Free Webinar on AMA Titles

As you all know AMA moved their online platform to Silverchair recently.  Now you have the opportunity to attend a free webinar to “Discover the New JAMA Network Online”  The webinar is August 2, 2012, 10 am CST/11 am EDT. 

The webinar will have representatives from the AMA and Silverchair to answer your questions about the recent transition to Silverchair’s SCM6 platform and demonstrate the latest enhancements to jamanetwork.com, including:

  • How to use the Administrator Dashboard
  • How to access usage reports
  • How to maximize search results

Speakers include Matt Herron, Vida Damijonaitis, and Betsy Solaro from the AMA and Kate Nikkel and Joy Moore from Silverchair.

Register at  it is free.

More on the Open Access Debate

An interesting article was recently published in US News and World Report about traditional publishing, open access publishing, libraries, and money. “Is the Academic PUblishing Industry on the Verge of Disruption?” looks at the various problems and potentials of open access publishing and it impact on traditional publishing, libraries, funding of research, etc.

The open access debate is very contentious and quite frankly I don’t know enough about both sides of the issue to make an intelligent comment for or against either side.  My only comment is that if this author’s information is true and 80% of publishers’ income is from libraries then something needs to be done quickly because we (libraries) cannot continue buying.  As Jean Shipman mentions in the Comments, library budgets have been shrinking. When will we get to a tipping point when the publishing houses fail to make 30-40% profits because 80% of the market can’t afford them?  We are very close.  I believe I will see this happen in my career.  What becomes of it, I don’t know.

Unfortunately this article is just on open access publishing, but the problem is bigger than that.  Many libraries subscribe to non-traditional resources such as DynaMed, UpToDate, FirstConsult, VisualDx, Primal Pictures, etc. that are not journals.  They are point of care guides, image systems, etc. that are also very expensive to subscribe to and continue to increase in price.  They are in our budget and we can’t afford them just like we can’t afford the online journals.

It is a mess.

The Internet is More Attractive than the Library

A colleague sent me a link to the Power Point slides for the presentation “Why the Internet is More Attractive than the Library.” I am always conflicted about posting about slides.  The reason is that without the actual voice/presentation you loose a lot by just viewing the slides.  Often the best in-person presentations have the least amount of information on their slides, so viewing them outside of the live presentation isn’t helpful.   Without judging Lynn Silipigni Connaway’s presentation (I wasn’t there) her slides do have some good information that can be understood without hearing the presentation (although I wish there was an audio file synced to the slides).

Because Lynn’s presentation discusses a lot about users’ behaviors and thoughts prior to the Internet vs. now, it reminds me a lot about a presentation I did a few years ago for the MLGSCA Technology Symposium, “The Evolving Library.”

Both of our presentations discuss how users today are different than in the past and use/view libraries differently.  Lynn says that users used to build their workflow around the library, now the library must build its services around users’ workflow.  I think this is because libraries are seeing more Net Generation users than Net Learners.  As I mentioned in one of my slides, Net Learners (those who didn’t grow up with technology) come to the library to search or read and while technology makes research easier it isn’t a requirement for them.  The Net Generation (those who grew up with technology) want the library to come to them so they can research or read when and where they want to.   Technology is essential for everything they do. 

My presentation was given in 2009 and the differences have only grown and magnified within the last 3 years.  WiFi is even more pervasive, users have iPads and tablets to read books, and smart phones are doing more than they did back then.  People are mapping and tracking their workout runs and posting them online for friends…who did that in 2009?! 

I would even go on to say that the Net Generation is altering the way Net Learners are thinking and even causing them to evolve and become more like the Net Generation in some ways.  I have no official proof, just observational and anecdotal information gained from my mom and her new iPad.  (Those stories could be another whole blog.)

From what I can tell from Lynn’s slides, the change in user behavior and thought process forces us to re-evaluate the way we provide library services and resources.  On slide 32 she seems to say we need to start running libraries as if they are a startup company instead of an already established insitution.  Startup companies are forced to be more flexible as they try to evolve to successful business. 

LIbraries aren’t the only ones who have evolutionary faults.  The list is long of once big businesses that failed or are failing due to the evolution of technology, customer behavior, cultures, etc.  Heck, just look at Yahoo.  Yahoo was the “it” company in the 90’s.  At one point its stocks hit an all time high of $188.75/share before hitting a low of $4.05 and now trade around $15/share.

