The Mount Carmel Health Sciences Library has opened a new Consumer Health Library on the campus of Mount Carmel West Hospital.  One of the first of its kind in central Ohio, the library is designed to provide in person and virtual health and wellness information to central Ohio residents.

“The Consumer Health Library offers a wide spectrum of resources to meet the health information needs of our community,” says Stevo Roksandic, Director of Library Services. “With our personal assistance and guidance through the vast resources of this new library and todays’ informational abundance we can assist consumers in understanding disease and treatment options as well as exploring areas of prevention, health and wellness.” (more…)

We’re Teaching, But How Do We Know If They’re Learning?
Assessment of Library Instruction Activities
2nd Biennial Kathleen A. Zar Symposium
Friday, June 3, 2011
The John Crerar Library/The University of Chicago

For more information about the symposium:
http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/crerar/kaz2011.html

Call for proposals
The organizers of the 2nd Biennial Kathleen A. Zar Symposium to be held Friday, June 3, 2011 invite proposals for presentations in the area of assessment of library instruction activities. Proposals should be submitted using the form found at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/kaz2011 . Invited and contributed presentations will provide a framework for thinking about library assessment, as well as describing practical approaches for measuring learning outcomes. Proposals selected for full oral presentation will be eligible for a travel stipend.
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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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The Health Literacy Kentucky Steering Committee invites you to attend our upcoming Summit in Bowling Green, Kentucky on March 24-25, 2011.

Our lineup of plenary session speakers include Linda Harris from HHS; Terry Davis from LSU, and Toni Cordell, a well-known patient advocate in the field of health literacy. We will also have Michael Villaire from the Institute for Healthcare Advancement presenting a “Health Literacy 101″ breakout session workshop. (more…)

The GMR Office and the UIC Library of the Health Sciences are both back open for business as of 9:30 a.m. this morning.

We sincerely hope that the winter storm did not create too much disruption to the flow of health information over the past few days.

The UIC Library of the Health Sciences, including the office of the NN/LM Greater Midwest Region, will close at 6 pm today.  We are uncertain at this time about when the Library will reopen.

The National Weather Service in Chicago has issued a Blizzard Warning in effect from 3:00 pm today, Tuesday, February 1, 2011, to 3 pm Wednesday, February 2nd.  Snow accumulations in excess of a foot are expected over much of our Greater Midwest Region.  Northwest winds of 25 to 40 mph with stronger gusts will result in blizzard and white-out conditions.

We are aware that similar conditions are forecast throughout the Midwest region.  We will keep you posted as best we can through GMRLIST, our blog, the GMR Facebook page, and the GMR homepage: http://nnlm.gov/gmr/.

We have alerted our sister region, the Pacific Southwest Region, headquartered at UCLA, about our weather situation. If necessary, they will be assisting us with DOCLINE changes and other backup support.

Stay safe everyone.

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…)

By Carol Stukey
Librarian
Pacific College of Oriental Medicine
Chicago, IL

The Pacific College of Oriental Medicine (PCOM) Library recently finished its Health Information Outreach to Community Partners project. Generously funded as an Outreach Express award by the NN/LM Greater Midwest Region, the project involved presentations to established PCOM community partners on health information resources from NLM and NIH.

The award funded the purchase of a laptop, projector, and portable projector screen, as well as digitizing hardware and software.  The presentations ranged from informal to formal, and the audience size varied from one to nearly seventy.  Presentations were well received; I really banged the drum for MedlinePlus and other pertinent NLM sites. (more…)

By Steven Grove, MA,MALS, AHIP
Director, Franzello AeroMedical Library
USAFSAM/EDL
Kettering, OH

When speaking of the AeroMedical Library and its mission in 2005, former director Joseph Franzello said
“This library has always been the last best resource for literature in aerospace medicine.”

Discovery Newsletter, Brooks AFB, # 13, Jan 21, 2005,
Rudy Purifactor, Editor, 311^th Systems Wing

Through the efforts of Mr. Franzello, and many other Library supporters, the Aeromedical Library and its holdings will continue its mission when it moves 1300 miles to Area B, Wright Patterson Air Force Base (OH) in March 2011 and becomes the Franzello AeroMedical Library later in the year.

Due to BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure), Brooks AFB, San Antonio, TX, will be closing its doors in September 2011.  The internationally-known Aeromedical Library will also move with the School of Aerospace Medicine to support the 711 HPW wing and USAFSAM (United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine) personnel as well as other organizations at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.  It will find its home next to other educational institutions like Air Force Institute of Technology and work with other libraries on the base to provide information as other organizations as the need arises.   Even though the School receives Program 8 money (Medical) and other libraries on the base are supported through Program 6 or research money, the Franzello AeroMedical Library and 711 Human Performance Wing along with Air Force Research Laboratories Libraries will study the impact of such cooperation during the first year of its new existence.

The collection began at the Mineola Lab in 1917 at Hazelhurst Field in Mineola, Long Island, New York with only 2900 books. It was moved to Brooks in 1926 and again to Randolph in 1931.  Finally in 1959, the Aeromedical Library returned to Brooks with 60,000 items.  As an essential part of the School of Aerospace Medicine until 1990, it was transferred to the Armstrong Laboratory.  Even though funding was a concern, the Library refused to put out its lamp of learning. The Schoolhouse moved across the base but the Aeromedical Library remained on the “Hill”. (more…)