MIDLINE
No. 95 | Spring 2004
Newsletter of the Midwest Chapter / Medical Library Association

In this issue


President's Message

Featured article

Midwest Chapter News and Activities Columns

              MLA '04 Reports

              MLA Benchmarking

What’s happening: News and announcements from around the Midwest Chapter


President's Message
By Melinda Orebaugh, Midwest Chapter President
Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center, La Crosse, WI
mgorebau@gundluth.org

Greetings Midwest Chapter Colleagues, 

Minnesota. Indiana. Wisconsin. Illinois. Besides being Midwestern, what do these states have in common? A visit from the Midwest Chapter president! I have visited or will visit soon the health sciences librarians residing in each of these states! In April, I visited with the Health Science Libraries of Minnesota in Minneapolis, the Indiana Health Science Librarians Association in Nashville, and the Wisconsin Health Science Library Association in Milwaukee. In June, I will travel to Springfield, to visit with Health Science Librarians of Illinois. While in Springfield, I will have the opportunity to stay at our 2004 Midwest Chapter conference hotel!

I have truly enjoyed visiting with my Midwestern colleagues and I appreciate all invitations that were extended me whether I was able to attend or not. As always, I learn from you and I have freely shared with other state groups the unique and wonderful ideas, projects, and programs in which each of your state organizations is involved. Outreach is a recurring theme; outreach to library science students, special populations, other librarians, health care professionals, politicians, and the general public. Kudos to each of you! 

Most importantly, during my travels, I recruited a new member to the chapter. Welcome, Leah Broaddus of Indiana! 

Included in this issue of MIDLINE, you will find the 2004 Goals & Objectives of the Midwest Chapter. These goals were created by Board members during our annual spring meeting in March. Our goals are based upon the priorities of MLA President, Pat Thibodeau. Reports from other officers are also included in this issue. To summarize the spring Board meeting, the following action items are to be undertaken by board members: a high quality chapter logo will be made available on the chapter website for download; an FAQ regarding chapter offices will be created to clarify requirements of office for perspective candidates; revised chapter bylaws will be posted on the website; quarterly membership directory updates will be implemented; the administrative process for awarding the annual meeting scholarship will be improved; guidelines for spring Board meeting planning will be developed; a research sharing event for the 2004 meeting will be organized, if possible; strategies for promoting research performed by chapter members will be developed and the Midwest Chapter will be promoted to the state health science library associations.

Enjoy this issue of MIDLINE!  A special thank you to Clare Leibfarth, Barbarie Hill, their committees, and MIDLINE contributors for an outstanding effort! 

Regards,
Melinda


2004 Chapter Goals & Objectives

Based upon the priorities of MLA President, Pat Thibodeau
http://www.mlanet.org/about/leaders/president_03-04/pt_prior.html

1)  Advocate Our Value
Recognize and promote our value to our institutions, the health care enterprise, and society.

Chapter Goals & Objectives:

  1. Make membership aware of position papers and other tools they can use to advocate for library roles in evolving issues such as open access.
  2. Create a web clearinghouse for promotional materials and ideas, e.g., media kits, book fairs, contests, including promotions to health professionals and consumers.
  3. Encourage participation in benchmarking.
  4. Advocate for MLA to conduct an annual salary survey with free results.
  5. Promote AHIP membership to Chapter members and their administrators.


2)  Build Our Community
Ensure our enduring value through recruitment and retention of today’s and tomorrow’s librarians and leaders.

Chapter Goals & Objectives:

Recruitment

  1. Recruit science majors and health practitioners who are disillusioned and recruit those seeking second careers.
  2. Identify why they are not going into health sciences librarianship.
  3. Work with public librarians in consumer health.

Retention

  1. Provide training in marketing and public relations.
  2. Give ammunition to librarians to use with administrators regarding salaries, worth, etc.
  3. Identify and promote benefits of Chapter membership.
     

