Dead butt syndrome - yes, it's a thing

After 14 months of working at home and sitting on a wooden chair for most of the day, I'm not surprised that it happened. My butt was sore...ALL the time. At first I thought I needed a new couch and maybe even a new mattress, but then it dawned on me that your butt normally shouldn't hurt by sitting down. I Googled it, yes I know, and ran across a few articles on something called "dead butt syndrome". 

After reading up on it, I've added more stretches  during the work day and have made it a point to get up more often. It's been helping. 

We're due to be heading back into the physical library soon and I, for one, will be very glad to get back to my ergonomic chair. I've missed it, and my butt has, too! 

• Dead Butt Syndrome Is One More Reason You Shouldn’t Sit All Day
• 'Dead Butt Syndrome' Is A Real Thing. Here's How To Tell If You Have It.

Iliotibial band. Image courtesy S Bhimji MD
From: Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb, Iliotibial Band (Tract)
Copyright © 2021, StatPearls Publishing LLC.
This book is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, duplication, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, a link is provided to the Creative Commons license, and any changes made are indicated.

Is your life (and brain) too noisy?

From the Hidden Brain podcast, May 17, 2021:

Psychologist Daniel Kahneman says there are invisible factors that distort our judgment. He calls these factors “noise.” The consequences can be found in everything from marriage proposals to medical diagnoses and prison sentences. This week on Hidden Brain, we consider how to identify noise in the world, and in our own lives.

Creating Effective Videos for Libraries: Webinar by Ned Potter

 

Wolters Kluwer recently sponsored a webinar on Creating Effective Videos for Libraries. Ned Potter is a lively and animated speaker and an expert on marketing library services.

Listen to Recording

You can also download webinar's slides here.

Why make library videos?  In whatever, library you work in, our users on on YouTube.  This is the preferred method of learning something new.  They do it all the time ...   

But you also have to ask: Is video always the appropriate medium?  No -- Sometimes a screenshot with explanatory text is the best option.  

Potter goes through the library video archetypes citing pros, cons, and requirements for making each.  He also provides case studies and examples, with ideas on what tools will help you do it, too -- with or without a budget.

Library Video Archetypes:

• Pastiche (Parody / Tribute)
• The Virtual Tour
• Explainer Videos
• Study with Me

Hint: It's easier than it used to be to make a video.

Some of the tools mentioned in the video:

• PowToon
• Adobe Spark
• Video Scribe
• PowerPoint (Who knew ppt could do so much?)
• Pexels.com
• Audacity

You can post videos to YouTube, or Vimeo.  Shorter videos on TikTok or Instagram, among other channels.  The best place for your videos is embedded in context on your website or LibGuides.  

The biggest surprise for me (and Ned Potter) was the Study-with-Me video.  These are long-form videos, where you simply record the usual sites and sounds of the Library.  No script, no central character.  Turns out, some people really love having something like this in the background as white noise to help them focus and study.  It is especially appreciated when people couldn't get to their library in person during the pandemic.  

Social media vaccine hoaxes: are just 12 people to blame?

 From NPR, a look at "The Disinformation Dozen"

May 13, 2021 • The majority of false claims about COVID-19 vaccines on social media trace back to just a handful of influential figures. So why don't the companies just shut them down?

The Magical, Medicinal NLM Herb Garden

 "Since the beginning of time, people have used plants to cure illnesses and treat wounds. In previous centuries, medicinal gardens were carefully cultivated and the knowledge of their healing properties passed on to succeeding generations.

The NLM Herb Garden was created in 1976 as part of NIH’s celebration of the US Bicentennial. It continues to thrive today, with some of those original plantings still going strong. The garden’s lush variety of herbs captures the endless curative and useful qualities that made these healing plants integral to the development of modern medicine. Today, it’s lovingly maintained by volunteers from the Montgomery County Master Gardener Association and the Herb Society of America, Potomac Unit...."

Read more about NLM's magical garden

WHSLA Professional Development Award Recipients 2021

 

Congratulations to the winners of the 2021 WHSLA Professional Development Awards:

• Xou Le Va Vang of UW-Parkside Library in Kenosha

• Brenda Fay of Aurora/Advocate Health Care Libraries in Milwaukee

Each of the winners will receive up to $500 to use towards conference costs or the costs associated with initial AHIP membership.  The award requires that recipients will share their learnings in a WHSLA blog post, WISDOM Chat, or other means of transmission.   If they use it towards AHIP membership, they will serve as a WHSLA officer.         

We look forward to hearing what our award winners have learned or to a future WHSLA officer (or two)!

Dora Davis

WHSLA Professional Development Coordinator

Why do humans have a third eyelid?

From TED-Ed:

"You know that little pink thing nestled in the corner of your eye? It’s actually the remnant of a third eyelid. In humans, it’s vestigial, meaning it no longer serves its original purpose. There are several other vestigial structures in the human body, quietly riding along from one of our ancestor species to the next. But why have they stuck around for so long? Dorsa Amir investigates."

NExT: Free Online Class for Nurses about Evidence-Based Practice

 

Nursing Experts: Translating the Evidence (NExT) Course 

• FREE online training about evidence-based practice (EBP)
• Aimed at Acute and Ambulatory Care Nurses
• Earn up to 7 FREE CEUs for completion of the course
• Open to ANYONE interested in learning more about EBP.  

