President's Page
It has been a busy and productive CAHSLA association year in my estimation. Can you believe we are already into the hot and humid Cincinnati summer? It seems just a short time ago that we were digging out of the freak late spring snow storm and looking forward to daffodils, tulips, and forsythia. Those of us who were able to attend the Medical Library Association Meeting in Chicago this year were treated to a "spring redux." The city of Chicago was still boasting their spring blooms for the annual international gathering of health sciences librarians. With the end of the association year it is my pleasure to recognize and thank all of those willing and able members who made our meetings informative and productive. To Val Purvis and the Program Committee - what an outstanding variety of gatherings and programs you arranged. Cathy Constance keeps us financially on track - a job she has done for us for so many years. Cathy also wears the hat of membership coordinator. Meredith Orlowski provided us with minutes recording and documenting our meetings and important discussions. Past president/Chair of Nominations Sharon Bressert Purtee provided invaluable leadership (and ingenuity!) when we most needed it. Barbarie Hill and Lisa McCormick continue to keep the membership informed with the production of the Chronicle. It is with mixed feelings that we witnessed the 'passing of the torch' as long-time member and leader Don Smith retired from St. Elizabeth Medical Center. We have relied upon his wisdom, knowledge and wit and charm for more years than we would like to admit. We wish Don, Gay and his family only the best. We also experienced the unexpected demise of the libraries at the Cincinnati area Mercy Health Partners hospitals. Diane Stone, Carol Mayor, Carissa Thatcher and all of the staff and volunteers at the Mercies worked tirelessly and diligently on meeting the information needs of their clients. We will miss these dear and valued colleagues in our day to day working life, but hope that all will stay in touch through CAHSLA. As we say good-bye to some, we say hello and welcome to others. Carole Baker, a familiar face to many CAHSLA members, has taken Don's place at St. Elizabeth, and we also welcome the recent membership of Brigid Almaguer from Cincinnati State. The elimination of the libraries at Mercy has also necessitated a temporary change in the leadership structure of CAHSLA, given that Carissa was to be our new Vice President/President Elect and Program Committee Chair for the upcoming year. We discussed our options at the final meeting of the year, and given the fact that I stepped into the president role without serving the year before as Vice President/Program Chair, I volunteered to head up the program committee for next year. You may recall that we had a similar situation a couple of years ago when we had difficulty getting someone to run for Vice President/President Elect. The program committee responsibilities were shared by 3 very capable members (Lisa McCormick, Edith Starbuck and Jane Thompson), and our organization continued to thrive. Sometime over the course of the coming year, we will need to revisit this issue, to determine who will step into the role of the president after Val's term. We want to encourage your continued participation and support of CAHSLA in the upcoming association year. Already in the works are programs and educational opportunities. We are working with SWON to flesh out some cooperative buying contracts with our primary vendors that will benefit CAHSLA members. We invite your active participation and contributions to this vibrant collegial organization. I am sure that our new CAHSLA leaders will continue giving our members a valuable forum for collaboration. Have a safe, happy summer, everyone! -- Regina Hartman
CAHSLA Meeting Minutes
April 1, 2008
Submitted by Meredith Orlowski
At 5:30 pm on April 1, 2008 the CAHSLA spring meeting came to order at the Cincinnati/Hamilton County Public Library, downtown.
Attendees: Brigid Almaguer, Regina Hartman, Barbarie Hill, Emily Kean, Nonnie Klein, Amy Koshoffer, Margee Lewis, Meredith Orlowski, Valerie Purvis, Barb Slavinski, Don Smith, and Edith Starbuck
The first order of business was approval of the CAHSLA Bylaws. It was recently discovered that while the Bylaws had been updated in 2006, they hadn’t been formally presented to the membership for approval. The following sections contain revisions: Article IV Section B.2., Article IV Section D.1.c., Article IV Section D.1.e., Article IV Section D.2.d., Article IV Section D.2.e., Article IV Section D.5.c., Article V Section B.2.c., and Article V Section G.2. In addition to the suggested revisions, two other items came up during the discussion. Update Article VIII to reflect an earlier statement in the Bylaws that asserts the Bylaws will undergo review every five years, not two years. In addition, the Secretary and Treasurer will continue to submit their reports to the President; instead of sending them straight to The Chronicle (this procedure goes unchanged). The members unanimously approved all revisions.
