Director’s Musings

Barbara Epstein, Director

As you know, in May 2011 MAR moved to the Health Sciences Library System at the University of Pittsburgh.  By January 2012, we were fully staffed by four energetic coordinators, an administrator, and an Executive Director.  But, alas, we had very little extra office space.  So MAR staff were housed in a variety of makeshift offices on the upper floor of Falk Library of the Health Sciences, our flagship library.

Member Spotlight

Kristine Delaney, MLS

After receiving a degree in Art History from SUNY Plattsburgh and an MLS from Syracuse University, I spent several years as a special librarian and archivist at an art and natural history museum on Staten Island.  This work was immensely gratifying to me and I might have imagined remaining in the art and archival world for a long time.  But a relocation to Syracuse presented me with a job offer in the field of health sciences librarianship at Crouse Hospital, a 520-bed acute care hospital with 2600 employees and 927 physicians on staff.  I accepted the position as a new opportunity for growth.

MAR Highlights

Renae Barger, Executive Director

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) long range plan involves working with the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) to establish disaster response plans for libraries, as well as encourage librarians to aid in disaster preparedness, response and recovery efforts.  In response, NN/LM MAR has developed an emergency preparedness liaison network to support this effort across DE, NJ, NY and PA.

Emergency preparedness liaisons will:

Sharing & Caring

Michelle Burda, Network and Advocacy Coordinator

I recently developed a class entitled Health Literacy and its Impact on Chronic Illness.  This 1.5-hour session was adapted from a current class, Promoting Health Literacy through Easy-to-Read Materials created by Cheryl Rowan, Public Health Coordinator, National Network of Libraries of Medicine, South Central Region.  I recently presented the class to nurses who were case managers from a local health plan.  The University of Pittsburgh’s School of Nursing provides a monthly continuing education series on chronic illness for the health plan nurses.  One of the requested topics was health literacy and how it relates to chronic illness.  They were asking for a content expert who would be willing to assist them is this area and I volunteered to develop and deliver the presentation as a CNE credit class.

Consumer Connections

Lydia Collins, Consumer Health Coordinator

November is National Family Caregivers Month, which was introduced by the National Family Caregivers Association in 1994.  It was originally a week dedicated to celebrating family caregivers during Thanksgiving week.  In 1997, as interest grew in caregiving issues, National Family Caregivers Week became National Family Caregivers Month (NFCA, 2012).  As a regional medical library, NN/LM MAR supports the efforts of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to educate and empower consumer groups, including caregivers, to make informed healthcare decisions.  In this issue, I would like to celebrate those who care for and provide services to soldiers, veterans and their families.

Out and About

Kate Flewelling, Outreach Coordinator

Does your library or organization have outreach as part of your mission?  Do you want to start doing health information outreach but don’t know where to start?  Make NN/LM MAR your partner in outreach!  We offer many services and resources to assist you and your organization in your health information outreach efforts.

Planning and Evaluation

CyberCast

Missy Harvey, Technology and Communication Coordinator

Eric Schaffer / NIH

Many members of our network have received funding from MAR over the years.  If a website is developed under one of these awards, the website must comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, requiring Federal government agencies to provide accessible web content to people with disabilities.