The slideshow for tomorrow's presentation can be found at:
http://www.slideshare.net/mstraatm/unmc-library-practicum/
Minus my speaking notes, which I'm still writing.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Published
The finished project can be found at: http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=dccphr5v_3j54kzhgb
More on the presentation of the project soon!
More on the presentation of the project soon!
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Project and Overall Practicum Update
I'll apologize in advance if I've kept anyone in suspense about the project (though I don't hold many illusions about the limited readership of this blog ;-)
I am rapidly coming up on d-day and the last couple days have shown it. Like any good grad school project, over 25 hours of the project have been in this last couple days. Where did the summer go?
I'll hold off on publishing the address of the project until I get a few more i's dotted and t's crossed, even though I'm pretty happy with what I have so far. It's not as complete as I would have liked, but it is pretty far along. I still need to sit down with Marty and Marie (most likely virtually, and have some last minute questions answered and those changes made).
At my last physical visit to UNMC, over lunch Marty and Marie and I discussed the incarnation at that point. Overall, I was happy with their comments, most of the changes were fairly superficial to make. The one big change was the move away from simply an audience of public librarians to something more for everyone. Also, eventually, we'd like to put a script with it in the notes area, but we aren't going to have that done for the initial unveiling.
That unveiling is coming up on the 30th, when I'll present to the folks at UNMC and then a webconference to NNLM staff. I'm still wrapping my brain around how to do a presentation about a presentation, without entitling it "Exploring Recursivity". ;-) I expect I'll have more than a few questions for Marty before I actually deliver the presentation. On the 23rd we have a web meeting to discuss things.
It is hard to believe that I'm already almost 80 hours into the project. Until I got my time into the spreadsheet, it really didn't seem that long. I wish I had more time to devote the project, to understanding more about the libraries, the strategic planning, more time for the people, the collections, etc. Maybe if my coursework isn't too crazy this next semester, I'll have to see about checking in some more. I've really enjoyed this.
Back to the project. I'll post more when I get closer to the final project.
I am rapidly coming up on d-day and the last couple days have shown it. Like any good grad school project, over 25 hours of the project have been in this last couple days. Where did the summer go?
I'll hold off on publishing the address of the project until I get a few more i's dotted and t's crossed, even though I'm pretty happy with what I have so far. It's not as complete as I would have liked, but it is pretty far along. I still need to sit down with Marty and Marie (most likely virtually, and have some last minute questions answered and those changes made).
At my last physical visit to UNMC, over lunch Marty and Marie and I discussed the incarnation at that point. Overall, I was happy with their comments, most of the changes were fairly superficial to make. The one big change was the move away from simply an audience of public librarians to something more for everyone. Also, eventually, we'd like to put a script with it in the notes area, but we aren't going to have that done for the initial unveiling.
That unveiling is coming up on the 30th, when I'll present to the folks at UNMC and then a webconference to NNLM staff. I'm still wrapping my brain around how to do a presentation about a presentation, without entitling it "Exploring Recursivity". ;-) I expect I'll have more than a few questions for Marty before I actually deliver the presentation. On the 23rd we have a web meeting to discuss things.
It is hard to believe that I'm already almost 80 hours into the project. Until I got my time into the spreadsheet, it really didn't seem that long. I wish I had more time to devote the project, to understanding more about the libraries, the strategic planning, more time for the people, the collections, etc. Maybe if my coursework isn't too crazy this next semester, I'll have to see about checking in some more. I've really enjoyed this.
Back to the project. I'll post more when I get closer to the final project.
Joint Interview - Rod Cope, Circulation and Stuart Dayton, Learning Resources
This was my final interview at UNMC. For this, I met with Rod Cope, Head of Circulation and Stuart Dayton, Head of the Learning Resources Center.
Stuart effectively explained his job as the coordinator for electronic reserves and also the in-house graphical designer for the libraries. He mentioned that in many ways, the Learning Resource Centers traditional role (audio/visual equipment, etc.) was rapidly becoming obsolete with web technologies.
Rod, as head of Circulation, runs the area that I probably know most about. He is in charge of the physical reserves, including anatomical models, and supervises the functions of the circulation desk. He also notes that many of the transitions that I have discussed with the other staff over the course of this practicum have meant that there is less and less to do. Something that I have seen in my own unit in other positions. Rod noted that more and more of Circulation's work is for backing up Reference and ILL. Interesting in light of my conversation with Heather and my thoughts about the evolution of ILL.
Rod also noted that the photocopy service (also a function of Circ) has dropped from a high of 2 million copies per annum to approx. 245k.
Stuart effectively explained his job as the coordinator for electronic reserves and also the in-house graphical designer for the libraries. He mentioned that in many ways, the Learning Resource Centers traditional role (audio/visual equipment, etc.) was rapidly becoming obsolete with web technologies.
Rod, as head of Circulation, runs the area that I probably know most about. He is in charge of the physical reserves, including anatomical models, and supervises the functions of the circulation desk. He also notes that many of the transitions that I have discussed with the other staff over the course of this practicum have meant that there is less and less to do. Something that I have seen in my own unit in other positions. Rod noted that more and more of Circulation's work is for backing up Reference and ILL. Interesting in light of my conversation with Heather and my thoughts about the evolution of ILL.
Rod also noted that the photocopy service (also a function of Circ) has dropped from a high of 2 million copies per annum to approx. 245k.
