by Stephen Kiyoi, Second Year NLM Associate Fellow
NN/LM Pacific Southwest Region
UCLA Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library

During the month of April, 2012, the RML offered a newly developed training series targeting community college librarians. The series, entitled Navigating the Health Information Maze, was offered in a set of four, one-hour webcasts every Tuesday during the month. Twenty-nine librarians from 24 different institutions took advantage of the opportunity to gain expertise in National Library of Medicine resources; including PubMed, MedlinePlus, the NLM Gallery of Mobile Apps and Sites, and Health Information for Special Populations. Additional information about the series and archived training sessions are available from the preceding series website. Outreach to community colleges is a major NN/LM initiative for the coming year. (more…)

Our new contract year began Tuesday, May 1, 2012, and the biggest change involved RML leadership roles. Alan Carr is now the Acting Associate Director for the NN/LM Pacific Southwest Region. He is an excellent candidate for this role, having worked with both RML Network Programs and Outreach Programs, including NN/LM membership, instruction for health professionals and public health workers, exhibits, and management of outreach funding. Former Associate Director Julie Kwan is neither gone nor forgotten! She has assumed the position of Associate Director of the UCLA Biomedical Library and the Science and Engineering Library. This role includes operational responsibility for the Biomedical Library, and she will serve as UCLA’s representative to the PSR Resource Library Directors group. The reason for this change was budgetary, and will allow the RML to continue a robust program for the region, with substantial training, funding, and outreach programs. (more…)

Six excellent applications were received in response to the 2012/13 Request for Proposals: Express Outreach/Training/Technology Awards; five of which were funded for a period of 12 months, beginning May 1, 2012. Funding amounts are all approximately $12,000. The projects strive to improve access to health information for health professionals and health consumers and to promote the awareness and use of products and services available from the NLM and the NN/LM. Target groups include K-12 instructors and students, health sciences librarians partnering with researchers, public libraries desiring emergency preparedness mini-conferences, community college health services and students, and clinical faculty involved with a Patient-Centered Family Health Clinic model of care. (more…)

This one-day symposium was held on March 2, 2012, at the newly renovated UCLA Library Conference Center, at the Charles E. Young Research Library. Funded by NN/LM PSR to enhance the role of librarians in supporting evidence-based medicine education and practice for health care practitioners, the symposium was organized by the Medical Library Group of Southern California and Arizona (MLGSCA), in cooperation with the Northern California and Nevada Medical Library Group (NCNMLG) and the Hawaii Pacific Chapter, Medical Library Association (HPCMLA). The symposium planning committee was chaired by Lisa Marks, Library Services Supervisor, Providence St. Joseph Medical Center, Burbank. Roughly sixty enthusiastic attendees came to hear featured speaker Connie Schardt’s presentation highlighting the key types of clinical study designs, along with their strengths and weaknesses. She also thoroughly explained the terminology used to describe the results of clinical trials, as well as the criteria for judging the validity of therapy studies and systematic reviews. Ms. Schardt, who holds the position of Associate Director for Public Services at the Medical Center Library at Duke University, is a nationally recognized expert in the field. Other invited speakers included Cheryl Bartel, former UCLA librarian and current nurse for the Lake Elsinore School District, and Robert Johnson, clinical services librarian at the USC Norris Medical Library. (more…)

Continuing education in a Disaster Information Specialization program is available from the Medical Library Association (MLA), through a project funded by the Disaster Information Management Research Center at the National Library of Medicine. An overview of the program is available at http://www.mlanet.org/education/dis. The curriculum outlines five required courses (15 continuing education contact hours total) at the Basic level and an additional 12 hours for Advanced. (more…)

E-Science Day, a day-long program organized by the University of California, Davis, and funded by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Pacific Southwest Region, was held on Tuesday, December 6, 2011, at the Medical Education Building of the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, California. The event was conducted in a blended format—available both in-person and via web conference, featuring a keynote address and panel presentation; lightning rounds, and afternoon break-out sessions. The aim of the event planners was to educate regional librarians in the subject of e-science, why librarians should care about it, and how they can begin supporting it at their own libraries and institutions. Over 100 attendees participated in the event either virtually or in-person. (more…)

The NN/LM National Library of Medicine Training Center (NTC), located at the University of Utah, offers in-person and online training related to NLM products. (more…)

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is accepting applications for its Associate Fellowship program, a one-year training program for recent MLS graduates and librarians early in their career. The application deadline is February 3, 2012. Between 4 and 7 fellows will be selected for the program. Applications and additional information are available on the NLM web site. (more…)

Do you provide outreach that is not funded by the RML? Do you want an opportunity to show collective outreach activities beyond those funded by the RML? This is a chance to build on each other’s good works. PSR has set up a project called PSR Outreach Connections in which all Network members can participate. This open-ended project highlights training, demonstrations and presentations of PubMed, MedlinePlus and/or other NLM resources that PSR network members present to groups beyond the primary clientele of their library or information center. (more…)

The National Library of Medicine® Training Center (NTC) has announced some changes to the way they teach the PubMed class. See the Technical Bulletin article for more details.

The University of Utah was awarded the NTC contract. The NTC will tour the country teaching PubMed for Trainers. The one-day PubMed class is replaced with a hybrid PubMed for Trainers class. This hands-on course consists of lectures, individual exercises, group work and discussions in four sessions, with independent work before or after each session. The course will consist of three 1½ hour online sessions and a six-hour in-person session. NLM or NTC trainers will deliver the lectures and facilitate discussions.

The objectives of the class are for current and future PubMed trainers to discover and develop:

1. functional knowledge of the MEDLINE® database,
2. understanding of the structure and use of the Medical Subject Heading (MeSH®) vocabulary in MEDLINE/PubMed,
3. expertise in the use of features and functions of the PubMed system, and
4. techniques and best practices in MEDLINE/PubMed instruction with fellow trainers.

The class is intended specifically for those who train, or will train others to use PubMed. This class could be for you if you teach PubMed to large groups, small groups, or one-on-one training. We look forward to lively discussions on PubMed instruction and adult education best practices.

NTC will continue to teach the TOXNET® and Beyond class but not the ½ day NLM Gateway & ClinicalTrials.gov class.

Web-based PubMed training is also available at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/disted/pubmed.html.  NTC will be developing more distance training opportunities.

The NTC website and blog is at http://nnlm.gov/ntc/