“Ensuring that all Americans have access to reliable broadband is a key part of the Obama Administration’s effort to help create jobs and expand economic opportunities in rural areas,” Vilsack said. “These grants not only are critical for businesses and residents, they also help first responders, educators and health care professionals by providing them with access to broadband service.”

Information on available funding and application requirements are published on page 26241 of the May 3, 2012 Federal Register. More information on Community Connect Grants, including the application guide, can be viewed from the USDA Rural Development website. Applications must be received by June 18, 2012.

We are very pleased to announce that Mahria Lebow has been appointed Regional Technology Coordinator for the NN/LM Pacific Northwest Region, effective May 7, 2012. Mahria will support librarians and information professionals in the Pacific Northwest Region with training and other opportunities to help them engage more fully in Health IT and emerging technologies.

Mahria, who received her Master of Librarianship from the University of British Columbia, is currently working at the University of Iowa as a Data Manager. She has previous experience working in research laboratories and universities on research teams including UBC and OHSU. She is the recipient of the 2011 MLA Rittenhouse Award, which is presented annually for the best unpublished student paper on health sciences librarianship or medical informatics. Please join us in congratulating Mahria!

• A new FAQ about article versions in PubMed citations: Certain citations will now be “versioned”, depending upon new data findings. The original article will be retained. Criteria not to be considered in defining a version are re-publication of an article, publication stages, and length of time after which an update occurs. Read all about it here.
• Citation management software and PubMed results: PubMed has been updated to include the choice “Citation Manager” as a destination for search results. This allows creation of a file to download into the software.
• PubMed and MyNCBI: It’s now possible to save citations directly into a MyNCBI Collection, via a new button in the PubMed Abstract view. A new Collection can also be created at this point, via a dropdown menu under Save Items.

 Enjoy enhanced PubMed searching with these new features!

[http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/toxseekending.html]

Don’t forget that as an NN/LM Network Member, you are entitled to borrow items from our Professional Development Library. View the list of what’s available, including our newest offering, Changing Roles and Contexts for Health Library and Information Professionals, edited by Alison Brettle and Christine Urquhart. To see what’s been added recently, look for the “New” button. To borrow, email us at nnlm@uw.edu.

Another resource is our Netlibrary Collection, which includes 23 books. Email us for the password to this collection.

For more information, and to register visit this web site: http://bit.ly/eZx9zA

Questions? Visit the conference website, send an email the mvillaire@iha4health.org or call (562) 690-4001, ext.202 for more information.

The Medical Library Association (MLA) is looking for up to five continuing education (CE) instructors/instructor teams to develop and teach courses on disaster information as part of a project to enhance its Disaster Information Specialization project.  Each instructor/instructor team selected will be responsible for developing one new disaster information course.  At the end of this project, 5 new courses will be added to MLA’s specialization.  Below are specifics regarding this course development project:

To develop the content and materials for a CE course focusing on disaster information.  MLA is contracting for two basic courses each 3 hours in length and three advanced courses each 4 hours in length.  The instructor will have a liaison from the National Library of Medicine (NLM) for content assistance.

Course Titles/Topics (see www.mlanet.org/education/dis/index.html for the list of individual course topics and content):

• Basic 1: U.S. Response to Disaster and Public Health Emergencies – or similar title

• Basic 2: Information Roles in Disaster Preparedness, Response, Recovery – or similar title

• Advanced 1: CBRN and Hazmat Information Resources – or similar title

• Advanced 2: See list of suggested topics on MLANET – www.mlanet.org/education/dis/index.html.  MLA will also consider developer-created course subject.

• Advanced 3: See list of suggested topice on MLANET – www.mlanet.org/education/dis/index.html.  MLA will also consider developer-created course subject.

To present the course both in-person and virtually.  The goal is to reach approximately 40 individuals per course with the various presentations.

In-person courses:

• The two basic courses will take place on Thursday, May 24th directly following MLA’s Annual Meeting in Seattle, WA.

• The three advanced course will take place with local library groups. MLA is currently negotiating local venues for hosting the courses. They plan to host one advanced course per month in June, July and August 2012.

• In-person courses should include student interaction beyond the standard Q&A session.

