”Our greatest impact is achieved when we are flexible enough to adapt our programs to meet real, articulated needs.”

Judith Rogers
Manager, Learning Resources & Faculty Technology Services
University of the Virgin Islands
St. Thomas & St. Croix, USVI

What is your position?

Manager, Learning Resources & Faculty Technology Services – meaning: manager for University Libraries (both campuses of UVI), and faculty support for the learning environment.

Is there something in your own personal story that led you to do the work you do?

There are three major events that have led to what I do:

1. I began my affiliation with the libraries as a paraprofessional in the Greenblatt Library, Medical College of Georgia (MCG). Through this association, I became affiliated with the Medical Library Association, through which I was awarded a scholarship to complete my MLS degree. The attainment of the MLS degree equipped me to return to the U. S. Virgin Islands and take up a professional position at the University of the Virgin Islands Library (UVI) Library on St. Croix Campus
2. With my medical library experience at MCG and knowledge of the NN/LM programming, I reached out to the Juan Luis Hospital (JLH) librarian for partnership in a grant to educate health professionals throughout the Territory about Medline and other NLM resources. At the time, St. Thomas and St. John did not have access to a medical library locally. We introduced participants to Grateful Med, and successfully promoted the JLH Hospital and UVI libraries to meet some of their information needs.
3. My appointment as the UVI campus librarian opened up several opportunities to grow the library programs through closer collaboration with faculty at UVI. One such opportunity was in chairing an ad hoc committee for faculty development. Through leadership in this position, we established faculty resource centers that are still sustained today through the Libraries as Centers for Excellence in Teaching & Learning.

What do you love most about your outreach work?

I enjoy seeing participants develop an awareness of the vast resources freely available through the NLM and NN/LM SE/A. When you are immersed in the profession, it is easy to assume that information about these resources is being communicated effectively simply because announcements have been made here or there. It is so important to promote our programs actively and continuously using a wide variety of media. Otherwise, folks simply don’t get it!

What is the biggest challenge in what you do?

Developing professional staff who “buy-in” to the vision that effective promoting, teaching and program outreach is very necessary for succession planning. But, that is also our major challenge. In the environment of Internet and social media, some may feel that human interaction for outreach and communicating the value of the profession is diminished. In fact, it is even more important for ensuring that libraries get attention as dynamic entities that meet communities where they are, and provide solutions for their critical needs of daily living.

What has been the most fulfilling part of your work in terms of health outreach to your community’s underserved populations?

Outreach to Juan Luis Hospital and health professionals, including UVI faculty and students, amazingly, continues to produce dividends for the UVI library programs. The library’s strong partnership with the UVI School of Nursing actually grew out of the JLH project, and continues to be strengthened through our outreach to health professionals in the community. I believe the School of Nursing sees us as genuine partners with them in developing students to be effective and nurturing caregivers in the community

What do you see as the biggest health concerns in the communities you serve?

Asthma cases are extremely prevalent here. I’ve experienced this first hand with two members of my own family. Infants, young children and the elderly particularly are impacted. HIV-AIDS and hypertension issues are probably the second and third major concerns.

How did you first come to know NN/LM SE/A?

I learned about NN/LM SE/A as an employee at the Greenblatt Library, MCG. I became more aware of the programs through the visits of various SE/A outreach coordinators who have embraced the USVI since the early 1990’s.

In what ways has NN/LM SE/A been of help to you?

Outreach from SE/A for training and funding opportunities has been especially helpful. In 2010-11, UVI participated in another NN/LM SE/A funded project to provide training for community healthcare professionals and lay persons. In addition to the success with project participants, the activity brought an added dimension to the UVI programs through the services of an additional staff member, and promotion of the library within the community.

Can you share a success story about the impact of health outreach in your community?

In the early 1990’s I was contacted by a physician on St. Thomas as a follow-up to the health information outreach training conducted there. She became quite proficient in locating articles to support her work and used my library as a supplier for the full-text of articles. Although the St. Thomas Hospital had since established a mechanism for supporting physicians there, our relationship continued for over 10 years until she passed away a couple years ago. She often expressed that the benefit of friendly service and understanding towards her needs was worth reaching out across the water when she needed help.