Interview - Mary Helms, Associate Director for Library Resources and Technology
I have to admit, this was an interview that I was looking forward to. I have spent the better part of two decades in Access Services, and my recent forays (5 years, or so) into collaboration with Technical Services have me seeing them in a much different light than I had at the beginning of my library career. Mary continued that trend, in many ways.
One of the largest things that I came away from this interview with was the sense of how the technical side of the library has constantly been evolving. Mary gave the rundown of was the department looked like when she started over 16 years ago, and she illustrated the trends of how staffing and personnel have changed over the years. Some positions, like the archivist, were eliminated and then replaced, still others have been changed (such as the transition of collection development) and the change has been successful.
The largest change is simply that less books are purchased now. Mary estimates that 80% of the collection has always been journals and that number is continually going up. There is also a trend towards more electronic books. The number of print books per year has went from approx 2500 at its peak to approx 500 per year currently. Most cataloging for these reasons is copy cataloging, with original cataloging reserved for archival materials, theses, etc.
In discussing the roles of Collection development, Mary indicated that the majority of items purchased are through two approval plans. She reviews these and orders materials she believes appropriate. The collection development committee then meets and physically approves or rejects each item at weekly meetings. The budget for these materials is approx. 100k per year.
This was a fascinating interview, and helped further my understanding about the nature of collection development and management within a medical library, as compared to other types of academic libraries.
One of the largest things that I came away from this interview with was the sense of how the technical side of the library has constantly been evolving. Mary gave the rundown of was the department looked like when she started over 16 years ago, and she illustrated the trends of how staffing and personnel have changed over the years. Some positions, like the archivist, were eliminated and then replaced, still others have been changed (such as the transition of collection development) and the change has been successful.
The largest change is simply that less books are purchased now. Mary estimates that 80% of the collection has always been journals and that number is continually going up. There is also a trend towards more electronic books. The number of print books per year has went from approx 2500 at its peak to approx 500 per year currently. Most cataloging for these reasons is copy cataloging, with original cataloging reserved for archival materials, theses, etc.
In discussing the roles of Collection development, Mary indicated that the majority of items purchased are through two approval plans. She reviews these and orders materials she believes appropriate. The collection development committee then meets and physically approves or rejects each item at weekly meetings. The budget for these materials is approx. 100k per year.
This was a fascinating interview, and helped further my understanding about the nature of collection development and management within a medical library, as compared to other types of academic libraries.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Interview - John Schleicher - Archives/Special Collections
The interview I had with John, the archivist for the UNMC libraries was a fascinating one. I'll be the first to admit that I didn't take as many notes as I did with some of the other sections, primarily because I was too busy geeking out over the collections.
We talked quite a bit about the professional history and development of his own career, something that I'm always interested in throughout all of these interviews. The many and varied paths that folks take, and the often serendipitous avenues that bring people to their employment spots give me hope. John has worked at Durham, and Dodge County Historical Society, and the Nebraska State Historical Society. It is always neat to hear how people know and interact with other people one knows!
The archives/special collections at UNMC are quite fascinating and include rare books, artifacts, and the archives. When I asked John about document retention, I was once again struck with the differences between a medical institution and other academic ones. Patient information, even though not really an issue, drives all other information access policies. See my interview with Heather for examples of that with Ariel. They, like most academic libraries archives that I know receive the donations from faculty and administrators who are retiring/moving/etc.
The rare book collection was very interesting, and I met briefly with Ken, a contract rare book appraiser who is slowly identifying and evaluating each item in the collection; no small task given the amount of material. We also toured the recently renovated rare book rooms, and got a chance to check out not only some medieval material, but some pretty fantastic looking cases. Designed to look like wood cases, but powder coated and with passive air ventilation. Something that if any archivists are reading this, will appreciate.
Every archive has its portions of artifacts, that much is common knowledge. But the archives at UNMC have all sorts of interesting things, including a large collection of anatomical models depicting all sorts of medical conditions. I have to admit that examining them reminds me why I chose books over medicine. Also were all manner of various accessories. John noted that he struggles to minimize the artifact donation; though it seems that if space were not an issue, a small museum could easily be generated with some of the materials potentially available.
We also looked at a number of pieces of artwork donated by various donors and benefactors. They have quite an extensive collection of western themed art that was very interesting to look at.
All in all, I felt I could have spent another hour or two on the tour and interview. As always the depth and diversity of a special collections unit, never ceases to amaze me.
We talked quite a bit about the professional history and development of his own career, something that I'm always interested in throughout all of these interviews. The many and varied paths that folks take, and the often serendipitous avenues that bring people to their employment spots give me hope. John has worked at Durham, and Dodge County Historical Society, and the Nebraska State Historical Society. It is always neat to hear how people know and interact with other people one knows!
The archives/special collections at UNMC are quite fascinating and include rare books, artifacts, and the archives. When I asked John about document retention, I was once again struck with the differences between a medical institution and other academic ones. Patient information, even though not really an issue, drives all other information access policies. See my interview with Heather for examples of that with Ariel. They, like most academic libraries archives that I know receive the donations from faculty and administrators who are retiring/moving/etc.
The rare book collection was very interesting, and I met briefly with Ken, a contract rare book appraiser who is slowly identifying and evaluating each item in the collection; no small task given the amount of material. We also toured the recently renovated rare book rooms, and got a chance to check out not only some medieval material, but some pretty fantastic looking cases. Designed to look like wood cases, but powder coated and with passive air ventilation. Something that if any archivists are reading this, will appreciate.
