLA members to participate. In her role as current OHSLA President, Marlene Porter reported the 2009 OHSLA election winners: Bette Sydelko (president elect/program chair) and Maryann Mlodzik (treasurer/membership chair). The new officers' terms will begin July 1.

During the afternoon session, Maryann Mlodzik, librarian at Cuyahoga Falls General Hospital and Ohio Regional Coordinator for Emergency Preparedness Planning, presented "Expecting the Unexpected: Emergency Preparedness and Response Planning for Ohio Libraries." In her presentation, she shared the slideshow "A 10 Step Approach to Service Continuity Planning" created by Dan Wilson, coordinator of the NN/LM Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan. She also gave an overview of NN/LM's Emergency Preparedness & Response Toolkit.

The Midwest Chapter/MLA 2009 Annual Meeting in Columbus will serve as the venue for OHSLA's Fall Business Meeting. The OHSLA meeting is scheduled for Oct. 4.

Wisconsin
Submitted by Michael Venner
Ebling Library, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, WI

The Wisconsin Health Sciences Library Association (WHSLA) Annual Conference is May 4-5 in La Crosse. This year's theme is "Steamin' Into the Future." There will be three CE classes offered at this year's conference. The Wisconsin Library Association's (WLA) Annual Meeting will be held Oct. 20-23 in Appleton. WHSLA publishes an online newsletter six times a year. The latest issue can be found here.

Submitted by Kay Crampton
Gundersen Lutheran Health Resource Libraries, La Crosse, WI

Low health literacy cuts across education and income levels. Patients don't always understand the information they receive from their health care providers, and health care providers don't always realize that their instructions are misunderstood or misinterpreted by their patients. That's why the Great Rivers Partners for Health-e People project was formed in 2007 in La Crosse, Wis., to raise awareness about health literacy in the tri-state region of southwestern Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota and northeastern Iowa.

The project is a collaboration of three La Crosse organizations: Gundersen Lutheran Health System, Franciscan Skemp/Mayo Health System and the La Crosse Area Community Literacy Coalition. Great Rivers Partners for Health-e People is a health literacy and awareness education project for both patients and providers.

The regional education and information pilot project is funded by a $35,000 subcontract from the National Library of Medicine (NLM) with additional funding by Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation, Franciscan Skemp Foundation and Southwest Wisconsin Area Health Education Center (SWAHEC). The pilot, which began in March 2008 and will run through August 2009, will target both patients and health care providers. Components of the project include:

• A brief online course for health care professionals


• A brief online program for patients and families. Both online programs are free and take about 15 minutes each. They are available at the La Crosse Area Literacy Coalition website.


• Piloting the use of portable DVD players, iPods and Zunes for patient education in the health care setting


• Presentations for librarians, public health personnel, civic and service groups


• Free DVDs of the consumer online presentation are available for those who do not have access to the Internet or are otherwise interested in having the information.

• What is my main problem?


• What do I need to do?


• Why is it important for me to do this?

• Up to 80 percent of medical information provided by healthcare practitioners is forgotten immediately by patients. Furthermore, almost half of the information that is remembered is incorrect.


• Approximately 20 percent of American adults read at or below the fifth grade level. However, most health information materials are written at the tenth grade level or above.


• Nearly half of all American adults have difficulty understanding and acting upon health information. As a result, they get less preventive health care and are more likely to use expensive emergency services.


• Medication errors, excess hospitalizations, longer hospital stays, more use of emergency departments and a generally higher level of illness-all attributable to limited health literacy-add billions in excess cost to an already strained U.S. health care system.


• For more information, please visit the Partnership for Clear Health Communication's website.

This project has been funded by the National Library of Medicine under Contract No. NO1-LM-6-3503 with the University of Illinois at Chicago, Library of the Health Sciences. Additional funds were provided by Southwest Wisconsin Area Health Education Center, Franciscan Skemp Foundation, Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation, Inc., and Gundersen Lutheran Health System.

Submitted by Anne Beschnett
Bio-Medical Library, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

The Health Sciences Libraries (HSL) at the University of Minnesota, in partnership with the Minnesota Health Literacy Partnership and Boutwells Landing Senior Living Community in Oak Park Heights, Minn., have been awarded a $40,000 subcontract from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Greater Midwest Region. The subcontract project, "Health Literacy Program for Minnesota Seniors (HeLP MN Seniors)," will be used to design, implement, evaluate and disseminate a health literacy training program for seniors. HSL staff members Michelle Brasure, Erinn Aspinall and Anne Beschnett will be working on the 24-month project, which began April 2009 and continues through March 2011.

