“Don’t expect to dust off your hands and wave good-bye after the grant project is done – this is a long-term commitment.”

Kay Hogan Smith
Community Services Librarian
University of Alabama, Birmingham
Lister Hill Library:http://www.uab.edu/lister/

What is your position?
I’m Community Services Librarian at UAB Lister Hill Library, and director of Health InfoNet of Alabama, a free health information service of the state’s medical and public libraries (since 1999).

Is there something in your own personal story that led you to do the work you do?
I was a public librarian before I became – quite by accident – a medical librarian. This was in the dark ages of course, but I remember how flummoxed I and my colleagues then would get by the medical questions. I was so afraid of steering people wrong! So, when I came to Lister Hill Library and was put in charge of consumer health information services, I decided that what was really needed was a cooperative health information service that pulled on the strengths of both the public and the medical librarians throughout the state. The major strength of both is their expertise in finding just the information needed that is reliable and current at the time it’s needed. We focus on that and on training and collection development as well as the use of the academic medical libraries as reference backup for the public libraries.

What do you love most about your outreach work?
Knowing that just by being sympathetic, if nothing else, I really am helping someone who may be struggling with serious health issues. I also really enjoy meeting community health advocates and partners all around the state, even around the country – I’ve met some terrific folks and become involved in some wonderful community health initiatives, especially in the faith community.

What is the biggest challenge in what you do?
Given the nature of what I do and the times we live in, I’m often contacted by uninsured people who are desperately seeking health care services. Some are even homeless, or close to it. It breaks my heart and frustrates me to no end that so many are left to fall through the cracks.

What has been the most fulfilling part of your work in terms of health outreach to your community’s underserved populations?
I’ve gotten to know a lot of truly wonderful people in my community that I might never have met but for the work I do. It is really through them that I find my greatest fulfillment in truly connecting with a community and helping them to empower themselves with reliable health information. Also, having been away from the public library myself for many years now, I continue to be impressed with the public libraries’ vibrancy and relevance in the community. They’ve truly earned this place of respect through their continuing innovation and openness to new ideas.

What do you see as the biggest health concerns in the communities you serve?
Our fragmented and inadequate health care system, especially when it comes to the poor and uninsured. Even the relatively well off, however, find it confusing at best. Our system demands a very high level of health literacy, and often it just isn’t there. Of course, that isn’t just in Alabama, although given what a poor state this is, the problem may be more acute here than elsewhere.

How did you first come to know NN/LM SE/A?
Typically, I think my very first awareness of NNLM was its funding awards, at that time for Grateful Med teaching. I got an award to teach the program to medical residents at the hospital where I worked at the time.

In what ways has NN/LM SE/A been of help to you?
In many ways, Health InfoNet of Alabama might never have been – at least not on its current scale – if not for NN/LM. They’ve always been so supportive of our work, both financially and otherwise. I’m eternally grateful to them all!

Can you share a success story about the impact of health outreach in your community?
Just recently, I helped a young woman locate information on a prescription for a skin cream her doctor had given her for severe psoriasis. The woman had just found out she was pregnant, and it turned out the skin cream was reported to increase risks of birth defects when used by pregnant women. Needless to say, she was relieved to have found out this fact before something more serious than the psoriasis happened to her baby! And I thought it was nice to know that we did our part to prevent birth defects.

What advice would you give others who are interested in doing health outreach work in their communities?
Start early getting to know, on a personal level, the people in the target communities you’ll be working with (even if you don’t know what you’ll be working on with them yet).  And, don’t expect to dust off your hands and wave good-bye after the grant project is done – this is a long-term commitment, not a “one night stand” – or at least it should be!  Finally, keep at it – things don’t always fall immediately into place.

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

We are pleased to say that the SE/A Professional Development Library has grown by 4 new titles:

• Kvale and Svend. Interviews: Learning the Craft of Qualitative Research Interviewing.
• Patton. Essentials of Utilization-Focused Evaluation.
• Booth. Reflective Teaching, Effective learning: Instructional Literacy for Library Educators
• Rossman and Rallis. Learning in the Field: an Introduction to Qualitative Research

Within the next month, we will be adding titles on grant-seeking, retirement, and library marketing.