Every archive has its portions of artifacts, that much is common knowledge. But the archives at UNMC have all sorts of interesting things, including a large collection of anatomical models depicting all sorts of medical conditions. I have to admit that examining them reminds me why I chose books over medicine. Also were all manner of various accessories. John noted that he struggles to minimize the artifact donation; though it seems that if space were not an issue, a small museum could easily be generated with some of the materials potentially available.
We also looked at a number of pieces of artwork donated by various donors and benefactors. They have quite an extensive collection of western themed art that was very interesting to look at.
All in all, I felt I could have spent another hour or two on the tour and interview. As always the depth and diversity of a special collections unit, never ceases to amaze me.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Interview - Heather Brown - ILL - Part II
One of the other intriguing portions of the interview with Heather was the discussion of faculty and managers as unit heads. She mentioned early on that she had come to the position a little over a year ago from DE, and her faculty position replaced a M/P position (managerial/professional).
This is an interesting subject to me, as I, and many of my day to day contacts are managers and the role of ours versus faculty is always a topic of conversation. In my previous role as an employee line representative to the administration (both for m/p and office/service), this topic also frequently arises. In fact, I had published an article in the spring '08 Nebraska Library Association Quarterly on how to address perceived inequalities through staff development.
Anyway, I inquired on if she thought that a faculty position was necessary for a unit, such as ILL; and her answer was affirmative. When asked why, she replied with the best reason I've heard yet. That is that the indoctrination/education of library school provides the groundwork and theoretical basis that is crucial to the understanding of the bigger picture. It isn't the managing of the unit that requires this theoretical knowledge, but rather fitting this unit into the grand scheme of things.
Definitely food for thought, and one that I think will stick with me for a while. As a manager who is almost finished with his "indoctrination" (my choice of words) perhaps I need to better think how to integrate my part of the world into the scheme.
This is an interesting subject to me, as I, and many of my day to day contacts are managers and the role of ours versus faculty is always a topic of conversation. In my previous role as an employee line representative to the administration (both for m/p and office/service), this topic also frequently arises. In fact, I had published an article in the spring '08 Nebraska Library Association Quarterly on how to address perceived inequalities through staff development.
Anyway, I inquired on if she thought that a faculty position was necessary for a unit, such as ILL; and her answer was affirmative. When asked why, she replied with the best reason I've heard yet. That is that the indoctrination/education of library school provides the groundwork and theoretical basis that is crucial to the understanding of the bigger picture. It isn't the managing of the unit that requires this theoretical knowledge, but rather fitting this unit into the grand scheme of things.
Definitely food for thought, and one that I think will stick with me for a while. As a manager who is almost finished with his "indoctrination" (my choice of words) perhaps I need to better think how to integrate my part of the world into the scheme.
Interview - Heather Brown - ILL
Interlibrary Loan at UNMC is currently in a process of transition. Having switched to Illiad for lending earlier in the spring, it was only this month that Illiad was instituted for borrowing. The transition was from a system known as QuickDOC. A journal article discussing this system, found in the Journal of the Medical Library Association, can be found online at:
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=164407
I won't rehash the system being replaced, but it will suffice to say that it was designed to interface with DOCLINE, the NLM's ILL system, but its most significant weakness was that it cannot be used with OCLC.
Interestingly enough, UNMC shares servers for Illiad with UNO as a "satellite library" saving both institutions money and letting UNMC have the machines hosted elsewhere. In that vein, one of the discussions was the problem that many hospital networks (and their libraries, by extension) have issues with opening ports for applications such as ARIEL. This concern grows from the tremendous security required to guarantee patient information under HIPAA.
We also had alot of discussion about funding the costs of ILL. The chancellor "covers" the cost of 50 free ILL's per year, but in actuality the funding provided is closer to 1 per year for every eligible user. Fortunately, about 85% of those eligible use less than 10 per year.
This was definitely one of the more interesting interviews I have had at UNMC; in that it caused me to really think about some of the future trends in providing library services. Heather noted that as journal subscriptions are cut in the serials reductions, ILL costs for borrowing and use increase. This combined with an overal trend towards "ILL" providing information for users regardless of its origin (such as document delivery for DE or rural rotations of med students) means that the face of ILL is rapidly changing.
Putting this in context of what I know about ILL in academic libraries in general, this is a trend that seems to be occurring across the board. With the general downturn in Circ stats and gate counts, it makes one wonder if ILL is not the new "Circ"? That is, the position of prominence that Circulation used to hold as the lynchpin of access. Does the change of information format, the reduction of serial subscriptions, and the expectations of our current users point to this?
As someone who has worked in and around Circulation for a long time, it is unnerving to think that the answer is yes, but I think it is.
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=164407
I won't rehash the system being replaced, but it will suffice to say that it was designed to interface with DOCLINE, the NLM's ILL system, but its most significant weakness was that it cannot be used with OCLC.
Interestingly enough, UNMC shares servers for Illiad with UNO as a "satellite library" saving both institutions money and letting UNMC have the machines hosted elsewhere. In that vein, one of the discussions was the problem that many hospital networks (and their libraries, by extension) have issues with opening ports for applications such as ARIEL. This concern grows from the tremendous security required to guarantee patient information under HIPAA.
