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).

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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.

By Barbara Knight, MA, MLS, AHIP
Harley E. French Library of the Health Sciences
University of North Dakota
Grand Forks, ND

WOW! Thanks! Customer Service in a Technology Driven World was a five-hour seminar funded through a Professional Instruction Award from NN/LM GMR.

This seminar focused on delivering health care information via telephone and email reference.  The 22 participants included librarians from the Rural Assistance Center (RAC) , Health Workforce Information (HWIC), the Harley E. French Library of the Health Sciences (HEFL) http://undmedlibrary.org/, and the Chester Fritz Library all in Grand Forks ND; librarians from the North Dakota State Library in Fargo, ND; and one librarian from La Crosse, WI.  They received training on how to increase customers’ satisfaction with online reference and information services, with special emphasis given to information professionals who work with remotely located customers. Topics discussed included: email and voice etiquette; response time; organization of information to be delivered; matching the information retrieved to the client’s initial request; applying emotional intelligence to difficult situations; and embracing the information service profession with energy and enthusiasm. (more…)

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

The Hardin Library for the Health Sciences is collaborating with the University of Iowa’s Institute for Clinical and Translational Science’s Community Engagement Program to provide access to consumer health information for patients and their families at four Iowa community health centers based across the state in Davenport, Waterloo, Des Moines, and Sioux City. These four communities have been the focus of clinical, educational, and research outreach activities by The University of Iowa and have substantial University infrastructure already in place. These communities were also targeted based on the number of underserved populations in the area. The library will install computers in the clinics with their own custom made consumer health websites, and train both consumers and staff on accessing quality consumer health information. This project began with a meeting between Linda Walton, Hardin’s director, Jimmy Reyes, the cite coordinator for the Community Engagement Program and myself. Originally, Jimmy had hoped that a onetime instructional training session on consumer health resources could be provided to all of the clinic’s coordinators during an annual meeting, but after some discussion, that idea quickly evolved in the current project. Immediately after the meeting, Linda wrote up a grant proposal and applied for the GMR’s $40,000 Consumer Health Subcontract (http://nnlm.gov/gmr/funding/consumer/consumersubrfp.html). I then attended a meeting with Jimmy and all of the coordinators on campus and gave an introductory presentation on the nature of the project. Soon afterward, we learned that the we had been awarded the subtract and could begin. We were given an 18 month timeline, starting in June 1, 2009, and ending in November 30, 2010. (more…)

National Library of Medicine’s Training for You Locally!
PubMed® and TOXNET® and Beyond Training in Kentucky!

The National Training Center and Clearinghouse (NTCC), in conjunction with the National Network of Libraries of Medicine Greater Midwest Region (NN/LM GMR) and local universities in Kentucky is offering FREE hands-on classes!

The University of Louisville at the Health Sciences Center Campus in Louisville, KY and the University of Kentucky Health Science Learning Center in Lexingtion, KY will host these sessions. They will be taught by the staff of the NTCC: (more…)

For those of you working with non-English speakers or preparing to do so, take a look at the Disaster Preparedness translations located on Health Information Translations (http://www.healthinfotranslations.org) in multiple languages. Included are hospital signage documents “to meet the needs of hospitals, clinics, emergency response teams and others who assist the public during emergencies and at other times.” From the website: http://www.healthinfotranslations.org/disaster-preparedness.php, the information is:

• Easy to read
• Translated into different languages with English (dual language)
• Available free without copyright restrictions

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Wanting a book to read at the beach? You probably wouldn’t want anything from the GMR Lending  Library.   However, if it’s professional development and enrichment that you are after, you have come to the right place.

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The E-Licensing Working Group of the RAC has reviewed the findings from the questionnaire that was sent out to GMR members in May.   Along with choosing 3 products that had high interest from members, the group also has determined some next steps.   Onward!

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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 Anna Ercoli Schnitzer
Liaison/Disabilities Librarian
Taubman Health Sciences Library
University of Michigan

The University of Michigan School of Social Work offered a brand-new, first time ever, two-day, one-credit mini-workshop on the Human-Animal Bond. It was held on June 24-25th, 2010, in the School of Social Work Conference Room. There were 25 students, both graduates and undergraduates, who had eagerly enrolled (the maximum number permitted and there were many more on the waiting list.)

Since I have acquired several connections with trainers and owners of service dogs in my new position as Disabilities Librarian from the Taubman Health Sciences Library, the professor asked whether I would make a presentation on assistive dogs, which of course, I was delighted to do. Professor Kristine Siefert did an outstanding job pulling together excellent material (interesting videos, her own research, publications, etc.) on the importance of the human-animal bond.

When it was my turn, I gave little overview of my own introduction to service animals through our University of Michigan Investing in Ability Week, and then followed this with a PowerPoint presentation on the impact of service dogs. Finally, I showed a poignant documentary, a video purchased from PBS, called Through a Dog’s Eyes, which revealed how users with disabilities were matched with their Canine Assistants (name of the organization). Finally, we were visited by a team from Paws with a Cause: Diane, the Paws rep, a Paws client who uses a wheelchair, and her Paws service dog, Karson. (more…)