Submitted by Chris Childs
Hardin Library, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

A new resource guide containing information on Influenza A (H1N1) has been created and is available from the University of Iowa Hardin Library. The guide includes national and international resources, maps, blogs, RSS and Twitter feeds, Iowa resources, articles and consumer health resources available in several languages. Feel free to link to the guide.

Submitted by Karla Block
Bio-Medical Library, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

The recent flooding of the Red River in North Dakota and Minnesota provided an opportunity for these states to use Go Local to respond to disaster-related information needs. Both Go Local North Dakota and My Health Minnesota → Go Local posted flood information as "featured sites" on their Go Local homepages.

Go Local is useful to people looking for health and social services at any time but especially during times of emergencies and natural disasters like this. In addition to the wealth of health services already included in the two Go Local sites, the flood information on their homepages included links to FEMA; the American Red Cross flood safety checklist; flood preparedness information from the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services; a social networking site from the region's newspaper to help people communicate during the flood; and flood information from ECHO (a site that provides emergency information in other languages).

Both Go Local sites were featured in the Cornflower, and included as a link on the University of North Dakota's flood page. The flood information highlighted on the two Go Local sites was noticed by staff at the National Library of Medicine.

A new, optional Emergency Response page will be one of the features in Go Local software enhancements being released in mid-May. The feature will allow Go Local sites to easily create and post ad hoc emergency pages that include key information and useful links in response to emergencies or disasters.

Compiled by Amber Burtis
Morris Library, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL

Rhonda Reimer, the special project coordinator of the Pella Regional Health Center in Pella, Iowa, and Chris Childs, education and outreach librarian at the Hardin Library at the University of Iowa, recently collaborated on an article for the Focus On Patient Safety, the official newsletter of the National Patient Safety Foundation. The article, "Hospital Uses PPECA 'Train the Trainer' Program to Help Community Groups Empower Patients," discusses the PPECA presentation made at the hospital and how the staff uses the knowledge they gained and created a community outreach program on patient safety. The article is available here.

Karen E. Gegner, former medical librarian at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Northwestern University, passed away April 13. A memorial service for Karen was held Friday, April 24, at Dominican University's Rosary Chapel. Originally from Medford, Ore., Karen received her MLIS from Syracuse University. Her obituary is here.

The April issue of The Joint Commission: The Source features an article titled "Spotlight on Success: Laptops Enhance Patient-Centered Care." The article discusses the laptop borrowing program for patients at the Health Sciences Library, Bronson Methodist Hospital, in Kalamazoo, Mich. This program was developed and implemented by MLA member Marge Kars with her IT department. Kars is also co-editor of the recent MLA publication The Medical Library Association Guide to Health Literacy at the Library.

Kate MacDougall joined the University of Michigan Health Sciences Libraries (HSL) as outreach librarian on April 1. Kate is a recent graduate of the School of Information at UM and also received her undergraduate degree from the university. She worked in the HSL as a student assistant and as an intern. She also has worked at the Depression Education Resource Center, MFit Health Education Resource Center, Hatcher Graduate Library and the Internet Public Library. Kate volunteered at the library for St. Joseph Mercy Hospital and is a member of the Patient Education Strategic Planning (PESP) Committee at the UM Health System.

Melissa Rethlefsen, education technology librarian at Mayo Clinic Libraries in Rochester, Minn., was one of the Library Journal's Movers & Shakers for 2009. She was recognized as a leader shaping the future of libraries. Read Melissa's profile here.

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

Anne Beschnett is liaison and outreach librarian for the Bio-Medical Library, University of Minnesota. She is the liaison librarian for the allied health programs, which include physical therapy, occupational therapy, clinical laboratory science and rehabilitation science. She also coordinates outreach activities for the library. This Waseca, Minn., native was a library assistant for three years in the technical services department at the Bio-Medical Library before taking on the liaison and outreach librarian position. Anne's professional interests include consumer health. She received her MLIS from College of St. Catherine/Dominican University in 2006. She has an undergraduate degree in classics from Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota. Anne's hobbies include photography and letterpress printing.

Jennifer Deberg is a clinical education librarian at the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences at the University of Iowa. She is liaison to many residency programs at the College of Medicine as well as other academic and clinical departments. Her professional interests include evidence-based practice and consumer health. Jennifer received her MLIS in May 2008 from Emporia State University. She has an undergraduate degree in occupational therapy from Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania.

Jennifer is originally from New Jersey and lived in Salt Lake City, Utah, for nine years prior to moving to Iowa City. She has two boys, ages 1 and 3. Jennifer's hobbies and interests include hiking, snowboarding, swimming, reading and music. "This is my first position as a librarian," she says. "I am excited to have an opportunity to work at the Hardin Library! I have been working as an occupational therapist for about 15 years."