We also had alot of discussion about funding the costs of ILL. The chancellor "covers" the cost of 50 free ILL's per year, but in actuality the funding provided is closer to 1 per year for every eligible user. Fortunately, about 85% of those eligible use less than 10 per year.
This was definitely one of the more interesting interviews I have had at UNMC; in that it caused me to really think about some of the future trends in providing library services. Heather noted that as journal subscriptions are cut in the serials reductions, ILL costs for borrowing and use increase. This combined with an overal trend towards "ILL" providing information for users regardless of its origin (such as document delivery for DE or rural rotations of med students) means that the face of ILL is rapidly changing.
Putting this in context of what I know about ILL in academic libraries in general, this is a trend that seems to be occurring across the board. With the general downturn in Circ stats and gate counts, it makes one wonder if ILL is not the new "Circ"? That is, the position of prominence that Circulation used to hold as the lynchpin of access. Does the change of information format, the reduction of serial subscriptions, and the expectations of our current users point to this?
As someone who has worked in and around Circulation for a long time, it is unnerving to think that the answer is yes, but I think it is.
Web 2.0 101 - Medical Library Association
For anyone interested in gaining more experience and exposure to Web 2.0 tools, especially in how they relate to health services, I would highly recommend reading and exploring the blog at:
http://sns.mlanet.org/snsce/
This is the Web 2.0 101: Introduction to Second Generation Web Tools; and was a course blog for a MLA Continuing Education Course. Of course, one doesn't have to do all the assignments, but just exploring the various links and tutorials provided is a worthwhile and educational experience.
http://sns.mlanet.org/snsce/
This is the Web 2.0 101: Introduction to Second Generation Web Tools; and was a course blog for a MLA Continuing Education Course. Of course, one doesn't have to do all the assignments, but just exploring the various links and tutorials provided is a worthwhile and educational experience.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
UNMC Faculty Meeting
In the afternoon, I was honored with an invitation to the faculty meeting at UNMC. Having attended a number of Executive Committee meetings at UNL, and having spoken with a number of UNL faculty about their own meetings, I was very interested in seeing how these might be similar or different.
While I won't recreate the agenda or other such things, it was certainly an interesting series of conversations. The usual reports, budget updates, new business, etc.
Some of the things I found most interesting (in no particular order):
1) a request for substantive comments vs. errata (reflected in my experience at UNL, as well)
2) gaining an understanding of the various faculty committees both internal to the libraries and at UNMC
3) discussion of faculty records, including CV, to be online and searchable
4) strategic planning discussions
I would say that many things were confirmed about how committee meetings are held in what a friend of mine refers to "library-land" (in this case "academic library land"). Somethings just don't seem to vary much, and others are a product of the individual personalities involved
All in all, it was a very interesting meeting that I was flattered to be invited to.
While I won't recreate the agenda or other such things, it was certainly an interesting series of conversations. The usual reports, budget updates, new business, etc.
Some of the things I found most interesting (in no particular order):
1) a request for substantive comments vs. errata (reflected in my experience at UNL, as well)
2) gaining an understanding of the various faculty committees both internal to the libraries and at UNMC
3) discussion of faculty records, including CV, to be online and searchable
4) strategic planning discussions
I would say that many things were confirmed about how committee meetings are held in what a friend of mine refers to "library-land" (in this case "academic library land"). Somethings just don't seem to vary much, and others are a product of the individual personalities involved
All in all, it was a very interesting meeting that I was flattered to be invited to.
Interview - Marie Riedelbach - GoLocal services
After extensively discussing CHIRS with Roxanne Cox, I met with Marie Riedelbach, one of my sponsors in this practicum to discuss another of the services my project would be highlighting, that of GoLocal.
GoLocal is a service for finding local resources for health-related issues that is linked to off the MedLine Plus pages. GoLocal Nebraska is a project put together to provide a listing of all the various services to be found in the state. No small project for sure.
The initial launch was based on a database listing over 850 support groups. Marie and I discussed the difficulty in keeping all of this information current, a theme that will continue throughout our conversation.
Additional data was purchased from HHS (such as assisted living, nursing homes, pharmacies, etc.) and printed directories of hospitals and clinics were also used. All of this data was entered in Access using NLM suggested subject headings; with specialty clinic terms being added as needed.
After demonstrating the interface, Marie and I had a wonderful brainstorming conversation on how to keep this information current, such as physician input, local community library input, etc.
This service, is nothing short of amazing with the amount of information it contains. I think with some proper application of technology; much of the time and effort currently spent on maintenance could be channeled into marketing and promotion.
GoLocal Nebraska link:
http://apps.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/local/nebraska/homepage.cfm?areaid=28
GoLocal is a service for finding local resources for health-related issues that is linked to off the MedLine Plus pages. GoLocal Nebraska is a project put together to provide a listing of all the various services to be found in the state. No small project for sure.
The initial launch was based on a database listing over 850 support groups. Marie and I discussed the difficulty in keeping all of this information current, a theme that will continue throughout our conversation.
Additional data was purchased from HHS (such as assisted living, nursing homes, pharmacies, etc.) and printed directories of hospitals and clinics were also used. All of this data was entered in Access using NLM suggested subject headings; with specialty clinic terms being added as needed.
After demonstrating the interface, Marie and I had a wonderful brainstorming conversation on how to keep this information current, such as physician input, local community library input, etc.