Regina Hartman passed out copies of the financial report, as prepared by Cathy Constance. Our total assets are $3,849, not including roughly $3.00 in interest since Cathy prepared the report.
There was a very brief discussion about recruiting new members, retaining our current members, and increasing the level of participation among existing members. Regina will contact Cathy Constance to find out what kind of follow up is done when former members have not renewed their membership.
Val Purvis provided an update of the June end of year picnic. Plans are still in the works, with the Harvest Home Park as a front-runner for the location.
Don Smith announced his retirement after 38 years of medical librarianship. Barb Slavinski informed the group of her new position at Drake Hospital.
At 6:00 pm, after our business meeting, we had the privilege of a candid library tour provided by Tim Ferguson, one of the former science and technology reference librarians, now of the general reference librarian staff. We learned a lot about the new organization of the library (elimination of the subject departments) on our 45-minute tour. Following the tour was dinner at Buddakhan’s.
Adjourned: 6:45pm
***
June 12, 2008
Submitted by Meredith Orlowski
Attendees: Brigid Almaguer, Carole Baker, Billie Broaddus, Cathy Constance, Peggy Frondorff, Regina Hartman, Barbarie Hill, Emily Kean, Nonnie Klein, Amy Koshoffer, Lisa McCormick, Meredith Orlowski, Sharon Purtee, Valerie Purvis, Emily Rahe and Cecil Rahe. Guest: Martin Koshoffer
The annual CAHSLA summer picnic kicked off at the Harvest Home Park in Cheviot at 5:30 pm. It was a sunny, warm day, but we had a spacious shelter to protect us from the sun. We enjoyed each other’s company over Walt’s Barbeque.
The business portion of our picnic began at 7:00 pm.
Sharon Purtee announced that the CAHSLA election candidates were unopposed, so everyone on the ballot was elected for the new meeting year. However, Carissa Thatcher, who ran for the position of VicePresident/President elect, withdrew her name from the election. This past week, the Mercy Health System, closed their libraries, and staff were let go. Under the circumstances, with no job at Mercy, Carissa thought it best to withdraw her name. Regina Hartman asked if anyone was interested in taking on the open position. No one came forth so Regina agreed to become the Chair of the Program Committee, which is typically the VP’s duty. Regina never held this position, even though she was the President of CAHSLA for the 2007-2008 year. There was no opposition from CAHSLA members regarding this arrangement. In sum, the officers for next year are: Val Purvis (President), Meredith Orlowski (Secretary), Cathy Constance (Treasurer), and Regina Hartman (Chair of the Program Committee). Emily Kean and Amy Koshoffer will also stay on as members of the program committee.
Cathy Constance announced the CAHSLA membership as 34 full members and 6 life members. CAHSLA has $3,871 in the treasury.
We welcomed new member Brigid Almaguer (Cincinnati State) and welcomed back Carole Baker (St. Elizabeth’s) to CAHSLA.
Beautiful Gerber daisies were given to CAHSLA officers by President, Regina Hartman. Regina Hartman received thanks from Past President, Sharon Purtee.
Talks about next year’s meeting locations already began. There is a strong interest in going back to the Sign Museum.
Contact Regina Hartman if you are interested in consortium pricing for Ovid or CINAHL full text. Regina would like to get a group of libraries together, if possible, to work out an arrangement. Regina commented that the new EBSCO interface has several nice features.
Lisa announced that the Chronicle submission deadline is Friday June 20, 2008.
Adjourned: 7:15pm
CAHSLA
Financial Report 2007-2008
Checking
Balance as of 7/30/2007 $ 829.23
Deposits
Dues - full member (34) $510.00
Donation $ 5.00
Total $ 515.00
Withdrawals
President’s gift - 2007 $ 50.00
American Sign Museum – Oct mtg $100.00
Oct meeting – food, beverages, supplies $177.63
Sympathy gift $ 31.79
Holiday party - supplies $ 10.78
Park shelter rental – Jun picnic $ 65.00
June picnic – food, supplies $155.00
President’s gift - 2008 $ 50.00
Total - $ 640.20
Balance as of 6/20/2008 $ 704.03
Saving
Balance as of 7/30/2007 $2822.16
Deposits
Interest (11 months) $ 28.55
Balance as of 6/20/2008 $2850.71
Cash on hand
Balance as of 7/30/2007 $ 46.26
Balance as of 6/20/2008 $ 46.26
Total Assets $3601.00
Current membership (paid, student, and life) 40
Submitted by: Cathy Constance, Treasurer 6/20/2008
Medical Library Association May 2008, Chicago
An Inauspicious Beginning
The Megabus pulls up in front of Union Station. My cell phone jiggles in my pocket. What? How could that be happening? My plan calls for local coverage only and here I am 6 hours out of area.
