Dear Whooo,

I am a hospital librarian in the MidContinental Region. Last month, my RML held a discussion during their “Breezing Along with the RML” session on the library closures and layoffs occurring this year. This program made me very nervous about my job, and has caused me to wonder if there is anything I should do. Maybe I should just continue to do my job as well as I can and not make any waves. What do you think?

Quaking in my boots,
Nervous Nellie (more…)

The NN/LM MidContinental Region is now offering two funding opportunities. The awards will be made until the funds are exhausted, or until the end of the contract year (April 30, 2012,) whichever comes first. (more…)

[The communication audit along with a summary of our action plan is available at http://nnlm.gov/mcr/evaluation/memberinput.html]

In February and March, 2011 Salzman and Associates conducted a communication audit for the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, MidContinental Region (NN/LM MCR). Over the past few years, feedback from Network members indicated that information that we were distributing was less useful than it had been in the past. We were concerned that many members were not receiving our communications, even though we were using multiple media. (more…)

The NN/LM MCR is constantly assessing and responding to Network member needs by tweaking the services it provides or creating new ones. Probably the most important and complicated area the MCR has assessed is the way we communicate with our members. It is complicated because there are so many ways to communicate (snail mail, email, Facebook, LinkedIn, television, Tweets, blogs, RSS, in-person, via telephone, webinars, podcasts, osmosis, telepathy… the list goes on and on) and everyone has their own communication preferences. Some will only use one, maybe two of these tools whereas some like to use a three or four, while there are some crazed multi-tasking-enabled savants (a.k.a. crazed Mu-Ta-nts) who use a five or more of these throughout the day. (more…)

Melissa DeSantis
Deputy Director
Health Science Library University of Colorado
melissa.desantis@ucdenver.edu

The Health Sciences Library at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus hosted a traveling exhibit from the NLM in the spring of 2011. The exhibit was “Rewriting the Book of Nature: Charles Darwin and the Rise of Evolutionary Theory.” It was very easy to apply for this exhibit. We just had to send an e-mail to the Exhibitions Program at NLM and request one of the available dates for the exhibit. (more…)

Who will have the last print copy of our core medical journals? If MedPrint is successful, 13 DOCLINE libraries will have the last print copies. The National Library of Medicine has developed a collaborative plan for DOCLINE libraries all across the country to commit to preserving print copies of 250 Abridged Index Medicus® and PubMed Central® titles for 25 years; that is until 2036. If you are a DOCLINE library and have any of the titles in your collection, you could be one of the twelve libraries. The National Library of Medicine is committed to holding the 13^th copy. (more…)