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Developments, v.20, no.2 (Spring 2008)
Daniel T. Richards Prize Awarded
A Message from Lynn Fortney, 2007/2008 Collection Development Section Chair
Wanted: A New Website Editor for the Collection Development Section
A Message from Collection Development Section Chair-Elect Melissa Nasea, MLA Happenings in Chicago
Section Council Composition Review Task Force, Final Report
Results for the CDS Election held this Winter/Spring
Daniel T. Richards Prize Awarded
I am delighted to inform section governance that the Awards Committee has voted to award the Daniel T. Richards Prize to the following publication:
Thompson LL, Higa ML. Journal collection development: challenges, issues, and strategies. In: Introduction to Health Sciences Librarianship. Edited by Sandra Wood. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press, 2007: 69-96.
The committee members feel that the publication provides a wonderfully useful overview of serials collection development; it also includes detailed guidelines and practical tips concerning this very important (and sometimes overlooked) area of collection development in health sciences libraries. The article is nicely written, well-organized, and speaks to both experienced professionals and those new to this area of the field. (Thanks to Suzanne Crow for the information)
Things to do in Chicago at MLA, as recommended by Rebecca Raszewski, M.S., Reference Librarian, Drexel University Health Sciences Libraries, Hahnemann Library.
• The best deep dish pizza ever: Lou Malnati's. It is worth the half hour wait. Another good place is Geno's East but you may have to wait up to 45 minutes for your pizza.
• American Girl Store on Michigan Avenue: I've been in this store a couple of times. It's amazing to see how much this store has. It has a theater and doll hospital!
• Fields Museum: This museum is huge. It's hard to see everything in one day. The major attraction is Sue, the largest and most complete T.rex ever found.
• Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum: Very cool.
• Art Institute of Chicago: Has a lot of famous artwork.
• Chicago History Museum: A great place to go if you want to get an overview of Chicago. It's good for people who only have a couple of hours to run and see a museum.
A Message from Lynn Fortney, 2007/2008 Collection Development Section Chair
The Collection Development Section (CDS) may not be one of the largest sections of MLA (we hover around 250 members), but the networking of members is one of the most important functions of the section. Our listserv, mla-cds@colldev.mlanet.org, which is open to all regardless of membership in the section, has proven to be a valuable resource for questions regarding publisher practices, resource recommendations and reviews, licensing information, open access news, and yes, plenty of position announcements. There is currently a high demand for experienced collection development librarians, and members of the CDS know that in the rapidly-changing electronic environment in which we are all working, the best collection development librarians are those who can manage change!
While I'm on the subject of change, our web site editor, Karen Fischer, is resigning this responsibility due to a change in responsibilities at the University of Iowa. Melissa Nasea has a "job posting" for the position in this issue of Developments. This is a great opportunity for one of you to add to your resume.
Jeff Coghill, editor of Developments has also suggested another change - taking Developments into a blog format, so that it would be easier to produce and distribute as well as easier for everyone to access information previously posted. We will be discussing this at our business meeting, Monday May 19th at 4:30 in the Toronto Room of the Hyatt.
I look forward to seeing many of you in Chicago, on the elevator, in the plenary sessions, in our Monday morning CDS-sponsored section program on Conflict of Interest Concerns of Librarians, and especially at our business meeting. Who knows - you might even catch me in the Exhibit Hall! Or playing a tambourine...
Safe travels,
Lynn Fortney
Karen Fischer has been the CDS Website Editor since 2005. She is resigning her position this summer as she has moved to a non health sciences library. As the former Developments editor, I know she did a great job. Thanks again, Karen. Melissa Nasea
Wanted: A New Website Editor for the Collection Development Section
If you would like to use your web skills for your profession, consider applying for the position of CDS Website Editor. It’s a great way to participate in CDS and MLA by updating the section webpage (including adding the issues of Developments) and adding links to collection development resources. The job description is in section 5.E.2 of the CDS manual http://colldev.mlanet.org/section/CDS_manual.html#committees.
Please contact me or Chair Lynn Fortney if you are interested. Melissa Nasea
A Message from Collection Development Section Chair-Elect Melissa Nasea, MLA Happenings in Chicago
The CDS will sponsor three programs in Chicago. We are the sole sponsor of the first program and the co-sponsor of two sessions.
The program on which I have spent the most time and effort is an Invited Papers Section Program on “Bridging the Library Ethics Gap: Conflict of Interest Concerns to Librarians” to be held on Monday, May 19 at 10:30-12 in Columbus EF. There will be three speakers and the session will end with a question and answer session. The Moderator is Melissa Nasea, History Collections Librarian, Laupus Library, East Carolina University.
