Welcome to the Go Local Nebraska Project Blog

Go Local Nebraska Comes to a Close

2010-02-23T12:35:00.002-06:00

It is a sad post to share that Go Local Nebraska will be coming to a close. The National Library of Medicine has lost its funding to continue to maintain the necessary software. They said it best in their recent email sent out on February 18.

We thank all of you who attended today’s teleconference, and want to share this with those of you not on the call. As Sheldon Kotzin, Associate Director for Library Operations, emphasized, we are grateful for all the work you and your colleagues have contributed to making Go Local a quality product. Whether you were an early Go Local pioneer or have just begun your work, we know you bring high quality standards to your Go Local contributions. As we reviewed in the teleconference, however, today there are many comparable resources to an internet health services directory such as Go Local and NLM has decided to end its support for the MedlinePlus Go Local program.

Internet search engines that people use daily, such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing, bring health services listings to users. These sites list provider-level directory information and can collect user reviews that Go Local can’t. Today’s health insurance sites give insured users local practice details, such as hours, languages, parking and quality ratings based on provider or facility performance measures that would require too much labor-intensive manual collection for Go Local to provide, but that our Go Local users have said they want in a health services site. Lastly, those who do visit Go Local choose not to return, share with a friend, or bookmark Go Local as a resource. Resources are tight throughout our profession and as the internet has moved forward, it no longer makes sense to use your scarce resources to duplicate the work of machine-based indexing used by the search engines.

As we said in the teleconference, we will be working with each of you as you make decisions as to the direction your project will take, whether to cease the project, move your data to a new platform, or continue other health services information partnerships you have found effective. NLM will continue to support the Go Local input system and web sites for the time necessary for this transition.

We have certainly enjoyed working with you, recognize and commend your commitment to your communities, and remain committed to providing you with the services and information you need during this transition.

Discussions will take place in the near future on what we can do with all the data that currently makes up Go Local Nebraska. NLM has shared that the data will be there for us to capture and use in any manner we choose.

Thank you goes out to those members who worked hard on this project and to thank the members of our Advisory Committee who helped with the initial launch of Go Local Nebraska program.

2010 Annual Assessment

2010-02-23T12:31:00.002-06:00

A special thank you goes out to Kari Stavneak for her help in pulling together the annual Go Local Nebraska 2010 annual assessment. The annual report along with the recent quarterly report are all posted on the Go Local Libguide linked from http://unmc.libguides.com/golocal Simply click on the "Reports" tab to view all the reports.

2009 Wrap-Up

2009-12-31T20:41:00.002-06:00

Go Local Nebraska has had a good year. The team at McGoogan Library was kept busy updating records and adding new health facilities and organizations to the database. The display went out to Nebraska sites several times. And the calendar year rounded off nicely at the Nebraska Library Association annual meeting with personal visits at our booth with Nebraska public and school librarians .
We look forward to serving you and your community with up to date contact information on self-help groups, health organizations and facilities in your area and across the state of Nebraska, If you wish to partner with us on updating your community's information, please email golocal@unmc.edu, and we will show you how to proceed.
Happy New Year! from the Go Local Nebraska/CHIRS team.

Go Local Nebraska presented at Creighton Student Health Fair

2009-11-03T08:11:00.002-06:00

Thanks to the outreach efforts of Jeanne Burke, Education Coordinator at the Creighton University Health Sciences Library, Creighton University students learned about Go Local Nebraska and how the resource works with MedlinePlus.gov. On October 28th, Ms. Burke presented the information resources to 132 individuals. "Most individuals were extremely impressed with “Go Local”!", reported Ms. Burke.

The Go Local Nebraska team thanks Jeanne Burke for her stellar outreach efforts. If your library has recently conducted outreach that has included presenting information on Go Local Nebraska or CHIRS, please let us know. We would like to recognize your hard work here, and make sure it is included in the quarterly project reports that are submitted to the National Library of Medicine.

Go Local Nebraska will be at the Nebraska Library Association meeting

2009-10-28T11:36:00.002-06:00

Please stop by the NNLM-MCR booth at the Nebraska Library Association meeting in La Vista tomorrow afternoon, and learn more about the Go Local Nebraska initiative. Here is a link to the wonderful program of events they have planned for Nebraska librarians: http://www.nebraskalibraries.org/conference/2009/program.html . See you there!

Join us at the Making Healthy Happen fair in Omaha

2009-10-09T12:55:00.002-06:00

Please drop by and take a look at the health fair tomorrow (October 10, 2009), if you find yourself out by the Village Pointe Medical Center at 175th and Burke Street between 10am and 2pm. McGoogan Library will be there, exhibiting CHIRS and Go Local Nebraska services. Here is more information about the free fair (which includes prizes!):
http://www.unmcphysicians.com/ttg-uma/public/v2/images/users/10/Making%20Healthy%20Happen.pdf

Friends of the McGoogan Library event

2009-09-16T14:01:00.003-06:00

Go Local Nebraska, as a part of the Consumer Health Information Resource Service, will be presented to the Friends of the McGoogan Library Annual Meeting this evening. Information about the event will be posted later tonight.

CHIRS/Go Local Display is available for your next event

2009-08-03T10:24:00.002-06:00

The CHIRS/Go Local Nebraska Display is back and ready for your next event. You can reserve a display by going to this page: http://app1.unmc.edu/forms/library/displayform.cfm .

The most recent library that had the display was the Plattsmouth Public Library in July. They used it in a community health fair to exhibit their library's consumer health information services. If you have an event coming up in your community - a blood drive, a volunteer fire fundraiser, parent's night at school - register the date at the link above, and we will mail out the display via FedEx. We always include return postage, so your library will not incure ANY charges for having the display.

Recent Go Local Nebraska exhibits

2009-06-17T10:53:00.003-06:00

The Go Local Nebraska promotional exhibit has been traveling this spring. In addition to its appearance at the Cattlemen's Ball in Doniphan, NE on June 6, it was viewed in Wahoo at the community health fair on June 6, and at the Eastern Library System Annual Meeting at the University of Nebraska-Omaha campus on June 12.
If you have an opportunity to exhibit the information resources available through Go Local Nebraska (http://medlineplus.gov/nebraska), you can request a free traveling display by filling out the form at this page:
http://app1.unmc.edu/forms/library/displayform.cfm

See you at the Cattlemen's Ball!