This service, is nothing short of amazing with the amount of information it contains. I think with some proper application of technology; much of the time and effort currently spent on maintenance could be channeled into marketing and promotion.
GoLocal Nebraska link:
http://apps.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/local/nebraska/homepage.cfm?areaid=28
Electronic project update
Well, I've had alot of postings concerning my on-site days. Mostly because they are the real source of information in my practicum. I always find it harder to talk about my own work on the reverse side. This post is an attempt to rectify that particular situation.
The biggest news is that we have decided to switch platforms from Zoho to Google. There were several reasons behind it. The first and foremost, in my opinion, is the market share and knowledge that users already have about many google applications. People are just more familiar with them, than with a smaller Web 2.0 application.
The second was that our first plan, the creation of the information package in Zoho notebook, did not work as well as we had hoped. Luckily, I wasn't too far into the project, though between playing with the software, and creating a bare bones set of pages that were essentially 8 different template experiments, I had about 15-18 hours in the project. Not a tremendous amount, but when the entire practicum in 90, it put quite a dent in the time alloted. Luckily, much of the information that I had generated should transfer, saving time on the back end.
The link for the now abandoned page is at: http://notebook.zoho.com/nb/public/mstraatm/book/116167000000004339
I'll leave that up, until folks get a chance to look at it. Certainly, not all the information created is there, in fact, most of it isn't, rather that page was a series of questions and attempts at design that I wanted feedback on, or was experimenting with; hence the bare-bones look.
I've been learning alot about Web 2.0 applications; and I routinely return to the free isn't necessarily better. I have to applaud these software developers, though. Alot of work and time go into these projects that are then turned out to the general public with no expectation of direct compensation (how they are rewarded is a different topic). When the time arrives that these applications are as powerful and as detailed as the commercial vendors, however, I wonder how the commercial vendors will be able to maintain any sort of market share.
I was able to see and play with the heart of what is behind the Web 2.o experience, however. When it became obvious that I was not able to make the Zoho notebook application do what we wanted, I was able to share the documents with my advisors on this project, Marty and Marie, and then we were able to Skype with each other while both looking at and manipulating the document. That is what I really feel that Web 2.0 is about, the interactive portion, and it is exciting to be able to use them in this fashion.
One of the most substantial drawbacks for using the Zoho Notebook application actually was this interactivity, however. It works great for being able to collaboratively discuss the project and data, look at images, and in general make design decisions; however, this collaboration is unnecessary and potentially distracting in a tutorial sort of format. Other smaller design issues, such as backgrounds and similar publishing type details, were the final nail in the coffin so to speak.
I think that the slideshow/powerpoint format for the tutorials will be more useful for the state purpose of this project. I can still see a use for the collaborative aspects in design, as well as if the project develops beyond the boundaries that we currently have; but for now, something more static when it is presented the the audience is called for.
That being said, the previous reasons Google won out, made this a logical point to jump applications if we are essentially starting over anyway.
So....the new draft is due July 8 (one day before my next site visit on July 9). Instead of playing with a number of different templates such as the Zoho, I've been busy trying to create just one, to get a feel for what we come across when we go deeper. Essentially, the first attempt was a broad sweep, and we found some problems, this time, we'll see what we can find otherwise.
So far it is going ok, but I'm only about 5 hours into it. So much of the initial time investment, is just learning the way around the software. This blog is a good break from just that.
The biggest news is that we have decided to switch platforms from Zoho to Google. There were several reasons behind it. The first and foremost, in my opinion, is the market share and knowledge that users already have about many google applications. People are just more familiar with them, than with a smaller Web 2.0 application.
The second was that our first plan, the creation of the information package in Zoho notebook, did not work as well as we had hoped. Luckily, I wasn't too far into the project, though between playing with the software, and creating a bare bones set of pages that were essentially 8 different template experiments, I had about 15-18 hours in the project. Not a tremendous amount, but when the entire practicum in 90, it put quite a dent in the time alloted. Luckily, much of the information that I had generated should transfer, saving time on the back end.
The link for the now abandoned page is at: http://notebook.zoho.com/nb/public/mstraatm/book/116167000000004339
I'll leave that up, until folks get a chance to look at it. Certainly, not all the information created is there, in fact, most of it isn't, rather that page was a series of questions and attempts at design that I wanted feedback on, or was experimenting with; hence the bare-bones look.
I've been learning alot about Web 2.0 applications; and I routinely return to the free isn't necessarily better. I have to applaud these software developers, though. Alot of work and time go into these projects that are then turned out to the general public with no expectation of direct compensation (how they are rewarded is a different topic). When the time arrives that these applications are as powerful and as detailed as the commercial vendors, however, I wonder how the commercial vendors will be able to maintain any sort of market share.
I was able to see and play with the heart of what is behind the Web 2.o experience, however. When it became obvious that I was not able to make the Zoho notebook application do what we wanted, I was able to share the documents with my advisors on this project, Marty and Marie, and then we were able to Skype with each other while both looking at and manipulating the document. That is what I really feel that Web 2.0 is about, the interactive portion, and it is exciting to be able to use them in this fashion.
One of the most substantial drawbacks for using the Zoho Notebook application actually was this interactivity, however. It works great for being able to collaboratively discuss the project and data, look at images, and in general make design decisions; however, this collaboration is unnecessary and potentially distracting in a tutorial sort of format. Other smaller design issues, such as backgrounds and similar publishing type details, were the final nail in the coffin so to speak.
