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November 2006 Archives

November 14, 2006

Fall 2006 Issue, Number 105
MIDLINE Publication Information

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 future issues are as follows:

Winter 2007: January 15, 2007
Spring 2007: April 15, 2007
Summer 2007: July 15, 2007
Fall 2007: October 15, 2006

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 (email: leibfarth@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, 125D 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
Medical Library
Affinity Medical Center, Doctors Campus
400 Austin Avenue N.W., Massillon, OH 44646

November 15, 2006

Member News

Linda Walton is the new Associate University Librarian and Director of the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences. Linda came to the University of Iowa Libraries from the Galter Health Sciences Library at Northwestern University where she has been the Associate Director.

Jane Blumenthal is the Director, Health Sciences Libraries at the University of Michigan. Jane previously served as the Assistant Dean for Knowledge Management and Director of the Dahlgren Memorial Library at Georgetown University.

Nancy Allee has been promoted to the position of Deputy Director for the Health Sciences Libraries at the University of Michigan. Nancy previously was the Director of Public Health Library & Informatics at the University of Michigan.

MLA News

Nominate a Colleague for the Estelle Brodman Award

The MLA Estelle Brodman Award annually recognizes an academic medical librarian, who, at mid-career demonstrates a significant achievement, the potential for leadership and continuing excellence. Recipients receive a certificate and a cash award of $500. Deadline is November 1, 2006. Complete information and nomination forms can be found on MLANET. Please contact Jury Chair, Judy Burnham, for additional information or questions.

Nominate the next MLA Hospital Librarian of the Year

Go to MLANET to get the form and see how easy it is to recognize one of your colleagues (or yourself) for outstanding work in the hospital library field. Do it today!! E-mail completed form to: mlapd2@mlahq.org, or fax to 312.419.8950. Deadline for nomination is November 1, 2006.

Apply today for the 2007 MLA Scholarship: Application Deadline December 1

Applications are currently being accepted for the annual MLA Scholarship. This scholarship provides up to $5,000 to a student who shows excellence in scholarship and potential for accomplishment in health sciences librarianship. For further information and eligibility requirements please visit http://www.mlanet.org/awards/grants/scholar.html. Please feel free to e-mail Anne Heimann, Jury Chair if you have additional questions.

2008 MLA Cunningham Memorial International Fellowship: Due December 1

The award is given annually to citizens or permanent residents from countries outside the United States or Canada who have both an undergraduate degree and a master's level library degree and are working or preparing to work in a health sciences library in their country. The program provides a learning experience that may consist of a stay in the United States at one or more medical libraries. Based upon an upcoming pilot program for the 2007 Cunningham Fellowship, the format and duration of the 2008 program could vary from two weeks up to a period of three months. For more information, contact Lisa C. Fried, Credentialing, Professional Recognition, and Career Coordinator at 1.312.419.9094 ext. 28 or mlapd2@mlahq.org. Go to http://www.mlanet.org/awards/grants for links to a fact sheet and application.

MLA Research, Development, and Demonstration Project Grant:
Deadline December 1

The purpose of this grant is to provide support for research, development, or demonstration projects that will help to promote excellence in the field of health sciences librarianship and information sciences. For more information visit http://www.mlanet.org/awards/grants/index.html. Please email Howard Silver, Jury Chair, at hsilver@mit.edu if you have additional questions.

MIS/MLA Career Development Grants Due December 1

Established in 1996 by the Medical Informatics Section, this grant provides two individuals with $1500 to support a career development activity that will contribute to advancement in the field of medical informatics. An application and more information about the grant can be accessed at www.mlanet.org/awards/grants/ or by contacting Lisa C. Fried, MLA's Credentialing, Professional Recognition and Career Coordinator at mlapd2@mlahq.org.

MLA Professional Development Grant for Hospital and Clinical Librarians:
Application Due December 1, 2006.

