The National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM), Middle Atlantic Region (MAR), is accepting applications from NN/LM MAR members for Technology Improvement Awards for the purchase, installation, and/or upgrading of information technologies that enhance access to health information.

Up to $7,500 per award is available for costs associated with upgrading technology. Up to 8 awards will be awarded.

Deadline for applications and all supporting materials is August 16, 2010.

See the award call for more information about the award and instructions on applying.

For questions please contact Gregg Headrick at gregg.headick@med.nyu.edu or call 1-800-338-7657.

All of the NLM Technical Bulletin updates and articles from the last two months, including some new items on the PubMed® Clinical Queries page redesign and the latest LinkOut® for Libraries Training and Educational Resources Page Updates, can be found here.

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Library and Archives (CSHL; http://library.cshl.edu/) wanted a novel approach to promote and deliver access to the varied resources and services we provide to our community of scientists, scholars, students, donors, neighbors and friends. With help from a grant provided by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Middle Atlantic Region, received in January, 2010, we purchased equipment to create a digital Information Kiosk. During the next three months we teamed up with our Information Technology Department to select and purchase hardware (a PC, headphones, mouse, and flat-panel display television), and plan and design a website. We also enlisted the help of the laboratory’s in-house architects and Facilities Department to design, build, and install a cabinet for the Kiosk. Our science librarians and archivist adapted content from our existing websites for the initial Kiosk website content, which can be frequently updated to meet our users’ needs. The CSHL Library Information Kiosk was introduced on May 18, 2010 during a ceremony to celebrate the expansion and renovation of the library building. Over 200 guests were in attendance and many were given demonstrations of the Kiosk which is prominently placed in a new exhibit gallery, directly inside the library’s main entrance.

CSHL Library Information Kiosk, installed in the Carnegie Library Building on the campus of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY

The CSHL Library Information Kiosk is an attractive and engaging tool to encourage browsing for the expansion of knowledge. It not only contains links to library services, current biomedical information and public health information from NIH and NLM, recent papers from CSHL scientists, and tutorials from NLM and database vendors, but also provides access to online historical exhibits and records from our Archives and NLM. We believe promoting the history of molecular biology and genetics, and the role of our institution in this history, gives a context for understanding today’s rapid scientific advances and the issues which are important for personal health decisions.

We will use labwide e-mails and postings on internal websites to introduce the Kiosk to the CSHL community. The regularly scheduled CSHL campus tours will include a stop at the Library for demonstrations of the Kiosk by librarians and tour guides. Going forward we plan to deliver content developed for the Information Kiosk to other physical locations on the CSHL campus using digital signage technology. To measure user satisfaction we have placed paper survey forms at the Kiosk site, which include space for feedback and contact information to follow up on suggestions and comments. In addition web statistics generated by the Webalizer analysis program will help us determine what people are looking at, and how many people are using the Kiosk. We anticipate the Kiosk, in combination with new exhibits on display in the Library, will lengthen the time our patrons spend seeking information and knowledge.

CSHL Library and Archives’ newest information access tool is a flexible delivery vehicle which can easily display fresh content according to our patrons’ needs. We can present our users with interesting and entertaining views for accessing biomedical information, library services, and the history of molecular biology, genetics, and biotechnology at CSHL and worldwide. In addition, the Kiosk has accelerated the creativity and ideas our science librarians and library staff have for introducing new content to educate and engage our patrons.

Mila Pollock
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Library and Archives
Cold Spring Harbor, NY

The My NCBI sign in has been updated to permit users to sign in via partner organization’s accounts. These include Google, Yahoo and many university accounts.

 From the NLM Technical Bulletin announcement:

 “…My NCBI users may use a username and password associated with a partner organization to navigate securely between that site and My NCBI. Partner organizations include research organizations and commercial Web sites that use either an InCommon or OpenID standard to authenticate users. …” (Read more)

The LinkOut for Libraries Training and Educational Resources page has been updated with five new Quick Tours (animated tutorials), covering topics such as editing online holdings, managing Outside Tool, and viewing usage statistics.

In LinkOut development news:

• The LinkOut submission utility now includes a statistics report for libraries that use only Outside Tool or the Document Delivery Service tool in PubMed.
• The LinkOut Print Collection page for a library now includes the library’s DOCLINE LIBID (located below the library holdings statement).
• The LinkOut page for libraries has been rearranged and now includes a link to
• LinkOut Training and Educational Resources.