I think that the slideshow/powerpoint format for the tutorials will be more useful for the state purpose of this project. I can still see a use for the collaborative aspects in design, as well as if the project develops beyond the boundaries that we currently have; but for now, something more static when it is presented the the audience is called for.
That being said, the previous reasons Google won out, made this a logical point to jump applications if we are essentially starting over anyway.
So....the new draft is due July 8 (one day before my next site visit on July 9). Instead of playing with a number of different templates such as the Zoho, I've been busy trying to create just one, to get a feel for what we come across when we go deeper. Essentially, the first attempt was a broad sweep, and we found some problems, this time, we'll see what we can find otherwise.
So far it is going ok, but I'm only about 5 hours into it. So much of the initial time investment, is just learning the way around the software. This blog is a good break from just that.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Interview – Roxanne Cox - CHIRS/Reference
One of the main focal points of my interview with Roxanne Cox, was the CHIRS program. This program “Consumer Health Information Resource Service” is a reference service for consumer health questions that are posed by Nebraska residents. An integral portion of the electronic portion of the practicum, CHIRS is a fascinating look at a very specialized reference approach.
In the discussion of the evolution of this program, Roxanne noted that CHIRS started only as a referral service and evolved beyond that to the program that it is today. When a Nebraskan has a consumer health question and it is relayed through CHIRS, the librarian fielding the question researches the literature that is available in both they lay collection, and in the professional literature. The exact needs of the consumer are determined by fairly typical reference interviews, even though the subject material seems anything but typical (from my perspective). The result is a tailored package of information that is provided to the consumer free of charge.
Satisfaction surveys over the last year indicate that most people are satisfied with this program. Roxanne believes the webpage could be better and that it oscillates between population and information professionals as its audience. Web content is done by an in-house web committee, but there is no dedicated staff for web design or content.
She notes that all reference staff answer questions, but the one reference staff member who is an MD as well as a librarian probably has a larger share of the program than the others, utilizing her credentials.
The CHIRS program also has a physical book collection with is the only general public circulation collection. In the past this collection has been heavily borrowed and loaned, but that number is decreasing, presumably with the rise of electronic resources. The collection is still maintained and kept current, however.
The whole program receives about 40-50 requests per month, currently. This is a drop from a high of 110 per month, before the unveiling of the Medline Plus database. The remaining questions, however, and much more complicated, resulting in an almost identical time commitment, despite the drop in numbers. Roxanne was very clear that the reference staff must be very careful not to overstep the need for balanced information, and must not dispense medical advice, only information.
Outside of CHIRS, the general reference department is staffed M-F from 8-5. There re 3 reference librarians, including herself. All other library faculty also rotate on the reference desk. There has been discussion about the possibility of a single service point within the library.
Virtual reference was experimented with for approximately 2 years, then a return to email was made. Chat reference has yet to be implemented.
As is the case in many academic libraries, walk-ins have decreased. It is interesting to note, however that there has been a 70% increase in literature searches.
Reference Departmental Website: http://www.unmc.edu/library/services/reference.html
In the discussion of the evolution of this program, Roxanne noted that CHIRS started only as a referral service and evolved beyond that to the program that it is today. When a Nebraskan has a consumer health question and it is relayed through CHIRS, the librarian fielding the question researches the literature that is available in both they lay collection, and in the professional literature. The exact needs of the consumer are determined by fairly typical reference interviews, even though the subject material seems anything but typical (from my perspective). The result is a tailored package of information that is provided to the consumer free of charge.
Satisfaction surveys over the last year indicate that most people are satisfied with this program. Roxanne believes the webpage could be better and that it oscillates between population and information professionals as its audience. Web content is done by an in-house web committee, but there is no dedicated staff for web design or content.
She notes that all reference staff answer questions, but the one reference staff member who is an MD as well as a librarian probably has a larger share of the program than the others, utilizing her credentials.
The CHIRS program also has a physical book collection with is the only general public circulation collection. In the past this collection has been heavily borrowed and loaned, but that number is decreasing, presumably with the rise of electronic resources. The collection is still maintained and kept current, however.
The whole program receives about 40-50 requests per month, currently. This is a drop from a high of 110 per month, before the unveiling of the Medline Plus database. The remaining questions, however, and much more complicated, resulting in an almost identical time commitment, despite the drop in numbers. Roxanne was very clear that the reference staff must be very careful not to overstep the need for balanced information, and must not dispense medical advice, only information.
Outside of CHIRS, the general reference department is staffed M-F from 8-5. There re 3 reference librarians, including herself. All other library faculty also rotate on the reference desk. There has been discussion about the possibility of a single service point within the library.
Virtual reference was experimented with for approximately 2 years, then a return to email was made. Chat reference has yet to be implemented.
As is the case in many academic libraries, walk-ins have decreased. It is interesting to note, however that there has been a 70% increase in literature searches.
Reference Departmental Website: http://www.unmc.edu/library/services/reference.html
Interview – Terry Hartman - Education
My first interview of this day was with Terry (Teresa) Hartman, the head of the Education Department at McGoogan. Head is a deceptive term, since she seems to do just about any and all of what might be required for this area. I came away from this interview with pages more notes, ideas, and thoughts than I had from just about any I’d met so far, and I’m sure that this summary does not do the volume of information I was presented justice. As in all of these summaries, I’ll state up front that any errors or misrepresentations are certainly my own.