2009-06-02T08:31:00.002-06:00

Summer always brings many exhibit opportunities for the Go Local Nebraska outreach team, and this year is no exception. The Cattlemen's Ball is one that takes place near Doniphan, Nebraska this weekend - June 5th & 6th. The team attended last year's event, and found it an excellent opportunity to get the word out about Go Local Nebraska and the valuable information it contains. Stop by the Health Screening tent if you are attending the Ball. More information on the event is at the Give Cancer the Boot site: http://cattlemensball.com/

Go Local Nebraska display and promotion materials

2009-04-27T09:25:00.002-06:00

The Go Local Nebraska/CHIRS display has been viewed in the following community libraries around the state this month: Crete, Fairbury, Omaha Public (Millard branch), and Hastings. Promotional materials (brochures, baseball cards, and other items) have been sent out to a site in Albion.
If you would like to receive either the tri-fold display, or promotional materials, all at no charge to your organization, please make your request at this page:
http://app1.unmc.edu/forms/library/chirs_order.cfm

or call toll-free 1-866-800-5209. Reserve the display as early as possible - we are already receiving requests for Fall 2009.

Go Local Nebraska and CHIRS included in conference handouts

2009-04-22T12:45:00.002-06:00

The Olson Center for Women's Health at UNMC is hosting "Women's Watch: Timely information on Depression, Anxiety, Weight, & Pain Management" tomorrow night. They are expecting over 200 women to attend, and will be packing information bags for them to take away. Tucked into each bag will be a CHIRS/Go Local Nebraska brochure, so the attendees will know where they can call for expert health information resources. An additional 50 brochures were dropped off for the Olson Center's new Resource Room.
If you know of a resource center in your community, or an upcoming health event, please email golocal@unmc.edu or go to http://app1.unmc.edu/forms/library/chirs_order.cfm and request brochures. If there is space at the event, you can request a free display to exhibit the consumer health resources.

Go Local Nebraska and CHIRS - Your local information resources for health-related issues

2009-03-30T09:08:00.002-06:00

Thanks to the support and technical leadership of the Nebraska Library Commission, a recorded presentation on Go Local Nebraska and CHIRS is up on NCompass Live:
http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/scripts/training/eventshow.asp?ProgID=8982

The presentation, given March 18, 2009, is designed to inform libraries in Nebraska about these two valuable information resources, and how they can be used to support library patrons and communities. A key piece of information given in the presentation applies to any state or region with a Go Local directory service: local libraries need to check their community's health services listings, and send updates/additions to their Go Local for inclusion. By doing so, each Go Local directory will improve and grow richer with up-to-date local information.

If you are a Nebraska library and would like to update your community's health listings, please contact golocal@unmc.edu and let us know you would like to help.

Nebraska Legislative Day - February 10

2009-02-11T12:34:00.002-06:00

Teri Hartman made the rounds visiting 13 of the 15 offices of the new senators during Legislative Day. She also visited with the specialists in the Legislative Research Office. The staff members seemed eager to hear about the McGoogan Library of Medicine services to professionals and consumers in the state, and all promised to share the promotional materials with their senator including a Go Local Nebraska magnet, McGoogan baseball card, CHIRS/GoLocal Nebraska brochure, and the 2009 McGoogan Library of Medicine fact sheet. Email is the preferred method of corresponding with the senators and their office staff. It was a productive morning with Teri making some excellent contacts.

CHIRS and Go Local Nebraska promoted at the Baright Public Library

2009-01-22T11:33:00.004-06:00

Thanks to an invitation from the head of the Baright Public Library in Ralston, NE, CHIRS and Go Local Nebraska were promoted during yesterday's Lunch and Learn. 9 citizens attended the event, which is held monthly at the library. The library's wireless network stretched into the meeting area, so live demonstrations of Go Local Nebraska could be conducted. It was a pleasure to promote these great services in such a relaxed atmosphere, while reinforcing the consumer health information network collaboration between the local public library and McGoogan Library of Medicine. In addition to this presentation, the Baright Public Library has had the loan of one of the displays, placing it out in their high-traffic area in the library. If your library would like to request a display to use to promote Go Local Nebraska, please fill out this web form: http://app1.unmc.edu/forms/library/displayform.cfm . It will be delivered to you with return postage paid.

The Baright Public Library has made their Lunch and Learn series a successful outreach tool. They offer a free drink (coffee, tea, water) and dessert (brownies & carrot cake), and encourage attendees to bring their lunch to eat during the presentation. They have everyone drop their name in a basket, and at the end the speaker draws out a winner, who gets a prize bag of goodies (including library promotional items). Signs are up at the entrance to the meeting room, announcing the next Lunch and Learn's date and topic. Citizens attend, learn something new, and reacquaint themselves with their local library, making everyone involved a winner.

The Go Local Nebraska team wishes you a bright holiday season!

2008-12-23T07:39:00.002-06:00

Happy holidays! As 2008 winds down, the team is busy updating the database with the change of addresses of health care professionals and facilities. We want to thank you for your support throughout the past year, and look forward to serving your information needs in 2009 on Nebraska health care professionals, facilities, and organizations. Please continue to let us know when the database lacks information, as well as when we are "doing it right".

New records added to Go Local Nebraska

2008-12-15T08:37:00.002-06:00

Over 190 chiropractors have been added to the database, and letters requesting information updates have been sent out to the same group of names. We have received positive feedback from the chiropractors, many of whom have linked to the Go Local Nebraska database on their own websites.
If you know of another group of Nebraska healthcare professionals that should be listed or updated in Go Local Nebraska [ http://medlineplus.gov/nebraska ], just let us know by emailing golocal@unmc.edu .

Interested in contacting Go Local projects in other states?

2008-10-22T08:31:00.002-06:00

The Go Local Nebraska blog gets visitors from many other areas in the nation. If you are one - welcome! If you are a health care consumer, professional, student, or librarian, you have a lot to offer the Go Local initiative in the United States, and should get in touch with Go Local contacts in your own state or region to see what information resources are available, and find out the best way you can assist the team.

Here is the link to the page that lists all of the Go Local projects, along with contact information:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/golocal/contacts.html

Go Local Nebraska and CHIRS in La Vista

2008-10-20T09:27:00.003-06:00

The Go Local Nebraska and CHIRS booth was well attended at the La Vista Annual Health Fair on October 17, 2008. 55 people stopped by the booth and received information on how to access health care organizations, support groups and professionals through Go Local Nebraska, and how to use the CHIRS health information service offered free to all Nebraskans. MedlinePlus information in English and Spanish was also distributed.

The health fair attendees caught a double dose of information - the La Vista Public Library had a booth at the fair, and also presented information on CHIRS and Go Local Nebraska!

If you know of a health fair in your Nebraska community, please request a free booth display by emailing golocal@unmc.edu, or calling 1-866-800-5209.

Go Local Nebraska and CHIRS will be at the 2008 Nebraska Library Association conference

2008-10-14T07:39:00.003-06:00

The theme for this year's Nebraska Library Association/Nebraska Educational Media Association Conference is: "Nebraska Libraries: Vision for the Information Age". Go Local Nebraska and the Consumer Health Information Resource Service (CHIRS) fit that theme well, particularly when partnered with the Nebraska public libraries.
Brochures, baseball cards, and even magnets will be available to the conference attendees, thanks to Marty Magee, Nebraska/Education Liaison for the National Network of Libraries of Medicine-MidContinental Region.
If you know of any conferences where Go Local Nebraska and CHIRS promotion materials would be useful, please let us know by emailing your request to golocal@unmc.edu .