Hello? I hold the phone to my ear, wondering who besides God has the power to contact me beyond the Greater Cincinnati Area. Should I become a believer? Nah, it’s my husband. He has an important message for me. I am standing up; so is everyone else. They are all grabbing their gear and shuffling off the bus, spewing out into a crowd of waiting future passengers like some random motion physics experiment. I join them then plow through the crowd looking for a place quiet enough to hear. Pushing through double glass doors, I turn my attention back to my phone call.
“You don't have a hotel to go to!” he shouts through the background noise. Disbelief and a sinking feeling form in the pit of my stomach. “Did the hotel get blown up or burned down?” I wonder. Barbarie had left a message for me. Her room was canceled; we'll be sharing a condo w/ Carole Baker. (A silent hooray.)
Before I can feel relief, out of the corner of my eye I see the Megabus pull away from the curb. “Gotta go!” are my parting words to my special someone, and I flip the cell closed and lunge out the doors. “STOP! WAIT!” die on my lips as the bus vanishes from view. “Are you Val?” a stranger's words. I search with a spark of hope in my eyes for the face that may know me. They were calling for you, she says and the spark dies.
I hate this! I am an idiot! My suitcase is still on that bus. Doom and gloom. Doom and gloom. I pull out my Megabus papers and call a number and then another and then, another. I don't know how many calls I have made nor how much my roaming fees are going to be. I start to sweat profusely. At last, a mild-mannered dispatcher at Megabus convinces me she will find my suitcase and call me back.
I schlep to the hotel and stow my overloaded briefcase with the porter. I find Barbarie on a respite with Lisa and Regina in their room upstairs. My phone rings and Voila! It's the Megabus lady. She has it! On her sage advice, I race to the street and hail a cab, making sure it accepts payment with a credit card. Guess not all cabs do.
The cab ride seems long, and I think I will end up in the suburbs. We arrive at the terminal where Megabuses sleep at night, and I keep the cab waiting. It makes me feel like I am in a movie. Inside there's my sweetie, my love, my suitcase. I thank the woman profusely and think perhaps I should tip her but she doesn't wait for the offer so wisely I keep my hand with my bill in my pocket.
The ride back is expensive but uneventful. At last I can relax. Let the conference begin!
***
McGovern Lecture
Andrew Zolli, Head of Z+ Partners
Andrew Zolli has been futurist-in-residence for American Demographics, Popular Science, National Geographic, and National Public Radio's Marketplace. He defined innovation as the creation of new forms of value in anticipation of future demand. With that in mind, he spoke about how the world is changing and outlined some of the trends shaping our future.
Zolli highlighted demographic transitions that will impact all of us such as world populations moving from rural to urban; the cities that are currently largest are shrinking and cities in Asia and Africa are growing; the population of Europe and the U.S. is aging while Africa’s population is predominantly young; the age graph of the U.S. is moving to an hour-glass proportion with fewer workers in the middle ages to care for the old and the young. All of these demographic issues will impact health care worldwide and, in turn, the nature of the information and services we provide for the people providing that care.
Another trend that will become even more predominant in the future is thinking in network terms. Zolli emphasized that this is a political philosophy, not a technology, that empowers individuals and small groups at the expense of established powers. In this scenario, information spreads by communicating with nodes on the network where a crowd gathers around specific interests and topics that drive results. Trust then is a matter of mass appeal rather than a quality measure.
The final trend Zolli discussed was the issues of abundance, complexity and the rise of experience. We have a tyranny of choice, and a filter for our choices is an absolute necessity. More choices lead to greater satisfaction up to a point, then satisfaction falls quickly to dissatisfaction as we become overwhelmed. Design and technology together will create the kind of experience we have in handling this kind of abundance and complexity.
Finally, Zolli left us with these thoughts:
Personal trumps impersonal,
Tangible trumps intangible,
Present trumps past or future,
Desireable trumps responsible.
