2006/2007 ANNUAL REPORT
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS FOR MEDICAL SCIENCES LIBRARY

Table of Contents

A. Mission

B. Highlights of Accomplishments

Education
Research
Clinical Care
Outreach

C. Personnel

D. Progress on Short-Term Goals for 2006/2007

E. Short-Term Goals for 2007/2008

F. Quantitative Performance Indicators for 2006/2007 and 2005/2006

A. Mission

The mission of the UAMS Library aligns closely with the overall mission of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.  As a major biomedical information resource and partner in the mission of UAMS, the Library promotes the advancement of research, education and patient care at UAMS and service to the state of Arkansas. 

B. Highlights of Accomplishments

It is difficult to separate the Library’s activities into the four parts of the mission of UAMS, as many information resources and services provided by the Library apply to more than one part of the mission.  The Library provided online access to 34 databases, over 4,000 journals, more than 4,700 books, several clinical information products, and many reports, websites, and other online resources, as well as many print resources.  4,058 needed items were borrowed from other libraries and usually provided electronically to the requestor within 24-48 hours, and the Library lent 6,298 items to other libraries. Other services include classes/training on various information resources and topics, reference assistance and consultations, expert searching of subscription-based databases, and the Historical Research Center (HRC).   

Over 500 photographs from the HRC were digitized and made available at http://libcontentdm.uams.edu/HRCDigitalCollections.htm . A subscription for Dynamed, a clinical information resource, was negotiated for UAMS, ACH and the AHEC Libraries and their major hospitals for 2007/08, and for all health professionals in Arkansas for 2008/09.  The Library Liaison program thrived, providing important connections with departments throughout UAMS.  Space was reallocated on the first floor of the Library to provide much-needed study space for students and a vending machine room, and food is now allowed throughout the Library except around the computer workstations.  The Research & Clinical Search Services program was developed to enhance reference services.  Much work was done to update and enhance the Library’s website, the ARHealthLINK and Public Health Virtual Library websites were updated, and a Go Local project was implemented to provide links from MedlinePlus topics to information about related local resources.

Education

Library faculty presented 151 classes/orientations to UAMS faculty, staff, and students. Students were introduced to the information resources necessary for success in their programs, and many were also given presentations on using Webmail and accessing resources from off campus.

The Teaching Resource Center provided equipment and technical assistance to faculty incorporating technology into their presentations or developing computer-based instructional materials.  The Learning Resource Center provided computer-based instructional programs related to the curriculum of the colleges, a classroom with twelve computers and an instructor workstation, a syncing station and other resources for PDA users, scanners for student use, small group viewing rooms with computer and audiovisual viewing equipment, and the X-Lab which provided 24/7 access to computers and instructional programs for students.  The Learning Resource Center continued to be heavily used by students, with 78,826 total uses for the year; 371 tests were administered to 5,379 students; 1,748 people used the instructional room; and 69 access grid events and 108 other events were held in the video conferencing room. 

The Library provided access to 889 items for 40 classes on the EReserves system, which enables instructors to make course and supplementary materials available online to their students.  Jan Hart provided copyright assistance to instructors, and copyright and plagiarism information was maintained on the Library’s website.  

New furniture and electrical outlets were added on the first floor for student use, and renovation plans were developed to improve study spaces.  Work began on a project to build a glass wall dividing the first floor which will enable limited study space to be available to students when the Library is closed.  

Research and Clinical Care

UAMS researchers and clinicians increasingly turned to the Library for expert assistance in searching the literature. The Library’s two top expert searchers with skills in research and clinical searching, Susan Steelman and Brynn Mays, formed the Research & Clinical Search Services (RCSS) as a way to publicize and enhance reference services in these areas.  The RCSS provided free expert literature searches for research, patient care, teaching, publication and presentation purposes to all UAMS faculty and staff.  The RCSS librarians provided one-on-one or small group database training as well as consultations on various searching aspects. The Library’s two expert searchers completed 210 literature searches this year which includes all ANGELS and IACUC/AUP searches, as well as searches done for faculty on various topics. This is a 37% increase over the 153 searches done last year.

The RCSS provided special support for projects and committees on campus.  As part of the ANGELS project (Antenatal & Neonatal Guidelines, Education & Learning System), librarians provided extensive literature searches of numerous databases for each new topic and guideline renewal.  This service remained steady with 79 searches completed for the ANGELS project.  Ms. Steelman wrote an article for the ANGELS statewide newsletter.