Promoting Go Local Nebraska to Nebraska hospitals

2008-09-18T14:43:00.004-06:00

Go Local Nebraska, CHIRS, and MedlinePlus were promoted to an exhibit of health care organization recruiters at UNMC on September 18th. The event was coordinated by MINK Midwest MD http://www.mink-midwest.org/index.php . Teri Hartman, member of the Go Local Nebraska committee, gave Go Local Nebraska and CHIRS information to the following Nebraska organizations: Alegent (Omaha Metro), Methodist (Omaha Metro), Gordon Memorial Health Services (Gordon, NE), Beatrice Community Hospital and Health Center (Beatrice, NE), Sentinel Health Care (Kearney, NE), and North Platte. Hartman encouraged all recipients to send their feedback on how their Go Local Nebraska listing appeared in the database. Marty Magee, NN/LM-MCR Education/Nebraska Liaison, gave MedlinePlus and other National Library of Medicine information resource information to exhibitors from all four states - Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas. It was wonderful to reach so many communities and not even leave campus!

If there are events such as this taking place in your community, please consider attending and take CHIRS/Go Local Nebraska/MedlinePlus/your library brochures, baseball cards, and magnets. Let both the exhibitors and the attendees know the great health information services that exist solely to fill their information needs. Let us know if you need additional promotional materials by filling out the free form: http://app1.unmc.edu/forms/library/chirs_order.cfm .

CHIRS in the news

2008-09-17T10:16:00.002-06:00

CHIRS - Consumer Health Information Resource Service - includes Go Local Nebraska resources. The service was highlighted in The Gateway, the student paper of the University of Nebraska-Omaha campus. The article, written by Karen Collins, appeared in the September 5, 2008 issue: Tap Into Your Free Health Care Info.

Please let us know if you have the chance to promote CHIRS and Go Local Nebraska through newsletters, newspapers, or other media outlets. We are glad to supply any text you may need to promote these services.

Latest Go Local Nebraska press release

2008-08-19T13:55:00.001-06:00

The McGoogan Library of Medicine has written a new news release that is available at the University of Nebraska Medical Center archives: http://app1.unmc.edu/publicaffairs/newsarchive/view_art.cfm?article_id=1742.

You can use this latest press release to promote CHIRS and Go Local Nebraska in your community newspaper, radio station, neighborhood and library newsletters. Please let us know if you promote Go Local Nebraska and CHIRS - we want to recognize all efforts that work toward our common goal of improving the health of fellow Nebraskans.

Announcing The Nebraska Notebook for Consumer Health

2008-08-11T09:41:00.003-06:00

What is it? - A free online presentation covering:
MedlinePlus.gov - Will direct you to information to help answer health questions. It includes information about drugs, a medical encyclopedia, interactive tutorials, and more .
Go Local Nebraska – A service for finding local resources for health-related issues in your Nebraska county or city.
Consumer Health Information Resource Service (CHIRS) – Provides a tailored package of information on your health condition at your request.
Evaluation of Web Sites – What you should know about web sites.

Who can use it? – Anyone!
Does not require Power Point or other software to access
Access it at: http://www.tinyurl.com/nebraskanotebook. (No user name or password needed)
Use it to study yourself or to give a presentation!
We are eager to hear your feedback - please answer four short questions about this product at: http://www.tinyurl.com/nenotebook.

The Nebraska Notebook for Consumer Health is a joint project of the National Network/Libraries of Medicine MidContinental Region and the University of Nebraska Medical Center , McGoogan Library of Medicine, with assistance from Michael Straatman, MLS student, University of Missouri.

Congratulations to Dr. David Palm, Go Local Nebraska Advisory Committee member

2008-06-24T07:33:00.003-06:00

Dr. David Palm received the Chancellor Robert D. Sparks, M.D. Award in Public Health and Preventive Medicine from UNMC's College of Public Health on May 1, 2008.

From the University of Nebraska Medical Center Public Affairs story: "Dr. Palm has more than 30 years of experience in working on various health planning and policy issues for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services including serving as administrator of the Office of Community Health Development in the Division of Public Health since 2000. " A link to the entire news story: http://app1.unmc.edu/PublicAffairs/TodaySite/sitefiles/today_full.cfm?match=4611

Congratulations, Dr. Palm, and we are so glad you serve on the Go Local Nebraska Advisory Committee!

Recent exhibits for Go Local Nebraska

2008-06-23T07:36:00.008-06:00

The Go Local Nebraska team has been fairly busy with exhibiting services to librarians, health professionals, and consumers. Marie Reidelbach and Teri Hartman attended the Republican Valley/Meridian Library Systems' Joint Annual Meeting in Hastings, Nebraska on June 6. They presented information on Go Local Nebraska, the Consumer Health Information Resource Service [CHIRS], and other support offered by the McGoogan Library of Medicine to all public librarians in the state.

Marie and Teri also exhibited Go Local Nebraska and the CHIRS program at the 2008 Cattleman's Ball on June 7 near Albion, Nebraska. The Ball is a major fund raiser to support cancer research at the Eppley Cancer Center at UNMC. Meeting and talking about high quality health information sources such as Go Local Nebraska, CHIRS, and MedlinePlus with some of the 3000 attendees was exciting. This exhibit was held outdoors in a tent! Lucky for the team, the weather was beautiful that day.

CHIRS and Go Local Nebraska were discussed at the Nebraska Libraries Future Search event that was held in Schuyler, Nebraska on June 10 and 11. Nearly 100 Nebraska citizens, elected officials, librarians, and trustees agreed that having quick access to evaluated, reliable, local health information is and will continue to be important to Nebraskans.

Go Local Nebraska and CHIRS teamed up with the National Network of Libraries of Medicine to exhibit at the Washington Branch of the Omaha Public Library on June 18 in Omaha, Nebraska. The Omaha World Herald published a story about the event at this site: http://omaha.com/index.php?u_page=3940&u_sid=10362060 . Health information resources were presented to the adults in the crowd as they watched the kids and young people ride the rides. This was a great community event!

The Go Local Nebraska team also exhibited at the Eastern Library System Annual Meeting, held in Bellevue, Nebraska on June 20. Public, school, and special librarians attended the meeting, and stopped by the booth to catch up on the news about Go Local Nebraska and CHIRS. This was also a great opportunity to show the Go Local/CHIRS display that can be checked out by any library in Nebraska. Additionally, brochures were given to representatives of the Soul Desires and Confluence bookstores, so their customers would know about the health information services offered to them. You too can request promotion materials for your library or community facility in Nebraska by going to this webpage on the McGoogan Library site: http://app1.unmc.edu/forms/library/chirs_order.cfm , or by emailing golocal@unmc.edu .

Go Local Nebraska is not limited to Nebraska!

