| Sunday, May 7, 4:00-5:30pm | |
| SPONSOR: Medical Library Education | "Dragons Roar: New Perspectives" [Abstracts below] [Special contributed papers session for new graduates and current students] |
| Tuesday, May 9, 2:30-4:00pm | |
| CO-SPONSOR: Medical Informatics, Medical Library Education, Public Health/Health Administration, Public Services | "Life-long Learning: Informatics Competencies for the Health Practitioner" |
| Monday, May 8, 4:00-5:30pm | |
| CO-SPONSOR: Public Services, Medical Library Education | "On the Wings of the Dragon: Transforming Core Competencies into Practice" [Developing present and future information services professionals] |
A=Alumni, F=Faculty
Dalhousie University -- Karen Neves(F)
***Dominican University -- Prudence W. Dalrymple(F)
Indiana University -- Kristine (Markovich) Alpi(A)
***Palmer School, Long Island University -- Mary Westerman(F)
State University of New York at Buffalo -- Jennifer Lyle(A)
***Texas Woman's University -- Jeff Huber(F)
***UCLA Information Services -- Alison Bunting(F)
University of Alabama -- Steven MacCall(F)
***University of British Columbia
University of Illinois -- Maggie Yax & Elizabeth Gremore-Figa
***University of Maryland, College of Library & Information Services -- Keith Cogdill(F) and Win Sewell(A)
***University of Missouri-Columbia -- MaryEllen Sievert(F)
***University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill -- Joanne Marshall(F)
University of North Texas -- Ana Cleveland(F)
***University of Oklahoma
University of Pittsburgh -- Ellen Detlefsen(F)
University of South Carolina -- Fred Roper(F)
University of South Florida -- Karen Roth(A)
University of Washington -- Sherrilynne Fuller(F) & Jan Schueller(A)
***University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee -- Alex Dimitroff(F) & Tammy Mays(A)
****
At the conclusion of the Contributed Papers session, we will adjourn for a social hour at the LIS Schools Reunion, sponsored by the Medical Library Education Section with the generous support of several donors.
Title: Comparing Credentialing Processes Across Professional Associations: A Benchmarking Study
Author: Shelley A. McKibbon and Martha C. Adamson, UT Southwestern Medical Center Library, Dallas, TX
Abstract: Purpose: Compare MLA's credentialing process to those of other professional associations with credentialing programs. Areas of comparison include:
Setting/subjects: Professional associations, especially those requiring a masters degree for certification
Methodology: Analysis of association web sites, followed by interviews with association staff who administer credentialing programs
Results: Most associations have a defined knowledge domain associated with their credentialing program. The majority have a certification exam and a requirement for a portfolio. Most require continuing education for renewal. The average renewal cycle is approximately three years. Per year cost for renewal is approximately three years. Per year cost for renewal is approximately $150 US.
Discussion/conclusion: MLA's Credentialing Committee will review its processes and practices based on the results of this benchmarking study. One barrier to moving MLA's credentialing process to an all-electronic one is the current requirement for supporting documentation. Based on the experiences of other associations, the Credentialing Committee might choose to abandon this requirement.
Title: An Examination of the Characteristics of Information Resources Preferred By Physicians
Author: Lawrence (Lou) Duggan, School of Library and Information Studies, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Abstract: This paper reports the results of research that documents not only the desire of physicians to use a given information resource, but also the aspects of the resource which make the physician feel comfortable in using it and confident in its ability to aid in decision making. Interviews with General Practitioners form the basis of this research. Since affective reactions to information resources have been correlated with use, practitioners' responses on this point are explored more thoroughly. Although the preference for various types of resources has been studied to discover which are most used by physicians, little has been done to describe the reasons why each type is chosen or not. The preference of physicians for human information sources (e.g. colleagues) over print or electronic sources has partially undermined attempts to bring evidence-based medicine into practice, since evidence-based information resources tend to be delivered in print or electronic format. The data gathered from these interviews will help inform the design of new information resources that can bring evidence into medical practice in a form that reflects the preferences of physicians, and will therefore be accepted by them.
Title: Facing the Dragon: Metadata Issues for Medical Web Publishing
Author: Andrea Hodgson MLIS, Faculty of Information and Media Studies, University of Western Ontario
Abstract: Electronic publishing is still a new frontier presenting new challenges for information management and, while the implementation of metadata standards offer a solution, such standards are also at a pioneer stage. To meet the unique information management/retrieval requirements of their members and the public, the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) has created a metadata standard--one of the few Canadian, even North American health organizations to do so. Using Dublin Core Element Set Version 1.1 together with the current metadata literature, prototypes and discussion with other organizations about their endeavors in this area, the Canadian Medical Association's metadata standard was developed. Issues arising from this initiative include the expression of certain elements, the process of implementing the standard and how it may affect element expression. Also, as metadata is cataloguing in a new environment, its value is not regarded in the traditional manner and so it must be promoted in terms that the organization values. However, as this area develops, encouragement for Web metadata and the technology to support it will grow presenting new opportunities to librarians. Through its initiative, the CMA is early evidence of the future of metadata and its possibilities to the medical information community.