There are all sorts of theories as to why Yahoo is losing (some say failed already). A Gizmodo article mentions Flickr’s acquisition by Yahoo as an example of how the now established Yahoo lost the vision of evolution and just sought to acquire companies as appendages to integrate.  The Economic Times claims Yahoo failed because it didn’t “transition from websites that publish professional content to a new digital world dominated by mobile phones and sites where the users are the content creators.”  Wired blames it on leadership Terry Semel (a luddite who didn’t use email at the time) who failed to see the real value of Google when Google went to Yahoo for money.  Whatever the cause, Yahoo is in trouble because it failrd to evolve to user needs/demands.  Once it became a more established company it lost its flexibility to evolve that it once had as a startup.

So what is a library to do if even a once darling startup like Yahoo is having problems evolving, aren’t we all doomed to fail if they can’t get it right?  Well you could say that, but I am a glass is half full kind of gal.  There are examples of established companies that operate, evolve, and are flexible like startups.  You could point to Apple which had its fair share of ups and downs but now is driving the way consumers use technology, not the other way around.  Costco takes every notion about consumer spending and turns it on its ear and turns a mighty profit by continually evolving to consumer demands (You must see Costco Craze, it was very interesting.). 

So there is hope for libraries but we need to be more flexible and one way to do that is to think like a startup as Lynn suggested, because right now the Internet is more attractive than libraries.

What Do Want From MLA?

Recently Stephanie Gertken posted on MEDLIB-L requesting medical librarians thoughts and feedback about MLA.

( from the MEDLIB-L post)

As a follow up to the Open Forum presentation on the MLA Professional Association Value and Planning Survey at MLA in May, we posed the question to the forum attendees, “Wouldn’t it be cool if MLA” . . . (fill in the blank).  We received several interesting suggestions, including a recommendation that this question should also be posted to MEDLIB-L.

 We’re interested in hearing your ideas, comments, feedback on this topic.

We’ll compile and share the information with the group and will also incorporate the information into the final report on the MLA survey project that will go to MLA Board.  The information that goes into the report will include only the ideas/comments/feedback and will not identify any individuals by name.

 We are interested in generating a discussion on the list regarding this topic, and also welcome any comments off-list to stephger[atsign]umich[dotedu].

So what do you think would be cool for MLA to do?  What direction would you like to see the organzation take?  Suggestions can be big or small, techie or non-techie.  Email Stephanie with your ideas and suggestions.

Free eBooks Webinar

ALA TechSource has a free webinar, “Introducing the Book as an iPad App” on July 23, 2012 at 2:00pm est. 

Brief description from ALA TechSource:

iPads are everywhere. Some publishers are experimenting with a new kind of book, published as an app. These books are distinct from the mostly-text ebooks you might read with the Kindle or Nook apps. Drawing from all the functionality of the iPad platform, creators may extend the book, presenting a new immersive experience for readers. As hybrids mixing elements of film, videogames, and social media in with the text traditional to the book, this new kind of book challenges the notion of what a book is. For librarians, they offer new opportunities in evaluation, selection, and services.

The webinar will probably be more geared toward public library and possibly academic libraries but it is free and might be worth attending to see how ebooks are evolving for libraries.  I think public libraries have a better handle on ebooks than medical libraries so perhaps there are some things that we should be looking at and aware of for our situation. 

If you are interested you need to register.  Go to:

http://ala-publishing.informz.net/ala-publishing/archives/archive_2498470.html

Medlib Geekery Chats Every Thursday

For the last several Thursdays, people interested in medical librarianship issues have gotten together on Twitter to discuss topics and voice their thoughts and opinions.  It is an interesting bunch of people, not all are medical librarians, but all are interested in various aspects of medical information. 

The discussion is every Thursday at 9pm est.  It is rather informal as people are tweeting and following the discussion over a glass of wine, while getting kids to bed, or making dinner.  But as informal as it is, it is also very interesting.  There was a great discussion about take home points from the MLA meeting, escience and what it really means people, and a free range discussion about iPads, residents, etc.  Nikki Dettmar has written a nice post with word cloud images detailing the last few chats.  She also has a link to the chat transcripts. 

So if you are interested, I invite you to hop on Twitter tomorrow at 9pm est and follow the hashtag #medlibs.  Can’t make it this Thursday? No worries, we seem to be meeting on Twitter every Thursday. So try next week.

