MAHSLIN NETWORK NEWS
A Quarterly Publication of the Massachusetts Health Sciences Library Network
Volume 23, No. 3, September 2003
"HEALTH SCIENCE LIBRARY MAY I HELP YOU?" THE ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
By Peter Droese, MSLS
Medical Librarian Division of Medical Assistance
Toastmasters International District 31 Division Governor for Boston
The most fun I have had in my career to date is portraying the medical librarian for the MASHLIN Public Service announcement. Now my famous line, “Health science library, may I help you?” will carry with me many years. How did I get there? I made it a personal goal to improve my public speaking skills and interpersonal communications skills, for which I am always learning new techniques and ideas.
The number one fear of people is speaking in front of a group. Traditionally librarians and are thought of as quiet people. Being able to effectively speak in front of a group is extremely important and in many cases vital to our jobs. The ability to give effective presentations and even the art of small talk is something we are not born with rather we learn and develop over time. People learn the art of publicly speaking at college, Dale Cargeny Courses, professional development courses, and by joining a Toastmasters Club. The Medical Library Association promotes that becoming an effective medical librarian includes having teaching ability, public relations skills, and excellent communication skills.
I joined Toastmasters International back when I was in graduate school to prepare for job interviews and to learn how to effectively speak in front of a group. Now almost four years later I am still learning the science and art of public speaking.
Toastmasters is an organization founded by Dr. Ralph Semedly in 1924 at a YWCA in California. Semedly wanted to offer affordable practice and training in the art of public speaking as well as in presiding over meetings. Now Toastmasters has grown into a worldwide organization of over 175,000 members in 80 countries. In Massachusetts, there are about 4,000 Toastmasters and clubs thought the state where people can learn how to become better speakers, thinkers and leaders through the educational programs offered by Toastmasters. To find out more about Toastmasters International visit the web site: http://www.toastmasters.org. To locate information about toastmasters in Massachusetts visit District 31 for Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island www.district31tm.org and District 53 serving Connecticut, Western Massachusetts, Eastern New York http://www.district53toastmasters.org/
A Toastmasters club can be formed in your organization or community if one is a not available. Please contact Toastmasters to assist you.
In a meeting people learn how to speak “off the cuff. Afterward, they are evaluated on their speeches and offered suggestion on how to improve. An established educational system focuses on the techniques of public speaking and how to give different types of speeches, such as speaking to inform, using humor, and developing interpersonal communication. The vision of toastmasters is Making Effective Communication a Worldwide Reality. The organization is run entirely by volunteers.
Here are ten tips on public speaking by Toastmasters International:
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY
The Lamar Soutter Library at the University of Massachusetts Medical School has invited Mary Burgess, Librarian at the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), to do a one-hour presentation on information from the NCHS. The presentation will be geared towards information professionals and will provide an overview of NCHS information resources with an emphasis on locating information on the NCHS website. There is no fee to attend but space is limited.
Date: Monday, October 20th, 2003 Time: 2:00-3:00 PM Place: Computer Lab, Lamar Soutter Library University of Massachusetts, Worcester MA
If you would like to attend please contact:
Hathy Simpson, MPH
Project Coordinator
Evidence-Based Practice for Public Health
Lamar Soutter Library
University of Massachusetts Medical School
Worcester, MA 01655-0002
Email e.hatheway.simpson@umassmed.edu
Voice: 508-856-3594
BECOME A MENTOR!
Joan Yanicke, NAHSL Credentialing Liaison
Voice: 508-363-6117
Email joan.yanicke@tenethealth.com
Do you think being a librarian is the greatest thing since sliced bread? Do you want to help someone who's just starting out?
Then consider becoming an MLA mentor! For years we have been discussing the need to train the next generation of librarians and this is an excellent way to lend a hand. Just think of how much you have learned since your first job. Remember how much you wished you had someone to help you learn the ropes? Or maybe you were fortunate enough to have someone to help. Lucky you! Now is the time to return the favor. Being a mentor isn't just a one-way-street. It not only helps the “newbie” learn from your experience, but it also gives you a personalized way of finding out some of the new things that are happening in the field. MLA is trying to increase the number of mentors in each region so that librarians looking for a mentor will have someone in their own area to work with. Interested? Information is available on the MLA website http://mlanet.org/mentor/. There is a wealth of information including a fact sheet, some guidelines and aids, and an agreement form. After checking it out, if you are interested, you can register right on line. As an added bonus for those of you who are interested, being a mentor also earns you points for Academy membership. Think about it ... but better yet, Do It!
JCAHO VISIT NEWS
By Maryann Finnegan, Brockton Hospital
Brockton Hospital Library was visited on July 30 by Mr. A. Noyes, JCAHO administrator- surveyor. The visit was unannounced and lasted 25 minutes. He entered requesting a search on a topic he was very interested in. He asked how I would go about getting the information, how long it would take to get it and would it be understandable for the ordinary person. Somehow I managed to type and met his requests.
He asked about on-line resources for professionals and consumers. We toured the facility.
He wanted to see our consumer health collection and the languages we provided the information in. Luckily, we were able to comply with these requests.
He asked about our compliance with HIPAA. He ended by asking if I knew Sandy Clevesy. That was the easy question. I responded with memories of our early days together in CIR. He says "Hi" Sandy and has great regard for you. I think that cinched it for us.
We were o.k. with him if Sandy was our friend.
He concluded with a few more questions and some kind words. Hope this helps any of you preparing for a JCAHO visit.
LAMAR SOUUTER NEWS
By Nancy Harger
Lamar Soutter Library/Pediatric Family Resource Library received a contract from the Massachusetts Department of Education to serve as the Early Childhood Resource Center for Central Massachusetts. This center will provide convenient and easy access to early childhood resources--print, electronic, and audiovisual--for parents, teachers, and students. It is a logical extension of the pediatric library to apply for this current Department of Education funding to add more early childhood resources to the existing collection and enhance reference and referral services to teachers and students in Central Massachusetts. We will continue to do extensive searches for our patrons, and we will become knowledgeable in finding materials on early childhood care and education.
PEOPLE AND PLACES
Judith Sacknoff has been hired as a Library/Media Technology Specialist at Nashoba Valley Technical High School; 100 Littleton Road; Westford, MA 01886. She will be involved in planning a new library media center.
Welcome to Cara Helfner, our newest MAHSLIN member. She is employed at the Michele and Howard Kessler Health Education Library at Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston. Her email address is chelfner@partners.org
Donna Beales is slated to be published in December in Journal of Hospital Librarianship on the topic of disaster preparedness for the medical library.
Return to the MAHSLIN Home Page