MLA '07 Session Description

Session Title REVOLUTIONS UNDER WAY: CAPTURE THE MOMENT
Session
Description
Health sciences librarians in all settings are presented daily with challenges from new patrons and new generations of users who are not accustomed to coming to the library. Reaching out to demonstrate value in clinical or academic settings is becoming the new norm. Capturing each opportunity in innovative ways is a revolution under way. The selected presentations will be posted on the MLA Web blog two weeks prior to the meeting for discussion. This will give meeting attendees an opportunity to come to this session with a thorough understanding of the issues, and to fully participate in the discussion of each.

1st
Presentation
In Librarians We Trust: Building a Partnership with Practitioners for the Benefit of Patients

Author Bios
Abstract
PowerPoint Presentation
Evaluation Summary

2nd
Presentation
Bringing the Mountain to Mohammed: Having a Librarian in the Operating Room Area

Author Bio
Abstract
PowerPoint Presentation

3rd
Presentation
A New Liaison Outreach Program: Mobile Reference Services to the School of Public Health

Author Bio
Abstract
PowerPoint Presentation

4th
Presentation
Books to Bedside

Author Bio
Abstract
PowerPoint Presentation

5th
Presentation
Millennials Find Treasure in the Library!

Author Bio
Abstract
PowerPoint Presentation

 
back to top of page  
 
1st
Presentation
In Librarians We Trust: Building a Partnership with Practitioners for the Benefit of Patients
Angela Dixon, BSN, MLS Angela is Head of Collection Management and a Reference Librarian, Health Science Libraries and Technologies (HSLT), University of Rochester Medical Center. As Head of Collection Management, she is responsible for collection development, and for supervising the staff and activities of acquisitions, cataloging and database management. As a Reference Librarian, she teaches classes, engages in reference work, is the liaison to the Department of Pediatrics and is a member of the team that created the Information Prescription pilot program. Angela has over 15 years of experience in biomedical library settings, in addition to her five years as a practicing registered nurse. She has managed two hospital libraries and served as a bibliographer and reference librarian at the University of Georgia Science Library.

Mary Beth Klofas, MLIS Mary is Head of Information and Access Services, Health Science Libraries and Technologies (HSLT), University of Rochester Medical Center. Prior to joining HLST, Ms. Klofas worked as Law Librarian for the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company in Boston, MA and as an Assistant Director for BroMenn HealthCare Health Sciences Library in Normal, IL. Since 1994, Ms. Klofas has been responsible for supervising the Reference, Circulation, and Document Delivery staff and services. Ms. Klofas also has been involved in a variety of patient education activities within the University of Rochester Medical Center’s Strong Memorial Hospital. She is a member of a team that created the Department of Pediatrics Information Prescription pilot program to distribute trustworthy information to patients and their families. Together with Julia Sollenberger, HSLT’s Director and Marilyn Rosen, an HSLT Reference Librarian, Ms. Klofas created the Scott Sturge Family Cancer Information Center, a web site for high-quality pediatric cancer information and services. Ms. Klofas is also a teacher for Mastering Medical Information, a required course for first-year medical students at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.

Marilyn Rosen, MLS In addition to her Master of Library Science degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo, Marilyn holds two certifications from New York State (Public Librarian and School library Media Specialist). She currently holds the title of Reference Librarian, requiring Marilyn to develop and administer educational programs and instruct users on both a formal and informal basis. Thirteen of Marilyn’s 28 years of experience are in biomedical sciences librarianship. She served as library director of two one-person libraries: one at an acute care hospital, the other at a long-term care and nursing home facility. At Monroe Community Hospital, she pioneered the Read Aloud Program, which involved staff, volunteers, and local celebrities in interacting with the residents. Marilyn also has taught classes at OASIS (a unique educational program for mature adults) about health web sites, personal medical research, and storytelling. She has performed as a storyteller for over ten years at churches, synagogues, schools, and parks.

