IL Reports from UCLA Librarians - Staff, Faculty, and Patients Get the 4-1-1 on 4/11

(Submitted by Amy Chatfield, Outreach and Communications Coordinator, Biomedical Library)

Medical information can be confusing: there are so many articles, books, and websites to choose from, and many of these items provide conflicting or outdated information. Luckily, medical librarians and medical libraries are here to help clinicians and consumers locate and use current, accurate, and pertinent medical information. To promote the services and resources available at medical libraries, the Medical Library Association designated April 11th as "Medical Information Day." The Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library at UCLA used this day this year as an opportunity to reach out to staff, faculty, students, and patients at the UCLA Medical Center.

We set up two tables in the Center for the Health Science building-- one in the patio area, and one inside the cafeteria. Both tables were staffed by volunteers: enthusiastic librarians, student interns, and staff members from the RICS division of the Biomedical Library (Research, Instruction, and Collection Services) and the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Pacific Southwest Regional office (this office is in the same building at the Biomedical Library). The tables were equipped with a laptop for demonstrating online resources and handouts promoting the services and resources provided by the Biomedical Library to health care professionals. We also provided a handout promoting free online consumer health resources provided by the National Library of Medicine and other reputable non-profit organizations.

A UCLA staff member talks with librarians Andrea Lynch (Biomedical Library) and Kay Deeney (NNLM, PSR)

The biggest draw for the day was the prize drawing-- all UCLA faculty, staff, and students were eligible to enter, and prizes included a $50 gift certificate to the ASUCLA stores, copy cards for the UCLA Libraries, and official Library mugs, as well as many other items. As people wrote their contact information on the entry forms, it gave us a great opportunity to strike up conversations about their medical information needs, both personal and professional, and point them to appropriate resources or services that could help them locate and use this information. Overall, the event was a great success: it was an excellent way for us to connect with previous patrons and inform them of new resources, and also allowed us to reach out to potential patrons in a relaxed, informal environment.

Register for the first annual Gaming, Learning, and Libraries Symposium

Register now for the first annual Gaming, Learning, and Libraries Symposium for academic, public, and school librarians, sponsored by ALA TechSource in collaboration with the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL)!

Join such speakers as gaming and literacy experts James Paul Gee and Henry Jenkins (MIT), author Eli Neiburger, Syracuse University Game Lab Director Scott Nicholson, Gregory Trefry, a game designer from GameLab,and social computing expert and gamer Liz Lawley as they explore how libraries fit into the intersection of gaming and the digital learning landscape.

More than 25 sessions in three tracks will cover such wide-ranging topics as creating games for information literacy, implementing gaming programs, teaching kids how to make their own games, gaming for adults, digital downloads for gamers, online fiction games, and more. In addition, a track dedicated to Second Life will highlight how libraries are creating a presence in this virtual world and what they are gaining from it.

Whether you're an experienced gamer who wants to start a program at your library or a newbie who is intrigued but has no idea where to start, this is the event for you. Programs for academic, public, and school librarians will make you think about this topic in a different way. We'll have open play time, scores of experts and implementers who can answer your questions, colleagues implementing innovative services, and at least a few topics that will most likely be new to you.

Register Now! gaming.techsource.ala.org/index.php/Registration

Registration Fee (including continental breakfast and lunch on one day):
$300 - ALA Members, TechSource subscribers, and students
$350 -Non-members

When: Sunday July 22, 2007 1:00 p.m. - Tuesday July 24 1:00 p.m.
Where: Chicago Marriott O'Hare hotel and conference center.

Appointments

Limited Appointment to Career

Open Positions

Previous issues

• Issues 846 and forward are available on the Staff Intranet.
• Printed copies of previous issues are available at the UCLA Library or by email request.
• Issues 837-854 are available in print under the title UCLA Library Newsweb at the UCLA Library or by email request.
• Issues 1-836 are available in print under the title Library Newsletter/UCLA at the UCLA Library.

• Library News for the Faculty (www2.library.ucla.edu/facultynews/3300.cfm)
• UCLA News (www.uclanews.ucla.edu)
• UCOP News (www.ucnewswire.org/ucnw.cfm)

The UCLA Library Staff Newsweb is published every other Monday by Library Human Resources. News items should be sent to Sheila Knapp, Library Newsweb, LHR. Please submit via email to Sheila at sknapp@library.ucla.edu. The deadline for the next issue (May 28) is Friday, May 18 at 3 p.m.

Other Publication dates and deadlines (www.library.ucla.edu/publications/libnews/deadline.htm)