What advice would you give others who are interested in doing health outreach work in their communities?

1. Ask your contacts in the community to identify their needs and look for ways to match your ideas/resources with solutions to meet those needs. Our greatest impact is achieved when we are flexible enough to adapt our programs to meet real, articulated needs.
2.  Be prepared to have back-up plans for every activity.
3. Don’t give up, even if the response is weak in the beginning. Health outreach enhances the quality of life in the community and, by association, the work that we do.

For more information, please contact Nancy Patterson (npatters@hshsl.umaryland.edu).

Jan Orick
Director, Biomedical Library
St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital
Memphis, TN

How long have you been a librarian?

I received my masters in 1989 from LSU. Prior to that, I worked in libraries in high school and during my undergraduate and graduate degrees, and as a Library Assistant at the Memphis Public Library before going to library school.

How long have you been at St. Jude/in your current position?

I have been at St. Jude since 1995, Director since 1998

What made you decide to be a librarian?

I am embarrassed to tell this, but I cataloged my private book collection, including pockets, cards, and catalog cards (recipe file box), when I was 11. I guess it was my calling! I have just always worked in a library of one form or another – except for a couple of summers at Wendy’s and one summer as a file clerk for the County Courts.

What do you consider your biggest work related challenge?

Balancing what people want and what my budget allows. This is especially difficult now with electronic resources. Everyone wants instant access.

What do you consider to be the most fulfilling part of your job?

I like providing information to our users. It feels good to find the answer that helps with patient care or research.

What do you see as the biggest concerns in hospital and/or health sciences librarianship?

Electronic journals are resulting in fewer hospital libraries, as Administrators have no idea how much behind the scenes work it takes to make access seamless! The library staff has to get out of the library and go where their users are. We can no longer sit in the library and wait for people to come to us.

How did you first come to know NN/LM SE/A?

I learned about NN/LM SE/A at a Southern Chapter meeting.

In what ways has NN/LM SE/A been of help to you?

I am grateful for the assistance with Docline and the availability of classes for CE.

Will you share a success story about your library?

During National Library Week, one of our patrons was telling me how they remembered that when I was interviewed for the Director’s job, I described this vision of an electronic library! Now, 15 years later the conversion to electronic journals continues to impact our institution. Now everything is at the users’ fingertips when it is needed. This improves research and patient care, as there’s no waiting to get the information they need. There are more downloads now because we have access to more journals. We had 400 print journals; we now have 4000 online journals that we keep track of.  We converted to electronic resources so seamlessly they all think it’s free – getting rid of print was hard, but I simply didn’t have a choice. And, with the transition from print to electronic, we managed to keep all of our positions. We re-trained staff to manage electronic journals so we didn’t lose anyone.

What advice would you give others who are interested in being a hospital and/or health sciences librarian?

My advice is to not expect to stay in the library and be successful. Fighting to get people into the library, onto the library website, and away from Google is hopeless: it just won’t happen. You have to get out of the library and go where your users are. Provide access where they want it, how they wish to use it, and make it all as easy as possible for them. Be prepared to do anything: provide the services they want no matter what they are, even if it’s just making photocopies. You can’t pick and choose what you want to do, especially in medical and health sciences libraries. Also, taking on the NIH public access policy is a really good idea. People call and are thrilled I am here to help with their submissions and getting the PMC numbers and tracking the process. Provide a full service library with whatever you’re given, and you’ll be successful. I pick my battles. If it’s coming from the boss, you can’t really argue. Try to find a way to make it work for your library and your patrons.