Title: Linking to consumer health: how academic health sciences libraries present consumer health information on their web pages
Author: Caryn Scoville, Information Services Librarian, J.Otto Lottes Health Sciences Library, University of Missouri-Columbia, Erika De Leon, Graduate Student, School of Information Science & Learning Technologies, University of Missouri-Columbia
Abstract: Purpose: The purpose of this research was to discover the different ways that consumer health information is displayed on library web pages.
Setting/subjects: The web pages of 47 academic health sciences libraries were analyzed from November 1999-February 2000.
Methodology: First, web sites were scanned to see if consumer health information was available on the site. Second, the terminology used to link to consumer health information was documented (e.g. Consumer Health, Patient Information). Third, the authors documented how the consumer health pages were structured (e.g. list of alphabetic links, categories).
Results: Preliminary results indicate that 35 out of 47 (74%) library web pages scanned offer consumer health information. Of those 35, 18 offered information under the terminology "Consumer Health".
Discussion/conclusion: It is important for health sciences libraries to consider how accessible, useful and visible consumer health information is on their web pages especially at a time when large consumer health sites are being produced and promoted heavily.
Title: Stories of Experience: Informal Communication Among Health Consumers
Authors: Robert F. Carey and Pamela J. McKenzie, doctoral candidates, Graduate Programme in Library and Information Science, Faculty of Information and Media Studies, University of Western Ontario.
Abstract: Emerging results from two doctoral studies indicate that research participants experiencing a change to health status frequently turn to veteran others who share a similar condition for information that does not fall within the scope of medical expertise. Participants rely heavily on information from informal sources throughout their trajectory of medical care. Such information is often expressed in the form of statements, stories, or narrative fragments which serve one or more of the following purposes: 1) Providing a distinctive kind of emotional support; 2) Offering models of coping styles based on lived experience; 3) Interpreting or assessing professional knowledge; 4) Making lay referrals; 5) Negotiating the health care system and associated institutions (e.g., government); 6. Providing advice about information-seeking strategies (e.g., recommending books, articles, web sites); 7) Providing practical advice and support for day-to-day living. In some cases, research participants place a higher value on categories of information arising from experiential knowledge than from professional expertise. We contend that better understanding the distinctive purposes of experiential and professional knowledge - as expressed and understood by health consumers in their everyday lives - can facilitate more effective communication between practitioners, such as physicians and librarians, and their clients.
Title: The NLM and Alternative Medicine: The Long History of a Trend
Author: Catherine Arnott Smith, National Library of Medicine Medical Informatics Trainee, Center for Biomedical Informatics & School of Information Science, University of Pittsburgh
Abstract: MeSH--with local enhancements--has traditionally served as the controlled vocabulary of choice for bibliographic retrieval in alternative medicine, both in and out of MEDLINE. However, the literature indexed for MEDLINE, and from which and for which these MeSH terms were developed, has historically been of the "Western", "biomedical", and "orthodox" variety, which poses interesting problems for alternative vocabulary developers.
This report presents the results of a detailed analysis supporting a commonsense hypothesis: that citations have been indexed with Alternative Medicine MeSH terms at an increasing rate since 1966. However, this increase has little to do with a change in the number of journals indexed for the database that are devoted exclusively to the topic. For future research in alternative medicine, its utilization and its societal meaning, and to enhance the controlled vocabulary for better information retrieval in this domain, it is important to understand the diffusion of this amorphous concept in the biomedical literature.
Title: Herding Cats: or the Challenges Faced in Training Health Sciences Librarians
Author: MaryBeth Schell, NLM Associate Fellow, UNC-Chapel Hill Health Science Library
Abstract: Concern about training librarians for a specialty in medical librarianship is a common theme among medical librarians. Special programs, such as the National Library of Medicine's Associate Fellowship Program exist with the explicit purpose of training future leaders in the field of medical librarianship. Using the curriculum phase of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) Associate Fellowship Program as an example, this paper will discuss some of the difficulties and challenges in training not only future health sciences librarians but also in training future leaders for the profession. NLM's Associate Fellowship program is but a microcosm of the many training programs, including formal library school classes that exist. Many of the problems and issues faced in evaluating, updating, and revising the curriculum phase of the NLM program are shared by the numerous institutions and people working to improve the training of health sciences librarians. In January 1999, an evaluation of the program's curriculum phase was undertaken to see how it was meeting the program's objectives. This paper will share the results of the study that compared the curriculum phase of NLM's Associate Fellowship program with the curriculum of several library school medical librarianship classes.