Julia Sollenberger Director, Health Science Libraries and Technologies/Edward G. Miner Library
Abstract Program Objective: The Ask A Medical Librarian program objective was to deliver targeted, individualized information to in-patients, outpatients, and their families from trusted sources such as books, journals, pamphlets, and selected high-quality Internet sites. This was accomplished through the use of an information prescription over a seven-month period in three pediatric units.

Setting: The pilot was conducted in an academic health sciences library serving a school of medicine and dentistry and a school of nursing and a 740-bed teaching hospital, which includes a 124-bed children's hospital.

Participants: Librarians collaborated with health care providers in the pediatrics department.

Program: What would you do if a poster promoting librarian assistance with health questions was ripped off the wall by a pediatrician who opposed patients getting information directly from the library? The library director, cognizant that patients are getting information and misinformation from the Internet, proposed partnering with the pediatrics department to develop an information prescription program. A task force was created to design the form and to establish procedures for submitting and filling requests. The librarians also formulated goals and objectives, as well as evaluation tools for providers and patients. Multifaceted publicity was also incorporated into the program.

Results/Conclusions: During the 7-month pilot, 34 requests for information were submitted by providers and filled by librarians. To determine if the pilots' goals and objectives were met, surveys were conducted with both providers and patients or families. The surveys revealed that 100% of both providers and patients/families were either satisfied or very satisfied with the service. Based on the positive response that was received, the Ask A Medical Librarian Information Prescription service is being expanded to the entire department of pediatrics in 2007.

Evaluation Summary

 
back to top of page  
 
2nd
Presentation
Bringing the Mountain to Mohammed: Having a Librarian in the Operating Room Area
Denise Hersey, MA, MLS Denise Hersey works at Yale University's Cushing/Whitney Medical Library. For the past year and a half she has worked as the Librarian for Liaison Activities, a position she job-shares with a colleague. In addition to coordinating the library's liaison program to the University's medical departments and research centers, she is also a member of the Curriculum and Research Support Department. She most recently worked as the corporate librarian for a medical Quality Improvement Organization and has held positions in various academic libraries. She received her MLS from Southern Connecticut State University, her MA from the University of Massachusetts, and her BA from the University of Pennsylvania. She is very happy to be back in Philadelphia.

Abstract Objective: To increase awareness and use of library-funded resources by physicians and residents who work in the operating room (OR) areas of a busy teaching hospital and to promote the inclusion of medical librarians in clinicians' information-seeking activities and curriculum decision making.

Methods: In an effort to provide library assistance to clinicians typically unable to find time to get to the physical library, a medical librarian was available in the anesthesiology department's clinical care area of the ORs for one hour, four days a week. This new "librarian on call" service was advertised by flyers and emails sent to the department's email list. Statistics were recorded on what types of inquiries were made, how much time the librarian spent on the query, which resources were used to answer the question or educate the clinician, how often the clinician went to the physical library or used the library's Website, and various demographic information. In addition to these data, a survey was distributed to those who used the service to determine if they were satisfied with the "librarian on call" service and which library resources they became aware of and now used regularly because of the program.

Results: During the initial two and half month period of the program, the librarian spent a total of 36 hours in the OR area of the hospital. In that time period, she answered 51 questions from 35 anesthesiology staff members. At least 50% of those who worked with the librarian in the OR had never worked with a medical librarian before. However, 78% of those who filled out the survey indicated that by speaking with the "librarian on call," they had learned of a library service or resource that they were previously unaware of.

Conclusion: During the time that the librarian began working in the OR, she has been invited to work more closely with anesthesiology department faculty. Data from this experience indicate that having a librarian in the operating room area is important to the medical staff working there and a useful way to integrate librarians into hospital and academic departments.

 
back to top of page  
 
3rd
Presentation
A New Liaison Outreach Program: Mobile Reference Services to the School of Public Health
Patrick McCarthy Patrick McCarthy is the Director of the Medical Center Library at Saint Louis University. Patrick also worked at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries, and his professional background includes bookselling and publishing. He is currently completing a master's degree in nonprofit management at Washington University in St. Louis. Patrick is interested in how digital formats of information can be applied to providing stronger user services in academic medical libraries.

