South Central Chapter of the Medical Library Association Presentations

38th SCC/MLA Annual Meeting
Austin, TX
October 15-20, 2010

Posters

"What Color is your Library? How Color Impacts Library Promotion in a Hospital Setting"
(poster)
Emily Patridge and Catherine Schack

36th SCC/MLA Annual Meeting
Dallas, TX
October 11-15, 2008

Presentations

"Citation Errors in the 21st Century"
(presentation)
Karen Harker

Background: References and citations of published articles are used to both support the content of the article and to refer the reader to additional research. Errors in these citations make retrieving these articles difficult, if not impossible. With the growing trend of linking references directly from the online article, citation accuracy is not only critical but expected. Studies assessing the citation error rates in individual or sets of journals have been published since the mid-1990’s. The most recent systematic review of such studies is part of a larger review assessing the effects of technical editing. While this article was published in 2008, it does not include articles on the topic of citation errors published since 2000, nor does it address the elements needed to retrieve articles using automated linking methods, such as OpenURL link resolvers.

Objective: To summarize recent studies of citation errors in published research in medicine and health care.

Methods: The same selection and evaluation methods detailed in Wager, et al. will be used: studies will be prospective or retrospective comparative studies with two or more groups using original data published after 2000. Outcome measures evaluated will be percentages of errors and ranges. Special attention will be made to errors in the elements which are used by OpenURL link resolvers.

Results: The results of this study will be compared with those of the previous review, particularly regarding any improvement (decrease) in citation error rates.

"Implementing A Virtual Reference System at UT Southwestern Medical Library"
(presentation)
Shobana Jayaraman

"Methods for Evaluation of Citation Errors by Institution: A Pilot Methodological Study"
SCC Research Award—First Place
(presentation)
Karen Harker and Therona Ramos

Objective: Previous research on citation errors has focused largely on selected journals; no known study has evaluated citation errors at the institutional level. Similarly, while there is some association with citation verification services provided by journals for submitted manuscripts and improvements in citation error rates, no such associations have been made with similar services provided by libraries. This paper documents a pilot study undertaken for the purposes of developing the methodologies and testing the validity of the measurement tools.

Methods: As a pilot of an observational study, 100 references will be randomly selected from papers authored by institutional faculty published in 2008. Several methods of random selection, reference acquisition, exclusion criteria, and blinding will be used and evaluated to determine the most efficient and effective method. Level of error will be assessed using tools developed from previously published research and current observations.

Results: The methodologies will be evaluated based on costs (human effort, costs of interlibrary loan or copying, and threats to scientific validity) and benefits (information provided, validity and generalizability of results). The measurement tools will be evaluated for reliability (interobserver reliability and internal consistency) and validity (criterion validation against elements needed for manual and automated retrieval).

Conclusions: The most effective and efficient methods found by this pilot will be used in a later study examining the association between provision of publication support services and citation error rates at the institutional level.

Posters

"Creating a Centralized Data Repository"
(poster)
Scott Carpenter, Kay Chapa, Karen Harker, Cameron Kainerstorfer, Tracey Minzenmayer, Therona Ramos, Laurie Thompson, Pam Thompson, and Antoinette Turner

"Evaluating the Quality of A Link Resolver"
(poster)
Karen Harker and Shobana Jayaraman

“Statistics Gathering and Reporting Simplified: A Web-based Client-Staff Interactions Repository System”
(poster)
Farrah Omar and Joseph Tan

35th SCC/MLA Annual Meeting
Albuquerque, NM
October 20-24, 2007

Continuing Education

"Library Assessment: From Accountability to Improvement"
MLA CE credit course | Ning site: Assessment for Health Sciences Libraries
Primary Instructor: Kay Chapa
Additional Instructors: Karen Harker and Tracey Minzenmayer

Contributed Papers

"Imagining Web Content as an Investment"
(presentation)
Jon Crossno and Kelly Gonzalez

34th SCC/MLA Annual Meeting
College Station, TX
October 20-24, 2006

Contributed Papers

"Citation Analysis in Ute Deichman's 'Biologists under Hitler'"
(presentation)
Brian Bunnett

Purpose: To examine Deichmann’s use of citation analysis as a tool to conduct historical research.

Brief Description: In her Biologists under Hitler (Harvard University Press, 1996) Ute Deichmann uses the Science Citation Index (SCI) in an attempt to prove that biologists who emigrated from Nazi Germany were cited more frequently - and therefore produced more influential research - than those who remained in Germany. This approach, in which citation analysis is treated as historical evidence, is thought to offer historians of science a new and intriguing tool to use in their research. The possibilities offered by this approach will be explored. The drawbacks to Deichmann’s method will also be discussed.

