January - February 1998          Volume XI    Number 3

 
Friends of the Library Gala Exciting Year Ahead Knowledge Management Center Flood of 1997
New Employees Health and Human Services Web Sites Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission Classes

FRIENDS OF THE TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER LIBRARY DINNER

The annual Friends of the Texas Medical Center Library Dinner was held at the Houston Country Club on Tuesday, October 14th. Over 150 people attended the dinner. The Friends raise funds to acquire books, computers, and databases for the Library, to enhance study areas, and to improve computer access to the World Wide Web.

Ron Stone acted as master of ceremonies, and also narrated a video describing the Library and its services that was shown for the first time. To borrow a copy and to join the Friends in their support of the Library, contact Zina Hayes 713/799-7116.

AN EXCITING YEAR AHEAD

1998 promises to be an exciting year for the HAM-TMC Library. Phase I of the Library's renovation was completed during 1997. The new year promises to bring new and improved services for Library users. The Library's goals for the next year are:

Health Informatics Education Center (HIEC)

Plans include the acquisition of computers, network and teleconference equipment, and multi-media educational software. The Library will provide workshops on medical informatics, the Internet, and Home Page development. The HIEC will undertake a prototype Telemedicine/Remote Learning program

Knowledge Network Services Enhancements

The Library plans new databases and an intranet approach to electronic full text. The Library will continue to offer training on the use of Knowledge Network Databases including MEDLINE and PubMed.

Consumer Health Services

The Library offers health information services to consumers, and will expand this program during the coming year. Planned activities include identifying and coordinating existing resources for patient health information, acquiring new non-print materials, providing bibliographic and full text services, collaborating with public libraries and school programs, and continuing efforts to secure funding for this service.

Publications and Grants Writing Service

This service is under development. The Library offers a bibliographic verification service for TMC authors, and plans extensive enhancements to this program. Planning efforts include sponsoring workshops on "Writing for Journal Publications"; instruction on abstract preparation and journal guidelines; formats and organization of scholarly papers; text editing service; and work with publishers. Other planned workshops and services include "Grant Writing for Success".

Development of support for Library Programs and Facilities Improvement

Work in this area include the preparing grant applications to foundations and federal agencies; working with the Library Board and Friends of the Texas Medical Center Library for fund raising; developing new fee-for-service programs to offer the community; and identifying funds for Phase II and III of Library Improvement

Development of the Regional Medical Library (RML) Program

The Library is promoting new activities to enhance the RML. This includes telemedicine, Home Page, software-tutorial software, adding patents and trademarks, and supporting new training for PubMed and Internet Grateful Med.

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT CENTER

Naomi C. Broering, Executive Director of the HAM-TMC Library, and Director of the Knowledge Management Center announced that the Library has received the first installment of a $1.5 million dollar grant from the Houston Endowment. The funds will be evenly distributed over a three-year period, and will be used to support the development of a Cooperative Program for Knowledge Management at the Texas Medical Center.

Some important parts of the Program are already under development. Donald Barclay has joined the Library as Assistant Director for the Health Informatics Education Center (HIEC). The HIEC will have two computer classrooms with a total of 50 computers. The goal of the HIEC is to be a shared education, training, and instructional development resource that accelerates the use of computers in health education, increases acceptance of advanced technologies by faculty and students, and supports telemedicine distance learning. Elizabeth Hickman, who has worked in the Library for several years, will be the HIEC's Computer Lab Assistant.

Dawn Bick, the Library's Assistant Director for Collections is evaluating materials for the Library's Consumer Health Information Center. Space on the Library's First Floor has been prepared for the Center, and Elizabeth Williams, a librarian in the Library's Knowledge Network Services staff, will coordinate the service. The Center will provide authoritative health education resources, gather information on community services, and deliver this information to care givers, the public, patients, and their families.

THE GREAT FLOOD OF 1997

If, on December 12, you went to any grocery store in Houston to purchase wax paper, you might have been out of luck. The Library purchased nearly 100 rolls to wrap approximately 2,000 wet volumes before sending them to a freeze drier for water damage.

Early that morning, a water leak from above the Library gushed through the ceiling on the second floor damaging ceiling tiles, carpeting and furniture, but more importantly, nearly 2,000 journal volumes. The water continued downward and damaged books on the first floor, particularly titles in the diabetes section. The new carpeting and ceiling tiles on the first floor, and on the Lower Level of the Library were also damaged.

Approximately 2000 of the affected volumes were sent to freeze drying and 120 volumes were ruined. The only way to evaluate the extent of the damage was to check thousands of wet volumes individually. Despite the extent of the damage, there was no disruption to service.

To save the volumes, they had to be freeze dried within 24 hours. Naomi C. Broering Executive Director, and Dawn Bick Collections Director rallied the entire Library staff in a team effort and the wet materials were ready for shipping by 4:30 pm. Further damage to the collection was avoided through use of dehumidifiers.