The Syllabus covers:

• Evidence Based Practice Overview
• Searching PubMed
• Online Resources
• Appraising the Evidence
• Translating the Evidence
• Learning, Leadership, & Professionalism
• Sharing the Evidence

NExT Frequently Asked Questions

Types of Scientific Paper - According to XKCD

 

Just for fun ....       Web Comic from XKCD.  

WHSLA Virtual Conference 2021: Spotlight on Jolene Miller's Keynote about Reflective Practice

 Keynote: Jolene Miller, MLS, AHIP

Our keynote speaker at The 2021 WHSLA Web Conference will feature Jolene Miller 

June 16, 2021 at 10:00 - 11:30 am 

Keynote: Turning the mental, physical, and electronic page: Applying reflective practice to change management with Jolene Miller. 

Description: "We all reflect on our work as librarians, but informal reflection doesn't always result in improvement. Keynote speaker Jolene Miller will introduce us to reflective practice (a more intentional and structured way to reflect on situations at work), with a focus on coping with change. 

She will talk about the varied ways to engage in reflective practice and guide us through a brief reflective writing experience and reflective conversation. 

Reflective practice is a transformative strategy for all librarians, regardless of position, type of library, or time in the profession."


Jolene M. Miller, MLS, AHIP, is Director of the Mulford Health Science Library and an Assistant Professor of Library Administration at the University of Toledo. 

She has worked in medical libraries for over 20 years, as a liaison librarian and a library administrator. The complex realities of library administration forced her to look for new ways to manage her workload and develop knowledge and skills for success. Reflective practice was a natural extension of her life-long experience keeping a personal journal. It provided the time and space needed to develop as an administrator. She is interested in how health science librarians use reflective practice and how they can learn to apply reflective practice in their positions.

Learn more about The 2021 WHSLA Virtual Conference scheduled for June 16, 2021.     

Register for the conference.

The WHSLA Virtual Conference 2021 Schedule for June 16

 

Wednesday, June 16 (all times in CST)  - One day only!

Online via Zoom

9:30 am – Lobby opens

9:45 am – Welcome, housekeeping, introducing the keynote

10:00-11:30 am – Keynote: Turning the mental, physical, and electronic page: Applying reflective practice to change management with Jolene Miller

Description: "We all reflect on our work as librarians, but informal reflection doesn't always result in improvement. Keynote speaker Jolene Miller will introduce us to reflective practice (a more intentional and structured way to reflect on situations at work), with a focus on coping with change. She will talk about the varied ways to engage in reflective practice and guide us through a brief reflective writing experience and reflective conversation. Reflective practice is a transformative strategy for all librarians, regardless of position, type of library, or time in the profession."

11:30 pm - 1:00 pm – Lunch break

1:00 pm - 2:00 pm– My Favorite Tech Learn about WHSLA members’ and conference attendees’ favorite tech. This session features quick three-minute presentations to introduce you to the tech (software, apps, gadgets, accessories) that is making our work or personal lives more efficient, more organized, or just more fun! (register in advance to present at this session)

2:00 - Break

2:15 pm - 3:15pm – WHSLA Sharing Roundtable

3:15 pm – Break

3:30-4:00 – MLA Update

4:00 pm – Closing

Register to attend for The 2021 WHSLA Web Conference.

All WHSLA members in good standing may attend the conference FREE-of-charge.

• Not a member yet?  Join WHSLA for $20 and attend the web conference free-of-charge.  
• Not sure if you are a current member or not?  
• Check the current WHSLA Membership list (as of April 14, 2021

• $10 for students, retirees, and those enduring hardship / furloughs
• $30 Non-member web conference registration
• Payment can be made via PayPal or check (see registration form for details)

WHSLA Virtual Conference 2021: My Favorite Tech Call for Participants

My Favorite Tech - Call for Participants

• Is there a piece of technology that's making your work life simpler 
• or your personal life more organized?
• Is there an app or a gadget that you recommend to everyone, even if they don't ask?

Then this session is for you!   

Sign up for My Favorite Tech and share your can't-live-without-it tech with your fellow WHSLA members.

The tech can be almost anything -- software, apps, gadgets, accessories.  It doesn't matter if it costs $10,000 or it's free, if it's the latest fad or if it's been around for a decade.  Big or small, complex or simple, we want to hear about it.

Guidelines

• You have 3 minutes to present (We'll be strict on time, so practice!)
• You can use PowerPoint slides
• NO live demonstrations of the tool
• Only 1 person can present on each tech.
• You must be a WHSLA member or be registered for the meeting

To help guide your presentation, consider answering one or more of these questions:

• Why is it your favorite tech?
• What does it do?
• How much does it cost?
• Who is it for?
• Why is it better than the competition?
• How much time does it take to learn?

To sign up, fill out this quick and easy form.

• No abstracts, no rubrics, no judging -- you're in!
• Space is limited to the first 18 who sign up.  

The My Favorite Tech session is scheduled to run at The 2021 WHSLA Web Conference on June 16 at 1 pm CST.  

Register for The 2021 WHSLA Web Conference, to be held online via Zoom: Wednesday June 16, 2021     9:30 am - 4 pm   See the full schedule.