Susan Steelman continued to be a voting member of IACUC, assisted with the biannual site visit teams, reviewed each protocol’s animal alternative search, and participated in the monthly Committee meetings. Consultations or literature searches were provided for researchers needing assistance with the searches under Assurance Statement 1.  Brynn Mays was Susan’s backup on IACUC and in 2006-07 Susan and Brynn reviewed searches on 135 protocols, provided 77 animal alternatives literature searches for researchers, and updated the directions for researchers on how to do these searches.

A major overhaul of the Reference collection was undertaken in 2006/2007 as we transformed the collection into a lean, more useful reference collection. This entailed a major weeding project of print indexes and reference materials on the first floor.  As many of the indices being removed were biochemical in nature, two focus groups of chemists were instrumental in determining what could be safely and judiciously weeded from the reference journals and indices.   Some resources were weeded, such as Chemical Abstracts, while other resources were relocated. The vacated space became a student study area.

The Library continued to provide access to several important clinical care support tools, such as UptoDate and Lexi-Comp, and worked with its Clinical Resources Team to evaluate new products as they become available. The Library has a representative on the SunRise Core Team to ensure that access to clinical information resources is easily available at the clinical workstation. 

After a lengthy evaluation, Dynamed, a new clinical information tool, was selected to be provided for 2007/08 through ACH, UAMS, and the AHEC libraries and their primary hospitals.  Access will be expanded to health professionals throughout the state in 2008/09.  Some advantages of Dynamed over UptoDate are that remote access and PDA access are provided.  The Regional Programs office provided much of the funding for the Dynamed subscription.  

Outreach

The Library continued to provide service to the state of Arkansas in many ways, including maintaining the ARHealthLINK website (www.arhealthlink.org) providing access to consumer health information resources for the public, and by providing information services for health professionals throughout the state either directly or indirectly through the AHEC libraries.  The UAMS Library provided training and/or support for the seven AHEC libraries and the ACH library, including cataloging their books, journals and audiovisual materials, and sharing an online catalog and circulation system with them.  Various UAMS Library faculty and staff visited all of the seven AHEC libraries during this year.  UAMS librarians also assisted several hospitals with information access issues, and exhibited at the following health professional meetings and health fairs to publicize available information services and resources: KidzFair at Arkansas State Fairgrounds; Arkansas Statewide Preparedness Conference; Winning Against Childhood Obesity Conference; Stone County Hometown “Family Care Fair”; 3rd Regional HIV/AIDS Conference in Arkansas; Arkansas Government Health & Safety Engineers Management Conference; and Welcome the Children Conference.   Library staff provided information access training and document delivery services for ADH employees, as well as maintaining a public health website (www.arpublichealth.info).  The Library filled nearly 2,000 requests for materials from Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Arkansas Department of Health, and central Arkansas health professionals.

The Library participated in library consortia throughout the state and region.  The Library is an active member of the ARKLink consortium of all 47 public and private college and university libraries in the state and the South Central Academic Medical Libraries Consortium (SCAMeL), which includes the academic health sciences libraries in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.  Dena Plaisted coordinated the SCAMeL Interlibrary Loan Group which kept the interlibrary loan network running smoothly and provided valuable feedback to the National Library of Medicine concerning needed changes in DOCLINE and NLM’s interlibrary loan policies.  UAMS librarians worked closely with the Clinton School of Public Service librarian to provide assistance and backup library service for CSPS faculty and students  

Commentary

Much of the work performed by the Library staff happens “behind the scenes.”  IT staff maintain hardware and software upon which much of the Library’s work depends.  Collection management staff spend much of their time acquiring, cataloging and providing electronic links to online materials.   DAS staff provide interlibrary loans, document delivery services and classroom reserve materials electronically, as well as maintaining the collection of print materials.  Historical Research Center staff provide access to original materials as well as an increasing amount of digital images.  In addition to spending a tremendous amount of time teaching and providing assistance to patrons accessing the Library’s online resources, Reference staff work with IT and other staff to organize and maintain the Library’s website, which serves as the main gateway to most of the Library’s resources and services.  Besides maintaining the LRC, the Teaching Resource Center, and the Access Grid facility, LRC staff provide online remote access to computer-based instructional programs related to the curriculum of the colleges.  Administrative staff provide accounting/financial and human resources support.   The employees of the Library work together as a team to ensure that the mission of the Library is accomplished. 

