In mid-January Educause released its “Top Teaching and Learning Challenges, 2009.” These challenges were identified over a period of four months by Educause’s teaching and learning community who started the discussion at their annual meeting last fall. The top teaching and learning challenges are:

1. Creating learning environments promoting active learning, critical thinking, collaborative learning, and knowledge creation.
2. Developing 21st century literacies (information, digital, and visual) among students and faculty.
3. Reaching and engaging today’s learner.
4. Encouraging faculty adoption and innovation in teaching and learning with IT.
5. Advancing innovation in teaching and learning with technology in an era of budget cuts.

When I read lists like this I automatically do an inventory: What is the library doing? What more could we do? Where can we grow?

We are continuously improving the library building by enhancing our space to support active, technology enhanced, collaborative learning. Through our liaison and education programs, we advocate for information literacy; knowing that asking the right question, evaluating the literature, and acquiring the best evidence to shape knowledge creation is the key to success. I am pleased to say we are investigating a program where our liaisons will work directly with our users to integrate innovative information technology into their teaching strategies.

Let us know where else we can help with your teaching and learning goals.

The Library has declared the third week in February Evidence-Based Practice Week! To celebrate, we are offering a series of workshops that review the principles of evidence-based health care and social work. Librarians will recommend strategies for finding the best clinical evidence.

Each 50-minute session will cover primary and secondary sources, including Cochrane Systematic Reviews, Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL, Campbell Collaboration, and the Trip Database. Workshops offered during this week include:

• Locating the Evidence Tuesday February 24th
• Evidence-Based Public Health Wednesday February 25th
• Evidence-Based Social Work Thursday February 26th

All workshops are held from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. in the Library’s computer classroom LL03 on the lower level. Drop in during your lunch break!

Journal Citation Reports (JCR) has been enhanced! It now provides more extensive analysis of research journals’ impact on the global research community. JCR currently includes data on the citation performance of more than 10,000 journals across a broad range of disciplines.

In addition to the Journal Impact Factor annual report, JCR now includes the Eigenfactor Metrics report. Eigenfactor Metrics calculates a journal’s influence using an algorithm similar to the one Google’s PageRank uses for web pages. The Eigenfactor Method employs a modified version of the basic eigenvector centrality algorithm to calculate the amount of time researchers spend with a particular journal as a measure of its importance. For more detailed information about how these calculations work, please visit the Eigenfactor web site or read Carl T. Bergstrom’s 2008 article on Eingenfactor Metrics.

Other new features include: Five-Year Impact Factor, Journal Self Citations, graphic displays of the impact factor report, and Rank-in-Category for multi-discipline journals.

To access JCR and explore these useful tools, please visit the Library’s Databases page and select the Web of Science database. Next, click on the yellow Additional Resources tab and select Journal Citation Reports.

Brush up on your library and research skills or learn to use a new resource with the HS/HSL’s collection of Library Savvy Tutorials. The Library is now offering a selection of on-demand, self-paced tutorials that cover a variety of topics and range from 2 to 30 minutes in length.

Select video tutorials were created by HS/HSL librarians, while others are available online through database providers or other universities. Topics include Subject Searching in CINAHL, Introduction to PsycInfo, Creating a RefWorks Account, and Designing Effective Poster Presentations, to name but a few.

If you think there is a need for a tutorial not included on the Library Savvy Tutorials page, please send suggestions to hshsl@umaryland.edu.

We are pleased to introduce Yunting Fu, MLIS, Library Liaison to the School of Pharmacy.

Ting received her Master of Science in Library and Information Studies from the State University of New York, Buffalo in 2008. She also has a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmaceutical Information Management from China Pharmaceutical University, in Nanjing, China.

HS/HSL liaisons work closely with their individual schools, participating in orientations, guest lecturing in classes and presenting at conferences, assisting with faculty grants, developing the resources in our collection, and conducting individual research consults with students, faculty, and staff. In addition to these traditional duties, the liaisons have recently begun to expand their roles by becoming involved in the outreach activities of the UMB campus. We would be happy to discuss any new activities where you think our liaisons could contribute.

Please email Ting or call 410.706.8865 to talk about how she can help support your informational and instructional needs or outreach projects.

Maryland Health -> Go Local is a statewide web-based directory of health services and programs that was designed to improve public access to health services, programs, and information. The HS/HSL partnered with the National Library of Medicine to create this valuable resource, which was launched in February 2006. Since that time the Library has introduced Maryland Health -> Go Local to many communities and organizations throughout the state. Now, on the second anniversary of Maryland Health -> Go Local, Library is presenting a new blog, Maryland Health -> Go Local eUpdate, containing updates, news, and information about project developments and activities.

Ongoing features of eUpdate include Featured Sites, which highlights a different program or service each month; By the Numbers, which provides monthly statistics, including how many people visited Maryland Health -> Go Local and how many pages were viewed; and Where in Maryland is Meredith?, which tracks Meredith Solomon, Outreach Librarian, as she travels throughout Maryland promoting health information resources designed for the public. If you know of any outreach opportunities to present at a community meeting or school, or exhibit resources at a conference, festival or fair, please email Meredith or call 410.706.1551.

eUpdate also allows you to request a speaker or training session, suggest a resource, or provide us with a testimonial about how Maryland Health -> Go Local helped you.

