March 2014 – Volume 8 – Number 2

Expertise, Resources, Place: A Library Strategic Planning Update

M.J. Tooey

M.J. Tooey
Executive Director

Over the past six weeks, the leadership team of the HS/HSL has journeyed out on our Strategic Listening Tour to prepare for the development of our new strategic plan. We are about halfway through meeting with university leadership. Next, we will be approaching important constituent groups and others who have been recommended to us during our conversations. The discussions have been wide-ranging, and we have learned so much already.

Words are powerful. The words we are using to define the Library are expertise, resources, and place. In these three words, we believe we have captured the essence of what the Library means.

Expertise – The faculty librarians and the rest of the library team bring expertise in the organization and dissemination of knowledge. Our traditional skills and abilities are translational in nature and have transformed to meet new needs. Institutional review boards, metadata, information integrity, creation and curation of digital and data-driven collections, systematic reviews, impact analysis, knowledge informatics, health literacy, and community engagement. These are just a few of the terms and phrases we use to describe our expertise.

Resources – We provide a seamless information infrastructure for access to the knowledge resources of the world. Our networks across libraries can provide almost instantaneous access. If we don’t have it, we will get it. And we will make our resources findable and usable.

Place – We cannot deny that we have bricks, mortar, shelves, and four walls in a beautiful package. When the library opened 16 years ago, it was seen as a building that made a statement about UMB’s aspirations. The concept of library has for centuries had meaning in so many cultures. At UMB, the library is a haven for dreamers, thinkers, and doers; it is a collaborative place, a cultural place, a teaching and learning place, a neutral place, and increasingly a place to try new and emerging technologies that support and advance our university mission and goals.

We think these three words capture us cleanly and elegantly. As we go forward in the development of our strategic plan, I will be sharing more of what we are learning as we listen.

Measuring the Impact of Research

Research Connect

How is research impact measured? How does an institution demonstrate the value of research? And what is the role of universities in facilitating research and economic development?

To address these questions, the HS/HSL and Elsevier Publishing are hosting a half-day symposium, Research Impact: A Discussion from Institutional, Economic, and Researcher Perspectives. The event will bring together stakeholders for a rich discussion about the impact of research. Representatives from UMB, other research institutions, funding agencies, economic development organizations, and Elsevier will examine the evolving expectations, solutions, and best practices in evaluating research impact.

The symposium will be held at the SMC Campus Center, Elm Ballroom, on Monday, March 31st, 10:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Lunch will be provided. To register and to see a complete list of speakers, view the program online.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Exhibition Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race Opens at University of Maryland’s Health Sciences & Human Services Library

The Deadly Medicine exhibition opened on February 28, 2014 and will remain on display through April 30, 2014. Since opening, the exhibit has drawn visitors from both the local area and out of state, with several groups requesting guided tours. This provocative and moving exhibit is definitely worth viewing.

Kaiser Wilhelm Institute’s Department for Human Heredity

Dr. Otmar von Verschuer examines twins at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute. As the head of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute’s Department for Human Heredity, Verschuer, a physician and geneticist, examined hundreds of pairs of twins to study whether criminality, feeble-mindedness, tuberculosis, and cancer were inheritable. In 1927, he recommended the forced sterilization of the "mentally and morally subnormal." Verschuer typified those academics whose interest in Germany’s "national regeneration" provided motivation for their research.–Archiv zur Geschichte der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Berlin-Dahlem

The Horizon Report and 12 European EdTech Trends

For many who are interested in the intersection of education and technology, there is no better time of the year than early February when the Horizon Report comes out. Published annually by the New Media Consortium, the report expands on Key Trends, Significant Challenges, and Important Developments in Educational Technology. As we consider how technology will enhance how our students learn and anticipate student expectations of their learning environment, this report can provide guideposts and ideas.

Our European colleagues at EdTech Europe have issued a similar report, "12 E-learning Predictions for 2014". While there is nothing earthshaking in the report, it does confirm some of the key trends from the Horizon Report, such as learning analytics and MOOCs.

Happy reading!

Welcome Bohyun Kim & Tony Nguyen!