No discussion of this interview would be complete without me noting one of my favorite new blogs, http://libeducation.blogspot.com. In this blog, Terry frequently puts together interesting user education resources for librarians. A very fun site, and one that should be added to everyone’s favorite list.
In talking about the role of education and outreach, one of the more fascinating statements was the education is everything that a library does. Simple, direct, and startingly true. My perspective as a circulation and collections/facilities person hasn’t led me much into the education sphere, but this statement is a profound and direct take on the state of modern librarianship. She notes that education does not start and end with her position, each librarian is expected to teach.
The work done by Terry also stresses not only bibliographic instruction and that sort of “education”, but also the outreach efforts of the UNMC libraries. This includes both an attempt to better move into the curriculum of the Medical Center, but the promotion of the library and of its tools to various entities throughout the mission of UNMC. A daunting task, in my opinion. She works against the segregation of the libraries from the other academic units, and indeed appears to work against the self-imposed departmental segregation that seems to come naturally to just about every public and academic library that I have seen.
As a result of this daunting set of tasks, she is in charge of all the publicity and promotion of the UNMC libraries, including orientations, national library week, etc. In short, her job is to creation information believers, not just users.
Education Departmental Website: http://www.unmc.edu/library/services/education.html
No discussion of this interview would be complete without me noting one of my favorite new blogs, http://libeducation.blogspot.com. In this blog, Terry frequently puts together interesting user education resources for librarians. A very fun site, and one that should be added to everyone’s favorite list.
In talking about the role of education and outreach, one of the more fascinating statements was the education is everything that a library does. Simple, direct, and startingly true. My perspective as a circulation and collections/facilities person hasn’t led me much into the education sphere, but this statement is a profound and direct take on the state of modern librarianship. She notes that education does not start and end with her position, each librarian is expected to teach.
The work done by Terry also stresses not only bibliographic instruction and that sort of “education”, but also the outreach efforts of the UNMC libraries. This includes both an attempt to better move into the curriculum of the Medical Center, but the promotion of the library and of its tools to various entities throughout the mission of UNMC. A daunting task, in my opinion. She works against the segregation of the libraries from the other academic units, and indeed appears to work against the self-imposed departmental segregation that seems to come naturally to just about every public and academic library that I have seen.
As a result of this daunting set of tasks, she is in charge of all the publicity and promotion of the UNMC libraries, including orientations, national library week, etc. In short, her job is to creation information believers, not just users.
Education Departmental Website: http://www.unmc.edu/library/services/education.html
General discussion
My practicum is divided into both on-site and off-site days. The off-site days are devoted to the development of the electronic tools (more on that in a different post). The on-site days are a series of meetings, interviews, etc. (as indicated by my posting from the previous on-site visit; and discussion and work concerning the off-site days material.
One of the most fascinating things about the first part is the chance to meet a series of individuals and talk about not only their jobs, but themselves. Getting to know them as more than simply librarians (though we know that there is no such thing as a simple librarian!). I cannot express the gratitude I have for each of these professionals taking time from their work to discuss not only their shop, but the profession as a whole, both inside and outside medical libraries. It is a kindness that I hope to repay when I hopefully find myself in their shoes, as I progress in my career.
One of the most fascinating things about the first part is the chance to meet a series of individuals and talk about not only their jobs, but themselves. Getting to know them as more than simply librarians (though we know that there is no such thing as a simple librarian!). I cannot express the gratitude I have for each of these professionals taking time from their work to discuss not only their shop, but the profession as a whole, both inside and outside medical libraries. It is a kindness that I hope to repay when I hopefully find myself in their shoes, as I progress in my career.
Friday, June 27, 2008
A return to work!
Sorry for the delay in posting updates, I have just recently returned from a several week vacation wherein the 1500 person event that I have been involved in preparing, came to fruition. It was an outdoor event, so in addition to the usual scheduling and site problems that a large event/conference brings, we also had Missouri weather, portable toilets, and refuse haulers to contend with.
Lots of good experience, and now I'll get back to posting updates, starting with a recap of my last visit to UNMC.
Lots of good experience, and now I'll get back to posting updates, starting with a recap of my last visit to UNMC.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Disussion of Project details
Day 1 – Part 2
As part of the practicum, the second part of which was stated as “ the participant will be asked to use Zoho, which, like Google Applications, is a a web-based productivity suite. . . . [the] project will be to create several pages in a notebook which can ultimately be sent to hospital libraries, public libraries, and others to show consumer health resources in Nebraska.”
In the afternoon, I met with Marie Reidelbach and Marty Magee about the specifics of this project. Having designed a number of web pages in the past, I felt like the move towards a more Web 2.0 project would be very fascinating, specifically given the focus of the project. Using these tools to develop more awareness of resources dovetails nicely with some of the experiences in the past, creating tools, and pushes the envelope quite a bit with content and the technological interface.
The conversation covered potential formats, such as the order of various slides and the types of content and layout. Previous to this conversation, I had begun working with Zoho, in anticipation for this project, so I had some idea of the directions that were available to us. I was also provided with a variety of information on the various resources to examine outside of the discussion time.
