the Chronicle
Volume 27, No. 1, Winter 2009
In this issue…

PDF of entire issue

From the Chair
From the Editor
MLA ‘09: Call for Posters
Transformational Change in Health Sciences Libraries
Are You Interested in Serving as our Chapter’s Next Membership Chair?
Chapter Awards
Annual Business Meeting and Reception
Member & Library News
An Introduction to HCUP
Meet your Fellow Chapter Member: Joanne Muellenbach
Free PubMed Training In April
MAR Strategic Program Plan
For What It’s Worth: The Hidden Costs of Scholarly Communication
MAR Mid-Contract Site Visit
CE Double Header
History of the Research Library at the Abramson Center for Jewish Life
Recording Available for Spotlight! on PubMed Updates
TechnoHumanist Corner
Development Report
Calendar
the Chronicle Editor and Staff

Mix the bitter with the sweet! Wednesday, April 15th is both Tax Day and the Chapter Annual Meeting. If your glass is half full and you’re getting a refund, come celebrate with us. If your glass seems half empty when you consider what you actually paid in taxes, come commiserate. Either way, you can raise a full glass when we gather at the College of Physicians.

The Annual Meeting is your opportunity to salute our new Chairperson-elect and recognize the award winners’ contributions to the Chapter, as well as our members’ achievements. It will be fun. It will be interesting too, as Communications Chair Rachel Resnick was successful in lining up Josh Goldstein, health and science reporter at the Philadelphia Inquirer, as our speaker. His topic: how broader access and use of the Internet has changed the use of health information. I’ll bet he has some interesting insights into how Internet use has changed the newspaper business too

We are a small chapter. Our size has its benefits and drawbacks. A few of the benefits include exceptional collegiality and convenient meeting sites. Drawbacks include having fewer members to participate and support programs. Should we maintain our boutique size? Should we consider merging with a like-minded organization? Your opinions matter, so come and express them. I hope to see you on April 15th

Etheldra Templeton
Chair, 2008-2009

If you read this issue, you too might start to feel like the rabbit in Alice In Wonderland, as there are several events, courses, and symposia taking place over the next few months. I hope you will be able to take advantage of the many opportunities to update your skills, get acquainted with your fellow chapter members, and learn more about topics relevant to your work. Besides our Annual Meeting, there are PubMed courses, a scholarly communication symposium, and a conference on changes in health sciences libraries. There are also deadlines—for registrations, for nominations-related documents, for abstracts. Don’t just check out the calendar—check out the articles as well. And don’t be late

You might notice something different about this issue: namely, that there is no PDF version. We are experimenting with alternate methods of delivering the Chronicle, as there were no takers for the position of formatter when I asked earlier this year. However, the content is just as good as ever. This issue offers many wonderful items. Among them: you will get to meet a new chapter member, get an update from the Middle Atlantic Region about their activities, and learn about identity authentication methods. Along with the good also comes the sad, however. A library near and dear to my heart has closed. In keeping with the mission of this newsletter, to be a chronicle of its members’ and member libraries’ activities, I present later in this issue a timeline of the history of the research library at the Abramson Center for Jewish Life. While it was lovely talking to the previous librarians and staff in preparation for this article, it was also bittersweet to realize that this was the end of an era.

Rachel R. Resnick
Communications Committee Chair, 2009-2011

*Fain, S., Hilliard, B. (1951). “I’m Late,” In Walt Disney Pictures’ Alice In Wonderland.

The next deadline for the Chronicle is July 1.

Priority will be given to original submissions. Previously submitted abstracts should only be resubmitted if they include new information or results. As with previous poster submissions, authors are encouraged to submit a structured abstract as described at <http://www.research.mlanet.org/structured_abstract.html>. Posters will be available for viewing during MLA ‘09. Posters and related handouts will be posted to MLANET prior to the meeting.

Twenty-five posters will be selected. Posters will be presented during the regularly scheduled poster sessions. The primary author will be notified of acceptance by email sent the week of March 23, 2008. The lead or presenting author must be identified at the time of submission and is expected to pay for that day’s registration. Presenters will be required to staff their posters at one of the following assigned times:

• Sunday, May 17, 2009 from 2:30pm-3:30pm
• Monday, May 18, 2009 from 1:30pm-2:30pm
• Tuesday May 19, 2009 from 10:00am-11:00am

See the original Call for Participation <http://www.mlanet.org/am/am2009/pdf/mla09_call.pdf> for additional information about poster boards and other information about the exhibition space. For more information about posters, see the frequently asked questions on the MLA ‘09 website or contact 2009 NPC members Julia Kochi (julia.kochi@library.ucsf.edu) or Lisa Oberg (lisanne@u.washington.edu).

submitted by Anne K. Seymour
Chapter Council Representative, 2008-2011

Julie Poletta, architect at Radelet McCarthy Incorporated, will speak about re-purposing library space for alternative uses.  Two panel discussions will address models and best practices in libraries’ reduction of print collections, models and best practices in libraries’ reduction of space and/or re-purposing of existing space, emerging roles and identities of librarians in the changing physical environment, and best practices in adjusting traditional library roles and services. A breakout session will follow each panel discussion.

For more information and to register:

http://www.hmc.psu.edu/library/conferences/SpacePlanning.htm.

Registration deadline is March 18, 2009. Spots are limited, so register early.