As 2009 comes to a close, we start hearing and reading stories that recap “the year that was” and others that focus on the year ahead.    There are also the inevitable Top 10 lists for the year, like:

• Top 10 Most Popular Searches of 2009 (can anyone guess what Number 1 is without looking?)
• Top 10 Viral Videos of 2009; and even
• Top 10 Archaeological Finds of 2009

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Many of our readers were in the listening audience yesterday for the MLA webcast, “Cut the Cord: Connecting to Our Mobile Users.”  In the webcast, I discussed some funding opportunities, including those in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.  A part of ARRA, is the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act.

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Thanks to enhancements to our vendor, EOS, there are now ways for you to interact with the GMR Lending Library and the records in it.  The Lending Library consists of many professional development materials that are only offered to GMR members to check out.  It is a little something extra we wanted to make available to help you offer the best service possible to your patrons.   As a reminder, we also include in our collection, past MLA web sessions.  You can check these items out, review the materials and send the evaluation back  to earn MLA CE Credit.

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The GMR is offering sponsorship of webcast sites for the upcoming MLA Webcast: Cut the Cord: Connecting to our Mobile Users to be held on Wednesday, November 18, 2009, from 1:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m., central time.  Visit http://nnlm.gov/gmr/funding/mlawebcast.html for detailed information on how to become a sponsored site.

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Smartphones like the iPhone, the Blackberry, and the T-Mobile MyTouch are becoming ubiquitous. Thanks to advances in technology, the types and numbers of applications that are available for use on these devices has increased exponentially. Applications like Bejeweled, TomTom and even the U.S. Constitution can be installed and used on many smartphones. The iPhone is one of the most popular smartphones in the market today. A list of the top 10 medical applications available in the iTunes App Store can be found in the article: “Tools of the trade for on-the-go physicians,” by Cynthia Johnson and can be found in Medicine on the Net (August 2009). Below is a summary of other applications that can be found in iTunes under the categories of Healthcare & Fitness and Medical, and are in no particular order. Not all of the applications are free and price will be listed if applicable (prices are only accurate as of the date of this blog post.)

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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…)

He’s free!  Its Tugger our DOCLINE mascot. The folks at NLM thought it was time for you to see another more serious side of Tugger so he is available again. This time he is pictured here with the thing that really drives resource sharing in the health sciences, journals.  If you would like the opportunity to add DOCLINE wallpaper to your pc or maybe just update what you already have then use the link below to capture the side of Tugger that suits you most.

DOCLINE Wallpaper

Christina Wray Creech
Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, Center for Disability Information and Referral
2853 E. 10th Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47408

Do you remember that giddy feeling you got the first time you explored the Internet, or the first time you were reading something for school and you really “got it?” It’s an AMAZING feeling that opens whole new worlds up, and accessible technology is one of the great tools that can help people with disabilities connect and communicate in the classroom and beyond.  There are a lot of different options out there, both with software and hardware, and it can be difficult for people to know where to begin in finding the right fit for themselves or their students.  Now, thanks in part to a Technology Award from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine Greater Midwest Region, the Center for Disability Information and Referral (CeDIR) can offer visitors the opportunity to try out a variety of different software and navigation tools at an adjustable height table to see what works best for them!

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The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is offering $4.7 billion of stimulus money on the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program.   The goal of this program is to support the deployment of broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas, to enhance broadband capacity at public computer centers, and to encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service.

“Funded at $4.7 billion, BTOP provides grants to support the deployment of broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas, to enhance broadband capacity at public computer centers, and to encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service. Through this support, BTOP will also advance the Recovery Act’s objectives to spur job creation and stimulate long-term economic growth and opportunity.” – From the BTOP About  Page.

Applications can be downloaded for review beginning July 7.

NTIA is encouraging the electronic submission of applications (applicants requesting more than $1 million in assistance must file electronically).  Applicants who are requesting less than $1 million in assistance may forego electronic filing if this would impose a hardship.

Application Deadline:  Electronic applications must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. ET on August 14, 2009.   Paper submissions must be postmarked no later than August 14, 2009, or hand-delivered no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on August 14, 2009.

This funding is for round 1.  Timelines for rounds 2 and 3 have not been determined as of yet.

More details will be available on the ALA Broadband Funding page and you can review a webinar that took place on July 8 for further clarification.  For those of you in Chicago attending the ALA Annual Conference, please consider attending the Washington Office Update – which will take place 8 to 10 a.m. Saturday July 11 in McCormick Place West (MCP), Room W-474 or visit John Windhausen at the ALA Membership Booth.

From the NLM:

MedlinePlus enhanced its Health News RSS feeds this week. The MedlinePlus Health News feeds now include images and hyperlinks to corresponding MedlinePlus Health Topics. The images add visual interest to the feeds and the Health Topic links allow subscribers to quickly and easily access information on the diseases, conditions, and wellness issues that are discussed in the news stories and press announcements.

You can subscribe to the Health News RSS feeds by copying and pasting the URLs below into your preferred RSS reader/aggregator:

MedlinePlus Health News (English): http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/feeds/news_en.xml

MedlinePlus Health News (Spanish): http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/feeds/news_es.xml