Each damaged item has been recorded in the Library's online catalog. As these materials are returned to the shelves, their status in the catalog will be changed from "damaged" back to "available". It will take at least 2-3 weeks until all the materials are returned to the Library.

Naomi stated "it was wonderful how our staff reacted quickly to save our books. It was the day of our Holiday luncheon, but there was no time for socializing." Another luncheon was held on December 19.

The Library will be developing a want list soon. If you can donate books or journals, please contact Diane Omberg 713/799-7125.

NEW STAFF

Deborah Halsted joined the Library on January 5, as the Assistant Director for Knowledge Network Services. Halsted earned a Master of Library Science degree from Florida State University in 1982. She was previously employed by the Library as Outreach Coordinator at the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, South Central Region. In that position she implemented outreach efforts in a five state region. She helped develop regional councils and consortia, and planned and evaluated special outreach programs funded by the National Library of Medicine. Her experience includes working as Assistant Director of the Harrington Library in Amarillo, TX, a branch library of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Since March 1995, she served as Coordinator of Programming at the Houston Public Library (HPL), where she coordinated system-wide events and exhibits. Halsted has published many articles in journals including the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association, Library Journal, and Library Mosaics. She served on the Editorial Board of the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association from 1994-1997.

Donald Barclay is the Library's Assistant Director for the Health Informatics Education Center. He has a Master of Library and Information Science degree from the University of California at Berkeley. His previous positions include coordinator of instruction at New Mexico State University Library, and most recently coordinator of electronic services at the University of Houston Libraries. Barclay has extensive information technology experience including Web home pages, Web-based services, education and user services. He is the author/editor of three books and the author of a number of journal, magazine, and reference-book articles. His areas of scholarly interest are information science and the literature of the American West.

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES CONSUMER HEALTH INFORMATION WEB SITES

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has more than 60 central World Wide Web sites on eight separate Web domains. It is one of the richest and most reliable sources of information on the Internet. HHS documents on the Web include information on health and social issues, research-related data, and access to HHS services, including interactive sites. Major links include:

PubMed MEDLINE (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/), the world's most extensive collection of published medical information, coordinated by the National Library of Medicine.

HealthFinder (http://www.healthfinder.gov), a gateway site to help consumers find health and human services information quickly. It includes links to more than 1,250 Web sites, with topics organized in a subject index.

NIH Health Information Page (http://www.nih.gov/health/), a single access point to the consumer health information resources of the National Institutes of Health, including the NIH Health Information Index, NIH publications and clearinghouses and the Combined Health Information Database.

Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) - www.ahcpr.gov
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - www.cdc.gov
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - www.fda.gov
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) - www.hrsa.dhhs.gov
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) - www.samhsa.gov
Administration for Children and Families (ACF) - www.acf.dhhs.gov
Administration on Aging (AoA) - www.aoa.dhhs.gov
Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) - www.hcfa.gov

Library Classes -- January/February 1998

Are you getting all you can from the Library? Learn to take full advantage of all the Library has to offer. To register, or for more information about class content, please contact Willetta Smith 799-7174.
Jan 14 9am-11am
Basic MEDLINE		 Jan 15 9am-11am
Intro to the Internet		 Jan 27 9am-11am
Advanced Internet		 Jan 28 9am-11am
Basic MEDLINE
Noon-1pm
PubMed
Feb 10 9am-11am
Intro to the Internet		 Feb 11 9am-11am
Basic MEDLINE		 Feb 17 3pm-4pm
Current Contents		 Feb 18 noon-1pm
PubMed
Feb 19 9am-11am
Advanced Internet		 Feb 24 3pm-4pm
CINAHL		 Feb 25 9am-11am
Basic MEDLINE		 Feb 27 9am-11am
Create an Internet Resource Page

Library Orientations -- January 1998

To make effective use of their time, all students should take a Library orientation. Contact Willetta Smith 799-7174.
January 20
9:30am-11:30am and
3pm-5pm		 January 21
10am-noon and
2pm-4pm		 January 22
9:30am-11:30am and
3pm-5pm

ATOMIC BOMB CASUALTY COMMISSION COLLECTION

A film crew from Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NKH), the Japanese version of PBS, recently made extensive use of the Library's Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (ABCC) collection. This unique collection contains photographs and papers of members of the ABCC. NKH is preparing a documentary on the history of genetic mutation that will air in Japan on January 26, 1998.

For more information about the Library's ABCC collection, contact Margaret Irwin 713/799-7141.

LIBRARY LINES

Library Lines is published six times per year. Please call the Library's administrative offices to be placed on our mailing list (713/799-7139).

Executive Director: Naomi C. Broering, MLS, MA
Editor: Damon Cammile