Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Go Local Nebraska Comes to a Close
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
Thursday, December 31, 2009
2009 Wrap-Up
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.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Go Local Nebraska presented at Creighton Student Health Fair
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.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Go Local Nebraska will be at the Nebraska Library Association meeting
Friday, October 9, 2009
Join us at the Making Healthy Happen fair in Omaha
http://www.unmcphysicians.com/ttg-uma/public/v2/images/users/10/Making%20Healthy%20Happen.pdf
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Friends of the McGoogan Library event
Monday, August 3, 2009
CHIRS/Go Local Display is available for your next event
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.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Recent Go Local Nebraska exhibits
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
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
See you at the Cattlemen's Ball!
Monday, April 27, 2009
Go Local Nebraska display and promotion materials
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.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Go Local Nebraska and CHIRS included in conference handouts
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.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Go Local Nebraska and CHIRS - Your local information resources for health-related issues
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.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Nebraska Legislative Day - February 10
Thursday, January 22, 2009
CHIRS and Go Local Nebraska promoted at the Baright Public Library
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.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
The Go Local Nebraska team wishes you a bright holiday season!
Monday, December 15, 2008
New records added to Go Local Nebraska
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 .
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Interested in contacting Go Local projects in other states?
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
Monday, October 20, 2008
Go Local Nebraska and CHIRS in La Vista
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.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Go Local Nebraska and CHIRS will be at the 2008 Nebraska Library Association conference
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 .
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Promoting Go Local Nebraska to Nebraska hospitals
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 .
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
CHIRS in the news
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.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Latest Go Local Nebraska press release
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.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Announcing The Nebraska Notebook for Consumer Health
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.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Congratulations to Dr. David Palm, Go Local Nebraska Advisory Committee member
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!
Monday, June 23, 2008
Recent exhibits for Go Local Nebraska
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 .
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Go Local Nebraska is not limited to Nebraska!
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.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Promoting Go Local Nebraska to tomorrow's health care providers
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!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
A testimonial showing how CHIRS/Go Local Nebraska make a difference
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
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Highlighting members of our Advisory Committee
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/
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Teri Hartman exhibits for Go Local Nebraska
- 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
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Go Local Nebraska heads to Minnesota!
Monday, February 18, 2008
CHIRS/Go Local Nebraska in Nebraska Newspapers
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.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Announcing a national Go Local customer satisfaction survey
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.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Fremont Public Library Completes Go Local Nebraska Community Health Services Update
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.
Monday, December 17, 2007
University of Nebraska Omaha Library Links to Go Local
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.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Go Local Statistics Provided by NLM
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
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Letters Sent Out
Monday, October 1, 2007
Promoting Go Local Nebraska to new UNMC Faculty
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.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Update on recent Go Local Nebraska activities
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.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Covering the state of Nebraska while promoting Go Local
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 .
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Go Local exhibit September 8 at The Nebraska Medical Center
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 .
Friday, July 27, 2007
Summertime and Go Local Nebraska
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.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Updating the support group information in Go Local Nebraska
Friday, June 15, 2007
June 13 visits with new Go Local Nebraska Selectors
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
Go Local linked from the Omaha World Herald
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Latest Happenings with Go Local Nebraska
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 .
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Go Local Nebraska in the news
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
May 11th presentation in Oakland
Monday, May 14, 2007
Back at McGoogan after a great trip!
This was a great start to our 2007 travel season!
Friday, May 11, 2007
In Lincoln, after a successful Thursday
Today we have the final NLA Spring Meeting class, one more library visit, then home to Omaha.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
In Norfolk, NE, and the week is half over
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Now in Kearney
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.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Hello from Ogallala
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Next week: follow the CHIRS Road Team's progress across Nebraska
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.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Another exhibit for Go Local
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.
Monday, April 9, 2007
Go Local has been promoted in the TV and radio media
Please let us know if you have successfully listed Go Local Nebraska with your local community news media.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Be on the lookout for Go Local Nebraska in the news!
We have exhibited Go Local at two area health fairs
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.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Go Local Nebraska
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!
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."
Monday, March 12, 2007
Reaching Out To Patients
Upcoming Education Events for Go Local
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
Go Local Displays are traveling the state
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
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Database has Doubled in Size
Style Manual of Terms
Web Statistics Reveal Go Local Usage
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
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Go Local Reaches Across the State (GRAS)
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.