Bohyun Kim, MA, MSLIS

Bohyun Kim,  MA, MSLIS

Bohyun Kim, MA, MSLIS

The HS/HSL team is delighted to welcome Bohyun Kim as our new Associate Director for Library Applications and Knowledge Systems. Bohyun comes to us from Florida International University, where she was the inaugural Digital Access Librarian for their new medical school. Her accomplishments are many: she is a programmer, web developer, mobile tech maven, an author, and a highly regarded presenter and blogger. In 2011, she was named an Emerging Leader by the American Library Association. As Associate Director for Library Applications and Knowledge Systems, Bohyun will lead the HS/HSL in the integration of expertise and resources with new and emerging collaborative and enabling information technologies, and in collaboration with campus partners.

Tony Nguyen, MLIS, AHIP

Tony Nguyen, MLIS, AHIP

Tony Nguyen, MLIS, AHIP

The National Network of Libraries of Medicine’s Southeastern/Atlantic Region welcomes Tony Nguyen, MLIS, AHIP, as the new Outreach/Communications Coordinator. In this role, Tony will coordinate and facilitate the exhibits and the SE/A communications program. He will also work with health care and information professionals in the region, performing outreach, training, and program management. He has worked on and contributed to projects that include developing a new consumer health library, establishing iTunes University as a platform to support Graduate Medical Education programs, and implementing and executing librarian support during clinical rounds with physicians and residents. He has worked previously as the Director of Marketing and Outreach for The Princeton Review, where he liaised with a diverse clientele in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia, developed and wrote tailored instructional sessions, and implemented social media within the territory to support outreach initiatives.

HS/HSL Founding Collection on the Web

John Crawford

In the earliest years of the University of Maryland, School of Medicine, there was no library available to the students. Dr. John Crawford, Professor of Natural History, had assembled his own private library – a collection of medical texts reputed to be unparalleled in Baltimore. Following his death in 1813, his colleagues on the Faculty pooled their resources to purchase the library from his daughter. The Crawford Collection is the founding collection of the Health Sciences and Human Services Library. Through the generous support of the Medical Alumni Association of the University of Maryland, major portions of the collection have been digitized and are available in the UMB Digital Archive.

Thank you, Medical Alumni Association!

Workshop Highlight: New Drug Information Workshops

Free HSHSL Workshops

This semester, the HS/HSL will be offering two new workshops that cover drug information resources.

SciFinder Basics will provide an introduction to SciFinder, a database that includes chemistry, biochemistry, biotechnology, and related science information from Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) databases. In this workshop, you will learn how to perform topic searches; locate references, substances, and chemical reactions; create search alerts; and access SciFinder Mobile.

In Power Searching for Drug Information, you will learn how to search effectively for drug information in PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts.

You can register for these and other workshops at our website.

New Connective Issues

Connective Issues is moving to a quarterly publication schedule. There are a variety of ways to keep up with current events at the HS/HSL and find out about new library resources. Like the HS/HSL on Facebook to get news and invitations to events, workshops, and exhibits at the Library. Follow the HS/HSL on Twitter @HSHSL for the latest news from the Library and on a variety of health topics. You can also keep up with us via HS/HSL Updates. These updates provide important news about library resources and current issues in scholarly communication and healthcare.

Staff News

HS/HSL librarians were selected to participate on several Medical Library Association (MLA) committees in 2014. Emilie Ludeman, MSLIS, and Gail Betz, MLIS, were appointed to the Research, Development and Dissemination Grant Jury. Katherine Downton, MSLIS, was appointed to the Membership Committee and Andrea Shipper, MSLIS, was appointed to the Beatty Volunteer Service Award Committee.

Publications

Paula Raimondo, MLS, AHIP, Ryan Harris, MLIS, AHIP, Michele Nance, BA, and Everly Brown, MLIS, published "Health Literacy and Consent Forms: Librarians Support Research on Human Subjects" in the Journal of the Medical Library Association, 102 (1), January 2014.

Andrew Youngkin, MLS, AHIP, published "My Experience with the Academy of Health Information Professionals" in MLA News, 54 (1), January 2014.

J. David Midyette, MA, MLIS, AHIP, Andrew Youngkin, MLS, AHIP and Sheila Snow-Croft, MLIS, MA, published "Social Media and Communications: Developing a Policy to Guide the Flow of Information" in the Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 33 (1), February 2014.

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