Are you looking for financial support to: Advance your professional education? Attend a meeting? Conduct research? The HLS/MLA Professional Development Grant helps librarians in hospitals and other clinical care settings acquire knowledge and skills through educational or research activities. For information and an application, visit the MLA web site http://www.mlanet.org/awards/grants/. For additional questions, contact Marlene Derrick at marlene.derrick@csauh.com.

MLA Continuing Education Grant due December 1

Consider applying today for an MLA CE Grant of $100-$500 to develop your knowledge of the theoretical, administrative, and/or technical aspects of librarianship. Eligibility criteria include: You must hold a graduate degree in Library Science, be a practicing health sciences librarian with at least two years experience, and a citizen or permanent resident of the United States or Canada. For complete criteria and an application visit, http://www.mlanet.org/pdf/grants/ce_app_20050712.pdf.

Apply Today for the MLA David A. Kronick Traveling Fellowship

This $2000 fellowship is given for studying a specific aspect of health information management by traveling to three or more medical libraries in the US or Canada. The application deadline is December 1, 2006. More information on the award, along with the application form can be found at http://mlanet.org/awards/grants/index.html. "The Kronick Fellowship offers the opportunity for visiting beyond the virtual library. I'm looking forward to exploring the academic public health library as place", states Kristine M. Alpi, 2005 Award Recipient. For additional information, contact the Kronick Jury chair, Laura K. Cousineau at cousinel@musc.edu or (843) 792-2368.

Apply for the EBSCO/MLA Annual Meeting Grant

The EBSCO/MLA Annual Meeting Grant is sponsored by EBSCO Information Services. MLA members who otherwise would not be able to attend the MLA Annual Meeting will receive up to $1,000 in travel and conference related expenses. An application form and detailed criteria can be found at http://mlanet.org/pdf/grants/ebsco_app_20050712.pdf. Please share this
information with your colleagues. For more information, please contact George Wahlert, Jury Chair gwahlert@chpnet.org or Lisa Fried, MLA Professional Development at mlapd2@mlahq.org.

Meet Our Newest Members

Submitted by Mary K. Taylor
Morris Library, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL
mtaylor@lib.siu.edu

Ely M. Anderson is Reference Librarian/Online Search Services and Outreach Coordinator at the Library of the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, IL. Her primary responsibilities include providing research consultations, teaching instructional workshops, and coordinating the Library’s outreach program. She is interested in first career librarianship, outreach and marketing, health and information literacy, and consumer health. Ely is a 2003 graduate of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Ely has an undergraduate degree in education with certificates in music and remedial reading instruction from Wartburg College in Waverly, OH. Her home town is Ryan, IA. Among Ely’s personal interests are volunteering, singing, playing the piano, outdoor recreation, reading, and religion. She is in the masters of medical ethics certificate program at Rush University.

Mary Ellen Armentrout is the Manager of the Joseph M. Strong M.D. Medical Library for the EMH Regional Healthcare System. She manages the one-person library and assists 250 physicians and hospital staff with research. Mary Ellen has worked in academic, public, and special libraries. She states that her “most interesting positions have been in botanical and medical libraries.” Mary Ellen’s home town is Akron, OH. She received an undergraduate degree in French from Otterbein College, and graduated from library school at Indiana University in 1982. She is interested in the history of medicine and the history of Carnegie libraries.

Jane Blumenthal is Director, Health Sciences Libraries, at the University of Michigan. Her main responsibilities include “planning, overseeing, and facilitating all aspects” of the libraries. Her professional interests include leadership, professional development, library management, medical education, and integrated instruction. Before coming to the University of Michigan, Jane had been at Georgetown University Medical Center Library in Washington, D.C., for 16 years. During her last 10 years there, she was director and assistant dean. Jane has been chair of MLA’s Leadership and Management Section, a member of the MLA Credentialing Committee, and a member of the AAHSL Board of Directors. She is co-chair of the Program Committee for MLA’s 2008 National Meeting in Chicago. Her home town is Fredericksburg, VA. She has an undergraduate degree in religion from The College of William and Mary in Virginia, and graduated from library school at the Catholic University of America. Her hobbies and interests include birding, native plants, wildlife habitat and wildlife rehabilitation, folk music, jazz and blues, mystery novels, travel, musical theater. She adds, “I’ve recently arrived in the Midwest with my husband, Don, after living my entire life near Washington, D.C. We both love Ann Arbor and are enjoying exploring Michigan.”

