I have always wanted to write a Dear Abby type question and answer column! I find that the questions we receive about PubMed on a regular basis fit my need. So here goes. Names are omitted to protect the requestors. As librarians often say, there are no stupid questions. (more…)

by Paul B. Drake
User Services & Document Delivery Librarian
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Library, University of Guam
Mangilao, Guam

College students are at a time in life when habits are developed, and decisions are made that affect the direction and quality of their lives. Knowledge of accurate and reliable sources of health information is vital. (more…)

by Mabel A. Trafford, Medical Librarian
Tripler Army Medical Center Library
Honolulu, Hawaii

On March 28, 2013, the Health Sciences Library and the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine, Honolulu, HI, hosted Supporting Open Access: Librarians as Advocates, Researchers, Educators and Role Models, a workshop sponsored by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Pacific Southwest Region (NN/LM PSR); with presenters Lauren A. Maggio, MS (LIS), MA, Lane Medical Library & Knowledge Management Center, Stanford University Medical Center; and Laura Moorhead, MS, Stanford University School of Education. (more…)

PSR was invited to participate at the California School Nurses Organization Conference in early February in San Diego. Kay Deeney taught an extensive workshop focusing on MedlinePlus and other NLM resources. She covered the NLM Drug Portal, the Pillbox, DailyMed and Genetics Home Reference. Topics on evaluating health websites and writing easy to read materials were also covered. The school nurses who attended appreciated learning about these resources. (more…)

In December, we sent a message about the use of the LinkOut statistics function in the Library Submission Utility, to assess whether any of our network members were using certain options for statistics. I received feedback from about one dozen people. Here is some further information for you. (more…)

Due to popular demand, instructor Connie Schardt returned to the Pacific Southwest Region to provide a second offering of the one-day workshop, Information Treasure Hunt: Supporting Evidence-Based Practice @ Your Institution. The workshop focused on study design, critical appraisal, systematic reviews, and qualitative studies, ending with putting it all into practice. Nearly forty attendees braved the wet weather to attend the event, hosted at the Parnassus Campus of the UCSF Library & Center for Knowledge Management on November 30, 2012. (more…)

by Yamila El-Khayat, MALS
Outreach Services Librarian,
Arizona Health Sciences Library
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ

NN/LM Pacific Southwest Region exhibited National Library of Medicine resources at the 69th Annual Convention & Marketplace of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) in Sacramento, CA, October 23-25, 2012. Staffing was provided by Kay Deeney, NN/LM PSR Educational Services Coordinator, and Yamila El-Khayat, Outreach Services Librarian at the Arizona Health Sciences Library. They were ably assisted by several local Network volunteers; including Suzanne Beattie, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Roseville; Alison Clement, Marshall Medical Center Community Health Library, Placerville; Ana Macias, Kaiser Permanente Sacramento Valley Area; and Margaret (Peggy) Makie, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Sacramento. All volunteers did a wonderful job to disseminate the information about NLM’s health resources! The NCAI meeting was an important event, bringing together a large group of people, representing many different American Indian tribes from across the nation, along with Alaska Native tribes. (more…)

by Yamila El-Khayat, MALS
Outreach Services Librarian, Arizona Health Sciences Library
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ

Pat Bradley, from the University of New Mexico, and I were invited to give a presentation to nurses in Fort Defiance, a nearly seven-hour driving trip from Tucson. The scenery was beautiful as I drove to the northern part of the state. Just looking at the canyons during the drive gave me inspiration for our presentation! The Fort Defiance Indian Hospital is located in the Navajo Nation and is one of the 12 health care centers in this region. (more…)

by Yamila El-Khayat, MALS
Outreach Services Librarian, Arizona Health Sciences Library
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ

I recently presented training in Chinle, Arizona, in the Navajo Nation. Chinle is located in the far northeastern corner of the state, in Apache County, and is roughly a seven-hour drive from Tucson. In Navajo, Chinle means “Flowing Out,” a reference to the location where the water flows out of the Canyon de Chelly, which explains why I chose the title for this article. The session occurred this past summer, when I had the opportunity to travel to Chinle to provide training for 20 public health nurses, who received a three-hour presentation covering searching techniques, PubMed, the Arizona Health Information Network (AZHIN), and other open source resources. (more…)

Here are some highlights from the NLM Technical Bulletin issue from July-August 2012: (more…)