3)  Encourage Life Long Learning
Ensure that we remain vital and responsive to our environment and that our value is recognized and sought well into the future by integrating new technical and content expertise into our traditional skills.

Chapter Goals & Objectives:

  1. Investigate web-based tutorials, webcasts, etc. on topics of current interest.
  2. Disseminate technology tips.
  3. Provide web-based topic forums for our membership. Use Midwest Chapter e-mail discussion group to point members to new discussions.
     

4)  Create a Professional Knowledge Base
Capture and share the value of our knowledge, experiences, and skills.

Chapter Goals & Objectives

  1. Develop a Pearls/Best Practice database.
  2. Develop a collaboration pool for research, e.g., mentors, technical support specialists, statistical experts.
     

5)  Embrace Global Networks
Strengthen our value at the global level through diverse partnerships and international initiatives.

Chapter Goals & Objectives:

  1. Support Government Relations Committee – connect all members within chapter and states.
  2. Support multicultural services in our libraries.
  3. Support "doctors without boundaries" with information needs before or during trips.
  4. Donate books and journals to places in need, providing postage/shipping donations.
  5. Collaborate on research.
  6. Support multicultural services within our chapter.
  7. Reach out to the public health sector and research organizations for specific diseases.
  8. Identify sister libraries around the world.
  9. Support publishers/distributors who discount subscriptions to needy countries.
     


Treasurer's Report: Meeting Finances

By Chris Shaffer, Midwest Chapter Treasurer
Hardin Library for the Health Sciences
University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
chris-shaffer@uiowa.edu

At the Spring Meeting, the Midwest Chapter Board voted to convert existing and future Annual Conference Loans to grants, resulting in a net decrease in assets of $3,000.00. The Chapter will recoup 50% of this amount in future meeting profits.

The 2003 Annual Conference profit totaled $7,153.70 of which $3,576.85 will be paid to the Midwest Chapter / Medical Library Association.

A Meeting Finances Task Force has been established. Members of the Task Force are: Chris Shaffer, Chair; Donna Barbour-Talley, Eileen Stanley, Karen Anderson, Karen Douglas, Kellie Kaneshiro, Mary Markland, Melinda Orebaugh, and Sheryl Stevens. The Finance Committee will assist the Task Force. The charge to the Task Force is:

Chapter assets are $40,389.26 as of April 28, 2004. The budget, financial statement, ledger and accounts are available on the Chapter web site at http://midwestmla.org/business/treasurer/.



Profile of the Midwest Chapter: Spring 2004

 

By Bette Sydelko, Midwest Chapter Membership Secretary
Fordham Health Sciences Library
Wright State University, Dayton, OH
bette.sydelko@wright.edu

The Midwest Chapter currently has 373 members with more renewals coming in every day. Updating and revising the membership database to reflect changes brought on by retirements, library closures, and member relocations are the goals for the Membership Committee in 2004. Your help would be greatly appreciated in identifying potential new members for the Midwest Chapter. Please let me know if you have met someone new whose name we could add to our mailing list. Membership is open to all with an interest in health science libraries.

So who are we? Where are we from?  How has the membership changed over time? These are just a few questions that the Midwest Chapter Membership Secretary can answer!

Most members are affiliated with hospitals, with the number of academic members catching up. This year the percentage of hospital library members is 49% compared to academics at 40.9%. Eighty-six percent are either personal or institutional members of MLA, and 30.8% belong to the Academy of Health Information Professionals (AHIP).

Data for memberships by state is available from 2000 to the present and is illustrated on the graph below. Check out your state and see if our membership correlates with trends in your state’s health science libraries.

Now that you have seen the numbers, you might be curious as to the details (i.e. names, addresses, etc.) of just who the members are. The current membership directory is available on the Midwest Chapter website. For username and password, contact Chapter Membership Secretary Bette Sydelko.