Wenda Webster Fischer is the owner of Info Source, Inc., a research company. Her responsibilities include research, marketing, and operation of the business. Her professional interests include online research. She is a graduate of the library school at the University of Tennessee, and has an undergraduate degree in biology from the same institution. Her home town is Louisville, KY. Her hobbies include water skiing, Bikram yoga, cross-stitch, piano, organ, and handbells.

Barbara A. Gushrowski is the Access Services Manager of the Indiana University School of Dentistry Library. She supervises all circulation functions, provides reference services and ILL, maintains the library’s webpage, participates in collection development activities, supervises three FTE, and hires and trains student workers. Her professional interests include the integration of library services and resources into the curriculum. She states, “I have found numerous opportunities at IUSD to further integrate library services and resources into the curriculum. I am very pleased to have the opportunity to tutor groups of dental students in the Problem Based Learning curriculum and working with the new distance education component of the dental assisting program.” Barbara’s hobbies include gardening, quilting, and reading. Her home town is Indianapolis, IN.

Emily S. Mazure is a student at the University of Michigan’s School of Information. She plans to graduate in 2007. A native of Traverse City, MI, Emily has an undergraduate degree in biology from Central Michigan University. She says that she is interested in medical librarianship because “it allows me to combine my interest and background in biology with my interest in librarianship.” When asked about her hobbies, Emily stated “I love sports whether I’m actually playing or just watching I enjoy it all. I’m always ready to travel and experience new places. I especially enjoy spending time outside camping, hiking, canoeing, etc.”

Maria Melssen is Reference/Education Librarian at the Raymon H. Mulford Library of the University of Toledo Health Science Campus. She also serves as a faculty member in the Physical Therapy Department. Her responsibilities include providing reference services (along with mediated literature searching and research consulting) for the University of Toledo campus and the surrounding community. Maria is responsible for library education programs. She also assists with developing and implementing virtual information services, as well as instructional programs and support materials and documentation for new resources and services. As an Instructor in the Physical Therapy Department, she provides “individualized library instruction as well as other consulting services and participate in faculty meetings and other department functions.” Among her professional interests are “information literacy and evidence-based practice and its applications to library instruction.” Maria graduated from library school at Kent State University in December, 2005. She has a bachelor’s degree in Education from Bowling Green State University. Her home town is Maumee, OH. She enjoys travel and studying Egyptology, and adds that she and her husband are planning a trip to Egypt this spring. Maria received one of the 2006 Midwest Chapter/MLA’s Conference Scholarships.

Robin A. Terebelo is Public Services Librarian at the Helen L. DeRoy Medical Library of Providence Hospital in Southfield, MI. In this half-time position, her main responsibilities include reference services, online searching, and ordering books. She graduated in 1974 from the library school at the University of Maryland, and has an undergraduate degree in Spanish and Secondary Education from Hofstra University. Robin’s professional interests include online searching. She “worked at NLM many years ago doing MEDLARS training.” She has worked for a private information consultant, and has worked in many biomedical libraries (medical school, hospital, etc.). She also worked in an Army post library in South Korea. Robin and her husband of almost 30 years now live in Franklin, MI. Her two sons are in law school.

Deb Werner is a Science Reference Librarian/Biomedical Specialist at The John Crerar Library of the University of Chicago. Her duties include reference, outreach, and instruction. She states, “I hope to become well versed in bioinformatics and welcome advice on educating myself!” She adds, “I began at The Crerar Library on June 1, 2006 and am fortunate to work with a small, close-knit group of people who provide encouragement and support as I learn, as well as the freedom and opportunity to spread my wings. My dog and I relocated to Chicago from Minneapolis, where I worked at the University of Minnesota's Bio-Medical Library and was truly groomed for the profession by their great staff.” Deb graduated from the library school of Dominican University/College of St. Catherine in 2005. She received her undergraduate degree in biology from Augustana College in Rock Island, IL. Her home town is Port Byron, IL. Her hobbies include running, knitting, and skijoring. Deb says that “skijoring is cross-country skiing while harnessed to one to three dogs that pull as you ski. I use one dog and half the time I'm pulling her.”