2008-05-13T13:48:00.005-06:00

The excellent information available through the Go Local Nebraska directory [http://medlineplus.gov/nebraska ] can be found by anyone in the world, not just Nebraska citizens. To help illustrate the fact, one of the committee members took a Go Local Nebraska bag with them on a recent trip to the Gulf, taking pictures of it in each of the states they passed through. If anyone in those states (such as: family members of Nebraska citizens; people considering a move to Nebraska and looking for health care support; or people looking for potential places of employment in Nebraska) had a need for information on Nebraska health care providers, organizations, or support groups, they could have found their answer using Go Local Nebraska.

Promoting Go Local Nebraska to tomorrow's health care providers

2008-05-05T11:47:00.004-06:00

Every two months, a group of about 20 third year medical students at the University of Nebraska Medical Center go on Primary Care rotation, usually in or around Nebraska. During their day-long orientation before heading out to their rotation sites, they learn about information resources available to them and the citizens that they will care for through the McGoogan Library of Medicine. Among the resources demonstrated: CHIRS and Go Local Nebraska.
If you know of health professional students in your area, please share with them about Go Local Nebraska. After all, one day we hope to have their practice indexed in it!

A testimonial showing how CHIRS/Go Local Nebraska make a difference

2008-04-17T07:39:00.004-06:00

[I wanted to share this testimonial with you, our CHIRS/Go Local Nebraska supporters. Please let us know if you hear of any other stories from the many people that we have served over the years. -th]

My father has a rare disease. I needed to find the singular specialist in Omaha for a second opinion and treatment consultation. But who? And how would I find this doctor? Could there even be someone in our area?
I emailed my request to Teresa Hartman at Go Local Nebraska, and within hours I had the name of a doctor with the subspecialty in neurology. Within a few days, we were sitting in his office. We are most grateful to the medical librarians at the McGoogan Library who know everything! You just have to ask.
Sandra Wendel

Highlighting members of our Advisory Committee

2008-04-08T05:13:00.003-06:00

The gentleman in the middle of the photo above with his insides out is Ira Combs, a Community Liaison Nurse and Project Coordinator for the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The photo shows Mr. Combs and the clowns at the Black Family Health & Wellness Association Health Fair, March 29th in Omaha. In addition to serving on the Go Local Nebraska Advisory Committee, Mr. Combs serves on other National Library of Medicine committees, and is featured in this year's Aetna African American Calendar (July) that can be downloaded from this site: http://www.aetna.com/diversity/aahcalendar/2008/index.html

Another of our Advisory Committee members has had some great career news this year. Jim Bothmer, Director of the Creighton University Health Sciences Library/Learning Resources Center and Assistant Professor in the Schools of Medicine and Pharmacy and Health Professions, has been appointed Assistant Vice President for Health Science and Director of the Health Sciences Library/Learning Resources Center at Creighton University. In this new role, he will be enhancing the academic mission of the Health Sciences Division.

More information about all of our talented Advisory Committee members can be found through this site: http://www.unmc.edu/library/golocal/

Teri Hartman exhibits for Go Local Nebraska

2008-04-02T14:25:00.003-06:00

Teri Hartman has been busy this past month attending several meetings and sharing information about CHIRS and Go Local. She attended the following:

March 24 - Washington County Health Fair - Blair, NE
March 29 - Black Family Wellness Association Health Fair - Omaha, NE
March 31 - Governor's Conference on Community Service - Omaha, NE

A new display was designed for the meetings and is ready to be mailed out to any Public Library or Service Group interested in sharing information about the CHIRS program or Go Local. Click on http://app1.unmc.edu/forms/library/displayform.cfm to request the display. All shipping costs are absorbed by the McGoogan Library.

Members of the Go Local team are also available to attend the meeting to share information about the consumer services we provide. Contact thartman@unmc.edu for more information.

Public Library Association

2008-04-02T14:17:00.003-06:00

The presentation titled MedlinePlus Goes Local: Linking Quality Health Information to Local Health Services through Partnerships had 73 attendees on Friday, March 28. Five presentors including representation from the National Library of Medicine discussed the development of MedlinePlus and the Go Local initiatives. Currently there are 23 states who have launched a Go Local project and 10 more planning to go live in the coming year. A copy of the full slide presentation will be posted on the blog.

Go Local Nebraska heads to Minnesota!

2008-03-04T14:33:00.002-06:00

The Go Local Nebraska project leader, Marie Reidelbach, will attend the upcoming Public Library Association Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota on March 29. She will present on the Go Local Nebraska project as a member of a panel:

MedlinePlus Goes Local - Linking Quality Health Information to Local Health Services Through Partnerships.

If you know of any public librarians attending the PLA conference, please encourage them to attend this 4pm presentation.

CHIRS/Go Local Nebraska in Nebraska Newspapers

2008-02-18T06:28:00.004-06:00

Both the Go Local Nebraska and the CHIRS programs have been featured recently in Nebraska newspapers:

Knowledge is Powerful Medicine - by Sandra Wendel
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?
u_page=3189&u_sid=10245534
The photo on the right, included in the print version of the story, shows Kari Stavneak (standing, left) and Rose Fredrick (seated) with Teri Hartman at the McGoogan reference desk. Kari and Rose are key members of the Go Local Nebraska workforce, and we thank them for all of the hard work they do in keeping the database populated and maintained.

Library News from the Baright Library in Ralston:
http://www.bellevueleader.com/site/tab7.cfm?newsid=19268153&BRD=2712&PAG=461&dept_id=557009&rfi=6 We thank the Baright Library for mentioning the CHIRS program, and encourage all Nebraska libraries to follow their example and promote this free, high quality service to their patrons.

Announcing a national Go Local customer satisfaction survey

2008-01-25T07:59:00.000-06:00

Starting today and throughout the next year, there will be a customer satisfaction survey popping up when customers go to the third consecutive Go Local page. This survey asks customer satisfaction questions about the Go Local site, as well as what state or district customers are accessing Go Local at the time. Since there isn't enough traffic on any of the 21 Go Local sites around the nation, this survey will be an aggregate of all sites, and the project leaders at the National Library of Medicine will share the results with all Go Local teams, including the group here at Go Local Nebraska.
Please fill out the survey if you see it, and encourage those at your facility - feedback of all kinds is very valuable to creating a good customer experience on a site such as Go Local Nebraska. Naturally, you can opt out of taking the survey. Either way, if users do or do not take the survey, the system knows to not ask a specific user to take the survey again for a month.

Fremont Public Library Completes Go Local Nebraska Community Health Services Update

2008-01-04T12:02:00.000-06:00

(L-R in photo: Teresa Hartman-associate professor, McGoogan Library, Marie Reidelbach-Associate Director, McGoogan Library; Ann E. Stephens, Director, Keene Memorial Library; Jennifer Wright, Library Assistant, Keene Memorial Library)

Marie Reidelbach, associate director of the UNMC McGoogan Library of Medicine presented the Keene Memorial Library with the first Go Local Nebraska Recognition Award.

