Friday funny

Library people tend to be information junkies.  It's part of the job, and I think it's very much in our nature to be curious.  While retrieving articles, I often learn about alarming medical conditions and various other horrifying events.

So I cope by reading something funny.  Of course, The Onion is a classic.  But I recently discovered The Science Post.  So enjoy something silly to end your week!

Archives and accuracy

A remake of Disney's 1941 animated film "Dumbo" will be in theaters soon.  You probably know that this movie is about the circus rather than a library, but it also has a library connection.  The film's production team relied on Wisconsin's own Circus World Museum's archives to ensure historical accuracy.

The Public

Thanks to Lucy Webb for sharing this movie review from the most recent edition of Library Journal.

Inspired by librarian Chip Ward's article in the LA Times, Emilio Estevez wrote, produced, and directed The Public.  Who doesn't love a movie about libraries?

Support for systematic reviews - an updated PubMed filter

Thanks to Michele Matucheski for sharing this item from NLM Technical Bulletin

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Support for Systematic Reviews

Support for Systematic Reviews. NLM Tech Bull. 2019 Mar-Apr(427):b6.

2019 March 14 [posted]

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) recently added new terminology about systematic reviews to the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). In addition, the PubMed search filter for systematic reviews has been updated. To learn more about these and related changes to MeSH, MEDLINE, and PubMed, please see:

·    "2019 MeSH Highlights": In this webinar, presented in January 2019, NLM explained the changes in MeSH for 2019, including the introduction of the publication type "Systematic Review" and subject heading "Systematic Reviews as Topic." A recording of the webinar is available at https://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/disted/clinics/mesh_2019.html.

·   MEDLINE Data Changes—2019: In this article, we detailed the MEDLINE data changes implemented with the 2019 MeSH. We added the publication type "Systematic Review" retrospectively to appropriate existing MEDLINE citations. With this re-indexing, you can retrieve all MEDLINE citations for systematic reviews and identify systematic reviews with high precision.

·   PubMed Updates February 2019: NLM updated the search strategy for the Systematic Reviews filter to focus retrieval on citations to systematic reviews. The Systematic Reviews filter was originally introduced in PubMed in 2002 (New PubMed Filter: Systematic Reviews).

Adventures in higher education

Like many good students, I went to college immediately after high school because it's what was expected of me.  I didn't really have a plan or a goal, I just went.  I bounced around to several schools over the course of a few years, and eventually quit without finishing anything but an Associate's Degree.  

A decade later, I finally figured out what I wanted to be when I grew up, and like the many non-traditional students now attending college, I went back.  

Want to know more about going back to school as an adult?  Check out NPR's Changing Face of College. 

Welcome to new WHSLA member Xou Le Va Vang

2019 has brought a few new faces to WHSLA. In this post we'll get to know Xou Le Va Vang, librarian at UW-Parkside Library in Kenosha. 

Q. How did you get started in libraries? Super cliché but I grew up in libraries. It’s the first place I ever felt at home so I spent a lot of  time there. I didn’t want to become a librarian right away, but eventually took steps to obtain my MLIS degree. I applied to work at the campus library many times, and once I got hired I never left the library world. 

Q. What are three personal items currently on your desk? Cell phone, headphones, and chapstick.

Q. Do you have a professional goal for 2019? What is it? One goal is to be an advanced researcher in PubMed, and to better understand evidence-based practice research. 

Q. If you could hop on a plane right now, where would you go? Switzerland!

Q. What is your advice to people who want to get into librarianship? Find an undergraduate degree to enhance your MLIS and start working for libraries before you enter graduate school.

Q. What do you do for fun outside of work? Workout at the gym, a lot of domestic travelling (I love driving), drawing, hanging out at Home Depot, and refurbish old furniture.

Q. What book(s) are you currently reading? The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan

Welcome to new WHSLA member Nick Lim

2019 has brought a few new faces to WHSLA. In this post we'll get to know Nick Lim, librarian at the Medical College of Wisconsin Libraries in Milwaukee. 

Q. How did you get started in libraries? I was one of the recipients for Laura Bush Community College Librarianship Scholarship from IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Services) in 2008. This scholarship enabled me to attend U of Illinois library school.  I am new to Medical Librarianship. I started at MCW in November of 2018. Previously, I worked at Harry S Truman College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago about 8 years.

Q. What are three personal items currently on your desk? Coffee mug, cell phone and Fitbit.

Q. Do you have a professional goal for 2019? What is it? I would like to begin offering Research Data Management (RDM) services at MCW Libraries.

Q. If you could hop on a plane right now, where would you go? Japan, I have extended family members living there whom I have not seen for years.

Q. What is your advice to people who want to get into librarianship? Have a mentor/mentors who can guide you through your professional growth.

Q. What do you do for fun outside of work? I like to watch baseball. I am a Cub fan living in Brewers’ Land.

Q. What book(s) are you currently reading? Currently, I am reading books on Data Management. This is for more work related reading.

Nick Lim

The World Wide Web turns 30

In March 1989, Tim Berners-Lee submitted a vague proposal for an information management system.  Thirty years later, his creation has become something most of us use on a daily basis.

copyright Cern 2008

Happy International Women's Day!

Today, the world celebrates International Women's Day.  Here are some interesting stories and links honoring the accomplishments of women all over the world.

Speaking of history...

A while back, we mentioned The Keepers podcast, all about "stories of activist archivists, rogue librarians, curators, collectors and historians."  Every day, they also feature a short article in their blog called "Keeper of the Day."  I think this has been my favorite so far.  Did you know that Janis Joplin (yes, that Janis Joplin) worked as a library volunteer in her teens?

Shining a light on history - how medical librarians are helping

Hospitals, nursing schools, and other medical establishments have a long tradition in communities. But documenting that tradition hasn't always been easy or even a priority. WHSLA members have made an impact on making this history more accessible. 

• Michele Matucheski has collected oral histories and other items documenting the history of St. Elizabeth's Hospital, Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, and "Hallmarks of Mercy" historical displays.  

• Jan Curnes shared her interest in Milwaukee VA medical history in a 2017 WHSLA Spotlight. 

• Jennifer Deal digitized hundreds of photos and memorabilia from Mount Sinai School of Nursing, Deaconess School of Nursing, Milwaukee Hospital School of Nursing and others. Surprisingly, these digitized  pieces are among the most downloaded items on their institutional repository. 

• Milwaukee PBS show, TenThirtySix, recently paid a visit to the Advocate Aurora Sinai historical display cases, curated in part by former librarian, Ann Towell. Check out the story of Milwaukee's first African-American nursing graduate: Delores Nicholson Wilkins.

We just want our stuff back

How long overdue was the most overdue item ever returned to your library?  Several months?  A year?  Half a century?  That was the case for the Cuyahoga County Public Library this week.  A patron returned a 1968 copy of Life magazine, an apology, and a $100 money order to cover any possible fines.  Robert Rua, the library's spokesman, just wants to thank the patron for doing the right thing and returning the item.  

Why are cats so weird? Thoughts for a cold Monday.

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