Scholarship Winners Share Conference Experiences

2006 Annual Conference Scholarship Winners

Maria Melssen and Emily Mazure

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Looking Forward to Working with All of You!

Submitted by Emily Mazure, Student
University of Michigan School of Information, Ann Arbor, MI
emazure@umich.edu

I was thrilled to learn that I was selected to receive one of the two scholarships to the 2006 Midwest Medical Library Association Conference! The experience exceeded my expectations and has helped to solidify my interest in medical librarianship.

It was my first visit to Kentucky and I found the city and its people to be very welcoming and enjoyable. The conference planners did a wonderful job incorporating the city in the conference events. Our trip to the Kentucky Derby Museum was delightful, especially for a “horse-lover” like myself.

Everyone was incredibly gracious and helpful. Many of you spent time discussing various interesting topics with me. I gained insight from the experiences and suggestions you all shared with me. I hope to maintain the relationships I began at the conference as I finish my degree and enter the workforce. This will hopefully be easy, as I was lucky enough to win a free year-long membership to the Medical Library Association in the prize drawings during the exhibit session!

The speakers, posters, and exhibits were also extremely beneficial. I gained a better understanding of important current issues and how they relate to medical libraries. I especially enjoyed the ideas presented by plenary speaker Alane Wilson. As a young “librarian-to-be,” I struggle to explain to all of my friends and family what I want to do and why I want to do it. Based upon my experiences explaining to others that a library is not just books, I had previously made it my mission to develop a new perception of libraries that included more than books. It was encouraging to learn that I was not alone in my mission.

I would like to thank you for the opportunity to attend the 2006 Midwest Chapter/MLA conference. I feel that I learned a great deal of valuable information about medical librarianship from the various events as well as the personal conversations I had. I look forward to working with all of you in the future!


Thank You for This Opportunity!

Submitted by Maria Melssen, Reference/Education Librarian
Raymon H. Mulford Library, University of Toledo Health Science Campus, Toledo, OH
mmelssen@meduohio.edu

From opportunities to meet with colleagues and various vendors to an evening at the Kentucky Derby Museum, the 2006 Midwest Chapter Conference offered a range of educational and entertainment opportunities.

Selected highlights were:

Proactive Librarianship: Knowledge, Innovation and Leadership for Newer Librarians, a CEU Workshop: A combination of fun with learning, the makings of every quality workshop. Ms. Danquah provided a wealth of information that I will be able to utilize throughout my career.

Their Perceptions, Our Reality, Alane Wilson: Ms. Wilson’s explanation of OCLC’s report was both informative and fascinating. I had read the report prior to my coming to the conference and Ms. Wilson’s interpretations contributed to my better understanding of our users’ views of the profession. This information will better help to shape services to our users and, in effect, only better the profession.

GMR Technology Forum, Max Anderson and J.D. Prince: Prior to the conference I was not as familiar with the different technological tools that are available to the profession, such as podcasting. Through their presentations, I gained a greater understanding of what is available to the profession and how these products can be better utilized. I only wish they were able to say more.

Other events of note were the Welcome Reception and the Contributed Papers, which I had the pleasure and opportunity to attend. The conference was both an interesting and educational experience and I thank you for giving me the opportunity to attend.

They Deserved a Free Lunch

Submitted by Elaine Skopelja, Chair, Awards and Scholarships Committee
Ruth Lilly Medical Library, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN
eskopelj@iupui.edu

The winners of this year's Chapter Sharing Roundtable Lunch Award a.k.a. the "Why I Deserve a Free Lunch Award" were Ann Combs from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and Jaime Blanck from Michigan State University. Ann attended the Grey Literature Sharing Roundtable and Jaime attended the Management and Leadership Sharing Roundtable at MLA '06 in Phoenix.