Abstract Purpose:
  • To provide onsite library information services at the School of Public Health
  • To improve library support for research and scholarship
  • To cultivate and strengthen liaison relationships with Public Health users
  • To enhance marketing and delivery of library resources and services
Program Description: The School of Public Health is located at a greater distance from the Medical Center Library than other programs on the main Medical Center campus. Although the library provides a wide array of electronic resources, physical distance diminishes the ease of access to direct reference services for Public Health users. To bridge the gap, we developed an outreach program of mobile reference services to deliver onsite information assistance to the School of Public Health with regular office hours each week. This presentation shares the experience of planning, implementing, and evaluating this new program.

Outcomes: As a result of the program, reference transactions with Public Health users more than doubled (increased 109%), and overall library reference transactions increased by 28%. School of Public Health users have become significantly more aware of the library's resources and services, and the liaison relationship has been strengthened.

 
back to top of page  
 
4th
Presentation
Books to Bedside
Cristina Pope  

Abstract Methods: If you have ever had the misfortune to be admitted to a hospital or have had a family member admitted, you know that what you do most is wait: wait for therapy, wait for tests, wait for results, wait while your family member is in therapy or in surgery--just wait. Now, patients, family members, and hospital staff, too, can take advantage of Books to Bedside, a service offered only through the partnership of SUNY Upstate Health Sciences Library, Upstate Volunteers, and the Onondaga County Public Library System (OCPL). At their bedside, patients can select from books provided from the collections of the public library system. If the client needs a library card, she can register for one at the bedside. Then, the items are checked-out using the OCPL online public access catalog. Clients can return the items to the volunteer, at the Hospital book drop and at any relevant location. Technology, volunteer training, obtaining permission to place a book drop in the hospital lobby, identifying eligible patients, etc. -- all were obstacles we overcame. Then there was the one we didn't -- room size! Come and learn from our experiences!

 
back to top of page  
 
5th
Presentation
Millennials Find Treasure in the Library!
Patricia Mongelia After five years of helping consumers with their information needs at the New York Public Library and completing the MLA certification in consumer health specialization, Pattie Mongelia came to the Information Services department at Weill Cornell a little over a year ago. She was one of helen-ann's prize students in the health information concentration at Pratt institute School of Information and Library Science. Currently Pattie and helen-ann are the Information Services librarians at Weill Cornell and look forward to establishing a new department entitled Education and Outreach in the fall.

Abstract Objective: With characteristics of millennials, those born from 1979 to 1994, in mind, the staff of the Weill Cornell Medical Library set out to create an engaging orientation in the form of a treasure hunt for our incoming freshman medical students to get to know the layout of the library, meet library staff and use some library resources.

Method: This is a summary report of a fun morning in late August 2006 when 103 incoming medical students, mostly millennials, taught themselves about our library. The afternoon before, the library director had introduced the treasure hunt, and there was a palpable sense of anticipation. The students were divided into teams of about 10, given a treasure map, and a list of tantalizing rhymes that required an answer. Ground rules were explained. Staff members were stationed at strategic locations to guide and verify that a rhyming clue was solved. Clues took them all over the library, in and out of the stacks and back and forth to the computer room. Each member of the winning team won a flashdrive. Every student filled out an evaluation and picked up a spillproof drinking mug.

Results: Students completed a evaluation. On a Likert scale, with 1 being uncomfortable and 9 being confident, the average comfort level of finding materials in the library was 6.1 and the average comfort level in finding materials on the library's Website was 6.3. The overall average rating of the treasure hunt was 7 with 1 being awful and 9 being outstanding.

Conclusion: The treasure hunt was a success because it met the experiential learning style of Millennial students who expect to be entertained and prefer to work in teams. Millennials also appreciate feedback and the opportunity to build rapport with the staff and each other. Because they work quickly, the winning team finished in seventeen minutes! Millennials thrive on immediate gratification and that's why the flashdrives for the winners and the spillproof mugs for all were such a big hit. Next year, more instruction to go with more riddles!

 
back to top of page