My Loser Boyfriend: eBooks

As much as I love ebooks and technology, they are like a crummy loser boyfriend.  Full of ups and downs that take you on a roller coaster of emotions only leaving you to love them one minute and hate them the next.  Just like that loser boyfriend they have money issues and sometimes I find myself humming Joan Jett, “I Hate Myself For Loving You,” when dealing with them.

Love: 

  • They are available whenever, wherever, and can’t be stolen, lost, or damaged.
  • Using ebooks I can provide information to patrons across the hospital at the time of need and they don’t have to come to the library.
  • Many ebooks can be updated more often than traditional print books.

Hate:  

  • The distribution of medical ebooks is STILL behind the public library model (and while the public library model isn’t that spectactular it runs circles around what we have). 
  • Publishers who require an ADDITIONAL logins if you are using a smart phone.  It is confusing to patrons, they don’t understand why they are being asked for a password when they are on the hospital network.  In this instance they don’t think of their phone any differently than a lap top. (ahem MDConsult/Elseveier)
  • Many ebooks are stuck in publisher silos, can’t be searched effectively.  No NORMAL person knows to go directly to StatRef to search, then AccessMedicine, then MDConsult, etc.  They just know they want a book on a topic and they want to type in the topic somewhere and be presented with a list of ALL the ebooks that has their topic.  Some librarians say…ah use the catalog.  Ptthbbb, ever try searching for a chapter topic or something else within the content of the book in the catalog?  It sucks.

Money:

  • Few companies have a few book titles that can be downloaded to a mobile device but they are way too expensive because we have to BUY the book and they don’t have a circulating model plan (ala public libraries).   Large publisher’s with books we need and pay lots of money for can’t be downloaded to any mobile device, they are web enabled…yeah patrons love hearing that. 
  • I get the idea that an online book is more expensive than in print because it can be viewed by many, but if one online title is a 1/3 of my book budget, I can’t buy it no matter how much I want to have it online.
  • We all are either scraping by on less budget or a flat budget while just trying to keep current library resources that keep getting more expensive. I have no flexibility to “try” your new product.  I don’t care if it is cool and it addresses a need, I can’t afford it.  The price might be reasonable or it might be whack-a-doodle but I still can’t afford it without dropping something.  My wish list is a mile long and it isn’t getting shorter with items that are reasonable (as well as whack-a-doodle) pricing. 

Right now we are all searching for the Mr. Right of ebooks.  Part of the difficulty is that Mr. Right for me might be Mr. Wrong for somebody else.  But our potential boyfriends (the publishers) need to step it up considerably if they want to be Mr. Right for any library because it seems many of us are unhappy and currently settling for Mr. Right Now.  

This what my patrons want (therefore this what I want):

  • eBook platforms that work on lap tops AND are downloadable to a mobile device (not web enabled to a mobile device).
    • We need the core chunk of titles that we are CURRENTLY buying from you, don’t increase the price so that one dinky little title is $2000 online and a established plain ol’ text (not a even a reference book) is $15,000.  That my friends, is whack-a-doodle pricing. We don’t buy online books like that now, making it “downloadable” at that price is not going to change our mind or our budget.
      • For example AccessMedicine, MDConsult, Ovid get your ebook platforms that we are already buying downloadable….now!
  • We are very open to the circulation model of ebooks.  Public libraries are doing it and our patrons seem to understand that concept. This is a nice alternative to buying the title and should be cheaper than buying the title.  Think of it as renting.
    • We need a collection of decent titles. Not a pittance of specialty books.  We need/want the Harrison’s, Hurst’s, DeVita’s, etc.  We need real titles, don’t shove your Big Toe Science book in there, unless we are podiatrists we don’t want them and won’t buy them.
  • Eliminate the artificial barriers for access.  We do a VERY good job of maintaining proper access to our online resources (becasue your license agreements require us).  We know better than you do who our patrons are and when to cut them off, so let us do our jobs and stop putting up extra logins while people are on network or proxied.  If our patrons get confused, they don’t use, if they don’t use we don’t buy. Plain and simple, extra loggins affect our usage stats (negatively) and we don’t buy or drop your stuff if our usage stats go down.  Remember we have wish list a mile long waiting for weakness in a product. 

Some day I hope that I am able to look back at ebooks like I do at my old loser boyfriends; a phase that I had to go through in order to meet Mr. Right.