Discussion: Deichmann’s thesis, that the SCI can be used to determine the quality of published scientific research produced under repressive political conditions, deserves a careful study. Her use of citation analysis as a form of historical research is exceedingly problematic. But that should not prevent us from a further investigation of this method.

33th SCC/MLA Annual Meeting
Little Rock, AR
October 24-26, 2005

Contributed Papers

"Using Citation Analysis to Study Changes in the Information Seeking Behavior of Medical/Scientific Researchers"
(presentation)
Brian Bunnett

"Analyzing a Library's Organization: A Two-Year Retrospective on Flexibility and Change"
(presentation)
Laurie Thompson, Brian Bunnett, and Mori Lou Higa

Posters

"Growing a Service: EndNote Support"
(poster)
Herldine Radley

32th SCC/MLA Annual Meeting
Houston, TX
October 22-26, 2004

Contributed Papers

"Evidence-Based Searching in Undergraduate Internal Medicine Education"
(presentation)
Will Olmstadt, Katherine Alexander, and Helen Mayo

"Redesigning a Library for the Digital Future: A Case Study on Reorganization"
(presentation)
Laurie Thompson and Brian Bunnett

Posters

"Librarian Collaboration with a Hospital Research Special Interest Group"
(presentation)
Katherine Alexander and Claudia DeShay

31th SCC/MLA Annual Meeting
Shreveport, LA
May 17-23, 2003

Contributed Papers

"The Role of the Librarian in the Creation of Low Literacy Patient Education Handouts"
(presentation)
Helen Mayo and Shirin F. Pestonjee, MS, RN

"SCC/MLA Membership - Online and On Time: With PayPal It Just Got Easier"
Jon Crossno, Regina Lee, and Beatriz Varman; sponsored by the 2002-2003 SCC/MLA Membership Committee

"To Banner or Not to Banner? User Research on a Web Marketing Tool"
Research Award (3rd place - posters)
(poster)
Sharon Giles, Helen Mayo, Herldine Radley,Therona Ramos, and Joseph Tan

30th SCC/MLA Annual Meeting
San Antonio, TX
October 12-16, 2002

Contributed Papers

"Systematic Training for Patient Support Groups"
Research Award (2nd place - papers)
Margaret Anderson and Will Olmstadt

Posters

"Collaborative Development: Building a Subject Guide with Faculty Input"
Helen Mayo and Karen R. Harker

"Gathering Customer Input Prior to Home Page Redesign: An Ontological Study"
Research Award (2nd place - posters)
Katherine Alexander, Karen R. Harker, Mori Lou Higa, Shelley McGibbon, Helen Mayo, and Laura Wilder

"Get Them with Humor: April Fools at the Library"
(poster)
Sharon Giles and Jon Crossno

"In Search of a Theme: How to Market through Graphic Design"
(poster)
Jon Crossno, Jeff Perkins, Joseph Tan, and Laura Wilder

"SCC/MLA Awards and Scholarships"
Katherine Alexander, Jeff Perkins, Brian Bunnett, Pat Craig, Marilyn Goff, Jack Raines, Julie Schiavo, and Ursula Scott

"Theme of the Month Marketing"
(poster)
Herldine Radley, Therona Ramos, and Sharon Giles

29th SCC/MLA Annual Meeting
New Orleans, LA
October 26-31, 2001

Contributed Papers

"A Modern Interface For Library Public PCs"
(presentation)
Richard Wayne

"Recruitment of New Medical Librarians"
(presentation)
Brian Bunnett

Posters

"Analysis of Journal Usage - Electronic and Print"
Research Award (2nd place - posters)
(poster)
Timothy Judkins, Jeff Perkins, and Carmen White

"Maximizing the Usefulness of a Technology Choice"
(poster)
Dawn Reneau and Cecelia Wilson

"A Searchable Library News Archive"
(poster)
Sharon Giles, Karen R. Harker, and Lynne Jacobs

"Using Banner Ads to Promote Library Products Available Online"
(poster)
Randy Patterson and Jeff Perkins

28th SCC/MLA Annual Meeting
El Paso, TX
October 13 - 17, 2000

Contributed Papers

"Enhancing the Online Catalog with Electronic Journal Information"
Mitch Walters, Timothy Judkins, Diane Hudson, Helen Mayo, Herldine Radley, Dawn Reneau

Purpose: Electronic journals present a number of problems for our traditional understanding both of library ownership and of access through the catalog. Our decision on whether to add electronic journal information to the catalog and how much to add should, however be guided by the needs of our clients. This study attempts to measure the usefulness to the library's clients of information on electronic journals which was added to the online catalog.

