MAC Messages – Number 69

May/June 1998

CONTENTS: Professional Development at Pittsburgh | Questions About AHIP Certification? | MAC and PITT/MLA: 1998 Meeting Update | LAC Update | Roundtable Topics for MAC/Pitt ’98 | From the New Editor | Hospital Libraries | News from the States | Using DOCLINE Statistics | Publication Deadline Reminder | Check-out the MAC/Pittsburgh 1998 Joint Meeting Web Site! | MAC Officers, Committee Chairs, Editor, and State Reporters | MLA Centennial Distance Learning Program | MAC/MLA Centennial Task Force | MAC/MLA Awards 1998

Fast Track to Professional Development at Pittsburgh:

MAC and Pitt/MLA: 1998 Meeting Update

So, what have you done lately?
By Terry Burton, Chair-Elect

Do you have a project you want to showcase, a success you wish to describe, or a disaster you want to warn others to avoid? Your colleagues from throughout the region want to know.

The combined Mid-Atlantic Chapter & Pittsburgh Regional Chapter fall extravaganza will feature both contributed papers and posters. If you are interested in either, submit a 250 word abstract (slightly more or less according to taste) describing the project or experience, including title, your name, affiliation, address, phone number, and e-mail address to:

LAC UPDATE
by Alice Kuller, Co-Chair, Local Arrangements Committee

Join Us at the Welcome Reception on Sunday, October 4

The Welcome Reception will take place on Sunday, October 4 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM at the award winning Grand Concourse restaurant. The first half hour (5:30 – 6:00) is designated as a reception for new members and first-time attendees.

The Grand Concourse, located on the riverfront in a landmark building, is in the Station Square complex just a few hundred yards from the Sheraton Hotel. Originally the passenger terminal for the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, the restaurant occupies an elaborate beaux-arts space designed in 1898 by William George Burns.

After the reception the Hospitality Committee will be offering dine-arounds (for the still-hungry), dessert-arounds (for the not so-hungry) and walk-arounds (for the not-at-all hungry). Mt. Washington with its scenic views of the city and of the three rivers is one of the planned destinations for a walk-around. The incline leading to Mt. Washington is located across the street from Station Square, making Mt. Washington just minutes away.

Everyone is encouraged to join us for the reception on Sunday evening.
It promises to be a wonderful starting event for the 1998 Joint Meeting.

Roundtable Topics for MAC/Pitt ’98 – A Preliminary List
by Terry Burton, Chair-Elect

The ’98 Program Committee is in the process of determining topics for discussion at the Roundtable Luncheon. Below is a preliminary list of topics. Please look it over and pass on suggestions for any additional topics.

Roundtable Topic List

• System specific table(s) – SIRSI, OVID, NOTIS, etc.
• Clearinghouses
• Consumer health
• JCAHO update
• OPACs for the small or one-person library
• Internet interfaces or integration
• Electronic serials
• Professional development
• Outreach
• Cataloging the web
• Document delivery and resource sharing
• Web pages development and revision
• Inter-library research opportunities
• Managing mandated computer programs
  

If you would like to volunteer to facilitate any of the discussions, please contact:

Terry Burton
Health Sciences Library
PO Box 9801
West Virginia University
Morgantown, WV 26506
Phone: 304-293-3560
E-mail: tburton@wvu.edu

HOSPITAL LIBRARIES

NEWS FROM THE STATES

Using DOCLINE Statistics

On a quarterly basis, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) presents our library with an administrative gem, DOCLINE statistics. Over the years I have found many uses for them.

1. When starting a new job, I look at the Routing Table Statistics. The section entitled “Your institution appears in the Routing Tables/Cells of the following institutions” gives me information about established interlibrary loan trading partners. If a non-Region 2 library placed our LIBID in Cell 1-3 , I would call that library to find out why. I also find this list helpful when revising our DOCLINE Routing Table.
2. The quarterly summary lender statistics can be used as a quality indicator. It tells me if we are doing a good job responding to DOCLINE requests in a timely manner. In addition to looking at the throughput days, I consider the number of items removed for non-receipt or for non-action. Ideally, both of these numbers would be zero.
3. Annually we receive “Ranked List of SERLINE Titles Requested.” I use this list as a collection development tool and to make sure we are Copyright compliant.
4. To evaluate our reciprocal relationships, I compare the number of items we have lent to a library with the number of items they have filled for us. I use “Detailed DOCLINE Borrower Statistics” and “Detailed DOCLINE Lender Statistics.”
5. As we started the pilot for Project MACLend, the coordinators discussed the necessity of requiring each participating library to compile statistics. When the next mailing of DOCLINE statistics was received, I realized that DOCLINE was keeping statistics for us. When needed, members can consult the information on the printout provided by NLM.