Midwest Chapter/HSLI 2004 Annual Conference

$500 Meeting Scholarship

Have you heard good things about the Fall Midwest Chapter meetings, but have never attended one? Are you a new MLS librarian and would like to network with other health science librarians? Are you in graduate library school and would like to know what a Chapter meeting is all about? Do you know someone at your institution who might be interested in attending a Chapter meeting? The Midwest Chapter offers a meeting scholarship of $500 to MLS students or new graduates who have never attended a Chapter meeting. See the Chapter website for more details and an application at http://www.midwestmla.org/awards. The meeting is in Springfield, IL October 9-12, 2004. The deadline for application is August 1, 2004.



Plan Ahead!

2007 Joint Meeting of the Midwest and Midcontinental Chapters

Visit Omaha, Gateway to the West

Omaha, founded in 1854, is the site of the Union Pacific headquarters and point of eastern origin for the first trans-continental railway to be built across the west, the greatest western trail of the nineteenth century. Omaha became the home to many seeking their fortune and to immigrants who worked for the railroads, meat packing houses, and businesses trying to supply the demand for goods to the west and east.

Make plans now to visit Omaha in 2007 for the joint meeting of the Midwest and Midcontinental Chapters!



New Member Profiles

By Mary K. Taylor, Midwest Chapter Member
Morris Library, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL
mtaylor@libsiu.edu

Cheryl Anderson is a solo medical librarian at the Carl Davis Jr., M.D. Medical Library, Rush North Shore Medical Center, in Skokie, IL. She worked at Northwestern University's academic library for 2 years while getting her MLIS and says it was "quite a switch from academic to medical, and of course from having hundreds of co-workers to none! Cheryl graduated in 2002 with her M.L.I.S. from Dominican University in River Forest, IL. She obtained her undergraduate degree in English writing and history from St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY. She has lived in Chicago for the past 6 years, and is originally from Rochester, NY.

Lynne Ferrell is the Coordinator, Library Services at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield, IL. She handles all library functions for her one-librarian special library, Schneppe Professional Library. She has worked at Memorial since 1986 in Education and Customer Service, but did not become library coordinator until fall of 2000. She states, "I love my job here at Memorial as my work is so varied and interesting!” Lynne was born in Fort Atkinson, WI and grew up in Mount Prospect, IL. She received a B.S. in education from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 1984. She loves to second-hand shop (as in antiques, auctions, flea markets or garage sales), read, ride bicycles, rent movies, garden (“not veggies, just perennials, flowers and plants”), bird feeding and watching, and spending time with and playing games with her family. Lynne is Hospitality Chair for the Midwest Chapter/MLA and HSLI Annual Conference in October, 2004, and adds that “I am working hard to plan a variety of fun and interesting activities in and around Springfield for conference attendees to enjoy in their spare time."

Karen Fischer is an Information Resources Librarian at the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, University of Iowa. Her responsibilities include collection development and management of serials and electronic resources. She received her M.L.I.S. from the Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and received an undergraduate degree from Kalamazoo College in 1991.

Corinne Florin is the archivist and a librarian at the Greenawalt Library at Northwestern Health Sciences University in Bloomington, MN. She works at the circulation desk, fills interlibrary loans, and assists students. As the archivist, she is setting up the new archives area, rewriting the disaster plan, and processing the collections. She grew up in Bloomington, but lived in Missoula, MT for twenty years and still owns a house there, "so I split my 'hometown affiliation' between those two cities." Corinne received her M.L.I.S. with a concentration in archives in 2000 from Dominican University. She received a B.A. in linguistics from the University of Minnesota. She has two children: Aaron, who is a paramedic, and Rachel, who is in mortgage banking. Corinne also has two cats: Ritalin and Mannix, "who got his name because he is a Manx."