Introduction
There are many concerns about possible conflicts of interest involving physicians. Less concern has been expressed about possible conflicts of interest involving medical librarians. Some of these concerns include vendor relations. What about participation on editorial/advisory boards? What about attending vendor sponsored meals or parties?
The Nature of the Gap / Joan Schuitema, Catalog Librarian, Catalog Department, University Library, University of Illinois, Chicago
This presentation will help set the stage by reviewing the history of professional ethics in librarianship. It will identify current ethics statements with an emphasis on those most affecting collection development librarians. Because professional ethic statements are closely aligned with a profession’s vision and values, this presentation will also explore how the perception of a “library ethics gap” may occur during periods of rapid flux in the profession.
Mind the Publication Ethics Gap / Andrew Robinson, Ph.D., Deputy Managing Director and Publishing Director, Medicine, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, England
Everyone, medical librarians included, makes multiple ethical decisions on a day-to-day basis. The medical profession is obviously no exception with ethics routinely impinging on patient care decisions and doctor’s relationships with the pharmaceutical industry. The "industry" of academic research and its publications are also increasingly afflicted by ethical questions relating to transparency of authorship, transparency of funding, plagiarism, dual publication, and integrity of research findings. Medical issues also include the impact of the pharmaceutical and medical device industries on the publication of clinical trial data. This presentation will explore these issues and the ways in which journal editors and publishers are working to ensure that peer review and journal quality are not undermined.
Pens, Pencils, and Parties: Avoiding Conflicting Interests in Collection Development / Jonathan Lord, AHIP, Collection Development Librarian, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
What common situations constitute a conflict of interest for the collection development librarian? How can these situations be handled professionally and ethically or avoided altogether? Establishing a clear statement of purpose in the library collection development policy can be a good guide in avoiding conflicts of interest. This statement of purpose needs to be developed in accordance with the many external factors that will be unique to each institution. Vendor relations can be governed by governmental policy, institutional policy, departmental policy, and professional ethics. Many of these policy statements are necessarily vague to cover the broadest range of activities. Vague policy statements may lead to varying degrees of interpretation and application. The collection development librarian may find that there are inconsistencies in the many layers of governmental and institutional policies that define and govern the conduct of business with vendors. Sorting it all out and mapping a clear plan of action can be an effective way to ensure compliance with regulations and good vendor relations.
The second MLA program is “Consent or Obedience? Medical Authority and Consumer Health Education: Bridging the Medical Ethics Gap” to be held on Monday, May 19 at 2-3:30 in Grand Ballroom A. The primary sponsor is the Consumer and Patient Health Information Section.
Truth and Consequence: Authoritative Knowledge, Claims of Salvation, and the Medical Internet / Laurie Zoloth, Professor of Bioethics and Medical Humanities and of Religion, Director of the Center for Bioethics, Science and Society, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
Today, the Internet has transformed the way consumer health information is distributed. This means that who has access to a language and literature that was formerly only accessible to an inner circle is suddenly altered. Patient and families thus become consumers of multiple, conflicting sources of medical information, truth claims, and clinical studies, often just at the point of most desperation in the life of a family. This creates both a sense of transparency and a sense of deception in an unmarked virtual world. Deciphering this information calls for strategies for judging the trustworthiness of a source--an elusive task even for the scientist. This program will discuss the ethics of distributed knowledge for research, medical authority, and power in the informed consent relationship that is at the heart of medicine and science.
The third MLA program is a Contributed Papers session titled “Connecting to New Roles” to be held on Tuesday, May 20 at 4:30-6 in Columbus IG. The primary sponsor is the Technical Services Section. I was one of the abstract reviewers. This session will focus on transition of staff responsibilities, new workflow trends, transforming library services, connection to new technology and new roles.
Institutional Repository: The Bridge that Connects / Allyson Mower, Institutional Repository Coordinator; Joan M. Gregory, AHIP, Librarian, Technical Services; Mary E. Youngkin, Librarian, Public Services, Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
This paper describes the process used by an academic health sciences library to transform and re-envision existing public and technical services roles to support the development of an institutional repository (IR).
Entering Their World: How Can Catalogers Aid Electronic Medical Record Development? / Nadine P. Ellero, AHIP, Intellectual Access Librarian, The Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA
This paper will report on the challenges and opportunities discovered when a cataloging librarian was asked to join an electronic medical records subcommittee that was commissioned to improve a nascent electronic medical records system.
