Saturday, April 26, 2008

MLA CE Week 6 – Online Photo Sharing

I completed the Discovery readings and registered for a flickr account uploading a photo. I then uploaded it to my Facebook page and then to My Web 2.0 Conspectus blog. All uploads were very straightforward and easy. I think there are a number of ways libraries could take advantage of flickr and other image sharing services. For example, creating and archiving historical collections or documenting medical procedures. I think it’s great that LC has undertaken its pilot project with flickr as another vehicle to provide access to its collections and experiment with social tagging.

Friday, April 18, 2008

MLA CE Week 5 – Web Office Tools

Since I’m on leave today, I thought I would try to catch up on my class assignments!

I don’t foresee the Dept of Army migrating to these Web office tools in the near future. It could potentially save a tremendous amount of money that is currently expended towards office suite tools but would it offer a secure enough environment? In addition, Army Knowledge Online (AKO), the world’s largest Intranet, offers us collaboration technologies featuring files knowledge centers. These files can be shared among a designated user community with several levels of security to determine which users have access, ease of uploading files and email notifications to authorized users, and version control of files in multiple formats.

I completed the Discovery Exercises and practiced creating a document, spreadsheet, and presentation on Google Docs. I did not have any difficulty completing the assignment ~ either because of my experience using AKO or because it’s intended to be very easy. I also posted My MLA 2008 Annual Conference Personal Agenda/Itinerary created in Google Doc to My Web 2.0 Conspectus.

Sample of Google Docs to My Web 2.0 Conspectus



My MLA 2008 Annual Conference Personal Agenda

16 – 21 May 2008



Saturday, 17 May 2008


Continuing Education (CE400)

Electronic Collection Development for Health & Medicine E-Libraries

Location: Wrigley

Time: 0800-1700



Learn to create a collection development plan for an electronic library of free and fee-based web-accessible resources for health and medicine. Students will focus on developing a collection plan for one library patron group of their choice for the kind of library they work in (e.g., hospital, medical center, medical school, allied health programs, public libraries, academic libraries, other special libraries, etc.). Patron groups may include: health care consumers, physicians of general or particular specialty, nurses, pharmacists, medical school students, allied health students, biomedical researchers, etc. Participants will end the course with a good draft e-library collection development plan. Instructor: Diane K. Kovacs, Web Teacher, Kovacs Consulting, Internet and Web Training, Brunswick, OH

Note: There is a web-based portion of this course to follow the MLA '08 meeting. Participants will receive 15 MLA CE contact hours, representing their online and live course work.



Sunday, 18 May 2008


Ovid Sunrise Seminar: Meeting the Needs of Nursing Professionals

Location: Acapulco

Time: 0700-0815


Seminar taught by Ovid trainers re: database and full-text resources required by nurses.



Plenary Session I: MLA Opening Session and Presidential Address

Location: Grand Ballroom

Time: 0900-1000



The MLA 2008 opening session featuring Mark Funk’s presidential address. His address will focus on the future of librarianship that provides an opportunity for critical reflection on how to preserve the best traditions of health sciences librarianship.



Plenary Session II: The John P. McGovern Lecture: Andrew Zolli

Location: Grand Ballroom


Time: 1030-1200


Author and futurist will outline the trends shaping the future and its impact on health sciences librarianship.


Dept of the Army Medical Command Libraries SIG

Location: Skyway 269

Time: 1530-1430


Document Delivery: PubMed Linkout

Location: Acapulco

Time: 1530-1630


Addresses the National Library of Medicine’s PubMed Linkout Program.



Consumer & Patient Health Information – Coping with Budget Cuts ~ Creative Solutions in Lean Times

Location: Grand Ballroom A

Time: 1630-1800


Addresses budget cuts and challenges libraries face. Potential solutions will be presented, as well as the use of creative marketing and branding .



Monday, 19 May 2008


NLM Sunrise Seminar

Location: Columbus IJ

Time: 0700-0815


NLM staff will highlight accomplishments and new developments in a variety of online systems, including MEDLINE/PubMed, MedlinePlus, and DOCLINE



Plenary Session III: Janet Doe Lecture: Thomas G. Basler, MLA Fellow

Location: Grand Ballroom

Time: 0900-1000


Will address changing leadership for changing times.



Federal Libraries Section - Mental Health Resources for Veterans, Military Personnel, & Families

Location: Columbus GH

Time: 1400-1530


In 2005, the US Congress established the National Demonstration Program for Citizen-Soldier Support (CSSP). Citizen soldier families and veterans face numerous personal and family life challenges that severely tax their resources. Maintaining and achieving good mental health is vital for these individuals. It is important that they have access to mental health resources. This session is an especially important session for AMEDD librarians due to the increased emphasis on Soldier mental health issues and dealing with the rehabilitation of those with traumatic brain injuries.