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C. Personnel

The Library's staff this year consisted of 14 professional librarians and 27 paraprofessional staff.  Turnover continued to be low.  The following faculty and staff members were recognized for their years of service at UAMS:  Cindy Caton, Libby Ingram, Cindy White – 25 years; Dena Plaisted – 20 years; Nancy Sessoms – 15 years; and Fred Bassett, Joanna Delavan, Lily Liu, Susan Steelman – 10 years.

As indicated in the curriculum vitae in Appendix 3, Library faculty served on various UAMS committees, including the following: Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC); Academic Computing Advisory Committee; IT Coordinating Committee; Academic Affairs Technology Action Group; COM Basic Sciences Course Committee; COM Computers in Medical Education Subcommittee; COM Copyright Committee; COM Curriculum Committee; COM Psychiatry Portfolio Working Group; COM Freshman Day Planning Committee; COM Women’s Faculty Development Caucus; Education Technology Support Committee; Podcasting Feasibility Study Group; Teaching and Technology Committee; WebCT Committee; Leadership Institute Class of 2007; University Hospital Electronic Medical Record Coordinating Committee; Patient Education Advisory Committee; Patient Portal/SeniorNet Technology Planning Committee; Institute on Aging Education Committee; Arts of UAMS Committee; Chancellor’s Diversity Committee; Catastrophic Leave Committee; ID Badge Committee; NCA/HLC Accreditation Self-Study Committee; Outreach Reporting Working Group; Academic Services Lab Committee; ACH Patient Education Committee; and ACH Educational Council.

Library faculty also served on numerous committees for the Arkansas Library Association (ArLA), the South Central Chapter/Medical Library Association (SCC/MLA), the Medical Library Association, and the National Library of Medicine.  Library support staff actively participated in the ArLA’s Association of Library Personnel.  Lily Liu served as Secretary of the South Central Chapter/Medical Library Association.  Dena Plaisted developed and taught a class on “Assessing the Hard to Find (Literature): The Many Shades of Grey” at the SCC/MLA meeting in College Station TX.  Posters on the Arkansas Public Health Virtual Library/ADH project won research awards at the Medical Library Association annual meeting, the South Central Chapter/Medical Library Association annual meeting, and the UAMS Teaching Scholars Educational Research Poster Exhibits Day. 

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D. Progress on Short-Term Goals for 2006/2007

•  Develop space reallocation/renovation plan to increase study space – The scarcity of quality study space for students in the Library and on the campus in general was one of the top concerns of students on the NCA/HLC site report and in the LCME recommendations.  With funding assistance from the College of Medicine, a major reallocation/renovation of the 1st Level has created a much quieter study area with a net gain of 98 seats, a ‘silent’ room, and a lounge with vending machines.  The Library’s policy on food was changed to allow food everywhere in the Library except at the computer workstations.  Plans are being made for a glass partition that will allow 24/7 access to the study area.
• Help incorporate clinical information systems into SunRise medical records system – A new clinical information resource, ClinicalResource@Ovid, was purchased as a module of the Sunrise system.  The Library provides access to ClinicalResource@Ovid for all UAMS faculty, staff, and students via the Library website.  Health care providers are made aware of additional resources.
• Continue to add library liaison assignments – Liaisons have been active in each of the colleges and several of the Institutes.  The Liaisons work primarily with the faculty and staff to ensure that they are aware of information resources and how to access them, and also aware of the Library’s classes, small group training sessions, individual consultation service, and interlibrary loan/document delivery service.
• Complete NCA Criterion 2 Self-Study report, participate in NCA/HLC, CEPH and LCME accreditation visits, and address library-related recommendations in the self-study documents -  The Library Director co-chaired the NCA Criterion 2 Self-Study Committee and served on the CEPH Self-Study Review Committee.  The Associate Director led the survey team that created, served, and evaluated extensive surveys of the faculty and students for Criterion 3, and participated in the discussions and writing of the Criterion 3 report.  Both participated in a focus group covering the responsibilities of the support groups.
• Address library-related recommendations in NCA, LCME and CEPH self-study reports – The Library was well rated by the NCA, LCME, and CEPH self-study reports with the exception of study space as mentioned above.  Increasing the Library’s budget and resources was also frequently mentioned, and the administration responded favorably to the Library’s request for increasing the base budget of the Library for 2007/2008.
• Collaborate with the Graduate School to implement electronic submission of theses/dissertations – Brief discussions have been held, information has been gathered, and more work will be done to implement this service during the coming year.
• Redesign ARHealthLINK and implement Arkansas Go Local project – The Go Local project was funded and the Go Local project team is actively inputting records into the Go Local database.   The ARHealthLINK site will be taken down after the GoLocal site is operational.
• Continue to develop and promote use of the Arkansas Public Health Virtual Library website – The Public Health Virtual Library site has been heavily used. 
• Implement Parkview Peer Tutor Project – Changes in personnel at Parkview and now at the UAMS Library have stalled the Peer Tutor Project at this time.
• Develop online access proposal for unaffiliated health professionals – Much effort was dedicated to finding a way for UAMS to be a leader in providing information to health care professionals in the state as well as providing services to preceptors and other volunteer faculty members. In a pilot project, the Library provided access to online resources to a select group of Pharmacy preceptors. 
• Revise Library Faculty Promotion Guidelines – The Guidelines were revised and distributed to all Library faculty.
• Revise and implement a Library Disaster Preparedness Plan and develop plans for participation in UAMS and outside disaster preparedness activities – An emergency management team was formed and is developing a plan for the Library. 
• Improve communications within the Library by having regularly scheduled monthly faculty and staff meetings – A regular monthly schedule for faculty and staff meetings was established.
• Improve security within the Library by adding more cameras, etc. – More cameras are planned in conjunction with the upcoming renovation of the 1st Level.
• Provide input for the planning of an expansion campus in Northwest Arkansas – The Library Director met with the College of Medicine and AHEC administration to discuss the resources and budget needed to support an expansion campus.
• Continue the Reference Collection weeding project – The Reference book collection was heavily weeded and all indices were weeded or moved to alternate locations within the Library.
• Continue to try to identify additional space for the UAMS Archives – Efforts continued but no progress was made on this goal.
• Work with Teaching with Technology Committee to present a statewide Teaching with Technology symposium – The first annual symposium was a tremendous success with 221 attendees.  Proceeds went to the Teaching with Technology Committee and the Teaching Resource Center.
• Publicize the Teaching Resource Center to increase its usage – Usage of the TRC has increased; however, more publicity is still needed.