***
Top Technology TrendsThe Medical Library Association has found a sure-fire winner in its panel presentation on top technology trends. Launched in Philadelphia, Top Technology Trends I, was a standing-room only, audience participation, "Google jockey" extravaganza of opinions and predictions related to technology and libraries. The Philadelphia panel was so successful, the Medical Informatics Section decided to attempt a replay at the Chicago meeting with Technology Trends II Top Technology Trends: Bridge Today, Gone Tomorrow. By the size of the crowd, the replay met and for me, exceeded expectations.
Added to this year's panel were Michelle Kraft, Cleveland Clinic librarian and founder of the blog "The Krafty Librarian," and Gabriel Rios, Deputy Director, University of Alabama at Lister Hill. Gabriel and Michelle contributed excellent information on trends to watch and were a perfect complement to the highly opinionated group. Eric Schnell, Wallace McLendon and Bart Ragon were equally enlightening. For a complete list of panelists, please consult http://www.medinfo.mlanet.org/ARCH_MISPres/MisPres2008.php In order for you to get the most information on this session, please consult http://www.medinfo.mlanet.org/ARCH_MISPres/2008techtrends.php. This excellent summary includes web links to learn more about the trends the panelists discussed.
***
Other highlights:
Mark Funk’s presidential address -- Explore, Dream, Discover -- was inspiring, using Mark Twain’s quote: “Throw off your bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.”
Lisa McCormick provided a memorable few minutes when she entertained an elevator packed with hotel guests on their ride to the lobby rejecting more passengers at every floor – you just had to be there.
Many good ideas for use of Web 2.0 tools for library projects and services. For example, a wiki for the library Policies and Procedures so that all staff can update and contribute; a “what’s New” blog for the library with invited comments so that users can give you feedback and suggestions; subject guides created and distributed using http://del.icio.us.
More tools to use in searching and analyzing search results: HubMed (www.hubmed.org), PubFocus (www.pubfocus.com) and GoPubMed (www.gopubmed.org)
Report on Flooding in Southern Indiana
I attended a meeting in Columbus [Indiana] on Friday that outlined what happened at the hospital and what the timeline for repairs would be. Since it was for employees only and I have promised to keep you all updated on the status in Columbus, I am passing this on to you to post to the list since I still do not have access to my email account at work.
The hospital has sustained a tremendous amount of damage to both the lower level and the first floor. The lower level completely flooded and the overflow left a foot of water on the first floor. The basement is essentially in ruins and the first floor will need extensive aesthetic repairs to include all of the drywall, which was warped at the bottom foot of each panel. I have not seen the physical hospital yet - only pictures.
The timeline for repairs will be in the neighborhood of 3-4 months and first priority is to get our ED Dept. up and running for the community's needs. We are fortunate that we are being paid as employees during this time period. But, we are being asked to assist in any way possible. Thus, I may be the first medical librarian to wear a hardhat on the job (I doubt it though).
The general mood of the establishment was one of mixed humor and enthusiasm last Friday. One thing our CEO pointed out is that we might be able to use this as a positive experience to build something better than what we had before.
I have not been in to work yet, nor have I seen the library. I'm sure it is fine and I pointed out in my last communication that the library was not damaged. I will try to offer an update sometime when I report back into work and have a greater idea of just where we stand. I am somewhat positive that I will be back into work this week at some point.
As I still do not have email, I will copy my point of contact information below.
– Chris Kiess, Columbus Regional Hospital
clkiess@gmail.com
Chronicle Blog
For the first time this issue of the Chronicle is coming to you in two formats – the print and mailed copy you’ve seen for many years and a new electronic blog format. The blog is still pretty rough, but your editor is learning something new so be patient as we learn how to refine it and add some bells and whistles. The blog format also invites online comments, so we expect to hear from you on what you think of our first attempt.
CAHSLA COLLEAGUES
Kudos
Congratulations to Meredith Orlowski (UC Health Sciences) who received a 2008 EBSCO/MLA Annual Meeting Grant. This scholarship is sponsored by EBSCO Information Services and enables MLA members to attend the association's annual meeting. The award is for up to $1,000 for travel and conference-related expenses. Meredith was honored at the annual meeting awards luncheon.
CAHSLA Members at MLA
Babarie Hill and Val Purvis, Cincinnati Children's Hospital; Regina Hartman, The Christ Hospital; Carole Baker, St. Elizabeth Hospital; Leslie Schick and Meredith Orlowski, University of Cincinnati HSL; Lisa McCormick, Jewish Hospital; Barbara Slavinsky, The Drake Center; Michael Douglas, Good Samaritan Nursing College; Bette Sydelko, Wright State University.
