The Medical Library Association (MLA) has declared October as National Medical Librarians Month. As part of this celebration, the NN/LM SCR is proud to highlight the following SCR funded projects and the librarians whose hard work made these programs successful.

1. Connecting Patients with MedlinePlus through Their Personal Health Records. Institution: Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center – Shreveport. Principal Investigator: Dixie Jones
2. Good things come in small packages: a small hospital library goes electronic. Institution: Deaconess Hospital, Oklahoma City OK. Principal Investigator: Emily McEwen
3. Health Information Centers at the Mexican Consulate and 12th Street Community Clinic. Institution: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Library, Little Rock AR. Principal Investigator: Jon Goodell
4. HealtheLearning for Girl Scouts: Making Reliable Electronic Health Information Accessible. Institution: Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center – Shreveport. Principal Investigator: Kimberly Pullen
5. The Hidden Gem of JPS – The Medical Library. Institution: JPS Health Network, Fort Worth TX. Principal Investigator: Leslie Herman
6. Medical Education Mobile Outreach (MEMO) Initiative. Institution: Ochsner Clinic Foundation, New Orleans LA. Principal Investigator: Jessica Delgado
7. Mercy Crest: Outreach Programs to Increase Awareness of Access to Services and Healthcare Information for the Elderly and Disabled. Institution: St. Edward Mercy Medical Center, Fort Smith AR. Principal Investigator: Pat Morris
8. Partnering with Ville Ste. Marie Linking Seniors to NLM Consumer Health Information. Institution: Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans. Principal Investigators: Deborah Sibley and Carolyn Bridgewater
9. Preserving the History of Medicine In Arkansas. Institution: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Library. Institution: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Library, Little Rock AR. Project Staff: Myra Suzanne Easley and Daphne Hyatt
10. Promoting Reliable Online Health Information Through School Librarians. Institution:  Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center – Shreveport. Principal Investigator: Kimberly Pullen
11. Shriners Hospital for Children – Galveston Consumer Health Outreach Project. Institution: University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Principal Investigator: Anne Howard
12. Technology Education & Access for Community Health (TEACH). Institution: Southeast Louisiana Area Health Education Center Foundation (SEL-AHEC), Slidell LA. Principal Investigator: Helen Caruso
13. Understanding E-Science: A Symposium for Medical Librarians. Institution: The TMC Library, Houston TX. Project Staff: Deborah Halsted, Allen Lopez, Maianh Phi and Joanne Romano

More information about these projects is available from the Previously Funded Projects page.

Share Your Story: The Importance of  Being a Team Player

At a previous job, I was not funded to go to MLA for many years until one year when my boss administrative assistant left. In the VA it often takes a while for positions to be filled and this was one of those times. My boss was the Associate Chief of Staff for Education and as such had responsibility for paying residents, determining who was going to be paid for travel, etc. He asked me if I would consider doing the most important things that needed to be done. Because I had a technician who could handle the day to day work of the library I agreed. I still did the searches, and all the administrative things but I spent several hours a day in my boss’ office. I learned a lot about what he did and even learned how to use Excel – my first time to really use it. He saw that I was a team player. As a reward (though it was not put that way), when I requested funding for MLA, I was given it. Because I had gotten funding that year, I usually received at least partial funding for the remainder of the years that I was at that facility.

Submitted by Mary Virginia Taylor

Share Your Story: LSU Shreveport Health Sciences Library

What’s the value of the LSU Health Shreveport (LSUHS) Health Sciences Library? It’s priceless! Our librarians always find new ways to serve the institution and the community.  Through a NNLM funded award, our librarians designed a program to educate children about the importance of a healthy lifestyle, reaching about 1,500 children so far. The program consisted of:

• A website with health information, games, and activities for children selected by LSUHS librarians.
• Story hours at local libraries and an area science museum that have so far focused on nutrition, exercise, germ prevention, heart health, and sun safety. Librarians select and read the stories, and develop companion activities and support materials.
• Regular promotional displays (“Wellness Wednesday”) at local libraries to raise awareness about healthelinks.org and other sources of reliable online consumer health information.