The librarians and staff of the Keene Memorial Library in Fremont were recognized by staff from the McGoogan Library of Medicine for their work on completing a comprehensive listing of the Fremont community health services in the Go Local Nebraska database http://medlineplus.gov/Nebraska with a ceremony at 10 a.m. on Jan. 2 at the library at 1030 N Broad St, Fremont, Neb.

“Thanks to their work, Fremont and Dodge County area residents can access up-to-date health services information directly through Go Local Nebraska,” said Marie Reidelbach, Associate Director of the McGoogan Library of Medicine.

Jennifer Wright, a library assistant at the Keene Memorial Library, was the principal staff member involved with the 2007 project.

Nebraska public libraries in Blair, Oakland, Hooper, and Wahoo are currently reviewing and updating their community’s health services information.

Go Local Nebraska was launched in 2006 and contains health services directory information for the state of Nebraska. It was created by the McGoogan Library of Medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The directory is managed by a team of librarians and a citizen advisory group. In addition to funding through UNMC, It has been funded by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine and the Nebraska Library Commission.

University of Nebraska Omaha Library Links to Go Local

2007-12-17T09:40:00.000-06:00

We are always delighted to have other libraries link to Go Local Nebraska. It is a great way to get out the news about this health service directory. Please consider linking to Go Local if you have a website. The link is simply http://medlineplus.gov/nebraska

If you wish to provide more information about the program on your website feel free to share the following:

Go Local Nebraska links Medline Plus users to health service providers and organizations in the state of Nebraska.

Subject Coverage:
A broad range of health services in Nebraska are represented with emphasis on clinics, hospitals, health departments, public health services, nursing home facilities, mental health centers, libraries, emergency medical services, home health care services, and support groups. Many of these health service organizations and providers will lack websites. Therefore Go Local Nebraska will not restrict selection to only those sources having a web presence, but will provide addresses and contact information for sources meeting the Go Local Nebraska selection criteria.

Go Local Statistics Provided by NLM

2007-12-10T12:37:00.000-06:00

Have you been wondering how often the Go Local site is visited or the number of hits the site receives? The following summarizes how we have been doing this past year:

January 3553 hits and 538 visitors

February 11, 470 hits and 574 visitors

March 4299 hits and 573 visitors

April 5355 hits and 748 visitors

May 4033 hits and 573 visitors

June 6609 hits and 604 visitors

July 3677 hits and 619 visitors

August 4549 hits and 554 visitors

September 3386 hits and 436 visitors

October 4405 hits and 748 visitors

November 4203 hits and 703 visitors

Totals for January - November 2007 55539 hits and 6670 visitors

Letters Sent Out

2007-12-04T15:58:00.000-06:00

The GoLocal team has been busy mailing out letters including brochures and baseball cards to all the hospitals and clinics listed in the GoLocal Nebraska database. Would you believe that is over 2000 letters? Each letter includes the contents of the individual records currently posted and blank spaces for missing data such as email addresses or websites. Many of the sites have responded via email or phone calls with updated information. The mailing will not only allow us to update information, but also promote the project to those who may not be aware of the valuable resource "GoLocal Nebraska".

Promoting Go Local Nebraska to new UNMC Faculty

2007-10-01T07:58:00.000-06:00

On September 28, the Go Local Nebraska directory, along with other McGoogan Library of Medicine information resources, was promoted to 49 new faculty members of the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The Go Local exhibit was one of 15 exhibits during the all-day annual New Faculty Orientation. Faculty members appeared glad to learn that these resources existed for their use. One College of Nursing faculty member took extra baseball cards to share with students doing rounds in the community.

If you have an opportunity to promote Go Local Nebraska to new or existing employees, please request a free display by filling out the form on this site:
http://app1.unmc.edu/forms/library/displayform.cfm.

Update on recent Go Local Nebraska activities

2007-09-17T15:19:00.000-06:00

The Go Local Nebraska Initiative now has its own email address: golocal@unmc.edu. Please feel free to use it and distribute it to others interested in communicating directly with the Go Local Nebraska project committee.
Go Local and CHIRS were presented to the Grace/Mayer Insurance Agency on September 17, as part of their monthly Wellness programs. 15 insurance professionals learned about the services and resources available to them through Go Local Nebraska links to MedlinePlus.gov, and through the Consumer Health Information Resource Service at the McGoogan Library of Medicine. There were many favorable comments about the Go Local resource. We hope the employees at Grace/Mayer let us know how we can serve their consumer health information needs better.
The project leaders at Go Local Nebraska were thrilled and honored to learn that they had been asked to provide examples of the promotion materials for the next meeting of the National Library of Medicine Board of Regents, due to take place this week. The materials have been sent, and if we receive any comments, we will pass them along to you through this blog.

Covering the state of Nebraska while promoting Go Local

2007-09-11T08:38:00.000-06:00

The Go Local Nebraska team at the McGoogan Library of Medicine has covered the state while promoting the new Go Local directory. You can see where they have visited public libraries on this page: http://www.unmc.edu/apps/library/travelog/log.cfm .

Go Local exhibit September 8 at The Nebraska Medical Center

2007-09-08T10:16:00.001-06:00

Information about Go Local Nebraska was distributed to attendees at the annual Community Health Fair, hosted by The Nebraska Medical Center on September 8, 2007. The Health Fair drew over 280 participants that took advantage of the cholesterol and other screening tests, then visited the 9 information booths and free breakfast in the Storz Pavillion. Health fair participants and volunteers alike were impressed with the quality and quantity of information accessible through Go Local Nebraska. Comments received included, "This makes the entire health fair worthwhile", and "This is a wonderful resource! I will share it with my friends." Go Local Nebraska cards were also given to fellow booth representatives in the effort to get them to check out their own organization's entry in the directory, and give feedback to the Go Local team as to the correctness of their entry.
There are a few more health fairs scheduled this fall season for the Go Local Nebraska display. If you know of a health fair in your area, please contact the Go Local Nebraska team and request a display to be mailed to you at no charge. You can request a display by visiting this website: http://app1.unmc.edu/forms/library/displayform.cfm .

Summertime and Go Local Nebraska

2007-07-27T11:36:00.000-06:00

We hope you are having a great summer - the Go Local Nebraska crew at the McGoogan Library of Medicine sure have!
Work continues with entering and indexing new and established Go Local records, ensuring the correct and current information is available to all users.
The "Featured Site" at http://medlineplus.gov/nebraska will now be changed regularly, highlighting a different health information site. Currently, it takes readers to eHealth http://www.unmc.edu/ehealth/ , a portal site created by the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
The free Go Local display has continued to circulate through public libraries - if you have a health-themed or community event coming up, be sure to get on the reserved list here for a Go Local display: http://app1.unmc.edu/forms/library/displayform.cfm .
Enjoy your summer days, and remember that Go Local Nebraska will be there if and when Nebraskans need up-to-date information on access to health care.