Cheers to the designers of the DOCLINE system who created the automated statistics component. Thanks to NLM for providing our library with such a useful “gift”.

MID-ATLANTIC CHAPTER of the
MEDICAL LIBRARY ASSOCIATION

The Medical Library Association
Centennial Distance Learning Program:

MAC/MLA Centennial Task Force

The NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH LIBRARY in Bethesda began in 1901, with the passage of a bill by the U.S. Congress authorizing funding for the Hygienic Laboratory in Washington, DC. The authorization stipulated that the Hygienic Laboratory contain a room for a library. Dr. Milton Rosenau, a surgeon, acquired a few dozen medical textbooks to serve as the foundation of the Library collection, and by 1906, the collection had grown through gifts or purchases to 2,500 books, pamphlets, and unbound periodicals. In 1913, the Library hired its first full time librarian, Dr. Murray Gault Motter. The Hygienic Laboratory was renamed the National Institutes of Health in 1930, and in 1938, the Library was relocated to Bethesda, MD. Its collection by then had grown to 18,000 volumes and 347 periodicals. In 1942, the Library was combined with the Public Health Service Library increasing its holdings to over 40,000 volumes. The newly-appointed librarian, Margaret Doonan, was the Library’s first librarian to have had formal library science training. In 1950, Scott Adams became the new chief librarian and reorganized the Library to increase efficiency. In 1953, the Library moved to the then new 13-story Clinical Center containing a 350-bed hospital and 1,100 research laboratories. Chief librarians succeeding Scott Adams include Jess Martin, Seymour Taine, Ruth Smith, and Carolyn Brown. Today the NIH Library provides information services to clinicians, biomedical researchers support staff, and visiting foreign scientists in twenty-three institutes and centers, including the National Cancer Institute, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The Library currently subscribes to 2,500 journal titles, 450 monograph series, and a collection of 65,000 monograph titles. To assist NIH’s large group of visiting foreign scientists, the Library uniquely offers a Translation Service. Visit the Library’s Home Page at http://nihlibrary.nih.gov. The current chief librarian is Suzanne Grefsheim. (Submitted by Frank F. Barile)

The GASTON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL MEDICAL LIBRARY in Gastonia began in 1955, when Mrs. R. S. Clinton contributed her deceased husband’s medical library to the School of Nursing. The collection was officially turned over to the hospital and became the Medical Library in July, 1973. Originally, the Library was supervised by the Medical Records Department, but in July 1974, it became a part of Educational Services, and Jeannine Davis became the first librarian. In November 1974, Eleanor Rollins from the Health Sciences Library Reference Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, acted as library consultant in helping to organize the Medical Library. In 1984, the hospital hired the first professional librarian, Jacqueline Ramseur, who is the current library director. The Library has moved several times. In December 1973, the hospital and Library relocated to a new facility on Court Drive. In 1991, the Library moved from the second floor of the hospital to its present location in the Northeast Tower. The Library’s collection covers a wide range of medical specialties with some titles dating back to the 1970’s. The current CEO, Wayne Shovelin, is a past chairperson of the Library Committee. In 1997, Gaston Memorial, the only hospital in the county, celebrated 50 years of community service and prepared to meet the challenge of the next century. (Submitted by Jacqueline Ramseur)

The HALIFAX MEMORIAL HOSPITAL LIBRARY in Roanoke Rapids began in 1974. It was started in one room with materials received with the help of Area L AHEC in Rocky Mount. In 1976, the Library moved to quarters in the new Area Health Education Center building on the south side of the hospital. At first there was no librarian, and the Inservice Education Director helped operate equipment and fill out forms for earning continuing education. Shortly after, a librarian was hired. The first was Mary Higginbotham, followed by Geraldine Steadman and Rebecca Newsom. Since 1989, Lynn Powell has been the librarian. The Library collection has grown to include over 100 journal titles, 500 books, and Internet access for staff and students. The Library is the site for telemedicine equipment, and Lynn Powell serves as the Telemedicine Site Coordinator and Medical Library Coordinator. (Submitted by Lynn Powell)

MAC/MLA AWARDS 1998

Description of Awards

MAC/MLA Award Nomination Form

(Deadline for nominations is June 30, 1998)