After defining a more specific audience (public libraries), we discussed the tools we wished to emphasize. These are: Medline Plus, GoLocal Nebraska, and CHIRS, as well as sections on additional web resources and some discussion on the evaluation of websites. We discussed a variety of easily available software including Fireshot (a Mozilla app for screenshots) and a tutorial builder.
We concluded with a discussion of the calendar and the order in which the project would be completed. I felt that my previous web design experience was of tremendous value in this part of the project. Next session I’ll have some more in-depth meetings with Marie, and the Education and Reference departments to discuss the various services and databases to be included in this project. After that, I feel that I will be able to go from experimenting with the software to beginning actual design processes.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Literature Review
Whitcomb, M. (2006, April). The future of academic health centers. Academic Medicine, 81,(4), 299-300.
Dr. Woefl provide this particular article in part to illustrate some of the changes facing academic health centers such as UNMC. Obviously, as part of the educational instruction at UNMC, the UNMC libraries is directly challenged by the changing face of not only libraries but the hospitals, faculty and students that they serve.
Dr. Whitcomb notes that “there are good reasons for believing that in the not-too-distant future, a growing number of students and residents will be learning clinical medicine outside of AHC’s” (para. 3). The main thrust of this article is the way in with the redesign of medical core training, as well as specialized training will move out of the teaching hospital environment and into ambulatory care.
The result for academic health centers as outlined by Dr. Whitcomb is the hiring of physicians from outside the institution to provide care, or using clinical faculty to provide service. More importantly from the academic health center library perspective, however (not mentioned by Dr. Whitcomb) will be the accessibility of information by these residents and students. Already, we have discussed in my practicum the digital gulf that many scholarly communication licensing agreements have on different constituencies of the libraries. How will this outsourcing of students affect that?
The long and short of this article is the rapidly changing face of medical education within the current medical environment. It will indeed to interesting to see how academic health center libraries respond to these changes.
UNMC Strategic Planning - Dr. Nancy Woefl
For the first actual face-to-face part of my practicum experience, I had an extended meeting with Dr. Nancy Woefl for an administrative overview of UNMC libraries, which included strategic planning, fiscal control, and development. So many of the financial aspects did not have time to be developed, so we are looking at a future meeting to discuss finances and other such aspects in more detail.
First, I have to say I was very impressed with Dr. Woefl, and the amount of time that she dedicated to my practicum, already. Having worked with many facets of administration in the past, I realize the enormity of a 4 hour scheduling block by a director of an academic library. No small feat, in and of itself. My desire to understand more of the academic health library and its administration was certainly addressed in this session. The conversation and presented materials ranged over a wide variety of subjects, and I hope to address some of the highlights in this post, though I would be remiss to use this blog as a complete portrayal of the fascinating conversation.
This most interesting aspect that I walked away from this was the understanding of the multiple constituencies and “masters” that are involved in the UNMC situation. Serving an academic institution and a private hospital is no easy task. Something made further complicated by things such as licensing issues and academic appointments. One of the most intriguing facets of the an academic health library was the emphasis on the medical patient. In other academic libraries, both that I have worked in and studied, no other library seems to have the immediate and important constituency. For example, a literary analysis (of which I have done many) might lack a resource, but that lack does not result in the possibility of loss of life.
I had expressed an interest in strategic planning, no small part as a result of the excellent course on that very subject that I had completed the previous semester at Mizzou (Bossaler, LeBeau, and Robinson as instructors). The most fascinating part of strategic planning at UNMC libraries was its role within the strategic plan at UNMC overall. More than once, the referral to the process as an independent “juggernaut” was made. One that the libraries were required to participate in, and sync with. Each of UNMC’s goals were also the libraries goals, though specific steps and particular foci were the result of the individual departments applicability to such. How each department met these goals, how they were benchmarked, etc. varied, and it was interesting to discuss both the historical and proposed changes to such.
One of the most interesting approaches was the UNMC libraries examination of the strategic issues as outlined by the parent organization, then surveying the staff for ways to address these issues. In order to make sense of the many, many methods provided, the results of the staff discussions were placed the site “Survey Monkey” (http://www.surveymonkey.com/). The results of this survey were then placed into a “cost-benefit grid” to identify which solutions were both fiscally feasible and had maximum impact. These refined results, then served as the basis of the institutional priorities and planning for the libraries.
Of course, financial aspects are not the only pressures that the UNMC libraries face. Like all libraries, the explosion of digital information and the scholarly publishing crisis affect UNMC libraries greatly. Of especial interest in this area is the recent NIH (National Institutes of Health) mandate for the deposit of publicly funded grant research in the digital commons. More information on this can be found at: http://www.nih.gov/icd/od/ocpl/index.html. This publication requirement places additional stresses on the UNMC libraries in their role as interfaces between the academic and private medical communities and scholarly communication.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Introduction
Yesterday was my first full day of my practicum experience. I'm really excited about everything going on at UNMC, and all of the folks that I've met are wonderful. I spent my morning getting the lay of the land with Dr. Nancy Woefl, library director, and discussing strategic planning and library issues (more on this meeting in a separate post). After a very nice lunch at one of the hospital eateries, we had a very good discussion on the Web 2.0 materials that I'll be working on creating.
My next several posts will be an in-depth discussion of these two chunks of yesterday's time, but I figured we had to start somewhere!
My next several posts will be an in-depth discussion of these two chunks of yesterday's time, but I figured we had to start somewhere!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
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