Spring Vol. 25 No. 2, 2009

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News From the Field

George A Smathers Libraries | Health Science Center Libraries

University of Florida - George A. Smathers Libraries

Honors, Awards and Offices

Alena Aissing, Hikaru Nakano (lead PI), and Nancy Poehlmann were awarded a Smathers Libraries’ mini-grant to add Cyrillic characters to approximately 10,000 bibliographic records for Russian language titles, both locally and in WorldCat.  Enhancement of these records will add to native language search capabilities.

Stacey Ewing, Laura Jordan (lead PI), and Missy Shoop were awarded a Smathers Libraries’ mini-grant for the UF Virtual Library (UFVL) which will create an experimental learning environment in the virtual world Second Life to allow visitors a unique view of what it was like to be in Florida during the time of segregation and desegregation.  Specifically, the goal is to create an interactive virtual exhibit hosted within the UFVL space in Second Life with materials found in the UF Digital Library Center (UFDC) collections. 

Jim Liversidge and Richard Phillips (lead PI) were awarded a Smathers Libraries’ mini-grant for their Cuban & Mexican Film Poster Digital & Conservation Project. This project seeks to better organize, digitize and conserve 400 film posters from Cuba and Mexico. It builds on the success of other past initiatives, most notably a $40,000 grant in 2003 to purchase Latin American films for the Libraries.

Matthew Loving was appointed to the ACRL/WESS Research and Planning Committee (2008-2010).

Iona Malachuk, was named one of ten librarians nationwide recognized for service in their communities, schools, and campuses as a winner of the Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian Award. Complete details of Iona's award can be found at http://news.education.ufl.edu/news/education-head-librarian-receives-national-honor.

Appointments, Retirements, Departures, Promotions, Sabbaticals Granted

Rich Bennett is the new Chair of the Special and Area Studies Collections Department.

Bess de Farber is the new Grants Coordinator.

Margeaux Johnson is the new Science and Technology Librarian at Marston Science Library.

Jimmie Lundgren, Head of the Science and Social Science Cataloging Unit, was awarded sabbatical leave for Fall 2009 to identify patron constituencies within the UF community who are served differently by the libraries and to develop and use constituency-specific usability testing of the library catalog.

Lela Lynch is the new Program Assistant for Library Administration.

Rachel Schipper is the new Associate Dean for Technology and Support Services.

Bonnie Smith is the new Employee Relations & Development Coordinator.

Laurie Taylor became the interim director for the Digital Library Center in November 2008.

Papers, Presentations, Publications and Teaching

Alena Aissing and Richard Saltzburg published “European Romanies: A Collaborative Educational Program at the University of Florida Libraries.” Slavic and East European Information Resources. 10.1 (2009): 60-71.

Steve Carrico, Chair of the Acquisitions and Licensing Department, Betsy Simpson, Chair of the Cataloging and Metadata Department, and Jason Fleming, Information Technology Expert, were among the inaugural group of American Library Association Virtual Poster Session presenters.  “Virtual Bookplates: Emerging Opportunities for Gifts & Endowments” (http://presentations.ala.org/index.php?title=Virtual_Bookplates) provides an overview of the rationale and implementation of online bookplates at the University of Florida.

Lori Driscoll co-edited Best Practices in Access Services. Routledge: New York, 2009. She also presented, “Statement on Behalf of the Library Copyright Alliance Regarding Exceptions and Limitations” to the World International Property Organization Section, Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights: Seventeenth Session, November 5, 2008, Geneva, Switzerland, and she assisted in the planning for the conference and facilitation of panels at the “Cultural Heritage and Living Culture: Defining the U.S. Library Position on Access and Protection of Traditional Cultural Expression” conference in Washington, DC November 12-14, 2008. See http://wo.ala.org/tce/ for further information.

Michael Jay, Information Technology Expert, Betsy Simpson, Chair of the Cataloging and Metadata Department, and Doug Smith, Head of the Copy Cataloging Unit, published “CatQC and Shelf-Ready Material: Speeding Collections to Users While Preserving Data Quality,” Information Technology and Libraries, v. 28, no. 1, March 2009.

Matthew Loving published the article, “Transocéanique,” South Florida History Magazine, vol.36, no. 3, Jan 2009. Matthew also presented in Montreal, Canada, at AIFBD congress of francophone librarians (IFLA) on UF's Toolkit software and its applications, 'Bibliothèque Numérique de Caraïbes (dLOC) et le logiciel ToolKit: model de collaboration internationale', and he presented the scholarly paper at France-Florida Research Institute's 'Colloque Beckett' entitled, 'Les Trous Noirs dans l'œuvre de Samuel Beckett'.

Jimmie Lundgren presented, “Geographic Coordinates in Authority Records (Notes From a Successful Proposal to Change MARC Format),” for LITA/ALCTS Authority Control in the Online Environment Interest Group, Jan. 25, 2009, American Library Association Midwinter Meeting in Denver, Colorado (Invited presentation).