Methodology: A three-tiered schedule of possible electronic journal enhancements was formulated. Implementation of each successive tier will depend on increases in journal searching in the catalog. A random sample of catalog searches was analyzed both to determine whether the amount of journal searching justified the first tier of enhancements and also to give a baseline from which to measure any increase in journal searches. If the first tier of enhancements is implemented, searching will again be measured. Other factors being equal, a sizable increase in journal searching should indicate that the enhancements were useful to clients and would justify implementing the next tier.

Results: When we measured the amount of journal searching before any enhancements, it exceeded our expectations and justified the implementation of the first level of enhancements. Further results will be reported at the time of the presentation.

Conclusions: the study should provide evidence on whether or not the library catalog can serve as a useful tool for clients accessing the electronic journal collection. Because the study makes the implementation of each tier of catalog enhancements dependent on measurable increases in usage, it also offers a good example of evidence-based librarianship.

"Providing Consumer Health Information in a Rural Area: A Decentralized Approach"
Brian Bunnett

Purpose: This paper describes a decentralized approach to providing consumer health resources and services that is appropriate for rural areas. This approach is based on the formation of a consumer health coalition consisting of the existing network of public, school, church, and prison libraries.

Setting/Participants/Resources: The project described in the paper originated at the Guthrie Healthcare System's Beck Library. The Beck Library is a medium sized hospital library with a long history of community and outreach service. In 1998, it received a grant to provide improved consumer health resources and services to a two county, rural area that is bisected by the New York-Pennsylvania border.

Brief Description: Providing consumer health resources to a predominately rural area presents special challenges. In a densely populate urban environment, a single, centrally located consumer health library can be easily accessed by many patrons. In a sparsely populated rural area, a decentralized approach is required. This paper describes an effective method of providing consumer health resources and services that makes use of the existing infrastructure of public, school, church, and prison libraries. In smaller communities, these libraries are already well established and in many cases are seen as the town or village center. They are, therefore, well placed to provide these resources and services. The funding and organization of the coalition is discussed with special attention given to the problems of sharing resources among widely dispersed libraries and of coordinating the activities of libraries of diverse types. The coalition's services and programs are also examined; these include the use of presentation modules that can be used by children's librarians to impart good health practices to younger patrons.

Results/Outcomes: The project has succeeded in creating a working coalition comprised of librarians from two different states and from various types of libraries. The ensuing cooperation across the state line never previously existed.

Evaluation Method: Oversight is exercised through various statistical measurements. Focus groups will be used as the project progresses.

Posters

"Emailing the New Books List: A Promotional Success?"
Research Award (2nd place - posters)
(poster)
Sharon Giles and Shelley McKibbon

In an era of falling usage of print materials and the triumph of the digital library, UT Southwestern Medical Center Library has been experimenting with using electronic means to promote its print collection. Since October 1999, the Library has been emailing a list of new additions to its book collection every month to subscribers of the Library's email alert service, Info-Library. Beginning Summer 2000, the list will also begin appearing on the Library's home page. Because this activity places extra demand on staff time, members of the Marketing Team decided to determine if this promotional method actually works. Success or failure will be measured by evaluation of circulation records and by surveying users at checkout.

"Growing an Electronic Journals Collection: Experience of One Library"
(poster)
Timothy Judkins, Mori Lou Higa, Jeff Perkins

A description of the rapid growth of electronic access to journals is given for the Library of the UT Southwestern Medical Center. Growth of the collection is shown since the first order for online access to a single journal, the Journal of Biological Chemistry, to the current collection of more than 2,000 online titles. The effect of this rapid growth in electronic access on staff, the Web pages of the Library, and traditional functions of serials acquisitions and budgeting is described. The value of the electronic journal collection is presented using comments collected in the client contact database and from a series of focus groups recently completed involving faculty, staff and student users of the Library.

27th SCC/MLA Annual Meeting
Norman, OK
October 22 - 26, 1999

Contributed Papers

"Dam That Information Flood! Build a Library Intranet"
Brenda Berkins, Jon Crossno, Judith Hill, and Mary Snyder

The abundance of electronic information available today threatens to inundate both clients and library staff. To stay afloat, medical libraries must develop value-added products that channel the information deluge. A well-designed and carefully maintained library intranet can be an effective tool for enhancing communication and productivity. This paper presents a team approach to intranet development, including staff needs assessment, content generation strategies, design considerations, and training and implementation techniques. Design problems and pitfalls will also be discussed, and the final product will be demonstrated.