Susan Foster-Harper is Medical Reference & Instruction Librarian at Alden Library, at Ohio University. Her main responsibilities include collection development, reference, instruction, and outreach activities. She is interested in issues relating to access to health information in rural and/or developing areas and nursing education. She received undergraduate degree in history from the University of Charleston, WV. Susan received her M.L.I.S. from the University of Kentucky in 1998. She likes gardening and international travel "when possible."

Lori Francar is the Patient Education Librarian at the Health Science Library at St. Vincent Hospital in Green Bay, WI. She coordinates patient education materials and services at the hospital, and “job shares Health Science Library responsibilities.” She is interested in consumer health. Lori is a native of Fond du Lac, WI. She received an undergraduate degree in nursing from University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Lori received her M.L.I.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1997. Her hobbies include kayaking, walking, biking, and traveling.

Kelly Gonzalez is the Assistant Director for Library Public Services at the Library of Rush University, Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, IL. She supervises three reference librarians and seven paraprofessionals, and oversees reference (including education and outreach), circulation, and stack management. She participates in on the Library's Steering Committee and other special committees. Kelly's hometown is Dallas, TX. She graduated with an undergraduate degree in English and linguistics from Texas A & M University. She received her M.S.I.S. from the University of North Texas in 1992. Kelly worked for OVID Technologies for the past five years in several areas, including content development and as a production manager. Prior to joining OVID, she served as a reference librarian at Louisiana State Medical Center, as a MEDLINE trainer for the Midlands Online Training Center of the National Library of Medicine, and as an Information Access Specialist for the North Louisiana Area Health Education Center. Kelly enjoys playing golf, independent films, watching baseball, watching and playing tennis, and good restaurants.

Gail Marredeth is Health Sciences Librarian at Cleveland State University Library. Her duties include reference, collection development, and instruction for nursing, biology, occupational and physical therapy, speech and hearing, psychology and women's studies. She is the coordinator for chat, the head of Reference's back-up, and supervises student assistants. Gail lives in the city of Cleveland with her husband and their cats. She loves traveling, and going to flea markets and antique malls. She states that "I rejoined Midwest Medical Libraries because the focus has changed…I am very pleased to be back with my peers. In the interim, I was president of the University's professional staff union of 400 members… I still am involved as a member of the Executive Board but now I get to work on projects close to my heart like wage inequities and evaluations. My consciousness was raised by my union activity and I volunteer for political issues now while still being a Board member of a large mental health agency. I look forward to meeting you all and getting involved in whatever the association wishes me to do!"

Eric Nygren is Research Services Librarian at the Health Sciences Library of the Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola University of Chicago. His main responsibilities include reference, bibliographic instruction, and collection development. Prior to coming to Loyola, Eric was Serials Librarian in the library at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He received his M.L.I.S. from Dominican University. His interests include French language and culture. He recently spent a month learning the language in Southern France.

Diane Richards is the Collection Development Coordinator at Memorial Library at Minnesota State University, Mankato. She serves on a team to provide services for the College of Allied Health and Nursing, with primary responsibility for the School of Nursing and the Health Sciences Department, and her professional interests include nursing and allied health information. Diane is originally from Beatrice, Nebraska. She received her undergraduate degree in English from Nebraska Wesleyan University, and her M.L.I.S. from the University of Oregon in 1973. She enjoys gardening and reading mysteries.

Enid Stevenson is received her M.L.I.S. in December 1999 from UW-Milwaukee. She volunteered for five years in a small academic library prior to attending library school. Her first job after graduation was a temporary position in the news information center of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. In October 2000, Enid joined the Milwaukee Legislative Reference Bureau, which serves a variety of constituents. She is presently seeking employment in a medical or health science library. She states, "I am hoping to blend my background, education and experience in the health area, with my vocation as a librarian." Enid's professional interests include consumer health, outreach, and health literacy. She adds, "MLA's CE really got me motivated; [I] am building and designing a website [called] Pathfinder for Health Information Resources. It is all about tools for literacy in the health arena."



Seize the Power!