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E. Short-Term Goals for 2007/2008

• Open a 24/7 study area for students and residents on the 1st floor and develop space reallocation/renovation plans throughout the Library to maximize study and research areas
• Continue to weed print journal volumes, especially journals that are available online permanently
• Publicize and support the Research and Clinical Search Services that provides free literature searches, consultations, and classes to support clinicians and researchers
• Publicize clinical resources, especially Dynamed, at UAMS, and work with ACH and AHEC libraries and their affiliated hospitals to provide access to Dynamed while also working to develop an Arkansas hospital libraries consortium
• Redefine the vacant reference librarian position based on changes in the website support and outreach activities, and reorganize support for the Library website by spreading responsibilities between a website editor and technical support
• Work with the Graduate School to implement electronic submission of theses/dissertations to ProQuest for inclusion in Dissertation Abstracts
• Expand the Historical Research Center Digital Collections to include additional documents, photographs, and other materials; continue to try to acquire additional space for the UAMS Archives
• Seek outside financial support to strengthen the Historical Research Center
• Collaborate with UALR and UAMS OED  in developing a program to increase the writing and research skills of UAMS students
• Further develop the library liaison program to include additional colleges, institutes, and departmental programs, and increase the number of learning opportunities
• Work with Academic Computing, the Office of Educational Development, and the Academic Computing Advisory Committee, the Teaching with Technology Committee, and the Education and Technology Support Program Committee to provide a comprehensive program for supporting educational technology at UAMS (including continuing to provide Friday@Noon series presentations and the annual Teaching with Technology symposium, and publicize the resources in the Teaching Resource Center)
• Go live with the Arkansas Go Local project and maintain relationships with appropriate partners 
• Continue to develop the Arkansas Public Health Virtual Library website and promote its use throughout the state
• Plan and convene a National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) Arkansas Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) meeting
• Explore scholarly publishing issues, such as impact factors, open access journals, creative and science commons, with colleges and inform them of new developments and possible implications
• Implement a plan to provide the best electronic resources financially feasible for preceptors, other volunteer faculty and unaffiliated health professionals while remaining within our license agreements
• Participate in decisions about library and information resources aspects of any UAMS expansion into northwest Arkansas as well as the North Central AHEC
• Revise and implement an emergency management plan for the Library working with all appropriate partners such as UAMS Information Technology and emergency management personnel, other SCAMEL libraries, and other UA System Libraries when feasible
• Support the professional development of the librarians and staff through participation in college and campus wide opportunities such as the Leadership Institute, Professional Development Day, House of Delegates, and other campus committees; conversely, contribute to the library community by sharing innovative ideas through presentations, papers, posters, and articles.

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