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

An important step in professional recognition of clinical informatics (CI) occurred in September 2011. The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), whose function is “to assist its Member Boards in implementing educational/professional standards to evaluate and certify physician specialists,” voted to approve and recognize CI as a subspecialty with an administrative home belonging to the American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM). Though ABPM has sole responsibility for developing and administering the certification exam and the resulting certificates, it was joined by the American Board of Pathology as a co-sponsor.

The approval of the ABPM’s certification application allows board examinations to start with a target of Fall 2012, with the first set of physician certificates awarded sometime in early 2013. According to American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), rigorous CI core competencies will be influenced by publications on the subject that were developed by AMIA and its members, many of whom have pioneered the field and supported CI’s new status as an ABMS-recognized area of clinical expertise. Read more about AMIA’s vision of the role of the clinical informatician.

How might this affect health sciences librarianship? In a healthcare delivery world increasingly reliant on one electronic “play-space,” clinicians and their leadership eventually want the electronic health record (EHR) to seamlessly integrate with essential ancillary systems and resources. While the technology, institutional capabilities, and resources are not completely universal as yet, there are indications of movement in that direction. For more information on these developments, be sure to read the September 2011 issue (18:5) of JAMIA. The issue is dedicated to recent developments in the area of natural language processing techniques and their impact on unstructured content in health information systems, especially EHRs.

Though this designation covers physicians, there is a collateral need to develop similar designations for nursing and public health informaticians. In the meantime there are good degree and academic certification programs in clinical, nursing, and public health informatics which are open to clinical and non-clinical students. Many programs have online programs to accommodate workers who need to attend classes in the virtual realm. Additionally, Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) funding is available (to anyone eligible through a participating school) to strengthen workforce development in an assortment of informatics roles. Individual funding is provided in a variety of ways from participating community colleges and universities that administer the ONC funds. These HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health) funds are short-lived, so if you are interested in CI, I encourage you to do your research now. These institutions are tasked with producing an informatics workforce to mitigate the U.S. shortage of qualified workers as addressed in previous health information technology (HIT) reform legislation.

For more information, please contact PJ Grier, SE/A Outreach and Access Coordinator.

With the new 2011-2016 NN/LM SE/A contract, my position migrated from Network Access Coordinator to Outreach and Access Coordinator with additional duties to target outreach and education efforts to health science professionals which includes hospital librarians, health science librarians, and others in the health professions workforce. My continuing functions include maintaining and expanding member relations, network services, emergency preparedness & response, teaching, exhibiting, and monitoring/tracking funding awards.

Education and Outreach

As an organization, we are working to promote in-person and online training to health sciences librarians and health professionals. We want to make sure that this population has up-to-date access to training in evidence-based medicine, electronic medical records, health literacy and an awareness of the ever-changing landscape of healthcare reform. Along with encouraging these populations to include NLM resources in their training materials, we will make sure they are referenced in our own materials, and partner with them whenever possible to help meet their educational and outreach needs.

Member Relations and Network Services
Through email, social networks, mail, or phone (1-800-DEV-ROKS), we are responsible for answering questions from prospective and existing members about our services. If the staff member processing the request cannot answer the inquiry, it is transferred to me for more detailed information. I also promote the advantages of free network membership, especially the availability of NLM services and products, at exhibits, conferences, classes, site visits and whenever possible. An example of an organization which would benefit from network membership is community colleges that have adopted allied health sciences and health IT programs. Network services include managing DOCLINE, LinkOut referrals, monitoring scholarly communications, e-licensing activities, library digitization & preservation, collection development, encouraging consortia participation by members and resource sharing issues (repository development, ILL procedures, document delivery, publishing issues).

Emergency Preparedness and Response (EP&R)
It is my responsibility to communicate with state EP&R coordinators when adverse weather events occur that may impact libraries in our states or territories (some states, like FL and TN, have multiple coordinators). I also manage the NLM sponsored NN/LM Buddy Network with the Pacific Northwest Region (PNR): NLM has charged each NN/LM region to adopt a “buddy” in the event an RML office is unable to operate during an emergency where services and communications could be seamlessly transferred for the duration of the emergency. Internally, I maintain the SE/A emergency preparedness process, including call trees and staff contact information, and assure that it complements the University of Maryland Health Sciences and Human Services Library’s process. Additionally, I teach The 10 Steps to Service Continuity class to library associations in the region and continue to support and answer network member questions on developing viable disaster plans. One of the primary suggestions of this class is that all library associations secure a buddy library in the event of a local emergency. As the ex-officio member, I also manage administrative tasks of the EP&R Regional Access Committee.