For more information, please contact Sheila Snow-Croft – ssnowcro@hshsl.umaryland.edu

We’ve added 12 new books to the SE/A Professional Development Library:

• Hernon, Peter. Assessing service quality: satisfying the expectations of library customers /Peter Hernon and Ellen Altman. 2nd ed. Chicago: American Library Association, 2010.
• Crawford, Walt .Open access: what you need to know now. Chicago: American Library Association, 2011.
• Kern, M. Kathleen. Virtual reference best practices: tailoring services to your library. Chicago: American Library Association, 2009.
• Barber, Peggy and Wallace, Linda. Building a buzz: libraries & word-of-mouth marketing. Chicago: American Library Association, 2010.
• The library PR handbook: high-impact communications /edited by Mark R. Gould. Chicago: American Library Association, 2009.
• Bite-sized marketing : realistic solutions for the overworked librarian /Nancy Dowd, Mary Evangeliste and Jonathan Silberman. Chicago: American Library Association, 2010.
• Landau, Herbert B. Winning library grants: a game plan. Chicago: American Library Association, 2011.
• Kane, Laura Townsend. Working in the virtual stacks :the new library & information science. Chicago: American Library Association, 2011.
• Pre- & post- retirement tips for librarians /edited by Carol Smallwood. Chicago: American Library Association, 2012.
• Doucett, Elisabeth. Creating your library brand: communicating your relevance and value to your patrons. Chicago: American Library Association, 2008.
• Harris, Lesley Ellen. Licensing digital content: a practical guide for librarians. 2nd ed. Chicago: American Library Association, 2009.
• The ALA book of library grant money /edited by Ann Kepler. 8th ed. Chicago: American Library Association, 2012. (2 copies available)

As always, borrowing these books is free. For instruction on borrowing these items and a list of all titles, please visit our Professional Development Library page at: http://nnlm.gov/sea/services/professionaldevelopmentlibrary.html

Time: 12 pm ET

Topic: The Changing Hospital Library Environment:  New Roles for the Librarian

The Healthcare environment continues to experience rapid change affecting hospitals and hospital libraries.  Some of the things happening are outside the control of the Librarian but have big impacts on the Library and the Library Staff.  Some libraries/librarians are disappearing; others are adapting to these outside changes.  If you are one of those affected by these changes, what can you do?  This Webinar will look at some of the options available to you and will offer advice on how to re-frame your thinking, leverage your information knowledge skills, update your professional  ID/Brand, and offer examples of what others are doing to succeed in this turbulent environment.

Presenter: Sybil Bullock, MLIS, EdS, has had a full career as a Federal Librarian in medical, scientific, and technical libraries/scientific information centers.  Upon early retirement, she chose a new career track:  Teaching at the University of Alabama School of Library & Information Studies (SLIS), Tuscaloosa, Alabama as well as establishing a Library Consultant Business.

At SLIS she teaches courses in Scientific, Technical and Medical Information Resources, Special Libraries, Records Management, and Project Manager.  Additionally, she is the Intern Coordinator and places students in Intern positions world-wide.  She is currently working on a research project for the Director looking at establishing an international program for SLIS students.

In her  Consultant Business, she has recently completed consulting work for two urban hospitals in the Birmingham area resulting in the hiring of two medical librarians.  She has also completed consulting work for a law firm in California regarding federal scientific and technical information flow.  In addition to teaching and consulting, she  works as a part-time medical research librarian (primarily virtual) for two urban and two rural hospitals in the Birmingham area.

What do you need to join this conference?

• A computer (with Flash installed)
• A telephone

How do I connect?

• Go to this URL: http://webmeeting.nih.gov/beyondthesea/
• Enter as a Guest
• Sign in with your first and last name
• Follow the instructions in the meeting room to have Adobe Connect call your phone (this is the preferred way; however, if you have an extension or for some other reason cannot let Adobe connect call you phone, call 1-800-689-9374 and enter the participant code 369105 when prompted.)

Test your connection: https://webmeeting.nih.gov/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm

Get a quick overview: http://www.adobe.com/go/connectpro_overview

Upcoming Beyond the SEA Webinars

March 21, 2012 – NLM Index Section and the Medical Text Indexer:
Speaker: Deborah Ozga, Head, Index Section, NLM

”Be ready to drop any part of the project plan that doesn’t work and focus on the parts that do.”               

Gwen Johnson
Information Services Manager
Greenville County Library System (GCLS)
http://www.greenvillelibrary.org/
Greenville, South Carolina

What is your position? 

