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Dragonfly Winter 2001 -- Volume 32, Number 1 The newsletter of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Pacific Northwest Region.

In the current issue:

• Is This Health Information Good for Me?
• Making Sense of Subsets
• Consumer Health Information Advisors From Varied Disciplines
• Grant Funds Available for Native American Libraries

Is This Health Information Good for Me?

When we help members of the public find good health information, how can we promote the information that is right for them? In the RML we have been asking ourselves: can we come up with a succinct, easy-to-use list of criteria that will help the public to choose the best health information?

We couldn't find a ready-made list, so we started with some raw materials:

We looked at classes taught by Sherri Fuller, RML Director, on evaluating the clinical literature. Sherri teaches librarians to note such good study design techniques as use of control groups, adequate sample size, etc. We attempted to restate those principles in lay language.

Our next step was to look at other published lists of criteria for evaluating general Web sources (including such as authority, currency, or readability). Those are great lists, but we wanted to consider what's different or more specific in health information.

Then, we interviewed two members of our Consumer Health Information Advisory Group. Margo Harris, a health educator, gave us such practical rules as, "Read the whole thing!" Jane Saxton, the librarian at Bastyr University (an accredited university for the natural health sciences), proposed thoughtful ways to evaluate complementary and alternative literature.

We will continue to try to simplify and refine the list. All suggestions are welcome! Though this list may never be finalized, you may find our current draft useful. Revised versions will be up on the Web at:

http://www.nnlm.nlm.nih.gov/pnr/hip/criteria.html

Making Sense of Subsets

by Nancy Ottman Press, Consumer Health Network Librarian, NN/LM PNR

The PubMed subset menu in Limits makes it easy to search for a specific subset within the PubMed database. Simply click on the Subsets pull-down menu. Right? Right, with a few exceptions. Those exceptions as well as the "subset rules" are discussed here.

There are three main types of subsets:

1. Journal subsets. These are subsets in which certain journal titles are included -- all articles from those specific titles, sometimes just for specific years. Some of these subsets are very small, like the AIDS journal subset which only includes 40 titles. The titles in any one subset may be subject related (like dentistry) or may be collated for some other reason (like the AIM or Abridged Index Medicine subset). The catch is that there are some journal subsets NOT on the subset pull-down menu. Here's an example of how to do this search: to get the Health Care Administration subset of journals you would include

... AND jsubseth

in your search strategy. Do not use the [sb] field tag.

2. Subject subsets. PubMed has built-in search strategies, hedges, to find articles on a particular subject. These articles might come from any journal. An example is the new CAM or Complementary and Alternative Medicine subset. You could use the Limits pull-down menu or you could search using the subset field tag, as in:

cam [sb]

3. Citation status subsets. These subsets have nothing to do with subjects or journal titles, but rather have to do with the source or status of a citation. PreMEDLINE, soon to be replaced by "MEDLINE in process" is one of the citation status subsets. Once more, these can be searched using the Limits pull-down menu or the search field tag indicator [sb].

As more subsets are added to PubMed, it's sometimes hard to keep them all straight. For example, notice that there are two AIDS subsets, a journal subset and also a subject subset. The following table presents the information by subset name, type of subset, and how to search for it in PubMed.

Characteristics of Subsets in PubMed

Consumer Health Information Advisors From Varied Disciplines

Everyone needs good information to make health decisions. While public librarians and health librarians are devoted to providing that information, we can't do it alone! So, the NN/LM PNR is busy finding out what partners we have and how we can help each other in accomplishing this huge task.

The NN/LM PNR is charged by NLM to work with a "variety of intermediaries, including network libraries, health care providers, public health professionals, librarians, educators, community organizations, health advocacy groups, churches, and self-help groups" In particular, the RML is supposed to concentrate on information for minorities, senior citizens, and low income populations.

We started by considering: Who is interested in providing good health information to consumers? Who are our partners? We came up with the following unique group of advisors:

Judith Bendersky
SE Regional Resource Center/AK Regional Assistance Center
Anchorage, Alaska

Cezanne Garcia, Project Manager
Patient and Family Education, UW
Seattle, Washington

Juli Gregory, Director of Education
Good Shepherd Medical Center
Hermiston, Oregon

Anne Haley, Director
Yakima Valley Regional Library
Yakima, Washington

Margo Harris
Harris Training & Consulting Services (Health Education)
Seattle, Washington

Warren King, Seattle Times Medical Reporter
Seattle, Washington

Mary Ellen Lemon, Librarian, Healthwise (health publisher)
Boise, Idaho

Thomas R. McCormick, Faculty Member
Department of Medical History and Ethics, School of Medicine
University of Washington
Seattle, Washington