Congratulations!

Jean Williams Sayre Innovation Award Winners

2006 Jean Williams Sayre Innovation Award

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Presented to: Allina Library Services Knowledge Consultant Group
Eileen Stanley, Jim Bulger, Sandy Tarman, Sharon Kambeitz,
Kolleen Olsen, Anita von Geldern, and Pam Barnard
Library Services, Allina Hospitals & Clinics, Minneapolis, MN


Submitted by Elaine Skopelja, Chair, Awards and Scholarships Committee
Ruth Lilly Library, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN
eskopelj@iupui.edu

This new award was established to honor individuals, groups, or libraries that have displayed creativity and/or problem solving skills that have resulted in innovative methods, projects, products, organizational enhancements or publications in the field of health information management. It was named in honor of Jean Williams Sayre, past director of the University of Iowa Hardin Library of the Health Sciences.

The winning project focused on improving nursing care in the hospital by increasing nurse awareness of knowledge based resources and improving the ease of use and access to these resources. The project was accomplished by using existing technology, resources, staffing, and software to create nursing-centered library services that promoted the knowledge seeking skills that nurses require to perform their jobs. According to nursing administrators, the Knowledge Group had a definite impact on the nursing culture and the evidence-based practice behaviors of Allina nurses. Library service outcomes included increases in searching, attendance at training sessions, and resource use. In addition, the toolbar links that were developed became a useful site for the general workplace as well.

Carole Gilbert
2006 Distinguished Librarian of the Year

Submitted By Chris Shaffer, 2005 Distinguished Librarian of the Year
Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
chris-shaffer@uiowa.edu

It was my pleasure to introduce Carole Gilbert as the Distinguished Librarian of the Year 2006. Carole has served the Chapter in many capacities, including Parliamentarian, President and Chapter Council Representative. Sometimes I say I “over volunteer,” but Carole’s long and distinguished participation record shows me how far I have to go. She has been chair or president of nearly every organization of which she’s a member, a leader in local, regional and national associations. In the Midwest Chapter, we know we can rely on Carole to get the job done.

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2006 Distinguished Librarian of the Year Carole Gilbert
with President Chris Shaffer and Awards and Scholarships Chair Elaine Skopelja

Carole Gilbert is known as a mentor who always seems to have a new librarian under her wing. She hires recent library school graduates, hosts library school interns. Many librarians in the Midwest Chapter can speak of a time when Carole encouraged them to develop a poster presentation into a published paper, run for association office, or participate in benchmarking. Carole has been involved in research and benchmarking initiatives and serves as editor of the Journal of Hospital Librarianship. She is constantly working to prove the value of hospital librarians to administrators and health professionals.

Here are some quotes from Carole’s letters of recommendation:

“Carole has enthusiastically and tirelessly worked to make the Midwest Chapter a more effective and meaningful part of our professional lives.”

“No one feels left out when Carole is around.”

“Her accomplishments more than exemplify the qualities of leadership advocacy, work ethic and mentoring.”

“Carole Gilbert is truly one of a kind.”

Members of the Awards & Scholarships Committee had a difficult time choosing from among the outstanding nominees, but it was inspiring to see what our members have accomplished. We hope to have even more nominees next year, so we encourage members to check out the award criteria.

Not Quite Business as Usual

Annual Business Meeting Highlights October 9 and October 10, 2006

Submitted by Deborah Lauseng, Midwest Chapter Secretary
Taubman Medical Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
dlauseng@umich.edu

Revised Bylaws Passed Unanimously! With minor last minute edits, the membership voted unanimously to accept the proposed Midwest Chapter Bylaws during the October 9th annual business meeting. Melinda Orebaugh, Chair of the Bylaws Revision Task Force, expressed special thanks to Kelly Kaneshiro, Barb Bartkowiak, Sheryl Stevens, and Eileen Stanley for their invaluable assistance. Here are the new bylaws.