Farewell and Best Wishes …
To our friends and colleagues at the Mercy Health System Libraries. We are very grateful for the tremendous contributions that they made to the health sciences community for so many years. We watched as Diane Stone, Carol Mayor, Carissa Thatcher, Sr. Judy and the other outstanding library staff and volunteers developed a first-rate library and information service for their far-flung clientele. Our thoughts are very much with each of you. Rose Zajac contributed the following:
“What a shock to lose Library Services with the Mercies. I have many fond memories of working with Diane and her staff. Several times I consulted Diane regarding Interlibrary loans, online database services, and general management. She is so strong to take the disparate libraries of the system and make them a functioning unit. Many times I have expressed to her that I didn't know how she did it. My colleague, Dr. Paul Sweeney, knew her as well since he lived near one of the hospitals and remarked on what a hard working individual she is. All the best to the Diane and her staff.” Rose Zajac (retired, Tri-Health Good Samaritan)
Welcome to ...
Carole Baker new manager of the St. Elizabeth Hospital medical library. Carole has been around the health sciences library community in Cincinnati for a few years.
Barbara Slavinsky new manager of The Drake Center library. Barbara has been active in CAHSLA for the past few years while she was attending library school.
Miscellaneous
The Pratt Library at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital has a new place on the organization chart. After a long history on the academic side in the Research Foundation and Department of Pediatrics, the library will “move” to the hospital’s Department of Education and Training as of July 1. The library will continue to serve the entire hospital with services designed to support all research, education and patient care activities, and the library budget will not be cut as severely as had originally been proposed.
In the Literature and On the ‘Net
Unblocking IT - Tips and techniques
You may want to read this informative article by Mark Funk, immediate past president of the Medical Library Association and the head or resource management and collections at Weil Cornell Medical Library. Mark provides this background information: "After I introduced Web 2.0 tools as a major component of my presidential priorities, I quickly discovered that hospital libraries face a number of obstacles in using them. As it turns out, other associations have similar problems facing many of their members. I wrote an article for the American Society of Association Executives that tries to summarize various techniques one can use in attempting to unblock the blockages that IT sometimes put up. The article is aimed at association executives, but I hope some of the techniques will also be useful for hospital librarians. The article just became available online at http://www.asaecenter.org/PublicationsResources/ANowDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=34916
***
Myths About Libraries and Library Researchby Darla Vornberger, Funderburg Library, Manchester College
Indiana Libraries 21(2):17-18, 2002
MYTH #1: THE MCLIBRARY
We live in a fast food society that wants everything to be quick, easy, and cheap. What a lot of students
don’t realize is that good research takes time. It takes patience. You don’t always find exactly what you want
on the first try, and sometimes you have to follow a winding path, picking up different clues from resources
along the way, before you finally reach your destination...
MYTH #2: “THERE’S NOTHING ON MY TOPIC!”
...The fastest way to dispel this second myth about libraries is to tell them about some simple research
strategies... learn to brainstorm for synonyms and phrases that apply to their topic... finding one good book or article and using the subject headings to expand their search...send students to encyclopedias and other reference sources in order to get an overview of their topic...
MYTH #3: “EVERYTHING I NEED IS ON THE INTERNET.”
...The internet, despite the efforts of commercial search engines, is essentially unorganized and unreliable. Roger Ebert described it best when he said that “Doing research on the Web is like using a library assembled piecemeal by packrats and vandalized nightly.” ... While print media is subjected to certain screening processes like editorial review and fact checking, anyone with a computer, an internet connection and a little bit of design knowledge can “publish” a web site...
MYTH #4: “LIBRARIANS ARE TOO BUSY TO HELP ME.”
... Even if we’re sitting at our desks absorbed in some task, it is also part of our job to help students. Perhaps they would be surprised to find out that we enjoy it!
MYTH #5: LIBRARIANS ARE THERE TO DO MY WORK FOR ME.”
... They want to bypass the research process and have what they need handed to them... in an educational setting, we need to know where to draw the line, and students need to be aware of exactly where that line is...
Calendar
| Oct 17-21 | Midwest Chapter/MLA annual conference in Troy, MI at the Troy Detroit Troy Marriott |
| Oct 3-6, 2009 | Midwest Chapter/MLA annual conference in Columbus, OH, Hyatt on Capitol Square |
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