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| NN/LM PNR National Network of Libraries of Medicine Pacific Northwest Region |
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DragonflyNewsletter of the NN/LM PNR
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By Gail Kouame, Consumer Health Coordinator
NN/LN Pacific Northwest Region
What do these have in common? Health ministers in African-American and Muslim communities; public libraries in rural Washington; a professional medical library association working with public libraries around Oregon; an area health education center working with rural communities in Oregon; and a community-based organization focused on domestic violence and mental health. They are all among the new groups participating in "Electronic Access to Health Information" projects funded by the National Library of Medicine. The RML is pleased to announce five awards that will fund projects that began on September 1, 2004.
In the Access to Wellness Network project, the African Americans Reach and Teach Health Ministries (AARTH) will expand upon a previously developed project that focuses on providing access to culturally relevant and user-friendly health information to the African-American, African, and Muslim faith communities in Western Washington. AARTH staff and partners will work with members of faith communities in building technology capacity, health information awareness, and search skills. Seattle high school students and participants in a youth group within churches or Muslim-based organizations will learn how to find health information and health career information. The web site http://www.aarth.org will also be enhanced (Rev. Mary Diggs-Hobson, PI).
The Sno-Isle Regional Library will provide the residents of Island County, Washington electronic access to credible health information and community resources through a partnership between Sno-Isle Libraries and Whidbey General Hospital. Patients, their families, health care professionals, and the general public will be connected with the resources needed to answer their health questions in a timely, reliable, and confidential manner. Two Medical Resource sites at Whidbey General Hospital, with direct electronic links to the Sno-Isle Library District's health related databases, will allow staff to provide accurate information to help individuals make informed health and medical related choices. Health care professionals, library staff, and members of the public will receive training on identifying, evaluating, and using reliable resources (Chari McRill, PI).
Tuality Health Information Resource Center in Hillsboro, Oregon will take the lead in representing the Oregon Health Sciences Library Association (OSHLA) in the "Health Reference Triage Project." OSHLA members will hold a series of "Health Reference Triage" classes in the state of Oregon and in Vancouver, Washington to reach public librarians in their home areas. The purpose of the project is two-fold: 1) to expand the knowledge and ability of public librarians to deliver health information to the public, and 2) to foster connections between clinical and consumer health science libraries and public libraries. A syllabus and web links will developed and made available online through the Oregon Health & Science University website (Judith Hayes, PI).
"Locating Healthcare Resources for Rural Communities" is the project being developed at the Oregon Pacific Area Health Education Center (AHEC). Project participants will use Internet technology to enhance consumer use of online medical education resources in northwest rural Oregon. There are two components of the project: 1) promoting MedlinePlus, Profiles in Science, and Images from the History of Medicine to high school students enrolled in health career programs with particular focus on minority students participating in the Multi-Cultural Youth for Health Careers Program. This program is a collaborative effort between Oregon Health and Science University AHEC Program Office. 2) Providing outreach to consumers using local media and participation in multi-cultural community health fairs to disseminate medical Internet resource information.
Voices of Hope in Great Falls, Montana will coordinate the "Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence" project. Their goal is to improve access to mental health and crisis information for mental health providers and domestic violence and sexual assault service providers in Montana. Responding to a statewide action plan that calls for development of a resource for "accessing technical assistance, training, 'best practices' information and updated listings of community resources, the project will expand resource centers at Voices of Hope and the Montana Coalition. Training and information skills development workshops will also be provided (Susie McIntyre, PI).
Dragonfly, Summer 2004 -- Volume 35 Issue 3
by Linda Milgrom, Outreach Coordinator
NN/LM Pacific Northwest Region
Members of the public health workforce rarely work in settings with libraries or established paths to information services. Yet, needs assessments always conclude that information skills are a key competency necessary for effective public health practice. The Northwest Center for Public Health Practice (NWCPHP) compiled a report of assets and common training needs of public health workers in the Northwest; it can be found at http://healthlinks.washington.edu/nwcphp/documents/MetaNeeds.doc. Computer training and use of technology (including internet research skills) was one of the "top four" needs identified. The stars are aligned! It's time for us to get involved.
The National Library of Medicine (NLM), the American Public Health Association (APHA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Medical Library Association (MLA), NN/LM, and a number of other interested organizations created a partnership to help the public health workforce find and use information to improve and protect the public's health. The "partners" website at http://phpartners.org links to useful resources in areas such as health promotion, health data tools and statistics, legislation, and literature and guidelines.
A workgroup of NN/LM members and advisors recently completed "Public Health Information and Data: A Training Manual ," available on the web at http://phpartners.org/phid_manual.html . It is a workbook that will facilitate network members' improving their skills to work with public health professionals. The manual is full of ideas and provides sample scenarios that can be adapted for specific audiences. It is not a scripted class manual but great background information, examples, and websites in four program areas: Staying Informed About News in Public Health; Finding Information for Others: Health Education Resources; Finding Public Health Statistics and Data Sources; and Supporting Decisions with Best Evidence.
Coincidently, proposals for the RML Outreach Project Awards are due September 24, 2004. The RFP is at http://nnlm.gov/pnr/funding/RFP2004.html. To encourage your outreach to this audience, reviewers will give "extra credit" (five points) to proposals that include work with public health agencies.
Do you already serve your local/county health department, or would you be willing to share your expertise with public health workers? The need is documented, and a manual is available. If you'd like to expand this into an outreach project, the timing couldn't be better.