Angela Mott and Lori Driscoll, published After Midnight: Late Night Library Services. Association of Research Libraries Occasional Paper 23, 2008. Angela also published two haiku in the Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery & Electronic Reserve, 19 (1), 3-6. http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/ftinterface~content=a907731502~fulltext=713240930

Missy Shoop and Laurie Taylor presented on the UFDC for an online NEFLIN training workshop.

Laurie Taylor co-edited the book, Playing the Past: Video Games, History, and Memory, and co-wrote its introduction, published in Fall 2008 by Vanderbilt University Press.

Florence M. Turcotte wrote a chapter entitled, “Outreach in Special Collections Librarianship” in  Academic Library Outreach: Beyond the Campus Walls. Edited by Nancy Courtney. (Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited, December 2008).

Donations

Dr. and Mrs. David Owens of Winter Park graciously donated eleven Chinese antiquities and art works to Smathers Libraries in December.  This donation includes a massive stucco head of the Goddess of Mercy Guanyin from the 13th Century, a painting of Emperor Ming Huang's flight to Sichuan from the Tang or early Song Dynasty, and a Qing Dynasty poetic scroll.  Select items may currently be viewed in the Library West Administrative Offices; however, an exhibit featuring the gift will be mounted at Smathers Library Special & Area Studies Collections Display Area during Summer 2009.

University of Florida - Health Science Center Libraries

Events

The Florida Health Sciences Library Association 2009 Annual Meeting will be hosted this year by the UF Health Science Center Libraries. FHSLA Vice President 2008-2009 Nancy Schaefer sends this description of FHSLA 2009: Creating Connections: Join us at the Gainesville Hilton Garden Inn April 22-24, 2009.  We’ve built into the program some time and interesting new ways to network with colleagues, opportunities to learn new technologies and how to plan for them and a venue for brainstorming/sharing “Ideas That Work” and “Lessons Learned.”

CE courses offered include:

• Government Resources in Consumer Health (4 MLA CEU, also being offered in Honolulu at Medical Library Association's annual meeting in May)
• Presenting Data and Information with Consideration to Audience (new course-4 hrs)
• Using Free or Low Cost Web 2.0 Tools (new course-4 MLA CEU being applied for)
• Patient Education Materials: Evaluation and Design (new course-1.5 hrs)
• Technology Planning for Health Sciences Librarians (6 MLA CEU, also being offered at MLA's annual meeting in Hawaii in May)

Keynote speaker Dr. Erin Dunbar is a University of Florida neuro-oncologist with a passionate interest in the intersection of patients, physicians/healthcare providers and libraries/librarians. Tours of the Human Patient Simulator Teaching/Research Lab and the GatorTech Smart House (built-in computer and sensor technology to automatically provide the assistance at home for aging people) are also being offered. And all for a price that will let you stay connected to a good bit of your cash! See www.fhsla.org/annual-meetings/2009/main.htm for registration and further information.

The HSC Library is one of three potential host institutions to host the Sewell Learning Partnerships for 2009/2010, a program which places experienced librarians within leading healthcare or research organizations, and by bridging those cultures, discover more creative and effective applications of information science. The Sewell Foundation is now recruiting for librarians for possible projects, and candidates would work with HSC Librarians and Dr. Erin Dunbar, a neuro-oncologist at the Preston Wells Center for Brain Tumor Therapy. Details are at: www.sewellfund.org/LearningPartnerships2009Hosts.htm

Libraries’ Renovation and Improvement Update: The UF Health Science Center Libraries (both the main HSC Library in Gainesville and the Borland Health Sciences Library in Jacksonville) have both been undergoing renovations this summer to improve spaces for patrons. The Gainesville HSC Library has recently completed work on our new Collaboration Commons & Center – places where small groups can talk, work, research, study and learn together. In a 1000-sq.ft open area on our first floor, we’ve installed several extremely popular Collaboration Stations, with mobile whiteboards and leading-edge health education software displayed on large high-resolution monitors. On the second floor, we have created a Collaboration Center that provides a technology-rich and inviting videoconferencing environment for interdisciplinary groups to work, brainstorm and visualize together. A webpage on the CCC is at: www.library.health.ufl.edu/pub/commons/

The Borland Health Sciences Library in Jacksonville is nearing completion with their renovations. Compact shelving has been installed and all construction work is complete. The goals of the renovation have been met and the students love all the changes! The original goals included the following: new furniture with individual study workstations and group study pods have been assembled and are in constant use; a collaboration area with a large-screen monitor, wireless keyboard and mouse is available; the library’s new instructional classroom with projector, screen and an additional 10 computers is already in use; new wooden and glass front doors have made the entrance more welcoming; with the installation of new windows in formerly closed areas, more natural light is visible throughout the library, and lighting throughout the library has been upgraded; the staff area has become more open, and the staff is more readily visible and accessible; we are still waiting for the new circulation desk and minor accessories. We are almost there! You can see updated pictures of their renovation posted on their homepage at: www.library.health.ufl.edu/borland/.