Reports from MLA '04

Editor's Note: The Medical Library Association's 2004 annual meeting was held May 21 - 26, 2004 in Washington, D.C. Your intrepid team of Midwest Chapter reporters would like to share their "powerful" conference experiences with you!


Midwest Chapter MLA award winners

Congratulations Midwest Chapter Members!

Three Midwest Chapter members were recognized for their achievements at the MLA Awards Ceremony on Monday, May 24, 2004. Fellowship was conferred on Midwest Chapter MLA Chapter Council Representative Carole Gilbert for her outstanding contributions to health science librarianship. Bette Sydelko, Midwest Chapter Membership Secretary was awarded a Continuing Education Grant and Chapter Member Pamela Barnard was awarded a Hospital Libraries Section/MLA Professional Development Grant.
 


Posing after the MLA Awards Ceremony, from left, Pamela Barnard,
Carole Gilbert, and Bette Sydelko with MLA President Patricia Thibodeau.
 

MLA Chapter Council Meeting, Saturday, May 22, 2004

Submitted by Carole Gilbert,
Midwest Chapter MLA Chapter Council Representative

MLA President Patricia Thibodeau listed highlights from 2003-2004:

MLA President-Elect Joanne Marshall outlined her goals. She will focus on diversity at all levels, including globally, attempting to diversify our knowledge base using talents of our members.

Other interesting tidbits:

Chapter Sharing Roundtables, Sunday, May 23, 2004

Submitted by Pamela Rees,
Midwest Chapter MLA Chapter Council Representative Alternate

More than 300 participants took part in this year's Chapter Council Presents "Sharing Roundtable" event. There were 30 topics discussed at 47 tables. A facilitator and recorder were present at each table to lead the discussion and take notes. Reports of the discussions will be posted on MLANET later this summer under the Chapter Council site. The "Sharing Roundtables" continue to be a popular event because it is one of the only scheduled events for informally discussing a specific topic of interest with others who share the same interest. Recorders and facilitators each earn one AHIP point for participating. Thank you to all who volunteered!

The Janet Doe Lecture: "Life and Death on a Coral Reef"

Submitted by Bette Sydelko,
Midwest Chapter Membership Secretary

The 2004 Janet Doe Lecture was delivered by Rick B. Forsman, AHIP, FMLA, director of the Denison Memorial Library at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center-Denver. His engaging talk, entitled “Life and Death on the Coral Reef: An Ecological Perspective on Scholarly Publishing in the Health Sciences,” presented a “colorful” comparison of a coral reef ecosystem to the current issues of electronic publishing and open access. What can be compared? Both are extremely complex systems whose interdependencies and connections we must understand and acknowledge. Forsman suggests that just as balance is the key in a coral reef ecosystem, so it will be that balance will be the key as we work through the electronic publishing and open access issues. Lastly, coral reefs are in danger as is our current publishing model. The main message: a call for MLA members to take action! Become informed, talk with all parties involved, and know that scholarly publishing is not a simple issue, nor will there be simple solutions.

Highlights of the MLA Board Meeting on May 20-21, 2004:

Submitted by Ruth Holst
Secretary, MLA Board of Directors and Midwest Chapter Member

The Board discussed a variety of issues confronting the membership, including but not limited to, the dues increase, hospital library closures and cutbacks, MLA's response to the "Washington DC Principles for Free Access to Science," the potential for MLA Sections to produce core lists of information resources to replace the Brandon-Hill lists, and the impact of recently passed communications legislation on the association community including MLA. This legislation includes the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act (resulting in do-not-call registry), the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (CAN-SPAM) Act, and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. MLA will enact procedures to be in compliance with these acts.

Actions taken by the Board include:


BENCHMARKING 2004!