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Awards: Elaine Skopelja, Awards & Scholarships Chair, presented Maria Melssen, reference librarian at the University of Toledo Health Science Campus Mulford Library and Emily Mazure, student at the University of Michigan School of Information, as this year’s scholarship recipients.

The first presentation of the Jean Williams Sayre Innovation Award was given to the Allina Health Services Knowledge Service Group for their efforts to take library services out to the staff nurses in spite of budget cuts. The award was accepted by Eileen Stanley on behalf of her staff.

Chris Shaffer presented the Distinguished Librarian Award to Carole Gilbert, Providence Hospital. A very surprised and speechless Carole accepted the award.

Election Results:

President-Elect 2007: Mary Markland
Membership Secretary 2007-2008: Bette Sydelko
Chapter Council Representatives 2007-2010: Pam Rees, Representative; Karen Hanus, Alternative
Potential Candidate to the MLA Nominating Committee: Melinda Orebaugh
Representatives-at-Large: Nancy Allee, Mary Congleton, Brian Finnegan, Nancy O’Brien, and Doreen Roberts.

Election Note: To comply with the new bylaws, a special Executive Board election selected Nancy O’Brien as the Representative-at-Large and chair of the State Liaisons Committee. She will serve as a member of the Executive Board.

Omaha 2007 “License to Learn, License to Lead”: Agent Lander charged Agent Shaffer with gathering his membership in Omaha for the joint annual meeting of the Mid-Continental and Midwest Chapters, October 12-16, 2007.

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Fall Executive Board Meeting

Midwest Chapter, Executive Board Fall 2006 Meeting Summary

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Submitted by Deborah Lauseng, Midwest Chapter Secretary
Taubman Medical Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
dlauseng@umich.edu

The Midwest Chapter Executive Board held their fall meeting on October 7 in Louisville, KY. As the board members were getting settled, the 2006 Program Co-Chairs, Michel Atlas and Laura Davison, extended a warm welcome to Louisville to their colleagues on the Board. President Eileen Stanley expressed how impressed she was with the “Welcome Midwest Chapter/MLA” sign that was at the airport.

Top business items included the bylaws revisions, the draft policies and procedures manual, and planning for upcoming chapter annual conferences.

Bylaws: Melinda Orebaugh reported that all was on schedule for presenting the proposed bylaws at the annual business meeting on Monday, October 9th. MLA had accepted the proposed bylaws with minor edits, and there have been few comments from the memberships. As an incentive for people to attend the bylaws portion of the business meeting, it was agreed to draw the winner of the free MLA membership at the conclusion of the vote.

Policies and Procedures Task Force: Sheryl Stevens, Eileen Stanley, Chris Shaffer, Mary Markland, and Pam Rees are the new Policies & Procedures Task Force members. Sheryl has begun pulling out all the procedures from the current Bylaws as a draft for a new, separate procedure manual. Board members are being asked to contribute any documentation they have covering duties, responsibilities or procedures for their office. New committee chairs will also have a role in helping get this new manual in place. Be watching for more details from the Task Force.

Membership: Bette Sydelko reported that our membership numbers include 21 student memberships, thanks to the Midwest Chapter’s willingness to offer free membership to students. Overall there are 31 new members to the chapter for 2006.

Treasurer’s Report: Marlene Porter shared that the annual conferences are being handled through the chapter checking account this year and the process seems to be working well. The current budget is available on the chapter web site.

Program Committee Reports: Mark your calendars!

The 2007 Annual Conference will be October 12-16. The theme is “2007 License to Learn, License to Lead.” This is a joint conference with the Midcontinental Chapter and will be held in Des Moines, Iowa (Midwest Chapter Program Co-Chairs: Jim Lander and Chris Shaffer).

The 2008 Annual Conference will be October 17-20 at the Detroit Marriott in Troy, Michigan. The theme is “Vital Signs: Keeping You and Your Library Vibrant and Healthy” (Program Co-Chairs: Sandra Martin and Ellen O’Donnell).

