Women’s Health Resources from the National Library of Medicine

A new Web resource providing scientists and consumers with the latest information on significant topics in women’s health research from scientific journals and other peer-reviewed sources is now available through the National Library of Medicine (NLM). The NLM Division of Specialized Information Services, Office of Outreach and Special Populations has partnered with the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) to create this one-stop resource.

The 2008 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research Priorities for Women’s Health were used to identify overarching themes, specific health topics, and research initiatives in women’s health. Within each section of the Web site are topics with links to relevant and authoritative resources and research initiatives for women’s health.

Women’s Health Resources from the NLM Web site can be found at: http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/outreach/womenshealthoverview.html

Women’s Health Resources from the ORWH Web site can be found at: http://orwh.od.nih.gov/nat_lib_med.html

ALA Annual Conference Wellness Fair 2008

Anaheim, California

The ALA Workplace Wellness Task Force will host a Wellness Fair at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, CA, June 26 - July 2, 2008. In conjunction with this event, we invite you to submit a poster session proposal relating to our theme, “Be Well at Work.” Posters will be displayed during the Wellness Fair on Sunday, June 29, 2008.

Please help us share examples of successful workplace wellness initiatives for library employees. We encourage proposals relating to initiatives on any wellness issue. Some suggested subjects for poster sessions are diet and nutrition, ergonomics, exercise incentives, health education, health screenings, sick building syndrome, and stress management.        

The ALA Workplace Wellness Task Force will select posters for the Wellness Fair on the basis of quality and to represent a variety of wellness program themes and library types.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: March 15, 2008. A brief description of the poster (250 words or less) should be submitted via e-mail to Lynne Ring, lring@fortbend.lib.tx.us. Please include your name, institution, phone, fax, e-mail address, and poster title.

Review of proposals will begin immediately and successful submitters will be notified by April 15, 2008.

The NN/LM MAR Promotional Items order page has been updated!  

Check out the changes at http://nnlm.gov/mar/outreach/materials.html

The images are new and new items are available –

Health Hotlines Spiral-Bound Directory
Compilation of organizations with toll-free telephone numbers, derived from DIRLINE,  NLM’s online Directory of Information Resources
Size: 4 ½” x 8 ½”

Information Rx Store Postcard
Marketing tool for Information Rx, intended for physicians to refer patients to MedlinePlus
Size: 4” x 6” Limited quantities

MedlinePlus En Español Materials
Bilingual items for MedlinePlus en Español featuring Don Francisco, popular host of television show Sábado Gigante
Size: 2 ¾” x 8 ½” bookmark
Limited quantities available: 2” x 3 ½” business card and 8 ½” x 11” poster

NLM Classification Poster
Classification scheme for the arrangement of library materials in medicine and related sciences
Size: 18” x 24” Limit one per order

NLM Information Business Card
Convenient list of NLM consumer web sites plus customer service contact information
Size: 2 ¼” x 3 ½”

NLM Post-It Notes
Size: 3” x 4”, 50 sheets

Put in your order now to request more items that promote the NLM resources you rely on!

Of interest to public libraries:

The American Library Association is pleased to announce that it is working with WGBH Boston on the upcoming national outreach campaign for the film The Truth About Cancer, which will air on PBS April 16th at 9 p.m. (check local listings). The 90-minute documentary film, followed by a 30-minute expert panel, hosted by news journalist and cancer survivor Linda Ellerbee will be the launching pad for events and projects across the country focused on creating community conversations around cancer survivorship.

ALA and WGBH encourage libraries to reach out to their local PBS stations to collaborate with them on events surrounding this film. In addition, WGBH encourages libraries to reach out to its national outreach partners on this project including the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS), Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the John Wayne Cancer Foundation, Lance Armstrong Foundation, YMCA of the USA and the Coalition of Cancer Cooperative Groups. These collaborations will provide an excellent opportunity for libraries to develop new—or strengthen existing—community partnerships, while offering a valuable service to their communities.