Federal Libraries Section – Connecting with Administrators to Show the Value of Libraries & Librarians?

Location: Columbus GH

Time: 1630-1800


Addresses administrators expectations and how-to for librarians to communicate their value, return on investment, cost benefits, etc., in their respective organizations.



Tuesday, 20 May 2008


Elsevier Clinical Decision Support Sunrise Seminar

Location: Columbus CD Room

Time: 0700-0815


How-to integrate your library holdings into your hospital’s software applications. Integrate clinical decision support content for physicians, multi-care teams and pharmacists into the hospital’s electronic health records system.



Plenary Session: NLM Update

Location: Grand Ballroom

Time: 1030-1130


Session details changes in the NLM databases and document delivery system, DOCLINE ~ used by medical libraries to obtain materials not available in the local medical library collection.



Document Delivery: QuickDoc

Location: Hong Kong

Time: 1130-1230


Follow on meeting to the NLM Update with information about QuickDoc.



Medical Informatics: Technologies in Teaching

Location: Regency Ballroom A

Time: 1400-1540


This session will cover the multitude of ways that technologies are used in teaching (simulations, avatars, podcasts, Web 2.0, online courses, interactive DVD or web-based multimedia programs, audience response systems, etc.) for a wide range of audiences (health sciences students, residents, preclinical students, undergraduates, continuing education programs, and even library staff.)



Nursing & Allied Health Research: Connecting Librarians, Nurses, & Accreditation/Credentialing Organizations to Improve Patient Care

Location: Columbus EF

Time: 1630-1800


Libraries serving the health professions are guided by standards defined by organizations ranging from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations to professional program accreditation and individual credentialing, as well as regional accreditation. Changes in accreditation and credential standards and guidelines represent serious challenges to libraries and can even contribute to library closings. Magnet status is another credential many hospitals are seeking, and librarians have been part of that credentialing process. Libraries, librarians, and library organizations are learning to work with accrediting and credentialing organizations to shape the standards and guidelines in ways that strengthen health care and health care education by stressing the roles that libraries and information play. Focus on how to proactively shape credentialing and accreditation processes, librarian participation in credentialing and accreditation organizations, and efforts to shape institutional accreditation planning.




Wednesday, 21 May 2008


Plenary Session IV: Web 2.0 Tools for Librarians

Location: Grand Ballroom

Time: 0900-1200


Program devoted to the description, demonstration, discussion, and debate of these tools which librarians need to be aware of as well as understand how to incorporate them into the delivery of library services.


Wednesday, April 9, 2008

MLA CE Week 4 - Social Bookmarks & Tagging

I really enjoyed the Discovery readings & hands-on for our assignment this week. The optional reading Make Your Library del.icio.us: Social Bookmarking in the Stacks (Jason Griffey, 5 Weeks to a Social Library) was excellent and answered some remaining questions I had about social bookmarking. This narrated PPT provided some good del.icio.us tips, such as using FOR: del.icio.us User Name to share bookmarks and have them show up in another user’s account or embedding your bookmarks on your Web page ~ this is something I definitely want to try on the AMEDD Virtual Library Web site. There are a number of potential library applications to support the delivery of reference services that I hope to share with the medical librarians in the AMEDD MEDLI-NET network of libraries. del.icio.us as a bookmark management tool and the portability of always being just a click away from having your booksmarks when switching among PCs is a real plus for those of us who do one-on-one instruction. I created a del.icio.us account and bookmarked & tagged about 11 sites. Since I’m fairly structured and began my career as a cataloger, I prefer bundling my bookmarks. I bookmarked one of the pages on the Peeps Pathfinder Wiki, bookmarked sites that had been bookmarked by others, and added a link to my del.icio.us. account [http://del.icio.us/AwebPhile] on My Web 2.0 Conspectus

Friday, April 4, 2008

Week 3 - Social Networking Tools

I appreciated the opportunity to explore and get first-hand experience with the Facebook, MySpace, and Linkedin social networking tools. I think it is important to have a better understanding of the tools that our younger clientele are using so that we can evaluate whether or not there are ways in which we need to modify the way our libraries deliver its services. I believe that MLA as an organization might consider building upon these social networking tools can build a similar capability within MLANET to facilitate a greater exchange of ideas and serve as another communication vehicle. The Army library network is probably not yet at a place in which we can create Facebook or MySpace library pages due to all the security and privacy limitations within the Department of Defense networks. I created my personal social networking pages in Facebook and Linkedin after work due to the usual site blocking.