Next Executive Board Meeting: March 16th at the Ebling Library, University of Wisconsin in Madison.

Draft minutes of the fall Executive Board meeting are posted on the chapter website.

Treasurer's Report

Submitted by Marlene Porter, Midwest Chapter Treasurer
Mulford Library, University of Toledo Health Science Campus, Toledo, OH
marlene.porter@utoledo.edu

Chapter assets were $28,399.97 as of September 25, 2006. The current budget, financial statement, ledger, accounts and reports are available on the Treasurer area of the chapter website. You can find all the figures in the Excel file of the report given at the Fall business meeting here.

See You Next Year!

Mark your calendars for the 2007 Joint Meeting of the Midwest and Midcontinental Chapters of the Medical Library Association, October 12-16, with the theme "License to Learn, License to Lead." We'll be gathering at the Hilton Omaha near the Old Market district.

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On the program:

  • Keynote speaker, Dale Lea RN, MPH, APNG, FAAN, National Human Genome Research Institute
  • Fred Lee, nationally recognized expert and consultant in patient relations and service excellence
  • Dr. Loriene Roy, ALA President Elect 2006-2007

Southern Exposure: Louisville 2006!

Submitted by Elizabeth Smigielski, Chair, 2006 Annual Conference Publicity Committee
Kornhauser Health Sciences Library, University of Louisville, KY
elizabeth.smigielski@louisville.edu

After the flurry of activity and anticipation, it’s time for the annual conference wrap up. For the 215 of you who attended and for those who didn’t, here’s a summary of the 2006 Annual Conference, peppered with comments from our evaluations.

And the highlights were:

The speakers, overall were well-received, particularly Alane Wilson and Betsy Humphreys. The OCLC environmental scan from which Wilson based her report is available at: http://www.oclc.org/reports/escan/toc.htm. Her slides will be available on the conference web site shortly.

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The GMR Technology Forum received high praise. Many people marked it as the best thing about the meeting – “Dale was funny!” Another strong vote came in for the Career Clinic, which was deemed “excellent” by one attendee.

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Our contributed papers and posters received overall high marks, including these comments: “The panel discussion on 10/10 on liaison roles” was ranked as a “best of” and “the contributed papers were very informative.” The PowerPoint slides from many of the conference presentations are available from the conference website. Interestingly, two people responded that we should have more invited papers and that we need more diversity among papers. Keep that in mind for next year, everyone. It’s YOU who make or break the papers, so submit!

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Among the new innovations at the meeting was the conference blog, which one person mentioned as the best thing about the conference. Congratulations to blog editor, Clare Leibfarth! Also new was the Technology Petting Zoo which also made someone’s “best of” list. Related to promotion, many liked the weekly conference e-mails, and, once again, the GMRLIST and the MIDWEST listservs remain the best way to get the word out, with MIDLINE a best source for detailed information.

Now for some fun. The meeting took place during the St. James Court Art Fair which was a hit. Many attendees hopped the shuttle and perused the 700+ vendors on a blue-sky fall day. “It was great that conference coincided with St. James Art Fair!” The reception at the Kentucky Derby Museum, providing a taste of the bluegrass, was just what some were craving . “LOVED the Derby Museum.”

Comments that made the meeting planners feel good. “Very informative. I will use this information in my work.” “Great job! I have lots to think about & work on.” “Really comfortable beds.” (We know what’s important.) Unfortunately, we took some hits, too. One of our downfalls: “What! No chocolate?”

But, far and away, what is the number one thing you all valued most? Networking.

Finally, if I may quote from our evaluations in expressing thanks to my conference planning colleagues: “Thank you to all who worked on the conference. You all worked so hard to make this a worthwhile event for our membership. We are very lucky to have such dedicated colleagues.”

The true success of any conference is in the attendees, to whom we owe a sincere THANK YOU. If you didn’t come and participate, we’d have failed regardless. On to Omaha and a joint meeting with the Midcontinental Chapter in 2007!