Updating the support group information in Go Local Nebraska

2007-06-26T11:48:00.000-06:00

Thanks to the hard work by Kari Stavneak and Rose Fredrick, the 853 support group records held in Go Local Nebraska are getting a thorough updating. First, Kari compares the information held in the database record to what she can locate at the support group's web site. If more information is needed, or a website is not available, Rose or Kari call the support group contact person. Thanks to this painstaking attention to detail, Nebraskans will continue to have a direct connection to health-based support groups through the Go Local Nebraska resource.

June 13 visits with new Go Local Nebraska Selectors

2007-06-15T21:44:00.000-06:00

Marie and Teri visited new Go Local Selectors at 5 public libraries. The Selectors will be invaluable in locating local information to add to Go Local Nebraska, and correcting current information already listed in the Go Local database.

Blair - Met with Ruth Peterson, Director, and Laurel Lau. Ruth suggested adding a reviewed date to each description in Go Local, since we teach our users that it is important to know the age of the information they are viewing. The photo below is , left to right, Peterson and Lau at the main desk in the Blair library.

Fremont - Met with Jennifer Wright, Laura England, Karen Choy, and Ann Stephens, Director. Our main contact for the Selector duties will be Jennifer. Ann told us about their earlier efforts at community information with the Connect Fremont program that was managed by the library. We had lunch at the Thornhills, a wonderful place to eat if you are ever in Fremont. The photo below shows, left to right, Marie Reidelbach, Laura England, Jennifer Wright, Karen Choy, and Ann Stephens.

Oakland - Met with Rosa Schmidt, Director. A great community library, complete with its own cat. Rosa had CHIRS and Go Local promotion materials up in her library. The photo below, left to right, is Teri Hartman and Rosa Schmidt.

Hooper - Met Karla Shafer, Director. She was very enthusiastic about the Go Local program, and eager to promote the service through both the library and her second job as manager of the Senior Center. Karla also had one of the Go Local exhibits up in her library. The photo below is of Karla Shafer.

Wahoo - Met with Denise Lawver, Director. She will be updating her community information very soon, as they have just built a new building for their hospital in Wahoo. Denise is at the main library desk in the photo below.

Exhibited at the Eastern Library System Annual Meeting

2007-06-15T13:34:00.000-06:00

An exhibit promoting Go Local and CHIRS was set-up at the Eastern Library System Annual meeting held in Bellevue University on June 8. 50+ librarians representing public, school, academic, and special libraries attended the full day meeting. Brochures, baseball cards, and a CD were available at the booth for attendees. Marie Reidelbach spoke with several of the participants about the program with emphasis given to the Go Local project. Joy Winkler spoke on health literacy in the afternoon session. As part of her presentation she shared information about the CHIRS program and had brochures available with her handouts. It is always rewarding to introduce this service to a librarian and see how excited they are to hear about it.

Go Local linked from the Omaha World Herald

2007-06-15T13:16:00.000-06:00

Support Groups are a regular feature of the online version of the Omaha World Herald linked from http://omaha.com . Click on the “Living” button and scroll down to Support Groups. To the right of the listing is a RELATED link. Click on this link which takes you directly to the Go Local Nebraska website. A broad range of health services in Nebraska will be represented from the established Go Local Service terms with emphasis on clinics, hospitals, health departments, public health services, nursing home facilities, mental health centers, libraries, emergency medical services, home health care services, and support groups. Many of these health service organizations and providers have their own websites.

Latest Happenings with Go Local Nebraska

2007-06-05T06:43:00.000-06:00

Marie Reidelbach and Teri Hartman attended the Go Local meeting at the Medical Library Association in Philadelphia on May 20th. It was exciting to see the other states that have begun working on their Go Local initiative (North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa are now working on their Go Local!), and to hear what plans the National Library of Medicine has for improving the Go Local web appearance and functionality.
Teri Hartman visited with Jamie Moore, Vice President of Volunteer and Community Services at the United Way of the Midlands on May 31. Ms. Moore is also in charge of the 211 service here in Nebraska and western Iowa. Teri demonstrated Go Local Nebraska for Ms. Moore, showing how it could be a great resource for the 211 information and referral operators on her staff. We hope that the 211 database will soon list Go Local Nebraska and CHIRS as health information resources for our citizens that call 211 for help.
The Go Local Nebraska team is looking forward to welcoming Go Local Selectors that have volunteered as a result of visits made to public librarians in May. Selectors, acting as local eyes and ears for the Go Local team, would be responsible for auditing their community's entries in the Go Local Database, checking them for accuracy, and recommending other resources to be added. If you know of someone that would like to know more about the responsibilities and benefits of becoming a Selector, please ask them to contact us at askus@unmc.edu .

Go Local Nebraska in the news

2007-05-23T09:30:00.001-06:00

We have received copies of two recent articles about Go Local Nebraska: one in Doniphan's Herald on April 5, and one in Lexington's Clipper-Herald on April 11. If you happen to see any media reports on Go Local Nebraska, please let us know so we can add the event to our publicity file.

May 11th presentation in Oakland

2007-05-15T13:24:00.000-06:00

Marie Reidelbach, chair of the Go Local Nebraska committee, presented the new service during the Eastern Library System's Direct meeting on May 11, 2007. Hosted by the Oakland Public Library, the meeting was attended by nine area public library directors and Kathy Tooker, director of the Eastern Library System. Marie gave a personal invitation to the group to become Go Local Selectors. Seven of the library directors present agreed to become the first class of Selectors in Nebraska, and are eagerly awaiting their first assignments.

Back at McGoogan after a great trip!

2007-05-14T08:18:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful time last week, traveling Nebraska and telling librarians about the Go Local Nebraska initiative. We visited with 38 libraries and 3 system offices, delivering a poster and a bag of promotional items, or a poster alone if the library was visited during our 2006 trips. We taught the Go Local Nebraska class to over 60 library staff members that traveled to Alliance, Kearney, Norfolk, and Lincoln for the Spring Meetings. Total mileage driven from May 6-11: 1474 miles.
This was a great start to our 2007 travel season!

In Lincoln, after a successful Thursday

2007-05-11T06:51:00.000-06:00

Travel yesterday was very successful. The NLA Spring Meeting class went well, with a potential Selector nominating themself for service. Starting off in Stanton, where we found a CHIRS poster up at the public library. The library director and assistant director were very glad to hear about the free display that any library can request - it will come in handy during their city-wide celebration this summer. Some libraries, like the one in Ulysses, were closed when we drove by, but we will get back to them during our future travels. The last stop, Milford, happened just as the library was about to close, but the staff received us warmly.
Today we have the final NLA Spring Meeting class, one more library visit, then home to Omaha.

