On behalf of the membership of MAHSLIN, the Executive Board conveys its thanks to the following former Board members for the fine service that they gave to MAHSLIN: Alison Clapp (Membership Chair), Denise Corless (Past President), and Carole Foxman (Nominating Committee Chair). Without the voluntary efforts of its members, MAHSLIN could not function. Please consider joining a committee or becoming a Board member in the future.
The Executive Board will be meeting at Newton-Wellesley Hospital on the following dates [meetings are open to all MAHSLIN members]:
September 26, 1996 (9:30 a.m.)
December 12, 1996 (9:30 a.m.)
February 6, 1997 (9:30 a.m.)
April 3, 1997 (9:30 a.m.)
NEW EDITION OF MAHSLIN UNION LIST AVAILABLE
The 1996 edition of the MAHSLIN Union List of Serials is now available for purchase. The price for MAHSLIN members is $20 for the first copy, $40 for each additional copy. Non-members' price is $40 per copy. Orders may be placed with:
Ann Tomes
Health Science Library
Beverly Hospital
85 Herrick St.
Beverly, MA 01915
Tel: 508-922-3000 x2920; E-mail: R8_ANNBVH@NELINET.ORG
NEWS FROM MEMBERS
New Library Facility at Brigham & Women's Hospital
Judith Sacknoff, Medical Librarian at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston, is pleased to announce the February 1996 opening of a new 2,324 square foot Medical Library. Its unique features include seven work stations with computers and printers, a small conference room, custom-built study carrels, a lighted art gallery wall, and a photocopy room. The library, which is primarily devoted to the House Staff, is conveniently located near the new House Staff Center on the fourth floor of the Tower Building. Please call her at 617-732-5684 to arrange a visit to the new facility.
The Knowledge Laboratory at the Countway Library of Medicine
The Countway Library of Medicine at Harvard Medical School has received an award of $451,000 to create a "Knowledge Laboratory". The Knowledge Laboratory is intended to be a facility within the Countway Library which brings together the latest computer technology, the resources with which to access, retrieve, and manipulate electronic information and the expert assistance necessary to create new understnding and knowledge in the biosciences. An early focus of the Laboratory will be to provide new tools to locate, retrieve and synthesize information from such sources as 3-D molecular structures, protein sequences and numeric data sets. The Information Systems grant was awarded by the National Library of Medicine and helps supply equipment and personnel support.
The idea for the Knowledge Laboratory grows out of the recognition of challenges facing biomedical scientists and medical practitioners in learning about and effectively using the rapidly proliferating resources of our electronic age. Libraries have always served as a bridge between old knowledge, new knowledge, and newly emerging ideas. "Today we are on the cusp of defining the library for the next thirty years," says Judith Messerle, Director of the Countway Library. "Already we are seeing, with the example of the Internet, a major revolution unfolding in the access to and distribution of information in electronic form. The Knowledge Laboratory initiative at the Counway Library will catalyze efforts on the Harvard Longwood campus to integrate the newly emerging technologies, software, and rich educational content in the biosciences with a dynamic learning environment."
The Knowledge Laboratory will promote both individual and group learning and exploration. Major components of the Laboratory design include two electronic classrooms: one equipped with Power PC's to facilitate educational events on both PC and Mac platforms, and one equipped with Silicon Graphics workstations. The latter facility is unique in that it will permit ready access to high-end technology and powerful visual manipulation programs by Harvard medical students, postdoctoral students, and research fellows. Such computer resources now are limited in number and are confined to use within a particular laboratory's project. In the Knowledge Laboratory, faculty, students, and library professionals can come together to share knowledge and develop skills necessary for furthering the creation of new knowledge.
For further information about the Knowedge Laboratory, contact:
Susan E. Whitehead, Assistant Director of Knowledge & Consultation Services
Countway Library of Medicine
10 Shattuck Street
Boston, MA 02115
Tel: (617)432-2639; Fax: (617)432-0693; Internet: whitehea@warren.med.harvard.edu
MEMBERS' PUBLICATIONS
Martha Stone has contributed a biographical sketch of the French midwife, Marie Boivin, in the newly-released Notable Women in the Life Sciences: A Biographical Dictionary, edited by B.F. and B.S. Shearer, Greenwood Press, 1996 (ISBN: 0313293023).