Virtual courses:

• The virtual courses would need to be taught during the summer of 2012. Our current virtual hosting schedule is:

June 2012: Basis 1
July 2012: Basic 2 and Advanced 1
August 2012: Advanced 2 and 3

• The virtual course should include a minimum of 3-4 hours of online instruction with student interaction.  The course should include live, virtual presentations and a variety of “homework” assignments that can include pre- and post- testing, case studies, journal article reading, and other interactive activities.  These activities may take place before, during or after the live, virtual presentation.  If needed, MLA would be able to assist with the use of their instructional software.
• The Scope of Work for Course Developers from NLM (MLA’s project partner) is located on MLANET (see www.mlanet.org/education/dis/index.html).  MLA strongly encourages developers to read this document before submitting a proposal.
• MLA will provide a $5,000 honorarium for the development of the course.  There are also additional funds set aside for honoraria and expenses to teach the course both virtually and in person.

Additional Background Information

The development and instruction of these courses will be a part of the curriculum of MLA’s Disaster Information Specialization.  This specialization is a joint project of MLA and NLM.  This program will be designed to develop the capacity of librarians and other interested professionals to provide disaster-related health information outreach.

The vision of this specialization is to create a continuing education program that will prepare participants to provide disaster-related library or information services as part of their ongoing job functions.  The specialization will offer a curriculum of courses that would allow those interested to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to support their libraries, institutions and communities with information needed for disaster preparedness, response and recovery.

This program would be designed to allow participants the opportunity to expand their roles by offering more specialized training in providing access to information in times of disaster and emergency.

To find out more about the development of MLA Disaster Information Specialization check out http://www.mlanet.org/education/dis/index.html.

The curriculum for MLA’s Disaster Information Specialization already includes one basic course entitled “Disaster Health Information Sources: The Basics.”  This course was developed by Robin Featherstone as part of MLA’s 2010-2011 contract with NLM.  To find out more about Robin’s course, go to http://mlanet.org/education/dis/basics.html.

Submission Instructions

If you are interested in being considered as an instructor(s)/course developer(s) for these courses, please send an email to mlapd1@mlahq.org.  This email should include:

• Your name and contact information;
• A copy of your resume/CV, including your teaching and course development experience;
• A brief (500-word or less) description of your interest in the project including your experience or knowledge of disaster information; and
• Your ideas for the course including how you would include student interaction and a brief outline of course content

Your email and any questions should be sent to Kathleen Combs, MLA’s Director of Professional Development, at mlapd1@mlahq.org by Wednesday, March 14, 2012.

This project is funded by the National Library of Medicine under contract HHS-N-276-2010-00782-P

The GTR staff appreciates the comments it received from interested stakeholders during GTR’s development and welcomes additional feedback as you become familiar with the Registry.  To submit comments and questions, please use http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/projects/gtr_feedback/feedback.cgi

Edit: A recording of the webcast is now available at https://webmeeting.nih.gov/p97232219/

Below are the resources mentioned in the presentation, and they are also accessible via the LinkOut section of our website:

LinkOut Home: Journal Lists, Provider Lists, Library Submission Utility, etc.
FAQ on LinkOut: LinkOut for Libraries Frequently Asked Questions.
LinkOut Help: National Center for Biotechnology Information Help Manual.
How LinkOut Works For Libraries: Detailed Information on How to Register for LinkOut and Manage Holdings.
Training and Educational Resources: Animated Tutorials, LinkOut Presentations from MLA Meetings.
Promotion: Materials to Assist Libraries in Training Users and Promoting LinkOut.

Are you curious about LinkOut? Do you have questions? Are you interested in what’s changed?

Come join us on Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 1pm Pacific time (Noon Alaska, 2pm Mountain) during our free monthly webcast at http://webmeeting.nih.gov/rendezvous  for a LinkOut Refresher session presented by Patricia Devine, PNR Network Outreach Coordinator. She will cover the benefits of LinkOut, getting started with LinkOut, the Submission Utility and which vendors provide holdings, and getting statistics from LinkOut.

If you are unable to join us then, we invite you to view a recording of the webcast at the Rendezvous website later.

As part of our Federal agency services regarding electronic and information technology resources being accessible to people with disabilities, closed captioning is available on this and future RML Rendezvous webcasts.

For more information please visit How do I connect to the Rendezvous? to test your computer connection as a Flash update may be needed. We look forward to seeing you at the webcast!