In Norfolk, NE, and the week is half over

2007-05-09T21:59:00.000-06:00

We had an enjoyable day, traveling to 10 libraries after the training we conducted at the Kearney Public Library. Saint Paul, Silver Spring, Genoa, all the way up to Oakdale and Battle Creek - the libraries and towns in Nebraska are varied and vibrant. We had a great reception in Oakdale - the librarian had attended our February training in Norfolk, and not only reads each issue of Year of CHIRS that she receives, she shares it with her board members so they will understand what health information services exist for Nebraskans through our public libraries. We have a full class set for Norfolk in the morning, then we will begin visiting libraries all the way down and past Lincoln, our training site for Friday. Today's items of interest: pairs of ducks on ponds, chipmunk-looking critters that played chicken with our rental car, and guinea hens on the side of the road. Next stop - Lincoln!

Now in Kearney

2007-05-08T18:25:00.000-06:00

We are waiting for a great sunset here in Kearney. Today, we visited the library in Paxton, meeting a new librarian and introducing her to CHIRS and Go Local Nebraska. She liked the free display that we circulate to any library in Nebraska, and may request it for an event coming up this summer.
We also visited the librarian at Wallace, who also runs the town hotel. She was glad that we provided information on how to promote health information services to her community.
Items of interest today: whitetail deer, turkey (1 male, 1 female, but about a county apart), and a peacock.

Hello from Ogallala

2007-05-07T22:03:00.000-06:00

We have arrived at Ogallala after a long day of travel. We conducted a Go Local training at the Alliance Public Library this morning to an enthusiastic crowd of 26 public librarians and staff. The training was part of the NLA 2007 Spring Meetings. Then we hit the road, visiting Hemingford, Harrison, Mitchell, Morrill, Minatare, and Bayard. At some of the towns, we just took photos of the library, since we were able to give the brand new Go Local Nebraska posters and promotion material in person at the training in Alliance. In other towns, like Morrill and Harrison, we were able to meet the library staff members, give the materials and share the news that Go Local Nebraska has been designed for them and their community's health information needs. Other items of interest we saw today: antelope, buffalo, meadowlarks, and redwinged blackbirds. We will post the number of miles we have driven each day so far in tomorrow's entry. -Roxanne and Teri

Next week: follow the CHIRS Road Team's progress across Nebraska

2007-05-01T10:19:00.000-06:00

Roxanne Cox and Teresa (Teri) Hartman are traveling across Nebraska from May 6 - May 11. In addition to conducting consumer health information training sessions at the NLA Spring Meeting sites of Alliance, Kearney, Norfolk, and Lincoln, the pair will take the message of Go Local Nebraska to public libraries that were not visited during the 2006 travel. Photos and descriptions of the visits will be uploaded to this blog every evening (barring any technology difficulties), so stay tuned!
You can see the travel log of trips made in 2006 at this site: http://www.unmc.edu/apps/library/travelog/log.cfm . After the trips are made next week, they will also be added to the travel log.

Another exhibit for Go Local

2007-04-18T08:01:00.000-06:00

Roxanne Cox and Marie Reidelbach had the opportunity to exhibit Go Local Nebraska to UNMC employees during the Be Well Aware health fair that was held April 17. They spoke to approximately 39 employees about Go Local Nebraska and other CHIRS services offered through the McGoogan Library of Medicine.
If your organization or community has a health fair coming up, please make a free request for the Go Local display materials at this site: http://app1.unmc.edu/forms/library/displayform.cfm. The display will be mailed to you with return mail postage paid, along with any other display materials (baseball cards, Go Local magnets) that you reqest.

Go Local has been promoted in the TV and radio media

2007-04-09T10:43:00.000-06:00

An interview highlighting Go Local Nebraska is running today on the KFAB radio station in Omaha. You can listen to the station online through their website: http://kfab.com. The Community Telecast Channel in Omaha http://www.communitytelecast.com/ is also showing the Go Local Nebraska logo and url on cable channel 22.
Please let us know if you have successfully listed Go Local Nebraska with your local community news media.

Be on the lookout for Go Local Nebraska in the news!

2007-04-03T08:26:00.000-06:00

A Go Local Nebraska press release was sent out by UNMC Public Affairs to news and media outlets across the state on Friday, March 30. We have heard from one Advisory Committee member that they are including the information included within the press release in their organzation's newsletter this month. Please consider adding information about Go Local Nebraska within your organization's newsletter and/or website. Remember to let us know where you publicized the Go Local Nebraska resource so that we can include the information in the quarterly reports.

We have exhibited Go Local at two area health fairs

2007-04-03T08:14:00.000-06:00

Go Local Nebraska has been shown to Nebraska citizens during two recent health fairs: on March 26 at the Blair Community Health Fair in Blair, NE; and on March 31 at the Black Family Wellness Association Health Fair in Omaha, NE. Stuart Dayton, Head of the Learning Resource Center at McGoogan, designed a new display for 2007, and it received very favorable comments from those that attended each fair.
Health fairs are a great way to get the word out about the new Go Local Nebraska resource, offering an easy way to reach citizens that will use the resource as well as health professionals and organizations that should be listed within the resource.
Please let us know if you hear of a health fair in your area. No matter where the health fairs take place in Nebraska, we could send a display for you to use if you are exhibiting, or we could work with a local public library if they are going to exhibit health information.

Go Local Nebraska

2007-03-15T08:23:00.001-06:00

Go Local Nebraska
Originally uploaded by Bibliotek.

Please let us know if you need any Go Local Nebraska baseball cards to promote the service to your audience. You can email your request to askus@unmc.edu .

Using an RSS reader? Add Go Local Nebraska to your collection!

2007-03-15T08:04:00.000-06:00

The site feed url for the Go Local Nebraska blog is http://golocalne.blogspot.com/atom.xml . The Site Feed url is also posted at the bottom of this blog.

The benefit of using an RSS reader is to manage many blogs through one location. A good example of what an RSS reader can do to help you manage your connection to information is Google News - a news blog aggregator that collects many sources of information on one site: http://news.google.com.

Some free readers/aggregators that may serve your needs:
Bloglines http://www.bloglines.com/. Quote from the Bloglines site: "Create a personal Bloglines page loaded with the freshest news about the things you love."
Google Reader http://www.google.com/help/reader/tour.html. Quote from the tour site: "Google Reader shows you all your favorite sites in one convenient place. It's like your inbox, for the web."

Reaching Out To Patients

2007-03-12T08:09:00.000-06:00

The Go Local Nebraska team has applied for funding with The Nebraska Medical Center University Hospital Auxiliary. If approved, this would fund a new effort called Reaching Out To Patients, and enable purchase of promotional display holders, brochures, and other materials aimed at reaching patients and their family members at their time of information need. All of the promotional materials would be hand-delivered to patient waiting areas around The Nebraska Medical Center clinics, aiding patients and their family members seeking quality and reliable consumer health information.