JOURNAL & INTERNET NOTES
Information Outlook will be the new official publication of the Speical Libraries Association, replacing the publications, Special Libraries and SpecialList.
Information professionals interested in receiving the weekly print publication, Information Week should enter a subscription through their hompage at http://techweb.cmp.com/iw. The journal provides timely information on the ever-changing technology scene.
"Look to Librarians" appeared in the August, 1996 issue of Internet World [vol.7(8):28,30] with the subtitle "Librarians harbor expertise in many areas, and many of them are putting their skills to use on the Internet by creating specialized resources." The article gives a short discussion on the special skills of librarians, then lists some useful librarian-produced home pages.The NN/LM New England Region newsletter, New England Sounding Line, May-June, Vol. 6, Nov. 1, is now available at the website address http://www.nnlm.nlm.nih.gov:80/ner/nesl/. Copies will still be mailed to member libraries.
As of July 6, the NLM MEDLARS/DOCLINE Internet IP address was changed from 130.14.10.200 (aka MEDLARS) to 130.14.70.100. For users who specify MEDLARS instead of the IP address, there is no change.
A useful tool for keeping up with what's new on the Internet is the Scout Report, a weekly Internet publication of the Net Scout Services of the Computer Science Department at the University of Wisconsin, a project of the InterNIC. Subscription information and access to previous issues appear at the web page address http://rs.internic.net/scout/report; those with e-mail only can subscribe by sending the message subscribe scout-report firstname lastname to: listserv@lists.internic.net.
As featured in talks and exhibits at the annual meetings of the Medical Library Association and the Special Libraries Association, the general trend in journal delivery will be an increased move to parallel access via the Internet, with some journals looking at Internet-only access. Several speakers expressed concerns about maintaining perpetual locators and URL's, who would maintain archives, and how data archives would be organized for translation into future new formats. Few publishers seemed very sure about new pricing formulae, so expect the situation to be in flux for some time.
SPECIAL LIBRARIES ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEETING IN BOSTON
From June 6 to June 13, Boston hosted the largest annual meeting of the Special Libraries Association ever--7,368 registered attendees and 504 vendors. Many MAHSLIN members were in attendance; several noted the more low-key mood of the conference in contrast to that of the Medical Library Association. Although SLA is composed of a very diverse membership with fragmented interest sections, the general concerns of librarianship are the same.
Of special interest to Massachusetts librarians, the Biological Sciences Division named Irene Christopher, formerly Director of the Alumni Medical Library of Boston University School of Medicine, a Landmark Member for her 45 years of membership in the Biological Sciences Division.
Through a variety of parliamentary maneuvers, it was decided to table the motion to form a Medical Library Division of SLA. The Biological Sciences Division will be forming a Medical Section (within the BSD) instead. It was not clear to those new to SLA exactly how a "section" will function.
IN REMEMBRANCE: MARY ANNE TONER
By Michelle Volesko, Director of Library and Corporate Information Services, New Jersey Hospital Association [reprinted with kind permission of author, originally published in HSLANJ Newsletter, No.39, Spring 1996, p.6,10]
Mary Anne Toner, medical librarian, passed away on 7 May 1996, after a courageous war against breast cancer. She was Library Director, Helene Fuld Medical Center, Trenton, New Jersey, since 1986. Mary Anne approached life, her work and professional activities with a serene calm and sincere manner, suffused with a non-stop smile and a sparkling wit and optimism for every endeavor. Likewise, she faced cancer with undeniable courage and grace.
It is with her spirit that Mary Anne's friends and colleagues of the Health Sciences Library Association of New Jersey (HSLANJ) write this tribute and farewell. Mary Anne served as our President and Vice President-Elect from 1994 through 1996. Throughout her terms and during her illness, Mary Anne served the membership and the Association, as well as the health care field, with all of her energy, skills and enthusiasm.
She served us fully, to the very end, even attending the HSLANJ Annual Meeting, barely four weeks before she passed away.
Mary Anne's zest for all life had to offer was known to many of her friends and colleagues. She loved Monet, and had one of his paintings in her office. Her fondness for travel and England is well known, and a part of her is surely with Big Ben, the Beefeaters and London itself. Bed and Breakfasts were her favorites. In my travels with Mary Anne, back and forth to the Regional Library Cooperative meetings, her infamous smile is what I remember. No matter how cantankerous the meetings, political issues, how boring the day or task, or how harried the meeting schedule, Mary Anne's indomitable spirit always saw us through.