Stay informed! Add Maryland Health -> Go Local eUpdate to your RSS reader!

The National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) Southeastern/Atlantic Region (SE/A) recently received its mid-contract review report. The review team lauded UMB for its “strong institutional commitment to the library and its outreach function through the NN/LM.” Library Director M.J. Tooey was recognized for her leadership and participation in SE/A programs.

Additionally, the site team recognized the “creative and energetic” SE/A staff for building the capacity of its Network members to provide outreach and services to health professionals and the public through its many and varied programs. In particular, the team cited SE/A’s commitment to outreach, responsiveness to member needs, strong community and network partnerships, and leadership in emergency preparedness.

In the report, the team recognized the many challenges of working in a large, ethnically and racially diverse region. The team recommended that the growing number of unaffiliated health professionals working in rural areas and primary care, a continued and strong hospital library advocacy program, and more and varied local collaborations and partnerships should be a focus in the future.

Janice Kelly, Executive Director, said, “The report confirms that our staff is doing a great job in meeting Network member needs and that our programs and funding are making a difference in local communities.”

Have you ever wished you could show your students how to perform a search, use software, or access an online resource instead of trying to explain it in an email? Well, now you can. The free screen-capturing and casting tool Jing makes it easy to create instructional videos you can share with your students.

This open source software requires a broadband Internet connection and about 1 GB of memory. You can choose to capture an entire window or a portion of it as either a video or image. Jing uploads your capture to the web and generates a URL that can be pasted into an email or posted on Blackboard. Your videos or images can be viewed online or downloaded to your computer. This brief tutorial offers a demonstration of the capture-and-share process.

To get started, you will need to download the software and set up a user account.

Due to program restrictions, videos are limited to a maximum of five minutes in length and files can only be saved in two formats (.png and .swf). Also be aware that the free online file storage may become subscription-based in the future.

For questions about Jing, please email the Liaison to the School of Nursing, Kristen Young, or call 410.706.8868.

Teresa Knott, currently deputy director at the HS/HSL, has been named Director, Tompkins-McCaw Library (TML) for the Health Sciences and Associate University Librarian, VCU Libraries, at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. For over 4 years, Teresa has served not only as deputy director, but as head of Computing and Technology Services (CATS). Her accomplishments as deputy director included participation in the design of the Library’s strategic plan, Library reorganization, and building renovations. – She oversaw the Library’s committee structure, and staffed the Library Advisory Committee. As the head of CATS, she provided direction for the redesigned Library web site, the Library content management system, and other technology issues including the new collaborative spaces.

“Teresa’s accomplishments are too numerous to mention. In addition to her many contributions to library operations, she will be missed for her enthusiasm, her friendliness, not to mention her scorekeeping at the Informers softball games!” said M.J. Tooey, Executive Director. “She’s a great colleague and friend. We will miss her but, of course, wish her all the best."

Teresa’s last day is February 28th. Following her departure, Alexa Mayo, Associate Director for Services, will serve as acting deputy director, and Aphrodite Bodycomb, Assistant Director for Business Development and Operations, will serve as the acting head of CATS.

In January the HS/HSL partnered with the Community Outreach Council and Diggs-Johnson Middle School to host the Urban Art Exhibition in the Library’s Weise Gallery.

Students of the middle school created vibrant paintings for the exhibit following the urban pop art and graffiti-inspired style of Keith Haring. The January 9th opening reception was a lively event with the jazz band Kemet 3 performing in the library cafe and student artists on hand to discuss their work. Two weeks later, a silent auction of the artwork marked the close of the exhibit. The auction raised over $1300 with proceeds benefiting the Diggs-Johnson Art Department.

Currently on display in the Weise Gallery is an exhibit of photography by Seema Modi. Dr. Modi is a private practitioner in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at a local outpatient clinic. For more information about the exhibit visit the Library’s Weise Gallery web page.

Join HS/HSL staff on March 9th as they sing “Manic Monday!”

Every Monday morning at approximately 6:00 a.m., some intrepid group appears live from Fells Point on WJZ television to promote a cause and sing the Bangles 1980’s hit “Manic Monday.” On March 9th, HS/HSL staff will be that intrepid group as they promote Maryland Health -> GoLocal an online resource developed by staff at the HS/HSL that provides links to health resources in local communities in Maryland.

Come join us and support the library team! Be in front of Jimmy’s Restaurant in Fells Point by 5:45 a.m. UMB participants will receive a Maryland Health -> GoLocal baseball cap and breakfast at Jimmy’s! To get you in the appropriate spirit, here are links to the Bangles singing “Manic Monday”, the lyrics to the song, and a link to the WJZ web page where you can see previous manic groups performing.

Come be part of the fun and help promote Maryland Health -> GoLocal! Email Ashley Cuffia if you will join us so we can get a head count for the caps.