Funding
In the area of funding, I monitor and support awards targeting resource sharing, digitization, preservation/conservation efforts and emergency preparedness for hospital/health sciences libraries and health professions. Examples of these awards include the Express Planning and Assessment Award, Disaster Recovery Award, Express Library Digitization Award, Consumer Health Outreach Projects, Express Outreach Project Awards and Policy Awareness Award. Funded projects average one year in length and can be adapted to address various programmatic needs while encouraging collaboration.

I welcome your suggestions and assistance in helping me to address the needs of health sciences librarians, healthcare professionals, emergency preparedness/disaster planning, member relations and network services in the 13 states and territories of the Southeastern Atlantic Region.

The National Library of Medicine and the NN/LM, SE/A Region offices will be closed on Monday, January 16, 2012 in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

January 18, 2012 – 1 PM ET
90 minutes

A free Webinar via Adobe Connect

- Created by the Chicago Collaborative, a joint partnership of librarians, publishers and editors*

- Sponsored and hosted by the New England, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeastern/Atlantic Regions of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine

This 90-minute webinar provides an opportunity to learn about the publishing cycle of biomedical journals, both in print and online.  The complexities of publishing, in a world of rapidly changing delivery formats and devices will be explored, including the publishing challenges and opportunities posed by each.  Presenters include John Tagler of the Association of American Publishers, Inc. and the session will be moderated by MJ Tooey, Associate Vice President , Academic Affairs and Executive Director of the Health Sciences and Human Services Library and Director of the Southeastern/Atlantic Region at the University of Maryland.

Participants will gain knowledge of the various roles and responsibilities of different players in the scientific publishing chain and of the international aspects of bioscience communication.  All participants will have a chance to engage in discussions with the presenters.  Key topics to be covered include:

•          The Current Biomedical Publishing Landscape
•          The Publishing Process
•          Publication Ethics
•          Production & Delivery
•          Practical Considerations
•          The Road Ahead

Please register at http://nnlm.gov/sea/training/register.html by January 17, 2012  if you plan on attending.

Connection instructions will be provided upon registration.

We here at the SE/A RML want to wish you all the best the holiday season has to offer.  Since everyone is busy with holiday things, vacations, and general merriment, SEA Currents will be on holiday as well.  Keep your eyes peeled for new posts in the new year.  Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from everyone here at SE/A!

Holiday Closings:

NLM, December 26, 2011 and January 2, 2012

NN/LM, SE/A Offices: December 24, 2011 – January 2, 2012

My NCBI will be unavailable due to site maintenance on Monday, December 19 at 8AM EST for approximately 5 hours.

Andrew Youngkin has joined the staff of the NN/LM SE/A as our new Emerging Technologies/Evaluation Coordinator as of December 5, 2011.

Andrew earned an MLS from Emporia State University in 2005 and a B.A. from the University of Utah in 2002. Most recently, Andrew worked as a reference librarian at the EPA Headquarters and Chemical Libraries in Washington, D.C. Prior to the EPA, Andrew served a mid-size community hospital for 3 years as a senior medical librarian, managing day-to-day library operations, teaching information literacy, and providing reference and research to hospital staff, patients, and administrators. Andrew enjoys teaching and writing with professional interests that include new and emerging technologies, assessment and evaluation, and health information literacy. When not working, Andrew pursues a range of outdoor activities, traveling, and keeping up with his kids, ages 5 & 7.

Andrew’s email address is: ayoungki@hshsl.umaryland.edu

The University of Maryland’s Baltimore campus is experiencing a system-wide power outage today, November 23, 2011. Consequently, the office of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Southeastern/Atlantic Region will be closed today and throughout the holiday, reopening at our usual time on Monday, November 28.