ConnectMidwest

This week your intrepid blog editor has been watching an idea spread like wildfire through the librarian blog world, also known as the biblioblogosphere. On Sunday evening, Marcus Banks (NOT the NBA Marcus Banks) posted Why Professional Librarian Journals Should Evolve into Blogs. Here is his idea:

I became firmly convinced that the traditional journal model is antiquated for sharing research and knowledge among librarians. A better course is to develop and nurture excellent blogs, with multimedia capabilities and guaranteed preservation of the postings.

David Rothman picked it up right away Monday and included the slide show that Marcus used to present his librarian blog survey results. (Yikes, my poor old Gateway takes a long time to load this page with the embedded slide show.)

T. Scott was on it by Tuesday early with Editing and Peer Review. Dean Giustini chimed in later in the day with Blogs Destabilize LIS Publishing - But Research.

Then David Rothman posted about it again later in the day with Troubled Tuesday, commenting on T. Scott and Dean Giustini and noting that LibraryStuff and LIS News had also posted the link for their readers.

Talk about a flurry of activity! Read about it yourself. What do you think?

Your intrepid blog editor thinks that for for some librarians like herself, blogs have already replaced professional journals as the primary means of "keeping up" with developments in the field. "What's the latest and how can it be useful in my library?" just cannot be answered in peer-reviewed journals. The time to publication is too long. I hate to admit it, but the latest issue of JMLA is sitting back in the office on my desk with a bookmark at the Janet Doe lecture, still waiting to be read.

Sharon Kambeitz, our Midwest Chapter AHIP Representative sends this along:

Please note the following message from the AHIP Credentialing Committee of the Medical Library Association. This may be good news for the librarian selectors for Doody's Core Titles who are earning points toward their AHIP credentialing or rewewal credentialing.

An individual may receive 3 AHIP points for each book review they author; this is an activity which was already included in the AHIP Point Index, under the Authoring section, II.B.:

Authoring

Clarification for all journal articles: Letters to the editor do not count as publications.

Peer-reviewed Journal

Research article author (three or fewer): 25 points
Research article author (four or more): 15 points
Brief article, column, review author (three or fewer): 10 points
Brief article, column, review author (four or more): 6 points
Book or media review author: 3 points

Documentation required: Copy of pages indicating that journal is peer-reviewed (this is not required for library science journals), copy of title page of journal, and a copy of the title page of the article.

Clarification: Articles published in the Brief Communications section of the JMLA are brief articles. Articles in similar sections of other peer-reviewed journals would also be considered brief articles.

Clarification: Although Medical Reference Services Quarterly is not peer-reviewed, it does have an editorial board. Because of the quality of the journal, it is considered peer-reviewed for the purpose of awarding academy points.

The committee further recommended that individuals acting as Librarian Selectors may be eligible for 3 AHIP points per year for this activity. This change was reflected in the online Point Index, Section II.B., as indicated below:

Commercially Published Books and Materials
This category includes directories, indexes and bibliographies.

Single author/editor: 50 points
Author/editor (two or three): 25 points
Author/editor (four or more): 20 points
Author of chapter (three or fewer): 15 points
Author of chapter (four or more): 8 points
Librarian Selector (i.e. Doody's): 3 points per year

Documentation Required: Copy of letter of agreement or letter of acknowledgment for librarian selector.

The AHIP Point Index is accessible online at mlanet.org. Please feel free to share this update with those involved, and if you have any questions, please contact the Medical Library Association, Credentialing Office.