In October and November, the HSC Libraries was proud to host two emotionally powerful exhibitions ~ The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic and Transformations in Mental Illness Treatment. The traveling exhibition The Lives They Left Behind detailed the stories of people who were committed to the New York State Asylum in the early 20th-century through the items left behind in their suitcases. Transformations showed how dramatically care of people diagnosed with severe and persistent mental illnesses has changed in the last 100 years through posters and exhibits featuring community programs and institutional care for the mental illnesses in the Gainesville area. Learn more at: www.library.health.ufl.edu/pub/Suitcases/.

In October, the HSC Libraries co-sponsored (for the fourth year running) Florida Genetics 2008, an annual meeting of some of the top scientists in genetics, bioinformatics and biotechnology, featuring a keynote address this year from Francis Collins, former head of the Human Genome Project. Michele R. Tennant is a founding member of the Florida Genetics organizing committee, and served as FG2008 host for speaker David Lipman, Director of the National Center for Biotechnology Information. More info is at: www.ufgi.ufl.edu/FL-Genetics-2008/Symposium-welcome-announcements-2008.htm.

Last year, the HSC Libraries launched several LibGuides on our website. These are subject guides, course guides and many other resources developed by our Reference & Liaison Librarians. libguides.library.health.ufl.edu/

As a treat before final exams, The University of Florida Healthy Gators program gave out more than 1200 ‘Finals Care Kits’ in three library locations, including the Health Science Center Library. The kits contained healthy snacks (a banana and an apple), a stress ball and study tips.

Honors, Awards, and Offices

Don David has received a Health Science Center Superior Accomplishment award. His nomination was picked from a pool of 82 nominations, and he is also entered into the campus-wide Superior Accomplishment Award pool. Go Don!!!

Appointments, Retirements, Departures, and Promotions

Michele R. Tennant has been named Head of the Reference, Education and Information Management Department. She was also just named to the Medical Library Association’s Continuing Education Committee; the appointment runs from May 2009-May 2012.

Nancy Schaefer was just appointed to the Books Panel of the Medical Library Association. She also has been asked to serve with the MLA’s Representative to Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce and their Manager of Information Issues and Policy on writing the Medical Library Association’s response to the Public Health Accreditation Board’s newly revised standards for state, local and territorial health department accreditation.

College of Nursing Librarian Pamela Sherwill-Navarro has left after eight years at the UF HSC Library in Gainesville to assume a position at the new Remington College of Nursing in Orlando.

State/National/International Activities

Michele R. Tennant participated in a grants panel for the Biomedical Library and Informatics Review Committee, a committee of the National Library of Medicine, November 6-7, 2008.

Meetings/Conferences/Travel

Michele R. Tennant attended the American Medical Informatics Association Fall Symposium in Washington, D.C., November 8-12, 2008.

Linda Butson, Beth Layton, Wallace McLendon, Kathy Moeller and Pam Sherwill attended the Southern Chapter/MLA Annual Meeting in Birmingham, AL, October 26-30, 2008.

Papers, Presentations, Publications, and Teaching

Current and former HSC Librarians have published three separate articles in the January issue of the Journal of the Medical Library Association, the international, peer-reviewed quarterly: a ‘LibGuides’ electronic resources review by Ellie Bushhousen; ‘Nursing educator’s perceptions of collaboration with librarians,’ co-authored by Pamela Sherwill-Navarro; and ‘Analysis of the reporting of search strategies in Cochrane systematic reviews,’ co-authored by Adriana Yoshii, formerly of Borland Library, our Jacksonville branch.

Director Wallace McLendon co-taught (with Bart Ragon, University of Virginia Health Sciences Library) a 6-hr CE course on Technology Planning for Health Science Librarians at the SC/MLA 2008 annual meeting in Birmingham, AL, on October 27, 2008.

Nancy Schaefer recently published a book chapter: Schaefer, N. 2008. Review of the Literature. In the Medical Library Association Guide to Health Literacy. Marge Kars, Lynda M. Baker and Feleta L. Wilson, eds. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.

Beth Layton, Linda Butson, Barbara Shearer and Cheryl Dee presented a poster at the SCMLA 2008 Annual Meeting entitled Making Magic: Joining Forces to Create a Statewide Consumer Health Information Network. It outlines the development of the Florida Consumer Health Information Network and explores accomplishments and future directions.

Michele R. Tennant recently published The role of the medical librarian in the basic biological sciences: a case study in virology and evolution, with Michael M. Miyamoto, in JMLA 96(4):290-8. Oct. 2008.