I am Information Services Manager for the Greenville County Library System (GCLS) in South Carolina. In this role, I supervise staff who provide reference service, interlibrary loan service, classes or workshops, collection development, assistance in the technology center and library programs for adults.

Is there something in your own personal story that led you to do the work you do?

I grew up in a small rural town in Alabama that had no public library that I could use.  The small collection of books in the  library of the school that I attended until I went away to college was old, unattractive and, with the exception of a few books used for reference, almost never touched. I was aware that many of the adults and children in my community did not have books in their homes and had no feeling of kinship with libraries.  This probably explains my longtime awareness of the need to establish ties with certain groups in the community to show how the library relates to their lives, especially those who feel most disenfranchised but whose need of library services is most acute.

What do you love most about your outreach work?

Connecting people with their heart’s desire is the most enjoyable part of what I do.

What is the biggest challenge in what you do?

Surprisingly, many people do not think of the library as a source of knowledge, assistance and pleasure.  In fact, there are individuals of both limited means and considerable means who could benefit greatly from the services and resources that the library provides who do not know of these services and resources and seem to assume that whatever the library does, it is for someone else, not them.  Getting the attention of these individuals and convincing them that the services and resources of the library can greatly enrich their lives and enhance their well-being is the challenge.

What has been the most fulfilling part of your work in terms of health outreach to your community’s underserved populations?

Most fulfilling has been the response of individuals in the groups involved in the Senior Health Information Project to the idea that the library would assist them in their acquisition of information they could use to improve their health and well being. As a group, they were welcoming, engaging and willing to pursue further explorations with the library.  Some arranged with library staff for classes to help them improve their computer skills after our initial contact.  Others made trips to the main library as a group to become more acquainted with the resources there.

What do you see as the biggest health concerns in the communities you serve?

Greenville County residents are plagued by cancer, cardiovascular disease, COPD, metabolic syndrome and other chronic conditions that affect people throughout the state and nation and have a need for the means to address those conditions.  One of my concerns as relates to this need is that many of those affected lack sufficient health literacy or easy access to reliable health information.  I am convinced that more knowledge about healthful lifestyles, nutrition and the appropriate response to individual health issues would result in disease prevention, effective management of diagnosed ailments and more favorable health outcomes for many.

How did you first come to know NN/LM SE/A?

As librarians, we have always been aware of the National Library of Medicine and its importance to the national accumulation of medical knowledge.  Our involvement with the Hands on Health Go Local project implemented by the Medical University of South Carolina and the University of South Carolina provided the opportunity to learn about the influence of NN/LM SE/A in sponsoring community health related projects in this area.  Most recently,  GCLS Executive Director, Bev James,  brought to the attention of staff the availability of funding for outreach consumer health projects through  NN/LM SE/A and we were able to have two of our projects funded through NN/LM SE/A awards.

In what ways has NN/LM SE/A  been of help to you?

Through an Express Outreach Project Award made to the Greenville County Library System in 2010, NN/LM SE/A provided the means to implement the library’s Senior Health Information Project (SHIP).  This award enabled library staff to travel to community centers throughout Greenville County, with the corporation of the Greenville city and county recreation departments, to introduce senior adults to electronic sources of reliable consumer health information with the goal of improving their health literacy and, ultimately, their health.  The laptops, LCD projector with screen, wireless printer and mobile Wi-Fi connectivity purchased with the awarded funds allowed staff to demonstrate useful online health resources and assist seniors with hands-on practice at centers in their local neighborhoods.  NN/LM SE/A staff also provided training to library staff to better prepare them to assist with health related questions from the public using MedlinePlus and NIH databases.  In addition to the award for SHIP, the library also received another NN/LM SE/A award which allowed staff to coordinate a well-attended community health fair in January 2011.

Can you share a success story about the impact of health outreach in your community? 