Mark Funk’s Janet Doe Lecture Video

If you weren’t at MLA in Seattle this year then you missed hearing some great speakers, one of which was Mark Funk and his Janet Doe Lecture.  If you paid for MLA e-conference package you can catch the other speakers from MLA’s online meeting content site. But you can also catch Mark’s phenomenal lecture at https://vimeo.com/45367116

In preparation for the Doe Lecture, Mark chose to analyze word usage from the content in the MLA Bulletin from 1960-2010.  The words we chose while writing in the Bulletin tell a story of medical librarianship through the years.  Mark spend 225 hours analyzing the words came up with 4 basic categories: Environment, Management, Technology, and Research.  It was very interesting as well humorous.  By looking at the word usage you can see how trends have come and gone and how some things like Reference has consistently stayed on our minds through the years. 

Check out Mark’s lecture https://vimeo.com/45367116 and the blog posts from Annie Hughes  and Natalie Clairoux MLA about his lecture.

Personally, it is a freaking great lecture.

Social Media and MLA

Yesterday I sat in on a conference call about various technology things and MLA. One of the things we discussed was social media.  We have to get involved, we have to create a social media strategy to effectively engage in that area of communication.  Based on a survey, it is clear that the majority of those surveyed still prefer the listserve to communicate.  But, it is also clear that other mediums are gaining in popularity and usage and they shouldn’t be ignored just because they are new.  Talking on the phone was once the preferred method of communication among people, now cell phone companies are investigating data/text only plans (no voice minutes) because people just aren’t talking anymore, they are texting and emailing.  As society adapts to new technology they change their behavior patterns. 

I am not saying using the listserve to stay informed is exactly like the evolution of cell phone use, but we do evolve with technology and we would be seriously remiss if we don’t look at addressing it and coming up with a strategy.

So here is where I ask you, the reader….  “What would you like to see MLA do with social media?”

Keep in mind it has to be pretty self sustaining, easy, and require few man hours.  Why?  There are like 10 people who are employed as MLA staff who are all working on multiple projects to keep the organization going.  Whatever plan, thoughts, ideas, that you have, they need to take into account that perhaps a volunteer(s) (similar to the Medlib-l moderator) might be the one doing the bulk of the day to day stuff.  It also should be something that is cohesive and not disjointed.  A LinkedIn account, Facebook account, and YouTube account all sitting out there separately not referencing to each other or interconnected in either way and duplicating work without a cohesive voice or style, does us no good.

Obviously we need to come up with a strategy, but I would like to see what you think we should be doing with these resources in a way to help structure the strategy so that we are serving the members in the most effective and efficient manner. 

So use this blog post as a brain storming area or a sounding board about your vision, thoughts, concerns, etc. on social medial and MLA.

Midwest MLA Call for Papers and Posters

Since I’m in the Midwest I thought I would forward along the call for papers and posters. This year the Midwest Chapter’s meeting will be in Rochester, MN at the Mayo Civic Center from October 6-9, 2012. 

The deadline to submit your paper or poster abstract is July 13, 2012!
So you have about 2 weeks left.  

New this year will be an option to compete for a new Research Award. (See http://midwestmla.org/midline/?p=1347 for more information, and watch your inboxes for more details from the Professional Practice Committee.)

(Official call below)
Call for Papers and Posters

The Program Committee invites proposals for contributed papers and posters for the conference theme of “Growing Opportunities.” Papers and posters may highlight practical problem-solving approaches, document collaborative efforts or outreach activities, describe innovative programs, or report on research in librarianship, resources or services. Contributed paper and poster topics are as unlimited as your imagination.

Contributed papers will be presented on Sunday, October 7. Posters will be on display on Monday, October 8 from 8:00 am until 3:30 pm. Presenters should be available to discuss their posters during the poster reception from 11:00 am – noon on October 8. For inspiration, take a look at the abundant and varied papers and posters presented at the 2011 Midwest Chapter meeting.

For contributed paper proposals and poster proposals submit a 250 word abstract describing your paper or poster. Include your name, position title, address, phone number and email address on all submissions. Email your abstracts to Ann Farrell, farrell[atsign]mayo[dot]edu, or snail them to her at Plummer Library, Mayo Clinic, 2001st SW, Rochester, MN, 55905. The deadline for abstract submission is July 13, 2012. Notifications of paper/poster acceptance/rejection will be made by July 27, 2012.

For more information on the Midwest Chapter meeting, see the conference web site: http://midwestmla.org/conference2012/