We would like to get an idea of collaborations or training activities of network members with our colleagues in the public health community. Please contact Linda Milgrom, lmilgrom@u.washington.edu, to share your experiences or to inquire about funding.
Dragonfly, Summer 2004 -- Volume 35 Issue 3
by Susan Barnes, Resource Sharing Coordinator
NN/LM Pacific Northwest Region
It's just a few weeks away! The Northwest Interlibrary Loan and Resource Sharing Conference will return for its third year at the lovely Portland Community College Sylvania campus on Thursday and Friday, September 16 and 17, 2004.
Program highlights:
Register by September 1 and the cost is only $85 for the two days, including lunch both days, a reception on Thursday, and a continental breakfast on Friday. If you can only come for one day, the cost will be $55 (if you register by September 1, that is!) The PCC Sylvania campus is convenient to I-5, and parking is free.
We're fortunate to have a conference that focuses on ILL right here in our neighborhood-you'd have to go all the way to Colorado to find another ILL conference. Interlibrary loan occupies an important place in many of our worklives, and is a very significant service in medical libraries. This conference is a great opportunity to learn about new technologies and trends in resource sharing, and also to talk with your colleagues about nitty-gritty ILL processing details.
Join us! And save money-register by September 1. at : http://www.oclc.org/western/nwILL/register.asp
Dragonfly, Summer 2004 -- Volume 35 Issue 3
By Linda Milgrom, Outreach Coordinator
NN/LM Pacific Northwest Region
Proposals are due September 24, 2004 for this year's Outreach Project Awards. The Request for Proposals (RFP) is intentionally broad in scope to encourage creative solutions to a variety of health information needs and disparities in the Pacific Northwest. Collaborate on a health literacy project; share your expertise with a public health agency; partner with community-based organizations; develop joint activities with local public libraries or community colleges. What do your neighbors need, and what strengths can you contribute to tackle the problem? How can your organization benefit from working with others? Any network member is welcome to apply. Take a look at summaries of recent projects to get an idea of topics funded in the past. RML staff will be happy to discuss your ideas as they evolve.
We expect to make four awards of approximately $25,000. The exact dates of the projects will be negotiated after reviews are complete, but you should plan for one year projects, hopefully beginning in December 2004. All work must be completed before April 2006.
A team of past recipients of RML or NLM funding will review all proposals. In order to be sure we have enough reviewers, please notify Linda Milgrom (lmilgrom@u.washington.edu) by September 1st, if you intend to submit a proposal.
Dragonfly, Summer 2004 -- Volume 35 Issue 3
By Susan Barnes, Resource Sharing Coordinator
NN/LM Pacific Northwest Region
Announcing funding from the NN/LM PNR to support electronic document delivery (EDD) among DOCLINE libraries in the Pacific Northwest Region of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine:
Awards of up to $2,000 each are available to DOCLINE libraries
in AK, ID, MT, OR, and WA to support implementation of electronic
document delivery using the Internet or Web, or improvement of
existing services. Purchase of computers or printers is outside
the scope of this award. This funding can be used for:
• scanning or document
imaging equipment and/or
• software for Internet or
Web-based transmission of documents
NOTE: Ariel is just one application used for document transmission. Although this funding can be used to acquire the Ariel software, Ariel is not required. Other software approaches to EDD are also welcome, such as email delivery, Web delivery, and/or EDD features built in to interlibrary loan management packages.
Applications from hospital libraries are especially welcome.
A fall, 2002 survey of libraries in the Pacific Northwest showed that, among libraries that did not use EDD, the most common barriers included "Cannot afford scanner" and "Cannot afford software." This funding is intended to help libraries overcome that barrier. We hope that this funding can also provide an opportunity for libraries to collaborate with their institutional Information Technology personnel. Applications for this funding should include a statement from that institution's manager in charge of information technology (IT), confirming that selection of equipment and software, and resolution of networking and firewall issues, will be made with the IT department's support.
Consideration of requests for funding will begin September 15, 2004. Proposals should be submitted using the Electronic Document Delivery for DOCLINE Libraries Award Application Web form at http://nnlm.gov/projects/submitter.html?code=pnr2003edddl. In addition to the statement of IT support, applicants will need to describe their plans for implementing or improving EDD service, specify what equipment and/or software they intend to acquire and use for EDD, provide a brief budget, and indicate what EDD methods, if any, are currently in use. Funded libraries will be asked to provide six months' statistics of EDD use for sending and/or receiving copies after implementation and complete a short questionnaire.
If we receive more requests than we can fund, priority will be
given to
1. Libraries that are not yet using EDD
2. Hospital libraries
3. Smaller libraries
4. Regional distribution
Congratulations to the three network member libraries in the NN/LM Pacific Northwest Region that are winners of the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) Blue Ribbon Consumer Health Information Recognition Awards for Libraries:
These awards are given to libraries that do the most to promote a healthy lifestyle. The libraries are nominated by their state library agencies and then a task force of NCLIS Commissioners judge the entries. The winners are chosen for the "overall success of the library's consumer health information services program, with particular emphasis on the program's potential impact, innovativeness, and replicabitlity." There will be a follow-up report of best practices in the distribution of consumer health information done by libraries.
Dragonfly, Summer 2004 -- Volume 35 Issue 3
Produced by the NN/LM PNR
Maryanne Blake, Editor
Michael Boer, Publication Manager
This publication is funded in whole with Federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, under Contract No. N01-LM-1-3516.
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