Impact was on many levels.  For example, on an individual level, during one of the SHIP practice sessions, a community center participant learned about dietary restrictions that were required by the medication that she had just started taking.  This was important to her as it allowed her to adjust her diet and safely continue her treatment.   Another participant who had some anxiety about the colonoscopy that he was scheduled to take the following morning had the opportunity to learn about the procedure on MedlinePlus, emphasizing the advantage of having useful health information at your fingertips. The surprise visit of a vanload of seniors who came to the library to get library cards after a SHIP presentation so that they could have access to subscription health databases showed that the presentation had an impact on their determination to make use of available resources. 

What advice would you give others who are interested in doing health outreach work in their communities?

I would advise those interested in outreach work to choose projects with worthwhile but manageable goals; to enlist assistance from community organizations with similar goals; and to be ready to drop any part of the project plan that doesn’t work and focus on the parts that do.

If you would like to share your story or suggest another person for our “Inspiring People” feature, please email Nancy Patterson:  npatters@hshsl.umaryland.edu

The National Network of Libraries of Medicine Southeastern/Atlantic Region (NN/LM SE/A) is pleased to announce that Geetha Sridaran of the Drs. Sid E & Nell K Williams Library at Life University in Marietta, GA and Kaye Robertson, Executive Director of the Health Professions Division Library, Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, FL have won our National Medical Librarians Month (NMLM) Share Your Success drawing for a $1000 MLA 2012 travel scholarship. Each will be able to charge up to $1000 for airfare, hotel, and per diem to the NN/LM SE/A  for the MLA 2012 Annual Meeting in Seattle.

In the mean time, the NN/LM SE/A will solicit stories of library advocacy for NMLM Share Your Success again next year. We will start in September and collect through the first week in October, so start thinking about the things you do to advocate for yourself as a librarian or for your library, and think about what you will do in Boston for the 2013 MLA Annual Meeting if you win our drawing.

Congratulations Geetha and Kaye. We’ll be seeing you in Seattle, WA!

In our final submission, a library faculty member shares his story of a challenging reference situation for a young paraprofessional.  While not necessarily advocacy, it reinforces the power of our profession and the impact we make on both our patrons AND ourselves.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

By Steven MacCall, Associate Professor, University of Alabama, School of Library and Information Studies

“I always tell this story to the library school students taking my Health Librarianship course. It’s about how I discovered the power of a particular library service and how it can amaze and astonish (not to mention, seriously satisfy) library users:

Physicians are writers, especially physicians practicing in an academic health sciences center because many have second research-oriented specialties for which they have masters or PhD degrees. Whether physicians are writing up the results of clinical investigation, bench science, or some kind of humanities research, there is always that last minute challenge of completing the reference list of cited works according to some arcane and seemingly arbitrary style guide. The problem, however, is always the same: Physicians often rush to the library at the last minute in order to get assistance in piecing together complete citations from the partial bibliographical data they had written on scrap paper during the library research process, research that very well may have occurred months prior to their current harried library visit. With looming editorial deadlines, the anxiety levels were often very high for both the inquiring physician AND for this paraprofessional (me) who was starting out his career at an academic health sciences center library!

Well, as luck would have it, I had GREAT paraprofessional training from a wonderful staff of professional librarians led by Barbara McNamee and Marlene Englander, but this did not include the concept of citation matching. But as luck would have it, our library had what was then state-of-the-art, unlimited search access to locally hosted MEDLINE files so there were no telecomm charges (remember those days?). Because I was a curious sort, I loved to sit at the one of the open workstations, study the user manuals, and type queries in the MEDLINE search interface. As luck would have it, I stumbled upon the instructions in the user manual for the “known item search strategy” useful for locating full citations and played with its capability to retrieve full MEDLINE records with minimal inputted data. Little did I know what I was preparing myself to do!

Given that there were so many physician writers on that campus, it did not take long from one to show up with the need for complete citations based on the limited bibliographical data that remained on his scraps of paper. Somehow, that self-training kicked in and I knew exactly what to do. I will NEVER forget the look on that physician’s face when after doing a quick search based on the limited bibliographic data he gave me. I slowly turned the computer screen toward him, showed him the single retrieved result, and asked “is this the article citation that you need?” I don’t know what was more palpable; the joy in his face or his complete astonishment of my awesome display of what to me were my new found librarian powers. I was Superman and Batman rolled into one.

