Recently, due to its designation as the National Network of Libraries of Medicine’s (NNLM) Southeastern Atlantic (SEA) Region, the HS/HSL received one of eight three-year, $1.5 million All of Us Community Engagement through Public Libraries awards in support of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) All of Us Research Program.

Begun during the Obama administration in 2015, the All of Us Research Program endeavors to “gather data from one million or more people living in the United States to accelerate research and improve health.” The Program aims to understand how a person’s genetics, environment, and lifestyle can help determine the best approach to preventing or treating disease. Of particular interest are underrepresented populations that are not often found in research cohorts.

The National Library of Medicine (NLM), through its regional medical libraries and a national All of Us Coordination Center at the University of Iowa, will be reaching out to public libraries in targeted areas during the three years of the pilot funding. The NLM is the only NIH entity with a strong, experienced outreach arm, and NIH is leveraging the expertise and contacts found within the regional medical library system.

The HS/HSL has served as a regional medical library for over 30 years. As part of our work in the All of Us Research Program in Year 1, we reached out to the public library systems in Durham, NC and Memphis, TN. In Year 2, we will focus on Columbia, SC and Nashville, TN. This outreach consists of funding for each of the systems and educational and informational support. We have hired a Point of Contact, who is directly responsible for outreach to the library systems and for participation in national collaborations with the other regions and the All of Us national program.

The All of Us Research Program is still very much an evolving program. We are proud to be part of a national initiative that has the potential to make such a positive impact on our nation’s and our personal health. We are happy to answer any questions you may have.

BrowZine is a convenient service that organizes articles found in Open Access and HS/HSL subscription databases. It can also deliver them to your mobile device in a consistent format.

What is BrowZine used for?

• Find, read, save, email, and monitor the latest journal articles.
• Browse by title or subject to find journals of interest.
• Create a personal bookshelf of favorite journals.
• Receive alerts when new issues are available.

Who has access to BrowZine?

• BrowZine is free to all University of Maryland, Baltimore students, faculty, and staff.

How do I save articles I like?

• Download PDFs to read offline.
• Export to RefWorks and other citation management services.

Please Note:

• HS/HSL’s print collection is not included in BrowZine.
• A journal issue in BrowZine is not organized into sections like an issue formatted by the publisher. Sections such as “Letters to the Editor” are not labeled or separated. This is so that every journal appears in a consistent format determined by BrowZine.

The HS/HSL Maker Expo took place on March 6, 2018 at the Southern Management Corporation (SMC) Campus Center. In attendance were health workers and researchers, educators, students, technologists, entrepreneurs, and librarians.

Exhibitors shared information about their services and provided hands-on demonstrations of 3D printers—including bio and resin printers—virtual and augmented reality systems, image analysis software, therapeutic robotics, and more. The following groups exhibited:

• Allevi
• arivis
• Balti Virtual
• Digital Harbor Foundation
• The Grid
• NextStep Robotics
• Open Works
• UM Ventures
• UMBC Keith Porter Imaging Facility

Local and national speakers presented on the use of prototyping tools and makerspaces in hospitals, 3D printing ear prostheses and patient-specific assistive devices, commercializing robotics therapy research, and supporting local medical device businesses. The following academic and industry experts presented:

• Anna Young, CEO, MakerHealth (keynote)
• Jeffrey Hirsch, MD, assistant professor, Department of Radiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine
• Amy Hurst, PhD, associate professor, Human Centered Computing, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
• Bradley Hennessie, co-founder, NextStep Robotics
• Jeff Quinn, co-president, Engineered Medical Systems, Inc.

The Library Genie asks for your three library wishes every October and works hard to make as many as possible come true.

Tired of sitting for hours while you study? Irritated with having to stack up side tables to make an upright desk? At your request the Library purchased 10 standing desks that are now located throughout the building. The desks are height-adjustable and have wheels so that you can pull them to your favorite study spot.

Stay tuned for more wishes to be granted!

In December, the HS/HSL’s Historical Collections received a remarkable donation from Dr. Mordecai Blaustein. Dr. Blaustein, a long-time professor of physiology and medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, has been a strong supporter of the HS/HSL for many years.

The most recent additions are especially impressive and include a first edition of William Withering’s An Account of the Foxglove, and Some of its Medical Uses, a volume with special meaning to Dr. Blaustein. In the volume, Withering describes the ways in which foxglove can be used to cure or help certain medical ailments, including congestive heart failure. Dr. Blaustein’s own research centers around heart disease and hypertension. The Withering volume includes a beautiful hand-painted engraving of a foxglove.

The donation also included a second edition of G.B. Duchenne’s De L’electrisation Localisee et de son application a la Pathologie et a la Therapeutique, originally published in 1855. Duchenne introduced a form of non-invasive electrotherapy in this volume. Duchenne is well-known for describing muscular dystrophy, a condition that now bears his name (Duchenne muscular dystrophy).