Susie McIntyre, HIV/AIDS Program
Public Health Seattle & King County
Seattle, Washington

Patty Owen, Coordinator
AHELP (Alaska Health Education Library Project)
Juneau, Alaska

Karen E. Pettigrew, Assistant Professor, The Information School, University of Washington
Seattle, Washington

Mario Javier Pineda, MD/PhD Student
University of Washington School of Medicine
Seattle, Washington

Jane Saxton, Head Librarian
Bastyr University
Kenmore, Washington

Michele Spatz, Chair, CAPHIS and Director
Planetree Health Resource Center
The Dalles, Oregon

Ilene Wing, Planner
Ft. Belknap Indian Community Health Department
Harlem, MT

This group of advisors will meet once, February 28, 2001, but will continue to be asked for advice over e-mail. The questions to be considered by the group at the meeting are:

What do people need in order to find, choose, assimilate, understand, and use health information (a process librarians call health information literacy)?

How can we assess the public's health information literacy? Is improvement needed? How can we tell once we have filled a need?

What does each of our professions offer to the public in any of these areas?

What help is still lacking? Where are consumers and the public having the greatest problems?

Do our target populations (minorities, senior citizens, and low income populations) have special needs?

How can our professions partner to help fill the need? Especially, how can health libraries work well with you?

What needs to be done at the national or regional level? What cannot be done or is not being done at the local level?

Are there simple and clear principles we can give people to guide them? Cecilia Durkin, Consumer Health Librarian in the National Network Office at the National Library of Medicine, will be present at the meeting and will describe NLM's initiatives and activities.

Insights and principles developed as a result of this meeting and the subsequent group email discussions will inform and guide the NN/LM PNR in its consumer health program. Watch the Dragonfly for upcoming articles about the RML's consumer health program.

Grant Funds Available for Native American Libraries

The Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) will award approximately $2,520,000 in grants to Native American libraries in 2001 - grants that are designed to help Native American libraries overcome challenges and improve services. Funds can support the use of technology to bring services to people in new and interesting ways, and can also support traditional library services in order to ensure access to all kinds of information.

The IMLS is currently accepting applications from Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages for Enhancement grants of up to $150,000 each. NOTE: applicants must have already applied for Basic grants this fiscal year to be eligible to apply for Enhancement grants.

The Enhancement category is a competitive one, for projects that enhance existing library services or implement new library services. The IMLS is particularly interested in projects that

• establish or enhance electronic links among or between libraries;
• link libraries electronically with educational, social or information services;
• help libraries access information through electronic networks;
• encourage libraries in various communities and of different types to establish consortia and share resources;
• pay costs for libraries to acquire or share computer systems and telecommunications technologies, and
• target library and information services to persons having difficulty using a library and to underserved urban and rural communities.

The deadline for receipt of applications for IMLS Enhancement grants is May 1, 2001.

For those who did not apply for a Basic grant this fiscal year: the deadline for those has, unfortunately, passed. It was March 1, 2001. However, funds for these grants are likely to be available again next year, and the IMLS Web site states "IMLS deadlines are postmark dates that remain the same from year to year." This year, Basic grants were non-competitive and were distributed in equal amounts among eligible applicants. They were awards to support core library operations and ensure a minimum level of library service. More details about both the IMLS Enhancement grants and Basic grants are also available at http://www.imls.gov/grants/library/pdf/nat01app.pdf.

If you have an idea for an Enhancement grant, it's a good idea to discuss it with the IMLS Program Officer for Native American Library Services, Terri Brown. Terri can provide guidance regarding whether your idea would be appropriate for this program and help you interpret IMLS guidelines. You can reach Terri at (202) 606-5408 or tbrown@imls.gov. If you think you might want to apply for a Basic grant next year, consider contacting Terri to let her know. She might be able to put you on her mailing list and inform you when IMLS grant information for 2002 becomes available.

Remember, RML staff can also provide some assistance to you in preparing grant applications. We would be happy to review and discuss application drafts with you, not just for IMLS applications but for other funding applications as well. Just give us a call at (800) 338-7657 (from Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, or Washington).

The Institute for Museum and Library Services is the agency in which all federal library funding programs are consolidated. For more information about IMLS, visit their Web site at http://www.imls.gov/.

Produced by NN/LM PNR.

Maryanne Blake, Editor
Michael Boer, Publication Manager

This publication is funded in whole with Federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, under Contract No. NO1-LM-1-3516.

URL: http://nnlm.gov/pnr/news/200101/allinone.html