Submitted by Pamela Rees, Midwest Chapter Council Representative
State Library of Iowa, Des Moines, IA

Did you know that the Medical Library Association was started on May 2, 1898, by four librarians and four physicians from Canada and the United States? Three of the founders are of special note. Sir William Osler-a physician, medical historian and librarian-was originally from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Margaret Ridley Charlton was assistant medical librarian at McGill University for many years. Dr. George Milby Gould, an ophthalmologist, edited three medical journals and authored three medical dictionaries. He practiced in Philadelphia and convened the organizational meeting of the Medical Library Association there. The Medical Library Association began as an organization of libraries and did not have individual memberships until later.

The chapters developed in the 1940s and 1950s when MLA suspended annual meetings during World War II. Librarians planned their own meetings during this time in the areas where they lived as a substitute. The chapters evolved from these meetings.

Did you know that you do not have to be an MLA member to belong to one of the fourteen chapters across the United States? Some of the offices on the Midwest Chapter Board require MLA membership, but committee work does not. At the spring meeting of the Midwest Chapter Board, we learned that there are about 500 MLA members who live in the Midwest Chapter area but don't belong to the Midwest Chapter.

MLA gives out a number of awards every year to individuals and groups in recognition of their valuable contributions to the association. One of these awards is the Majors/MLA Chapter Project of the Year Award. This general award, sponsored by J.A. Majors, recognizes excellence, innovation and contribution to the profession of health sciences librarianship. These attributes must be shown through special projects beyond the normal operational programming of the chapter. The 2009 award goes to the Pacific Northwest Chapter of MLA for "Awakening the Searcher Within: An Online Seminar on Expert Searching." For more information on the 2009 MLA awardees, click here.

The MLA Board has established a new blog this year, MLA Connections. The purpose of this blog is to provide an easy way for all board members and MLA members to communicate with each other about issues of importance to MLA.

Another MLA blog to check out is the Task Force on Social Networking Software blog, which includes current awareness information, social networking @ MLA, social networking applications evaluations, task force updates and IT support information. Short online courses on social networking topics (free to MLA members) are offered from time to time. This task force also has a presence on Facebook.

Submitted by Max Anderson
GMR, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL

The GMR is offering the following classes:
"Can You Hear Me Now: How to Make a Podcast"
This 3-hour class will be offered in Chicago on June 8, 2009, from 9:00 am - 12:00 pm CST
Cost: Free to NN/LM members
CE Hours: This class has been approved for 3 MLA CE hours.
Description: Thinking about how to promote your services and reach out to more people? Want to learn how podcasts can help and how to make your own? This hands-on class is designed to provide a fun yet informative introduction to podcasting and how you can utilize this technology in your library services. Basic steps and suggestions on how to make a podcast will be covered, and students will be able to enjoy hands-on practice on popular audio recording and editing software and make their first personal podcast.
Registration: Via the GMR Calendar

"Screencasting: Creating Online Tutorials"
This 6-hour class will be offered in Chicago on June 9, 2009, from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm CST
Cost: Free to NN/LM members
CE Hours: This class has been approved for 6 MLA CE hours.
Description: Building on concepts of understanding learning styles and how to organize and "chunk" instructional content for the online environment, this course's main goal is to teach librarians best practices for creating effective screencasts (video-based online instruction modules) using Adobe Captivate and similar tools. Student learning outcomes for this full-day, face-to-face workshop include: the ability to determine how to get the most from your screencasts; learning how to divide content into logical chunks that are most appropriate for online learners; an understanding of best practices for creating content for their topic (e.g., storyboarding, script writing, and voiceover/narration); an understanding of what hardware and software tools work best for which content (and best sources for acquiring needed tools); and the ability to assess the effectiveness of screencasted content.
Registration: Via the GMR Calendar

Check Out the GMR's Lending Library
Several new items have been added to the Lending Library, and these are accessible via the new catalog. Please feel free to browse the catalog. If you would like to borrow an item from the Lending Library, contact the GMR for a User ID and password.

The GMR offers a small collection of materials to support the professional development needs of network members. Formats include books, CDs, DVDs, computer tutorials and videos. Included are MLA annual meeting CDs, books on a variety of topics, including website development and usability, consumer health and library management. MLA CE is available for recent MLA webcasts and conferences. Suggestions for new items are welcome from our members.

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:

Summer 2009: July 15, 2009
Fall 2009: October 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, Jason Young. Photos should be submitted as .jpeg files.

Mailing address changes should be reported to: Rebecca Caton, Membership Secretary, Midwest Chapter/MLA, Midwestern University Library, Downers Grove, IL.

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

Jason Young, Editor