Finally, the gift included a three-volume set by Richard Bright titled Reports of Medical Cases. These volumes include beautiful hand-painted engravings depicting the effect of disease on various organs. Bright is known for his research and work involving the kidneys, and for his description of Bright’s disease, a form of kidney disease now known as acute or chronic nephritis.

Previous donations from Dr. and Mrs. Blaustein include volumes dedicated to the memory of Dr. Blaustein’s father, Norman Blaustein, who was an avid book collector. Dr. Blaustein credits his father with inspiring him to start his own book collection, which, in addition to the donated volumes, contained a copy of Johannes Kepler’s 1609 Astonomia Nova, and a number of herbals. Among the Blausteins’ previous donations to the HS/HSL are monographs on European travel, human muscle, and anatomy.

In 1992, Dr. Blaustein donated an 1824 Maryland dissertation on measles. The dissertation was discovered by his book dealer in a European book store and made its way back to UMB through Dr. Blaustein. The dissertation is now available through the Library’s UMB Digital Archive:.

Dr. Blaustein joined the faculty at the UMB School of Medicine in 1979 as chair of the Department of Physiology, a position he held until 2003. After stepping down from the chairman position, he remained a member of the Department of Physiology and also served as director of the Maryland Center for Heart, Hypertension and Kidney Disease, and as an affiliate professor in the Biotechnology Center of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute.

A fascinating exhibit by artist Ted Meyer will be on display April 4 to June 22, 2018. Ted Meyer is a nationally recognized artist, curator, and patient advocate who helps patients, students, and medical professionals see the positive in the worst life can offer. Ted’s 18-year project “Scarred for Life: Mono-prints of Human Scars” chronicles the trauma and courage of people who have lived through accidents and health crises.

Ted seeks to improve patient-physician communications and speaks about living as an artist with illness. Telling stories about his own art and the stories behind his scar art collection, he offers insight into living with pain, illness, and disfigurement. Ted has been featured on NPR and in the New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and USA Today. His work has been displayed internationally in museums, hospitals, and galleries.

Ted’s rare niche mixes art, medicine, and stories of healing and survival, drawing from his experience as a lifelong patient with Gaucher Disease, an enzyme deficiency that affects bones and joints. Ted spent much of his childhood in severe pain. His work is influenced by his many hospital stays where he began mixing art and medical supplies. (How can you make something out of IV tubes, bandages, and pipe cleaners?) Contorted, graphic skeletal images appear in his early paintings, reflecting his belief that he would not reach his 30th birthday. He now considers himself normal and healthy, having outlived friends, family, and early expectations.

Health care reform has been a contentious political issue in the United States for more than a hundred years. From the beginning of the 20th century to today, citizens have made their voices heard in these debates. For All the People: A Century of Citizen Action in Health Care Reform tells the lesser-known story of how movements of ordinary people helped shape the changing American health care system.

This exhibition was developed and produced by the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health. It will be on display from February 12 to March 24, 2018 in the Library’s Weise Gallery.

Aimee Gogan, MLIS, joined the HS/HSL in February as the health professionals and evaluation coordinator for the Regional Medical Library, where she is responsible for developing outreach projects and educational objects to improve information access for health professionals and those who work with health professionals. She previously worked at the HS/HSL as an intern from June through December 2018. She has experience working in public libraries and in a regulatory agency within the Maryland Department of Health. In her free time, she provides volunteer library support at a school serving students with special educational needs.

Tara Wink, MLS, is the HS/HSL’s new Historical Collections librarian. She comes to us from the F.H. Green Library at West Chester University of Pennsylvania, where she worked as the special collections librarian for over 7 years. She is excited to bring UMB’s archives to the people and is enjoying diving into the collections and learning about the history and traditions of our campus. She encourages those with UMB documents, such as letters, scrapbooks, memorabilia, and books to contact her about donating these items. Her aim is to improve the collections housed at the Library and to ensure that they encompass the history of all of the schools and the campus as a whole.

Priscilla Anderson, BA, Information Services weekend supervisor, recently celebrated her 40th year (really 41st) at the HS/HSL. She was honored by the University at an award ceremony and luncheon on March 14. Priscilla worked for 20 years in the Cataloging department, one year in Interlibrary Loan, and has worked for the past 20 years as a supervisor in the Information Services department. She has been recognized repeatedly for her problem-solving skills and expertise. Her colleagues in Information Services recognized her milestone with a “champagne” break to celebrate her achievement.

Publications & Presentations

Tony Nguyen, MLIS, AHIP, co-authored “Rising Stars Research Projects 2016-2017: Action Research to Improve MLA’s Communities,” published in Hypothesis: Journal of the Research Section of the Medical Library Association (MLA).

Brian Zelip, MS, MA, presented the Affinity Group talk, “Using GitHub.com for Collaboration and Learning,” at the December 2017 annual MD Tech Connect meeting in Rockville, MD.