To assist in these outreach efforts, WGBH will offer extensive online resources, including downloadable handouts, which will be available on www.pbs.org/takeonestep <http://www.pbs.org/takeonestep> starting in March 2008. In addition, a limited number of free Outreach Toolkits including two event posters and a DVD Screener that will include 30 minutes of the film and the full expert panel to libraries that request them. WGBH asks that libraries not hold public screenings using the DVD screener until one week prior to the premiere broadcast.

To order the Outreach Toolkit, please go to:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/takeonestep/request.html

Materials are limited and are available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

This collaborative project with WGBH is administered by the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of ALA. Contact Barbara Macikas, RUSA, bmacikas@ala.org <mailto:bmacikas@ala.org> or 1-800-545-2433, ext. 4395.

Join your colleagues on November 20, 2007 as NN/LM MAR hosts Medical Library Association’s fall webcast, “Scholarly Publishing and Open Access: Straight Talk.” More information about the webcast is available here: http://mlanet.org/education/distance_ed/scholarlypub/index.html

Take advantage of this national continuing education event. Share ideas with your colleagues about current topics, learn techniques from MLA member experts, and earn MLA CE contact hours.

Date: Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Time: 2:00 pm-4:00 pm plus optional post-webcast discussion, facilitated by Mark E. Funk, AHIP, Samuel J. Wood Library, Weill Cornell Medical College, and MLA President

Location: New York University Medical Center, New York, NY

RSVP to rml@library.med.nyu.edu. You will be sent a confirmation e-mail with directions to the site by Friday, November 16. There is no charge for NN/LM members.

The RML has also purchased a DVD for loan after the webcast.

We look forward to having you join us!

The conference entitled, “Health Literacy: Tools for Improving Health Communications” was held on May 30, 2007.  The conference was co-sponsored by the New York Medical College (NYMC) Health Sciences Library (HSL) and School of Public Health (SPH) along with the Northern Metropolitan Hospital Association (NorMet).  It was jointly funded by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) and the New York State Department of Health.  The conference goal was to provide health professionals and hospital staff with an educational opportunity to develop awareness of health literacy issues and improve communication skills with individuals throughout the Hudson Valley Region of New York.  In fact, the revelant issues and communication skills needed are basic to all health professionals.  NN/LM network members, regional health professionals, and individuals from community agencies were encouraged to attend.  The expectation was that the conference would serve as a platform from which to develop a regional coalition and be able to draw upon the community building skills already in place among the participants: it did.  One outcome was the creation of a health literacy tool kit, which was soon followed by a virtual version.  The conference page web now includes the scope and agenda for the conference as well as the tool kit, with new links added as needed http://library.nymc.edu/PHInformatics/hltoolkit.cfm.  When the so-called “dancing nurses” video shown by one of the speakers was requested more than 14 times, the link was immediately added to the site: http://www.ahrq.gov/QuestionsAreTheAnswer//.

Attendees rated the conference overall close to excellent by all measures by the end of the day, and post-conference survey evaluations completed July 16, 2007 also generated extremely positive results.  Although plans initially estimated 100 likely attendees, the final total was 194 individuals.

Diana J. Cunningham, MLS,MPH- New York Medical College- Health Sciences Library- Valhalla, NY

The National Network of Libraries of Medicine Middle Atlantic Region exhibited at this year’s Fall New York City School Library Conference at Queens College in New York City. The two-day conference, attended by over 500 school librarians, was an excellent opportunity to show several of NLM’s youth-oriented interactive tutorials, including ToxMystery and ToxTown. Also demonstrated were MedlinePlus for use with parents and caretakers and NLM’s online exhibits for use in the library or classroom.

Miguel Figueroa, Network Services coordinator for the MAR, presented a one-hour program on Friday titled “Prescription for Success:  School Librarians and Online Health Information.”  Many of the attendees expressed great interest or familiarity with NLM’s products, a reminder that children and schools may be excellent avenues towards improving the health of our communities.

