By Kate Saylor
Outreach Librarian
University of Michigan
Taubman Health Sciences Library

The Plain Language Medical Dictionary Widget is a project of the University of Michigan Taubman Health Sciences Library (THL) as part of the Michigan Health Literacy Awareness Training Program (http://guides.lib.umich.edu/healthliteracy).

(more…)

The Maternal and Child Health Library is seeking professional reviewers as well as a parent reviewer for new editions of the knowledge path and family resource brief about infant mortality and pregnancy loss. Comments and suggestions are welcomed.

The knowledge path is available on the MCH Web site at http://www.mchlibrary.info/KnowledgePaths/kp_infmort.html and the family resource brief is online at http://www.mchlibrary.info/families/frb_infmort.html.  Please e-mail feedback to smblorenzo@gmail.com.

AIDSinfo Launches Mobile Site!

AIDSinfo is a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services project, managed by the National Library of Medicine, that offers the latest federally approved HIV/AIDS medical practice guidelines, HIV treatment and prevention clinical trials, and other research information for health care providers, researchers, people affected by HIV/AIDS, and the general public. Along with housing the latest HIV medical practice guidelines, the Web site provides access to many other resources related to HIV treatment and research. Health information specialists are also available by phone, e-mail, and an online chat to assist the public with accessing this information.

AIDSinfo now offers a mobile site that allows users to access its resources and information on-the-go. The new site optimizes many of the main site’s features for phones and other mobile devices. When viewing AIDSinfo on your mobile device, you will be automatically redirected to the mobile site. JavaScript must be enabled on your device for the mobile site to function properly.  The AIDSinfo mobile site is available at http://m.aidsinfo.nih.gov. (more…)

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) invites applicants to submit proposals to become an NIMH Outreach Partner from the District of Columbia and the following Greater Midwestern Region states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and South Dakota. Organizations selected as an NIMH Outreach Partner will receive an annual award of $7,500 for a total of three (3) years to conduct statewide, science-based mental health outreach and education, and promote NIH/NIMH clinical research.

The NIMH Outreach Partnership Program enlists organizations in every state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico to facilitate and increase the use of science-based information on mental disorders in their respective states. Non-profit organizations that conduct outreach focused on mental health are invited to submit proposals. Organizations with experience in child and adolescent mental health and/or mental health disparities are encouraged to apply.

For more information, see: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/outreach/partnership-program/solicitation-process/outreach-partners-solicitation-process.shtml

If you are exhibiting or just sharing information about NLM resources, the GMR offers a variety of options.

• Visit the GMR Handouts page at http://nnlm.gov/gmr/training/handouts.html
  • Download brochures on a variety of topics including
    • PubMed®
    • MedlinePlus® and consumer health materials
    • Exhibition Program K-12 Resources on the Web
  • This one-stop page also links to a number of other Web pages including:
    • Emergency Preparedness and Response
    • SIS Outreach Activities & Resources with brochures for ToxTown and HIV/AIDS (for example)
    • Non-English Guides to PubMed
    • Planning and Evaluation
    • even NLM Traveling Exhibitions with their related brochures and handouts
• Go online to order NLM items for drawings and special events from the NLM Promo Shop
• Members may use the Promotional Materials Order Form to order up to 250 items for a single event

If you have questions, your State Contact will be glad to point you in the correct direction. Thank you for spreading the word about the wonderful and FREE databases and Web-available materials from the NLM!

By Suzanne Earle, MLS, AHIP
End-of-Life Library
The Hospice Institute
Hospice of the Western Reserve
Cleveland, OH

The Hospice Institute of Hospice of the Western Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio, has recognized the need for access to quality educational resources related to end-of-life care and has created a specialized library to meet those needs. Its mission is to provide healthcare professionals both within and outside of our organization with the tools necessary to give quality palliative and end-of-life care and to support ongoing research into related topics. Personalized library services are free of charge to members of both the healthcare community and the public. These library materials help increase understanding, awareness and acceptance of the physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual transitions that occur at the end of life. (more…)

By Kate Saylor
Outreach Librarian
University of Michigan
Taubman Health Sciences Library

On June 23rd, 2010, two members of the Taubman Health Sciences Library (http://www.lib.umich.edu/thl) had the pleasure of attending Packard Health’s 2010 Youth Health Fair and Be Well Block Party.

Located in Washtenaw County, Packard Health (http://www.packardhealth.org/) is the only non-profit, private medical practice. Their mission is based on the belief that “everyone deserves friendly, first-rate, continuous health care, regardless of their economic, cultural, or social conditions, and no matter what their insurance status may be.” (more…)

By Chris Childs
Education & Outreach Librarian
Hardin Library for the Health Sciences
University of Iowa

After getting past the initial shock that the National Library of Medicine was terminating Go Local and that Iowa Go Local would be gone within a few months, I saw this as a great opportunity to bring the Hardin Library’s consumer health LibGuide out into the limelight. For the past two years, the LibGuide always seemed to be in Iowa GoLocal’s shadow, and I sought to bring it to a place of prominence. (more…)

By Karla Block
Go Local librarian
Health Sciences Libraries,
University of Minnesota

Early this spring, the National Library of Medicine announced that it will discontinue the MedlinePlus Go Local initiative beginning in spring and continuing throughout 2010. More details about this decision are available in an NLM Technical Bulletin article (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/ma10/ma10_go_local_discontinue.html) from April 2010.

MyHealth Minnesota → Go Local (http://medlineplus.gov/minnesota) will come to an end on July 1, 2010 when the site is decommissioned. The University of Minnesota Health Sciences Libraries and other Go Local partners will continue to provide quality consumer health resources and outreach even after Go Local ends.

Minnesota’s Go Local page will be redirected to the University of Minnesota’s Health Sciences Libraries’ Resources for Personal Health page (http://www.biomed.lib.umn.edu/guides/personal-health) for reliable health resources and tools to locate health services in Minnesota. Users may also find MedlinePlus (http://medlineplus.gov) and its directories page (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/directories.html) useful alternatives to Go Local.

By Fran Kovach
Reference & Education Librarian
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
Springfield, IL

On June 4-6, 2010, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine Library participated in the 5th Annual Taylorville Black Horse Pow Wow in Taylorville, Illinois, at the Christian County Fairgrounds. This is the second year that we participated at this event.

People came from the Christian and Sangamon county areas, as well as other cities in Illinois. Others attending were from the states of Alabama, Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin. The 14 Tribes/Nations represented Apache, Blackfeet, Cherokee, Catawba, Comanche, Cree, Kiowa, Mohawk, Meskwaki, Navajo, Ogalala, Oneida, Ponka, and Sioux. Native American Health Information and MedlinePlus, pamphlets, bookmarks, and pens were distributed from our exhibit booth. Dancing, drumming, singing, and returning to a traditional diet of Native American foods such as corn, squash, beans, berries, and melons can improve physical, mental, and spiritual health.