The Clinical Medical Librarian (CML) at LSUHS rounds with Internal Medicine in the hospital five days a week. Every day, the CML:

• Reviews cases in the electronic medical record system for unusual microbiology, pathology, or radiology reports in an attempt to preempt faculty and resident information needs;
• Provides literature for use at the point of care and provides literature reviews for follow-up questions;
• Finds consumer health information for patients.

Her work at LSUHS was the topic of the study “The Effect of a Clinical Medical Librarian on Internal Medicine Care at LSUHSC-S.” The study tracked her efforts from June 2008 to November 2009, when her team saw 2200 patients, and she answered 334 questions, 58 of which directly changed the physician’s care of a patient (unpublished data), on 258 unique patients.

Whether it is treatment changing information provided by the CML or teaching children about healthy food and exercise, the LSUHS librarians provide a variety of valuable services to the institution and community.

Submitted by John Cyrus

Share Your Story: UNTHSC Library

Public libraries are struggling, not just financially but also to maintain relevancy in the digital age.  With that in mind, the University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC) Gibson D. Lewis Health Science Library Deputy Director Lisa M. Smith began collaborating with the North Texas Regional Library Partners in 2010.

The goal: Deliver in-person classes on online health literacy to patrpons and librarians within our 24-county NN/LM SCR outreach region.  The classes would not only help public libraries in rural and urban areas offer programming to their patrons but they would also offer staff training on how to resond to queries involving health. The classes also would help market public libraries as digital hubs that the public can turn to when looking for reliable health information. North Texas Regional Library Partners and library staff members, and 31 members of the general public at 18 public libraries spread over nine North Texas counties in March contacted the libraries and set up the class dates and times.  Lisa Smith and Outreach Librarian Jessie Milligan taught  81 public librarians in April, 2011.

Classes for patrons showed them how to evaluate websites as well as how to find reliable health information online through NLM/NIH websites.  The separate classes for librarians served as guides on why to turn to NLM/NIH websites when answering reference questions about health.

Submitted by Jessie Milligan

The Medical Library Association (MLA) has declared October as National Medical Librarians Month. As part of this celebration, the NN/LM SCR is proud to highlight the following four SCR funded projects and the librarians whose hard work made these programs successful.

1. Senior CHAT (Consumer Health Awareness Training) Institutions: Southeastern Louisiana University and Sims Memorial Library/Baton Rouge Nursing Library; Project Staff: Mary Lou Strong, Jean Caswell and Ladonna Guillot
2. Digitization of the Aristides Agramonte Collection on Yellow Fever Institution: Louisiana State University Health Science Center – New Orleans; Project Staff: Debbie Sibley and Molly Knapp
3. Early Medical Journalism of Louisiana: A pilot project for the preservation and sharing of nineteenth-century medical publications of Louisiana Institution: Rudolph Matas Library of the Health Sciences, Tulane University;Project Staff: Mary Holt, Barbara Volo and Neville Prendergast
4. Dallas Medical History, 1890-1975: A Digital Collection Institution: The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas; Project Director:  Matthew Zimmerman

Read more about each project and see photographs at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/lo/profiles11/scr.html

A list of National Medical Librarians Month Featured Projects from throughout the country is available at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/lo/profiles11/

October is National Medical Librarians Month (NMLM), highlighting the fact that medical librarians are the best resource when searching for health information.  In honor of NMLM, the NN/LM SCR wants to showcase the work of medical librarians in the Region.

What type of activities has your library conducted in your institution, community or organization that demonstrated the value of medical librarians?   Have you provided information that changed a patient’s course of treatment?  Have you conducted a fair that reached people throughout your community?  Have you created a report on the cost savings of having a library?  Have you told people how important libraries are and changed someone’s behavior?  If so, share your story with us and the entire Region!

Please submit an article of 300 words or less describing your project.  Articles will be published in Blogadillo throughout the month of October.  Authors will be entered into a drawing for one of three prizes:

First place: Curious Herbal Afghan
Second place: National Library of Medicine T-shirt
Third place: National Library of Medicine Drawstring bag.

We will accept stories until October 24, 2011. Winner(s) will be announced on October 31, 2011.

Submit your entries to: nnlm-scr@exch.library.tmc.edu