To see photos from the conference, visit the Midwest Chapter 2006 Conference Photo Gallery!

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Feature Article: You Could Be a Doody's Selector!

Submitted by Eileen Hansen, Midwest Chapter Member
Mercy College of Health Sciences Library, Des Moines, IA
EHansen@mercydesmoines.org

Tight library budgets make library selection decisions more important than ever. With the demise of the Brandon-Hill list series, health science librarians are turning to Doody’s Core Titles for selection expertise. Doody’s has implemented a collaborative process that relies on the collective expertise of subject specialists and medical librarians to select the most authoritative and useful titles. Consider becoming a part of this process by volunteering to become a librarian selector in one or more specialties.

There is a time commitment, but the procedure is very streamlined, with e-mail reminders and access to useful selection tools. The process takes place over several weeks, completely online. An initial list is compiled by a content specialist. Librarian selectors enter at this point and add titles felt to be important. The list is recompiled and each librarian scores each title, noting items that should be considered as essential purchases. James Shedlock and Linda Walton more fully describe the process in this article in the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association.

Bette Sydelko sent out an e-mail to Midwest Chapter members, recruiting other librarian selectors back in 2004. She related her positive experience and encouraged others to participate in the development of a useful collection development tool. She convinced me, and now it’s my turn to convince you! We know what our patrons request and find most useful. Selectors are acknowledged at the Doody’s Core Titles website and by a certificate of appreciation. Participating in the Doody’s Core Titles selection process has increased my knowledge of available resources and helped me build a more useful (and used) collection. In her review of Doody’s Core Titles, Karen S. Fisher concluded, “The greatest strengths of the DCT are the comprehensiveness of the list and the participation of a large number of professionals.” If you would like to become a selector and contribute your expertise, contact Anne Hennessy.

President's Message

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

I hope everyone enjoyed the Southern Exposure in Looavul, Luhvul, Loueville, Looaville, Looeyville, Louisville! I know I did. Make plans now to attend Omaha 2007, a joint meeting with the Midcontinental Chapter (where they’re still allowed to say MCMLA). It’s shaping up to be a great meeting, chock full of events for everyone. See the article farther down in this issue for information about the Omaha conference.

The big news from the this year’s annual business meeting is the bylaws revision. Kudos to Michelle Orebaugh and her crew for doing such a wonderful job with this less than envious task. We now have a streamlined set of bylaws, patterned after MLA’s Model Chapter Bylaws, which will allow the chapter to function more efficiently.

ThreePresidents.jpg

President-Elect Mary Markland, President Chris Shaffer,
Immediate Past President Eileen Stanley

With the new bylaws, the president (that’s me) and other elected officials take office at the end of the business meeting, instead of January 1. There are new committees as well, and the board will be much smaller as we eliminate the nine representatives-at-large and replace them with a single elected representative-at-large who will chair the new State Liaisons Committee. Many thanks to the people who ran for the old representatives-at-large positions, but didn’t get a chance to serve. Appointments to committees will be made by the president, so many of the former representatives, along with those of you who checked the “I will serve” box on your membership application or renewal, will be getting a call from me in the next week or so.

I’m looking forward to the year and I hope you’ll join me as we explore new ways to make the Midwest Chapter relevant to health sciences librarians in our nine states!

Fall 2006 Issue, Number 105

Welcome to the new look MIDLINE, your Midwest Chapter/MLA newsletter!

This quarter's issue of MIDLINE has been published using the Movable Type Publishing Platform. Thank you to Technology Committee Chair and Webmaster Allan Barclay for getting us all set up. Notice that you can use the link over there on the right to subscribe to MIDLINE and read the newsletter in your feed reader.

And a special thank you to Official 2006 Conference Photograper Extraordinaire James Burgett for permission to use his photos in this issue!

Have any comments or suggestions for improvement? Contact Editor Clare Leibfarth.

Good ideas are always welcome!

About November 2006

This page contains all entries posted to MIDLINE in November 2006. They are listed from oldest to newest.

February 2007 is the next archive.

Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.