She had a way of seeing through all of the posturing and details and personalities to the heart of the matter. And in her quiet way, she spoke to those involved, and made everyone feel better. She always remembered, that when all the meetings and organizational work and issues were taken away, it was the person, the individual, that was left. It was to this person that she spoke. I am sure that was what made her such an effective and well-loved leader.
Her husband, Bill, writes, "An active member of the Medical Library Association and NJ and regional library associations, Mary Anne was committed to fostering excellence in medical library services and cooperation among professional colleagues. Mary Anne was a voracious reader of English and American literature, as fond of contemporary writers as of the classics. She was a suppporter of women in the arts and women's rights organizations, such as the National Oraganization for Women. Born in Crawfordsville, Indiana, Mary Anne was a graduate of Crawfordsville High School and Lake Forest College (IL) and received her MLS in 1970 from Rutgers State University School of Library Service (NJ). She was librarian at Thayer Public Library (Braintree, MA) and King's College (Wilkes-Barre, PA) before serving as medical librarian at Worcester (MA) City Hospital, 1976-81, and Mercy Hospital (Portland, ME), 1981-86."
In addition, she held numerous positions for many organizations. She was Co-Chair of the Consumer Health Information Committee for Region C, and others such as the NY/NJ Chapter of the Medical library Association, Princeton/Trenton Chapter Speical Libraries Association, North Atlantic Health Science Libraries, Central Massachusetts Consortium of Health-Related Libraries, New England Regional Medical Library Advisory Council, appointee of NJ State Library, LCSA Advisory Committee, Library Roadmap Planning Conference, and the NJ State Library Public Relations Task Force. This list reflects her dedication and involvement. And this is just a partial list!
It is with extreme sadness the HSLANJ says farewell to Mary Anne, of Yardley, PA. Mary Anne was 52, a medical librarian since 1976, and a librarian since 1970. Mary Anne is survived by William H. Toner, her husband of almost 28 years, W. Nathan Pickett, her father, and William B. Pickett, her brother, both of Terre Haute, Indiana; tow sisters-in-law, three nephews, and a niece. For any contributions in Mary Anne's memory, her husband and family suggest the Chandler Hall Hospice, Newtown, PA, or the Breast Cancer Research Section of the American Cancer Society.ADDRESS CHANGE
Kate Kelly has a new address: Treadwell Library Massachusetts General Hospital 32 Fruit Street Boston, MA 02114 Tel: 617-724-2775; E-mail: kelly@medex.mgh.harvard.edu
CALENDAR OF UPCOMING REGIONAL MEETINGS
QuickDoc Training Seminar (Introduction & Advanced)
Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA
September 9, 1996
Contact: Maria Roman, Health Sciences Library, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA
Tel: (413)784-8957
39th Annual NAHSL Conference [North Atlantic Health Science Libraries]
Hyatt Regency Hotel, Greenwich, CT
October 6-8, 1996
"Current Realities - Future Directions: The Business of Health Sciences Libraries"
Contact: Kenny Marone, Yale University, New Haven, CT
Tel: (203) 785-4358
New England Library Association, Annual Conference
Center of New Hampshire, Manchester, NH
October 6-8, 1996
Contact: Mary Ann Rupert
Tel: (508) 685-5966; Fax: (508) 685-4422; E-mail: marupert@aol.com
MAHSLIN Annual Meeting
Sheraton Tara Lexington Inn, Rts. 2A & 128, Lexington, MA
April 29, 1997
Contact: Celeste Kozlowski, Carr Health Sciences Library, Somerville Hospital, Somerville, MA
Tel: (617) 666-4400x301; Fax: (617) 625-0628; E-mail: r8_celeste@nelinet.org
EDITORS' NOTE:
The editors encourage your input of news and comment to future issues of MAHSLIN Network News. If you would like these considered for publication, please contact:
· Anita B. Loscalzo Tel: (508) 785-1407 Fax: (508) 785-1429 E-mail: aloscalz@bu.edu or · Joseph Harzbecker Tel: (617) 638-6706 Fax: (617) 638-4233 E-mail: harzbeck@bu.edu