HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced plans to establish the nation’s first national resource center to assist communities across the country in their efforts to provide services and supports for older lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals. See the News Release: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2009pres/10/20091021a.html for more information.

A timely exhibition from the National Library of Medicine History of Medicine division looks at the world from the time of Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus. Take a look at this intriguing story: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/frankenstein/index.html.

Anna Ercoli Schnitzer
InfoPoint Librarian
Health Sciences Libraries
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI

On the weekend of September 12-13^th, 2009, the Health Sciences Libraries (HSL) of the University of Michigan took part in three separate outreach events, sharing information on MedlinePlus at each one to different groups of visitors. The earliest event actually took place on Friday, September 11^th at Sterling Heights, MI, and was sponsored by the Michigan Health Ministries Association.  Against a backdrop of a number of exhibits at this activity, the HSL librarians presented 15 computer-based demonstrations of MedlinePlus and made contact with about 50 individuals.

On the evening of September 12^th, other HSL librarians took shifts at a table at the Kerrytown 2^nd annual Home Grown Festival, in Ann Arbor, MI, where they distributed pens (as long as they lasted) and flyers about MedlinePlus, NIH Senior Health, and ToxNet to some 135 visitors between the hours of 5 pm and 10 pm.  The crowd was a big and happy one. (more…)

Today is the first annual National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day, “marking the opportunity to rededicate ourselves to research aimed at preventing HIV infection in older adults and improving the health and quality of life of those who are infected,” according to a statement on the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) website. See the complete statement by Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases:
http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/news/newsreleases/2009/HIVandAging.htm.Over one-quarter of the U.S. HIV-infected population is age 50 years and older.

For more information on HIV/AIDS, see the National Institutes of Health National Library of Medicine on HIV/AIDs at http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/hiv.html and AIDSinfo.gov. NIH MedlinePlus the Magazine, Summer 2009 Issue: Volume 4, Number 3 has two related articles, HIV, AIDS, and the Future, and a Feature on Senior Living.

The US Department of Labor has redesigned and updated a federal website: Disability.gov: Connecting the Disability Community to Information & Opportunities. Disability.gov (formerly known as DisabilityInfo.gov) provides easy access to comprehensive disability-related information and resources. (more…)

About fifty children of Southern Illinois University (SIU) School of Medicine employees visited the SIU School of Medicine Medical Library on Take Your Child to Work day, Friday, July 17, 2009. The Medical Library was one of the stops during a day of activities throughout the School.

ToxMystery and Understanding Medical Words, two National Library of Medicine tutorials, were introduced to several groups in our computer training room and public computer area. ToxMystery lets you find hazards around your home (http://toxmystery.nlm.nih.gov), and through MedlinePlus, a consumer health information site, the tutorial Understanding Medical Words teaches the meaning of medical words by interacting with patients and doctors (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/medicalwords/). The children earned certificates of participation and were given ToxMystery activity books which included the web addresses of the sites.

The Pew Internet & American Life Project has released the results from a survey this week on the way people are seeking out health information.  Before the advent of podcasts, widespread use of the Internet, the public used traditional means to locate health information.  Visits to the doctor, phone calls to health professionals or trusted friends were the norm.  While these methods are still being used today, the landscape has been altered quite a bit and people have many more options.  What do we do with the information we find online? Do we take that information to our health professionals to augment the discussion? Do we simply trust what we find online and become “armchair physicians?”  The survey results refer to the more technologically integrated health seekers as ‘e-patients.’

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Anna Ercoli Schnitzer
InfoPoint Librarian
Health Sciences Libraries
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI

On Friday, May 15, 2009, several librarians from the University of Michigan Health Sciences Libraries took part in the first employee health fair organized by the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (AATA). Bus drivers, bus mechanics, office workers, and their family members were encouraged to attend this event for health assessment and disease prevention: blood sticks for cholesterol and glucose readings, an ultraviolet screening for melanoma, prostate specific antigen (PSA) analysis, and other types of health testing.

Vendors included the local Visiting Nurses Association, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, and similar organizations. In addition, free back massages were offered by a local firm; Whole Foods Markets gave out coupons and freebies; and a running shoe store exhibited its wares. There was also the possibility of winning a windshield screen, t-shirt, or water bottle by spinning a wheel of chance, as well as a $100 gift certificate—all as inducements to take part in the health fair. Healthy snacks were available: veggies, fruit cups, yogurt, and turkey franks.

In the midst of all this activity, throughout the day, the librarians had their own table from which they were offering reliable health information through distributing flyers (and pens) about MedlinePlus.  It was a well planned and well organized event that elicited good feelings that time and, potentially, good health results in the future.

No doubt many medical librarians throughout the Greater Midwest Region (GMR) are dreaming of beaches and beautiful sunsets thanks to this year’s Medical Library Association (MLA) conference being held in Hawaii (May 15-20, 2009). Others may be dreaming of the recently announced funding opportunities in the GMR (http://nnlm.gov/gmr/funding/). Some may be dreaming of both.

If you are in the “both” category, perhaps you missed a great MLA News article from March 2009 entitled Seeking Grant Funding for Consumer Health Projects. Although the GMR does not fund grants per se (our subcontracts and awards work on a cost-reimbursement basis), the information in the article available online to MLA members after signing in to the MLA News website has some great pointers that are useful to anyone looking to secure funding for a great consumer health or other project. (more…)

The creators of the Second Life, Linden Lab announced their 1st Linden Prize winners last week (http://lindenlab.com/lindenprize). Among the two winners was “Virtual Ability Island”; the virtual island that was created as a part of the Alliance Virtual Library. This is a group of virtual islands use by people with chronic health and disabilities.

The Alliance Library System (ALS) in Illinois, a member of the GMR, worked with the Virtual Ability Organization to plan and build this award winning orientation center. Virtual Ability Island was partially funded by the NN/LM consumer health subcontract – “Share the Health”. The ALS will have the distinction of being the first NN/LM supported project that has received this prestigious virtual award. ALS and Virtual Ability continue to partner on health information services in Second Life.

Prestigious Linden Prize was given to two winners chosen out of 230 applications and 10 finalists. The winners were awarded $10,000 each. Here is the announcement from the Linden Lab: https://blogs.secondlife.com/community/features/blog/2009/04/30/the-linden-prize-goes-to-studio-wikitecture-and-virtual-ability

Please contact Lori Bell (lbell927@gmail.com), if you would like to know more about this award winning virtual island or the partnership! Congratulations!!