From Copyright to Rights Management: Partnering for Success: Ruey L. Rodman, Associate Professor, Emeritus; Pamela Bradigan, Associate Professor and Associate Director; Lynda Hartel, Assistant Professor and Head, Resource Management and Technical Services, John A. Prior Health Sciences Library, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
This paper identifies key internal and external partnerships and expanded staff roles established by a health sciences library copyright management office (CMO).
Our section meeting will also be on Monday, May 19 at 4:30-6 in the Toronto Room. I hope to see you at some of these sessions. Also, since rooms are subject to change up to the last minute, please check the information in your registration packet and on the room signs.
Melissa Nasea, CDS Chair-Elect and Program Chair
Section Council Composition Review Task Force, Final Report
Please note the following from MLA-FOCUS, this will affect the Chair and past Chair if the changes are voted in.
At its February 2008 meeting, the MLA Board of Directors approved the report of the Section Council Composition Review Task Force and its recommendations. The report recommends the following changes regarding the governance structure of Section Council:
• Section Council should continue to exist, but its structure should be changed from a representative and representative-elect model to a council that is composed of section chairs and section immediate past chairs.
• The term of office on Section Council should be two years.
• The section immediate past chair should be the primary voting member from a section. If the past chair is not present at a Section Council meeting, the section chair should cast the vote. If neither the section immediate past chair nor the section chair is present at a Section Council meeting, then the section may appoint another section officer as the proxy to vote on council issues.
To implement these changes, the membership must approve changes to the MLA Bylaws. MLA-FOCUS will present the announcement of time and place for discussion and the proposed bylaws amendments.
(Thanks to Deborah Blecic for the information)
Results for the CDS Election held this Winter/Spring
Chair-Elect: Sylvia McAphee (smcaphee@uab.edu). Sylvia will be the Section’s program chair for 2009.
CDS Section Nominee to the MLA Nominating Committee: Virginia Lingle (vlingle@hmc.psu.edu).
We received 103 ballots. I’m not sure what the turn-out has been in the past, but that’s about half the membership. For the last question on the ballot (survey), I received the following responses:
Yes, I plan to attend the annual conference 44.1% (41 responses)
Yes, I plan to attend the annual conference & section business meeting 31.2% (29 responses)
No, I do not plan to attend 32.3% (30 responses)
I also surveyed the membership on some topics of interest. Only 32% (30 people) of the 103 who voted do not plan to attend the MLA Annual Meeting in Chicago, meaning that there should be well over 70 Collection Development Section members in Chicago! We hope to see as many of you as possible at our Business Meeting. Some topics of interest expressed in the survey included vendor negotiations and the NAHRS Mapping studies.
Again, thank you to everyone for their help over the last three years. I’ve enjoyed my time and meeting new people. I’ll miss seeing you all in Chicago, but motherhood calls. Our daughter Sarah was born April 4th, 2008. It’s funny; I moved the date of my wedding three years ago so I could attend MLA ‘05 as in-coming chair. It’s not so easy to change the due date for a baby
(Thanks to Liz Lorbeer for the information).
• CDS Section Council rep (& former CDS chair), Deborah D. Blecic is second of three authors of this ARL SPEC Kit: Scholarly Communication Education Initiatives, August 2007 (PDF of Table of Contents and Executive Summary) http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/spec299web.pdf. SPEC Kits are available in print form by subscription or by individual title. Beginning with SPEC Kit 200, executive summaries are available at no charge online. SPEC surveys gather information from ARL member institutions on current research library practices and policies.... (Thanks to Ramune Kubilius for the update).
• A review of EcoSal (ASM Press) in The Charleston Advisor
Author: Kendall, Susan K.
Source: The Charleston Advisor, Volume 9, Number 3, January 2008, pp. 27-29 (3).
http://charleston.publisher.ingentaconnect.com/content/charleston/chadv
I am excited to be a part of the MLA scene in Chicago! I can hardly wait to get there. There’s always plenty for us to do while in Chicago and participating in all of the MLA events we can stand. My schedule’s already jam packed with activities morning, noon and night. I hope to get to see everyone from the CDS at the meetings. Please don’t hesitate to introduce yourself to me or any other CDS members. Just remember that I’m rather shy and quiet. For the folks who know me, there could be disagreement about the shyness thing. It is true though. But, put a conga under my hands or a tenor sax in my hands and we might have to get a party started. Hope to see as many of you at MLA as are able to come. Did I say I was excited about going to Chicago?
Jeff Coghill