Upcoming Education Events for Go Local

2007-03-12T07:55:00.000-06:00

Roxanne Cox and Teri Hartman will be taking the message of Go Local Nebraska and traveling around the state to teach and demonstrate this new service at the Nebraska Library Association's Spring Meetings. The schedule is:

May 7th - Alliance
May 9th - Kearney
May 10th - Norfolk
May 11th - Lincoln

The Go Local committee at the McGoogan Library of Medicine, led by Marie Reidelbach, is also looking at scheduling travel and education sessions throughout the summer. If you know of a group that would benefit from a Go Local Nebraska presentation, please tell us so we can get them on the schedule.

February 6th Education Event a Success in Norfolk

2007-03-12T07:43:00.000-06:00

Roxanne Cox and Teri Hartman traveled to Norfolk, NE on February 6th to teach two sessions on Go Local Nebraska for the Northeast Library System Workshop. The morning session students included 16 library staff and 1 library trustee; the afternoon session students included 18 library staff and 2 library trustees. The CHIRS program and the Go Local Nebraska project were covered in each hour-long class, with live demonstrations of Go Local Nebraska resulting in enthusiastic praise from the students. "This information is worth the cost of the workshop.", and "This made the entire day worthwhile." were two of the student comments overheard by the instructors. Evaluations gathered from the students included the following comments: "Small libraries cannot keep up w/current medical issues and this is one area where I know they are given correct info." "A great reference for ANYONE! Thanks." "WOW. I didn’t know any of this was available. I’m much better able to help our patrons w/medical questions."

Go Local Displays are traveling the state

2007-03-12T07:35:00.000-06:00

The Go Local Nebraska project used some of the NN/LM grant monies last spring to purchase two mail-able displays for libraries to use when promoting Go Local and access to consumer health information in their communities. Using the Display Order form on this site: http://app1.unmc.edu/forms/library/displayform.cfm, libraries, hospitals, and colleges in Nebraska can request the display for a specific event, or just to add to their current promotional activities within their organization. There are no fees involved - the display is mailed out with return postage included. The following organizations have used the display since June 2006, and reservations for 2007 are still being received:

Alliance Public Library
Chase County Community Hospital
Fairbury Public Library
Goodall City Library
Grand Island Public Library
Hamilton College
La Vista Public Library
Norfolk Public Library

Database has Doubled in Size

2007-03-08T11:41:00.000-06:00

Go Local Nebraska started with roughly 2700 records in October, 2006. As of March 2007 the number of records has nearly doubled with over 4600 records approved. 1200 records are in process which includes clinics across the state. It is estimated all of these records will be completed by June bringing the number of records in the database to almost 6000 entries.

Style Manual of Terms

2007-03-08T11:32:00.000-06:00

As the Go Local team indexes records it is critically important to maintain consistency. A manual of all the service terms along with descriptions (provided by the North Carolina Go Local project) and topics is being developed. Currently the manul covers over 150 pages. The manual will eventually be posted on the Go Local website for all selectors and reviewers of the Go Local Nebraska project.

Web Statistics Reveal Go Local Usage

2007-03-08T11:03:00.000-06:00

Since Go Local Nebraska was launched on October 21, 2006, the National Library of Medicine has maintained a monthly report of usage. The following provides an overview of web statistics through February, 2007.

October 2006
No. of Visitors - 578
Visited Once - 510
Visited More than Once - 68
Visits per day - 790
Avg. visits per day - 25
Avg. hits per day - 215
November 2006
No. of Visitors - 585
Visited Once - 504
Visited More than Once - 81
Visits per day - 939
Avg. visits per day - 31
Avg. hits per day - 355
December 2006
No. of Visitors - 363
Visited Once - 298
Visited More than Once - 65
Visits per day - 534
Avg. visits per day - 17
Avg. hits per day - 88
January 2007
No. of Visitors - 538
Visited Once - 457
Visited More than Once - 81
Visits per day - 744
Avg. visits per day - 24
Avg. hits per day - 114
February 2007
No. of Visitors - 574
Visited Once - 489
Visited More than Once - 85
Visits per day - 770
Avg. visits per day - 27
Avg. hits per day - 409

Go Local Reaches Across the State (GRAS)

2007-03-07T15:22:00.000-06:00

The Go Local Nebraska project has received funding to further promote the initiative and train selectors across the state. The $11,000 is provided by the Nebraska Library Commission in support of a Nebraska Health Information Partnership grant proposal.

Project Description:

Providing quality, up-to-date information in GoLocal Nebraska is a continuing need. Limited staffing is available from the McGoogan Library of Medicine to research all health related resources within each community. Therefore, it is important to partner with people who are knowledgeable about the health resources in their communities. Public librarians are aware of the resources in their cities and often times have the most contacts to support this project.

The purpose of this project is to expand the content of GoLocal Nebraska and ensure important information about services and health care providers is not omitted. To achieve this goal, public librarians will be trained as GoLocal Nebraska selectors across the state. They will identify missing information as well as ensure the information listed is up-to-date. In addition, health related services including hospitals and clinics will be actively targeted to receive promotional materials about the Go Local Nebraska project.

Grant funds will be used to create the necessary promotional and training materials as well as to cover travel expenses. The Eastern Library System will be the initial system to identify a selector who is willing to partner on this project. That selector will play a major role in testing the training materials and refining methods for launching this type of partnership to the other systems. To successfully gather and train selectors across the state, funding will be spread across a 24 month period. Primary objectives include:

1. To improve access to quality health information and services for Nebraska residents using the World Wide Web.
2. To improve access to state, local, and community resources.
3. To aggregate dispersed health services information in a single source and make it readily available.

Project Implementation:

Select a Public Librarian to become a Go Local selector from each library system.
Provide the needed training for each selector.
Travel to Public Libraries promoting MEDLINEPlus and Go Local Nebraska.
Provide training to consumers about quality consumer health information on the web by attending Health Fairs across the state.
Write up a job description for the selectors including what they would be expected to do and what they can anticipate receiving for their efforts.
Selectors will receive training materials in print or on a CD, toll free number to call if they have problems or questions, and a framed certificate that they have partnered with the McGoogan Library. CE for attending the training sessions will be investigated as a possible reward as well.
Promotional materials will be developed and distributed to health care providers, clinics, and hospitals.

Project Communication Plan
Provide a newsletter, up to date website, create training CD’s and be a part of the Nebraska Library Commission’s “Database Roadshow”.

Press releases and contact each system administrator to identify public librarians who might be interested in becoming a selector.

Project Budget
The requested dollars will be used for travel expenses and the development of training and promotional materials. The project will be completed in 24 months. A progress report will be written at the end of the first 12 months with a final report submitted to the Nebraska Library Commission at the conclusion of the project.

Welcome to the Go Local Nebraska Project blog

2007-03-06T15:26:00.000-06:00

Thanks to the hard work of many people, the Go Local Nebraska Project is live at http://medlineplus.gov/nebraska . Work continues on data acquisition and entry, indexing, and promotion of this new health information resource.