By Linda E. Bunyan, Midwest Chapter Benchmarking Chapter Educator
Summa Health System Library, Akron, OH
bunyanl@summa-health.org

The Medical Library Association’s 2004 benchmarking survey is now open for data collection at http://www.mlanet.org/members/benchmarking/data_enter_2004.html. It is available for all personal and institutional members of MLA (except those who already contribute to the AAHSL survey) until the closing date of June 30, 2004. Printing out the worksheet at http://www.mlanet.org/members/benchmark/worksheet_2003-04.html will help you organize and collect data and streamline data entry.

As of April 23, the Midwest Chapter had 19 participants in the program, making us the leaders in the nation! Let’s keep it that way! High participation throughout the Midwest Chapter will enable us to support each other with a rich database of information in five areas: administrative financial; administrative personnel and other; public services; technical services; special services.

Data can be entered piecemeal until you have completed the survey; just go back in at any time until June 30 to edit and add data as you collect it. Resources such as your administrator, Finance, and Marketing Departments can provide statistics on your institution.

As the Benchmarking Chapter Educator for the Midwest Chapter, I am glad to offer my help. Please don’t hesitate to ask me for assistance; in true librarian style, if I don’t know the answer, I will find one for you!


 


What’s Happening?

News and Announcements from around the Chapter

Publication Opportunities

Biomedical Digital Libraries will be an Open Access, peer-reviewed online journal that considers manuscripts on all aspects of digital library content and usage in biomedical settings, including academic medical centers, research and development institutes, and health care institutions. Preliminary information about the journal is available at http://www.bio-diglib.com.

The Technology Column of the Journal of Hospital Librarianship is seeking submissions for future issues. If you have successfully implemented new technologies in your library, harnessed old technology in new ways, or overcome a technological problem, then please consider writing an article and sharing your knowledge with your colleagues. As added incentive, please note that 6 to 10 AHIP points are awarded for columns, and 15 to 25 points are awarded for research articles. If you are interested in submitting an article, please contact one of the co-editors, Alexia Estabrook (alexia.estabrook@providence-stjohnhealth.org) or Barbara Platts (bplatts@mhc.net).

New Library Contact Information: University of Wisconsin - - Madison

On June 21, 2004, the new contact information for all University of Wisconsin - Madison health sciences libraries will be:

Ebling Library
Health Sciences Learning Center
University of Wisconsin - Madison
750 Highland Ave. Madison, WI 53705-2221
Phone: 608.262.2020
Administration: 608.262.6594

All staff telephone numbers will remain the same as they were before the move. Watch our web site for further news and developments and come visit us online: http://www.hsl.wisc.edu/.


 

 


MIDLINE is published in electronic format four times a year by the Midwest Chapter/Medical Library Association. The newsletter and archives are available at http://midwestmla.org/MIDLINE/. Statements and positions expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily represent the official positions of the Chapter, the Chapter Board, or the Editor. Contributions from all Chapter members are welcomed and encouraged. Copy deadlines for coming issues are as follows:
IssueCopy DeadlinePosting Date
Summer 2004July 15, 2004August 15, 2004
Fall 2004October 15, 2004November 15, 2004
Winter 2005January 15, 2005 February 15, 2005
Spring 2005April 15, 2005 May 15, 2005

Contributions may be edited for brevity, clarity, or conformance to style. The Medical Library Association Style Manual, available at http://mlanet.org/publications/style, provides guidelines for MIDLINE contributors. All copy should be submitted in electronic format to the editor, Clare Leibfarth (e-mail:LEIBFARTH@exchange.oucom.ohiou.edu). Photos should be submitted as .jpeg files.

Mailing address changes should be reported to: Bette Sydelko, Membership Secretary, Midwest Chapter/MLA, Fordham Health Sciences Library, 125A Medical Sciences Bldg., Wright State University, Dayton, OH 45435 (e-mail: bette.sydelko@wright.edu). 

The Midwest Chapter/Medical Library Association website is located at http://midwestmla.org

Clare Leibfarth, Editor
Doctors Hospital of Stark County
400 Austin Avenue N.W.
Massillon, OH 44646