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.

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is accepting applications for its Associate Fellowship program, a one-year training program for recent MLS graduates and librarians early in their career.

In the first half of the year, a formal curriculum offers exposure to library operations, research and development, intramural and extramural research, development and lifecycle of NLM’s web-based products and services and the extensive outreach and education program reaching consumers, special populations, health professionals and librarians. In the second half of the year, Associate Fellows have the opportunity to choose projects based on real-world problems proposed by library divisions and work with librarians and library staff over a six-seven month period. Successful projects have led to peer-review publications and to services that have become a regular part of library operations.

The September through August program also offers professional development and an introduction to the wider world of health sciences librarianship that may include:

•  Supported attendance at national professional conferences, often including the Medical Library Association’s annual meeting, the American Medical Informatics Association annual meeting and others
• Additional brown bags, seminars, field trips and learning opportunities available on the National Institutes of Health campus
• Opportunities to meet and interact with senior management at the National Library of Medicine
• Experienced preceptors from National Library of Medicine staff
• Potential to compete for a second year fellowship at a health sciences library in the United States

The Fellowship offers:

• A stipend equivalent to a U.S. Civil Service salary at the GS-9 level ($51,630 in 2011)
• Additional financial support for the purchase of health insurance
• Some relocation funding

Who is eligible?

All U.S. and Canadian citizens who will have earned a MLS or equivalent degree in library/information science from an ALA-accredited school by August 2012.  Both recent graduates and librarians early in their career are welcome to apply.  Priority is given to U.S. citizens.

Applications and additional information are available on the Web at www.nlm.nih.gov/about/training/associate/.  Application deadline is February 3, 2012.   Between 4 and 7 fellows will be selected for the program.

Feel free to contact Kathel Dunn, Associate Fellowship Program Coordinator at 301-435.4083 or kathel.dunn@nih.gov

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/databases/alerts/2011_nhlbi_ifp.html

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has stopped one arm of a three arm multi-center, clinical trial studying treatments for the lung-scarring disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) for safety concerns. The trial found that people with IPF receiving a currently used triple-drug therapy consisting of prednisone, azathioprine, and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) had worse outcomes than those who received placebos or inactive substances.

“These findings underscore why treatments must be evaluated in a rigorous manner,” said Susan B. Shurin, M.D., acting director of the NHLBI. “This combination therapy is widely used in patients with IPF, but has not previously been studied in direct comparison to a placebo for all three drugs.”

The interim results from this study showed that compared to placebo, those assigned to triple therapy had greater mortality (11 percent versus 1 percent), more hospitalizations (29 percent versus 8 percent), and more serious adverse events (31 percent versus 9 percent) and also had no difference in lung function test changes. Participants randomly assigned to the triple- therapy arm also remained on their assigned treatment at a much lower rate (78 percent adherence versus 98 percent adherence).

“Anyone on some combination of these medications with questions or concerns should consult with their health care provider and not simply stop taking the drugs,” said Ganesh Raghu, M.D., professor of medicine at the University of Washington, Seattle and a co-chair of this IPF study. “It is important to realize that these results definitively apply only to patients with well-defined IPF and not to people taking a combination of these drugs for other lung diseases or conditions.”

The other two study arms, or intervention groups, of this IPF trial comparing NAC alone to placebo alone will continue. In stopping this part of the trial, the NHLBI accepted the recommendation of the Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) – an independent advisory group of experts in lung disease, biostatistics, medical ethics, and clinical trial design. The DSMB has been monitoring the study since it began.

This study, called PANTHER-IPF (Prednisone, Azathioprine, and N-acetylcysteine: A Study that Evaluates Response in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis) was designed and conducted by the Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Clinical Research Network, funded by the NHLBI. The PANTHER-IPF study was designed to evaluate whether this commonly used triple-therapy regimen could slow disease progression and improve lung function in people with moderate IPF.

PANTHER-IPF was the first study in IPF comparing the effectiveness of this combined treatment to a placebo for all three drugs. Each participant had a one in three chance of being randomized to receive the triple drug regimen, NAC alone, or placebo for a period of up to 60 weeks.

“We will continue to analyze the data to try to understand why this particular combination may be detrimental in people with IPF,” said Fernando Martinez, M.D., professor of medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and co-chair of the PANTHER-IPF study. “The results are not explained by any differences between the two groups before the treatments started.”

IPF is a progressive and currently incurable disease characterized by the buildup of fibrous scar tissue within the lungs. This accumulation of scar tissue leads to breathing difficulties, coughing, chest pain, and fatigue. Approximately 200,000 people in the United States have IPF. The cause or causes of IPF remain unknown; as a result treatment options remain limited. PANTHER-IPF began enrollment in October 2009.

The study had enrolled 238 of a planned 390 participants prior to the stop announcement. Participants ranged from 48 to 85 years of age, with an average age of 68. The placebo and NAC arms will continue enrolling and following their participants, and this part of the PANTHER-IPF study is expected to be completed by late 2013.

In addition to NIH funding, the Cowlin Family Fund at Chicago Community Trust provided financial support for this study. Zambon donated the NAC and matching placebo; the prednisone, azathioprine, and their matching placebos were purchased using study funds.