We are pleased to announce the National Medical Librarians Month 2007 featured librarians from the Middle Atlantic Region:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/lo/profiles07/mar.html

You can also learn what your colleagues around the country are doing for National Medical Librarians Month 2007:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/lo/profiles07/

The City College of New York’s (CCNY) Cohen Library will host Changing the Face of Medicine: Celebrating America’s Women Physicians,” October 10 through November 30. The traveling exhibit, to be on display in the library atrium, was developed by the Exhibition Program of the History of Medicine Division of the National Library of Medicine in collaboration with the American Library Association Public Programs Office. This will be its only showing in the New York metropolitan area.

Several events will be held at CCNY in connection with the exhibit:

Dr. Jo Ivey Boufford, President of the New York Academy of Medicine, featured in the exhibit, and an authority on global health, will be keynote speaker for an opening reception Wednesday, October 17, 2007 at 6:00 PM in the Archives Reading Room. She will speak on “Women and Medicine: Leaders in Public Health and Health Policy.” Dr. Marthe R. Gold of the Sophie Davie School of Biomedical Education at The City College will offer opening remarks.

“A Lady Alone,” a one-act play about Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to obtain formal medical education in the United States, will be performed by actress Linda Kelley 4:30 p.m. Monday, October 22, in the Archives Reading Room. Prior to 1847, women did not have access to becoming doctors in the United States. An ardent medical and social reformer, Dr. Blackwell founded the New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children in 1857, which still exists today as the New York Downtown Hospital. Dr. Bruce Logan, Chair of the Department of Medicine at the New York Downtown Hospital, will reflect upon the early days when poor women received care, women physicians could practice medicine, and female medical students could study and practice clinically.

Demographic changes in the U.S. population require a diverse physician workforce in terms of gender and ethnicity. Dr. Nereida Correa and Dr. Elizabeth Theresa Lee-Ray, both featured in the exhibit, are leaders in promoting cultural and linguistic competency in dealing with the Latino-Hispanic population. The program on “Women in Leadership positions in Medicine: Shattering the Glass Ceiling” to be presented in the Archives Reading Room on Monday, October 29, at 6:00PM will showcase their achievements. Dr. Erica I. Lubetkin of the Sophie Davie School of Biomedical Education at The City College will offer opening remarks.

CCNY is very pleased and very proud that the program on Thursday, November 15, 2007 at 6:00PM covers the accomplishments of the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education alumnae: Dr. Traci Burgess (1989), Dr. Nicola Davis (1994), and Dr. Suzette Oyeku, (1997). They will discuss their experiences and strategies for “Breaking down Barriers of Racism and Sexism in Medicine” in the Archives Reading Room.

For details and a complete list of events please visit the City College Libraries exhibit web page at http://origin.admin.ccny.cuny.edu/library/events.html

This traveling exhibition has been made possible by the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health Office of Research on Women’s Health. The American Medical Women’s Association provided additional support.

For more information on the Changing the Face of Medicine exhibition at City College, please call the Exhibition Coordinator at (212) 650-6826. Visit the exhibition web site at the National Library of Medicine to learn about the 330 woman physicians, selected from women in medicine throughout U.S. history, to be featured in this exhibit. Learn about their sources of inspiration, the challenges they faced, and their accomplishments at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/index.html

The Scholastic Library Publishing National Library Week grant will award $5,000 to a single U.S. library for the best public awareness campaign during American Library Association’s National Library Week 2008. All types of libraries and library organizations are welcome to apply.

This year’s grant focuses on the National Library Week theme, “Join the circle of knowledge @ your library®.” All proposals must use this theme.

Funds are to be used to support the winner’s National Library Week promotional activities as outlined in the application and cannot be used for capital expenses, such as books or equipment.

DEADLINE:
Applications must be postmarked by October 1, 2007

Application materials are available at ALA’s web site.