If you have questions about LinkOut for Libraries, including suggestions for additional Quick Tours, please contact neil.romanosky@med.nyu.edu

The NN/LM MAR Technology Committee is planning a series of lunchtime web-based discussions of technology topics affecting members of the region.  These will NOT be a class or a workshop but a true discussion moderated by a member of the Technology Committee. There is no cost to participate.

These “virtual” roundtables are open to all members of the region. You don’t have to be an expert on a topic to participate.  If you are familiar with a topic you just need to be willing to share your experiences, the good, the bad, and the ugly.  If you are a newbie, this is your chance to ask questions, and learn from your colleagues’ experiences.

The first session will be held on Thursday, July 29 from 12:00pm-1:00pm.  The topic will be “Power to the People: Providing Electricity to Library Users.”  Patrons come to the library with a plethora of electronic gadgets (laptops, tablets, cell phones, etc.) How are librarians dealing with providing enough power to satisfy user needs and the many cables, cords, and wires used?

If you are interested in attending this session, please RSVP at http://nnlm.gov/mar/technology/discussionrsvp.html.

For our first discussion group registration is limited to the first thirty people.  All RSVPs after thirty will be placed on a waiting list.

Future sessions will take place at noon on the third Thursday of every month.  Let us know what technology topics interest you.  Please take this brief survey http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GTY6ZYS .

We look forward to hearing from you!

MAR Technology Committee
Nancy Glassman, MLS, Chair, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Nicola Cecchino, George T. Harrel Library, Penn State
Rosemary Figorito, St. Francis Medical Library
Kary Heller, Lankenau Hospital Medical Library
Elizabeth Kettell, University of Rochester Eastman Dental Center
Jenny Pierce, UMDNJ Health Science Library
Diane Schwartz, Kaleida Health Hospital Library
Shelly Warwick, Touro-Harlem Medical Library
Gregg Headrick, NN/LM Staff liaison, Technology Coordinator

MAR is pleased to announce another new funding opportunity:

Small Project Awards Targeting Unaffiliated Health Professionals Working with Seniors and/or in Nursing Homes

http://nnlm.gov/mar/funding/smallprojuhpsenior.html

This award for Full and Affiliate Network members is intended to promote library services and NLM products and services specifically to unaffiliated health professionals who work with seniors and/or in nursing homes. Three (3) awards of up to $2,000 each are available. Deadline for applications is August 1, 2010.

MAR is pleased to announce a new funding opportunity:

Outreach Training Award Targeting Unaffiliated Health Professionals Working with Seniors or in Nursing Homes.

http://nnlm.gov/mar/funding/outreachuhpsenior.html

This award for Full and Affiliate Network members is intended to support training for and promote awareness of the products and services of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and NN/LM specifically to unaffiliated health professionals who work with seniors and/or in nursing homes. Two awards of up to $7,500 each are available. Deadline for applications is August 1, 2010.

New App for Health Hotlines

NLM’s Health Hotlines is now available as an app for the iPhone and iPod Touch (http://itunes.apple.com/app/health-hotlines/id376404746?mt=8).  Health Hotlines is also compatible with the iPad.

Health Hotlines is a compilation of organizations with toll-free telephone numbers to assist the public in locating health-related information. It is derived from DIRLINE, NLM’s Directory of Information Resources Online, which contains descriptions of almost 9,000 health and biomedical organizations and resources.  Some of the subject areas included in Health Hotlines are AIDS, cancer, diseases and disorders, maternal and child health, aging, substance abuse, disabilities and mental health.

Health Hotlines is also available on the NLM’s Web site http://healthhotlines.nlm.nih.gov

Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center is located in the South Bronx, one of the poorest and underserved communities in the country.  We are level 1 trauma center, Stroke center of excellence, Pediatric Asthma Center, teaching hospital for 215 residents in 6 different specialties, educational base for five NLP and RN programs, opportunity for the first real life experience for hundreds of local school children – volunteers.

Health Sciences Library plays a unique role of educator, trainer, and resource center of knowledge–based information, gateway to e-books and journals and depository of printed materials.  Thanks to Technology Improvement Grant we were able to add state-of-the-art computer lab equipped with powerful and fast computer, updated printer and wall-mounted LCD screen.   Success of our new computer lab was immediate.  Now I am conducting training almost every day for groups up to 12 people.  From March 15, 2010, when equipment was installed and became completely operational, till the beginning of May I conducted different presentations for 226 people. Library became very popular with Volunteer department that is responsible for school student orientation and summer volunteer program recruitment.

Inna Lipnitskaya
Lincoln Medical and Mental Health center