Of course, this story took place in the late 20th century library, so we must take our lesson with somewhat of a grain of salt … or must we? Doesn’t PubMed MEDLINE still have a single citation matcher interface (kept at the behest of librarians)? That having been said, we must continue to strive to extend our librarian powers in order to continue serving time crunched library users in the new contexts of networked library services.”

In this entry, we can see how a library can truly be integrated into all aspects of a hospital.  Key conversations and offering a high level of individualized service can show the value of a library to the medical community.

____________________________________________

By Christine Willis, MLIS, Librarian, Noble Learning Resource Center, Shepherd Center

The Noble Learning Resource Center is a hidden gem at Shepherd Center. During the past two years the number of requests to the library has practically doubled but as we all know, libraries are more than numbers. Some of these requests go to the heart of what the library resource center can provide for a hospital and its patients.

The NLRC has become a place for a mother to check out books on brain injury as she is learning to cope with her adult son’s injury.

• The NLRC is where a patient with a spinal cord injury came when he found himself with a skin sore. He wanted to learn all he could about what the treatments are and what more he can do to prevent another one. After his recovery he has brought a friend to the library to show that person the information he had referenced.
• The NLRC is where therapy staff brings their patients to look up information online that will benefit the patient when they return to their community. The therapists point out the books and information sheets and then encourage the patients to learn all they can while they are here at Shepherd.
• The NLRC is also a key part of the research that is conducted here at Shepherd Center. Researchers, therapists and nurses are able to access library resources to assist them in grant proposals, research articles and personal education needs.
• The NLRC resources are even better than Google. One day when doing a staff training session one impressed person asked, “So I should use this rather than Google when I’m looking up meds?” My response, “Yes, yes you should use this database for drug information.” Changing habits is one of the best things a librarian can hope for when it comes to quality health information seeking.

These may seem like typical requests for a library, and they are, but for the recipients of this information it is as if the Noble Learning Resource Center is the only place that could help them find exactly what they need.

In early 2011 I had a conversation with a member of the Shepherd Center Foundation who funds the library about what the Noble Learning Resource Center provides. He wanted to know what a potential donor should know about the NLRC. I shared with him that the NLRC is more than a place where people can check out medical books. It offers patients, families and staff the opportunity to learn and to better patient outcomes. After a little more discussion regarding the services and databases offered I did share some statistics and the library budget. This gentleman was shocked that the library did all that I had described with the relatively small budget it uses to operate. This conversation may turn into more funding or it may not, but I have heard this same gentleman brag about the library to co-workers and visitors when before our meeting I don’t think he quite understood what all went on in this little room down the hall. Some days it’s the small victories that really matter.

Our next installment of Share Your Success, in celebration of National Medical Librarians Month, focuses on the successful strategies implemented by the Drs. Sid E. & Nell K. Williams Library at Life University in Marietta, GA.  The librarians have been working to align their service and mission with the larger mission of the institution.  Their entry outlines their changes and successes in the areas of administration, service, and outreach.

___________________________________________________________________________

by Geetha  Sridaran, M.S.L.S., Reference Librarian/Assistant Director of Library

I have been a Health Science Librarian/Assistant Director at Life University Library since 2006 and I love my job. Since I have been here, we have taken slow and steady steps to get to where we are today. And, looking back I can definitely say that several of our goals have been accomplished. It begins with our effective library director who is persistent in presenting our needs to the administration. As part of the library team, I have worked to make administrative, service, and outreach improvements, which have all gained recognition and encouragement from the university administration.

Administrative

When I first got to the Life University library, I started keeping a record of all transactions, from how many reference questions are answered in a month to how many pages are printed in the library printers on a monthly basis. I maintain a monthly colorful dashboard spreadsheet to identify where we did well and where we need improvement. Dashboard keeps us on track to meet our benchmarks and quickly address our drawbacks.

