By Fran E. Kovach MLIS
Reference & Education Librarian
Southern Illinois University School of MedicineSpringfield, IL

On June 3-5, 2011, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine Library participated in the 6th Annual Taylorville Intertribal Black Horse Pow Wow in Taylorville, Illinois, at the Christian County Fairgrounds. This is our third year participating in the event.

Special guests this year were the Alaskan runners, North American Indian athletes from McMasters University who stopped by on their run to the World Peace and Prayer conference in Minneapolis, MN. Others attending were from the Christian and Sangamon county areas and the states of Iowa and Arkansas. Nations represented were from Alaskan, Apache, Blackfeet, Cherokee, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Mohawk, Meskwaki, Navajo, and Sioux tribal affiliations. 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. American Indian Health Information, MedlinePlus consumer health information and NIH Senior Health pamphlets, bookmarks, and pens were distributed from our exhibit booth.

See http://noteslibrary.blogspot.com/ for photos from the event.

The “National Maximum Charge” that limited Resource Libraries to charging $11 was removed as a requirement for Resource Libraries in the NN/LM contracts for 2011-2016. The change was effective May 1, 2011. As needed, Resource Libraries may raise ILL fees to recover costs. Primary Access Libraries and Other libraries were already able to charge fees necessary for cost recovery. As always, all charges and provided services must comply with copyright law.

NLM removed the $11 limit because multiple requests were received from Resource Libraries, who stated they were unable to recover their costs at $11 per article. Additionally, Resource Libraries were permitted to charge above the $11 limit via surcharges, which caused confusion among network members in regards to the expected charge. The removal of the National Maximum permits all libraries in the Network to charge cost recovery based fees.

As a point of reference on lending, during the previous contract period of May 2006-May 2011, Primary Access Libraries filled nearly 43% of the DOCLINE requests. Resource Libraries filled just over 31% of the requests. “Other” libraries lent just over 22% of requests.

We recommend that libraries changing their fees provide adequate notice to their regular borrowers, and through regional announcement lists. Borrowers may wish to review their Routing Tables. Borrowers unable to find a lender can route requests to NLM, whose base ILL fee remains unchanged at $9.

If libraries need assistance with Routing Tables, searching for lending partners, or other aspects of DOCLINE, please contact Max Anderson

Beginning in 2009, the GMR staff held a series of small group conversations with Resource Library Directors in the region.  One of the issues that came out of these meetings was the need for a coordinated print journal retention effort within the region.  A Task Force was appointed in September 2010 to gather data about library space pressures, print journal cancellation concerns, and related collection issues.  Many of you participated in a print retention questionnaire that was sent out in March 2011.

The Task Force has completed its work and we are making the Task Force Final Report available to all Network members. The main recommendation of the Task Force is that “the National Library of Medicine should take a leadership role in convening a national group representative of all its regions to explore the issues of shared print retention for both serials and monographs.”

Print retention will be a topic of discussion for the Regional Medical Libraries at the MLA meeting in Minneapolis and we anticipate that we will be communicating more about this topic in the months and years to come.

Read the report.

When I got my first email account in 1996 (I’m a late bloomer to some and and an early adopter to others), I emailed everyone I knew.  One of the first things I would ask you was “What is your email address?” I thought it was one of the most useful things that I had ever encountered.  15 years later, I’m not sure if I feel the same way.  No, I’m sure I don’t feel the same way.  Not only do I have an email account for work, but I have a personal one (actually three), I get email sent to me through Facebook Messages, through LinkedIn, through Flickr – wow.  Talk about overload. Not to mention the 60+ listservs I am subscribed to (many due to my responsibilities at the NN/LM GMR and other outside interests).  I was reading a few of the books in the GMR Lending Library and came away with some useful information.

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By Kacy Allgood, MLS
Reference Informationist
Indiana University
School of Medicine Library
Indianapolis, IN

Save the date!

You are invited to the 2011 Midwest Chapter Annual Meeting, to be held in Indianapolis, October 8th-11th. The meeting will be held at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown. The conference hotel is located near the Circle Center Mall, Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Colts, the Indiana State Museum, Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, Indianapolis Zoo, NCAA Hall of Champions, an IMAX 3D Theater, outdoor art and canal. Nearby dining includes the Oceanaire, Shula’s Steak House, St. Elmo’s Steakhouse, and much more. (more…)

Carol Gordon, MS, AHIP
Fran Kovach, MLIS, AHIP
Reference and Education
Department of Information and Communication Sciences
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine Library
Springfield, IL

The Illinois Rural Health Association’s 22^nd Annual Educational Conference took place in Effingham, Illinois, April 12-14, 2011. In the sixteen years of our exhibit history at the conference, we have presented a variety of technologies to healthcare professionals, ranging from Grateful Med dial-up to 21^st century mobile technology.

This year the mobile version of PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.gov/m/pubmed/) and the mobile version of MedlinePlus (http://m.medlineplus.gov/) were showcased at the conference. iTouch and iPhones with free Quick Response (QR) apps, such as i-nigma and RedLaser, decoded mobile barcodes to connect with PubMed and MedlinePlus mobile websites. The QR codes were distributed as bookmarks. Conveniently, the conference coincided with Illinois Snapshot Day during National Library Week. (more…)

The Drug Enforcement Administration has scheduled National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, April 30, 2011, from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm., for safe disposal of unused prescription drugs. Go to http://www.justice.gov/dea or call 877.462-2911 for the disposal location closest to you. During last year’s Take Back Day more than 121 tons of pills were returned.

Please join me in congratulating Summa Health System’s Information Services Librarian Heather Holmes as a Library Journal Mover and Shaker for 2011. Heather won in the “change agent” category for her work as a clinical medical librarian. She participates in daily teaching rounds, bringing her expertise with resources to meet the information needs of the “team” at
the bedside.

Read about her work here:
http://www.libraryjournal.com/csp/cms/sites/LJ/LJInPrint/MoversAndShakers/profiles2011/moversandshakersHolmes.csp

Great work, Heather!

Bette Sydelko
President, OHSLA

By Brenda Fay
Aurora Sinai Medical Center Library
Milwaukee, WI

The Wisconsin Health Sciences Library Association (WHSLA) exhibited at the annual Wisconsin Student Nurses’ Annual Convention on February 5, 2011, at Kalahari Resort and Convention Center in Wisconsin Dells. Over 250 nursing students, faculty, and nursing leaders from across Wisconsin attended the meeting.

The WHLSA table included the large gray case GMR display with screen shots of NLM online resources, handouts on Mobile MedlinePlus and PubMed full-text, and several giveaways including NLM bookmarks, pens, and WHSLA brochures. Raffle prizes, including two Littman stethoscopes, donated by WHSLA, helped to generate enthusiasm and increase attendance at the booth.

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By Amy Donahue, MLIS, AHIP
University of Minnesota Bio-Medical Library

Back in December 2010, I had the opportunity to attend the free Wisconsin Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (VOAD) Conference. (Link to brochure: http://emergencymanagement.wi.gov/news/2010/2010_VOAD_Conference_Brochure.pdf). Lodging, lunch, and breakfast were provided for those who traveled more than 50 miles, which included me, and was sponsored through state funding.

I decided to go to the 3-day event after e-mailing the conference organizers to see if it would be appropriate for me to be there as a medical librarian with an interest in disaster information–given that I have no direct relationships with any VOAD member organizations.  They encouraged me to come, and it was a great opportunity. The conference was held in Fort McCoy at the Wisconsin Military Academy. (more…)