Find more information about this clinical trial at http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00650091

To arrange an interview with an NHLBI spokesperson, please contact the NHLBI Communications Office at  (301) 496-4236 or nhlbi_news@nhlbi.nih.gov.

Resources:

• What is Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis?
• Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Clinical Research Network

Part of the National Institutes of Health, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) plans, conducts, and supports research related to the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart, blood vessel, lung, and blood diseases; and sleep disorders. The Institute also administers national health education campaigns on women and heart disease, healthy weight for children, and other topics. NHLBI press releases and other materials are available online at www.nhlbi.nih.gov.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

The following post about our new Public Health Coordinator position, inaugurates a series of articles—About Us—detailing the duties of the staff at the NN/LM SE/A. Because we have initiated some changes in our responsibilities, we think that this will be a good place to inform our membership, on a position-by-position basis, what we do and who we are. We anticipate that there will be one article per month for the next 8 months. If you have questions or comments, please feel free to use the comment functionality after the post. These comments may not show up immediately because we monitor our comments for spam, but we welcome any and all.

Sheila Snow-Croft

With the new 2011-2016 NN/LM SE/A contract, my position changed from Outreach Education Coordinator to Public Health Coordinator. Outreach to the Public Health workforce has long been a priority for the National Library of Medicine (NLM). While the SE/A has consistently exhibited at public health conferences and taught public health classes (Public Health on the Web, for example) throughout the region, we feel this audience requires more specific attention in order to adequately address their needs. We plan to assist the public health workforce and the librarians who support them by providing education and training to increase successful research, encouraging network membership and partnership with network members to elevate the quality of health information access.

Education

We are already working to establish partnerships with and promote the online free training available from established public health organizations, including the National Network of Public Health Training centers (PHTC), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE). We want to ensure public health workers have access to training in evidence based public health, health literacy issues, and awareness of health disparities. Along with encouraging these organizations 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 the needs of our public health workforce.

Exhibiting

Our efforts will also include joining public health organizations at state and regional levels and providing a presence at their meetings, exhibiting and submitting program presentations at as many state and local chapters of public health workers as we can. With such a large and well-populated region, we cannot hope to adequately address the needs of the public health workforce without the help of our network members and the many libraries who support public health; collaboration with the 37 Schools of Public Health at the university level located within the SE/A Region is a priority.

Funding

The Express Outreach Award and Express Information Technology and Policy Awareness Award are appropriate for this population, as they fund projects that average one year in length, can be adapted to address various needs and specific projects, and encourage departments of public health to both join the Network and work together with librarians who support them to achieve common goals. Such partnerships not only assist with the individual partners, they also raise awareness of libraries and encourage cooperation between organizations.  As time goes on we hope to develop awards to specifically address the needs of the public health workforce.

We welcome your suggestions and assistance in our goal to address the needs of the public health workforce in the 13 states and territories of the Southeastern Atlantic Region.

Several new titles have come in for the Professional Development Library hosted by the NN/LM SE/A.

• Copyright for Teachers & Librarians in the 21^st Century by Butler
• E-books in Academic Libraries by Minčić-Obradović
• E-Metrics for Library and Information Professionals: How to Use Data for Managing and Evaluating Electronic Resource Collections by White & Kamal
• Evidence-based Librarianship: Case studies and active learning exercises by Connor
• Facelifts for Special Libraries: A practical guide to revitalising diverse physical and digital spaces by Bassett, Ballantyne, & Fry
• Lean Library Management: Eleven Strategies for Reducing Costs and Improving Customer Services by Huber
• Library Marketing that Works! By Walters
• Management Basics for Information Professionals by Evans & Ward
• Measuring Library Performance Principles and Techniques by Brophy
• Productivity for Librarians: How to get more done in less time by Hines
• The Center for Intellectual Property Handbook ed. by Bonner
• The Medical Library Association’s Essential Guide to Becoming an Expert Searcher: Proven Techniques, Strategies, and Tips for Finding Health Information by Jankowski
• The Medical Library Association’s Guide to Managing Health Care Libraries ed. by Mandy & Dudden
• The Medical Library Association’s Master Guide to Authoritative Information Resources in the Health Sciences ed. by Thompson
• The Virtual Reference Handbook: Interview and Information Delivery Techniques for the Chat and E-mail Environments by Kovacs
• Winning Grants by Mackellar & Gerding

How to use the NN/LM SE/A Professional Development Collection:

• Find a title in the RML subset in the HS/HSL collection and check availability.
• If the item is checked out, contact Ashley Cuffia to see if the item may be recalled.
• Use the DOCLINE M/A/N Map to order the item from the University of Maryland, Baltimore Health Sciences and Human Services, Library LIBID: MDUMDB, and indicate that you are an NN/LM SE/A Network Member in the Comments field.
• Send the request.

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.

In addition to our blog series on library advocacy, NN/LM SE/A is celebrating National Medical Librarians Month (NMLM) by giving away 100 of MLA’s “Medical Librarians: Your Ultimate Search Engine” posters. These great posters (sold on the MLA site for $15) are suitable for framing and will be shipped in a tube to avoid creases. We will honor orders at one per library until all are gone. Please submit your request, using our online request form at: http://www.nnlm.gov/sea/feedback/poster/