Our Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Planning and Research requires every department to submit an annual Continuous Improvement Cycle report. We at the library take this as an opportunity to highlight all of our accomplishments in the year as well as point out all the items that did not get funded and the implications. When completing our current report, we always refer to our previous report, and we do not remove items until they are funded or resolved. We use several assessment tools to justify our requests and remain persistent.

Although all professional librarian staff are considered faculty, there was no process in place for moving up the faculty rank for librarians. Just this year, I created a rubric for enabling librarians to move through the promotion process. Through consultation with other academic libraries I developed a rubric similar to those found in other departments, which the Life University administration adopted.

Service

The library staff has taken our recent campus-wide mantra of “Serving Lasting Purpose: To give, To do, To love and To serve” to heart. During the university-wide training to implement this initiative, the library staff came up with strong customer service ideas. We started a Blackboard discussion thread to communicate among ourselves, which helped us provide seamless service among our different shifts. We also decided to have a quarterly all-staff meeting and in-house staff training sessions during our breaks. From these discussions, we implemented several changes including: an increased number of online databases, increased library hours, increased staff, improved printing/copying service, improved wireless access, and improved off campus access to resources. Our annual paper and online surveys indicate that our customer service has improved and our staff received very positive comments.

Although the library is long overdue for a physical renovation, we realize it depends on the available funding. However, we have implemented changes that are within our limits such as rearranging the furniture, removing empty shelves, and providing a welcoming atmosphere. We have installed bulletin boards above the printers and copiers and posted relevant information for students such as textbook rental options. We create a monthly display highlighting the available resources on a particular topic. We have seen an increase in the check out numbers every month as a result.

We are always willing to embrace changes and adopt new technologies and trends in providing our services. Most recently, we enhanced the pace of our service with eight staff iPads enabling us to provide reference service to students immediately, which also increased staff and student interaction. We are using our seven laptop computers acquired through the NNLM/SE/A grant to teach the online resource workshop. We established the need for additional laptops to our administration and received ten more laptops. We also have a facebook fan page for the library that we keep updated daily with interesting and relevant facts to maintain an online presence.

Outreach

We are also eager to participate in campus-wide events. Our institution introduced the ‘Experiential Learning’ component to bring new students closer to the university faculty, staff, and current students, of which library staff are participants. Just recently we participated in a diaper drive for the community and the library raised 650 diapers.

In 2009 and 2010, I sought out two NNLM/SE/A Outreach grants to initiate an outreach program for the community’s senior citizens. I created a series of online health literacy classes consisting of 15 sessions in a span of one-year in addition to my regular responsibilities for the community’s senior citizens. Through the grant, I also secured seven laptops and three desktops for course instruction. At the conclusion of the project, the library hosted a “Healthy Aging” reception at which the university provost attended and interacted with the seniors. Many of these seniors now regularly utilize the library’s health resources.

Through effective teamwork and personal motivation, I have helped the Life University Library strive toward reaching our university-wide mission. We have built a positive relationship with the university administration and mutually recognize our worth in making each other stronger to provide the best service.

Don’t forget: October is National Medical Librarian Month and NN/LM SE/A wants to celebrate your successes.  We want to hear your personal stories, anecdotes, and victories advocating for your library.  It is easy to get bogged down in numbers, figures, and algorithms, and miss that rich qualitative information that brings color to a monochrome spreadsheet.

Librarians have long been storytellers, so share your story about how you have been successful in advocating for your library.  Have you “proven your worth” to an administrator? Tell us about it. Have you told people how important libraries are and changed someone’s behavior? Tell us about your experience. Or share someone else’s story. Medical libraries around the region are facing ever larger challenges and we need to work together by sharing our successful strategies to ensure a future for our profession and our institutions. Articles will be published on the NN/LM SE/A SEA Currents blog throughout the month of October.

Authors and subjects of articles will be entered into a competition for two $1000 travel scholarships to MLA 2012 in Seattle, WA. Two scholarships will be awarded and will cover travel: flight, hotel, and per diems up to $1000.

We will accept stories until October 24, 2011. The winner will be announced on October 31, 2011.