A needs assessment of library staff established a baseline inventory of tools needed throughout the organization. Following a literature search and an analysis of existing resources, a "wish list" was organized into broad categories, which provided structure for the top-level pages. Subteams were formed to manage design and content, to identify and gather resources, and to experiment with designs. The final design reflected a balance between functionality and visual appeal, which are important criteria in "selling" our product to library staff. Templates were developed to facilitate the maintenance process, and liaisons from each unit and team received hands-on training.

The intranet team's goal is to provide a forum where library staff can collect and preserve vital information, enhance customer service, and learn more about technological developments and innovations as we approach the 21st century An intranet can help your staff control the information flood by transforming static data into useful knowledge.

"Getting the News Out: Promoting the Library With an Email Alert Service"
(presentation)
Sharon Giles and Gary Clopton

Email is a new marketing tool for libraries that offers an innovative, inexpensive, timely, and easy-to-distribute means of promotion. In 1998 the Marketing team of our library decided to explore the possibilities of email marketing and launched an alert service in the form of an email newsletter called Info-Library. Info-Library has been used to promote new library services and facilities, as well as weekly or daily features of the Library's Web pages, such as the Biomedical News pages and the Internet Site of the Week. This presentation will summarize our experience in designing, distributing, editing, promoting, and evaluating an alert service.

"Personalization of a Web Site: the 'My Library' Project"
Brenda Berkins, Jon Crossno, Karen R. Harker, Judith Hill, Michelle McConoughey, and Mitch Walters

Have you ever thought how nice it would be to go to your favorite library Web site and find just the tools you needed right there at your fingertips? We have, and we realized what an asset such a site could be for our clients. Thus was born "My Library," a personalized library home page with electronic journals, databases, toolboxes, and even a place for one's favorite URL addresses.

"My Library" is modeled on the personalization functions that have become common at the largest and most complex sites, such as Yahoo. It presents an array of the library's Internet resources which have been pre-selected by the individual client to fit his or her particular information needs. With just an ID and password, a client can access "My Library" from any computer with Internet access. This resource provides convenience for clients and a marketing venue for the Library.

The paper will discuss the creation of "My Library" from initial planning, through prototyping and testing, to final implementation.

Posters

"The Evolution of a Client Contact Database: Implementing Client-Centered Evidence Based Librarianship"
Helen Mayo, Jeff Perkins, Mitch Walters, and Laura Wilder

Our creation of a networked client contact database is the culmination of the Library's efforts to gather as much information as we can about our clients. The data collected will enhance the profiles that we already keep of the various groups of primary clients. We will use this repository of client demographics and interactions to improve and market our services and resources. Having this evidentiary knowledge of our clients is essential when we consider adding or changing services and resources.

A Library team decided what were the most important capabilities for a client-contact database and reviewed many software products before selecting one that suited our needs. We choose Contact-Pro because it is a fully relational, event-driven database, with customizable screens and reports.

After customizing the database, we imported records for each person employed by UT Southwestern and its three affiliated hospitals. We later added the first year medical students and UT Southwestern residents. Each record includes the person's name, department, phone number, and email address. As we acquire it, we add other helpful information such as nicknames, professional interests, honors and awards. We also use the client contact database to document client interactions-requests, questions, suggestions, and complaints - that are shared by all database users. In this way we are able to recognize the needs and interests of each primary client and to give them more personal attention.

For marketing purposes, the information in the database will be used for targeting the announcements of new library services to those clients who are most likely to use the service. For staff development purposes, the reference questions from our clients that are recorded in the database will be used in a sample question databank for the training of new library staff. Also, knowing the frequency with which certain tasks are performed and questions asked will allow us to train staff more effectively to meet the needs of our clients.

"Showing Off the Showcase"
Gary Clopton, Anthony Frisbie, Michelle McConoughey, Jeff Perkins, and Herldine Radley

Looking toward the 21st century, the UT Southwestern Medical Center Library began a Showcase series to present new digital services and highlight existing services. There were two events during the past year, one in the fall of 1998 and another in the spring of 1999, and a third is planned for fall of 1999. Each event was held over two successive days for three hours each day. A contest was used to draw people to the information tables. Contest entries were used to collect data concerning electronic journal use, to enlist subscribers to Info-Library (an e-mail alert service about products and services), and to feed a general client database. The Spring Showcase also had two live demonstrations repeating during each day of the event. The Showcase was also synchronized with two one-hour presentations, a Library Education Services event and a preplanned Collections and Information Development presentation which were both held in a large classroom over lunch on successive days.

Practical consideration for the Showcase were staffing, expense, and setup. Volunteers were solicited from nearly all departments in the library to work in 30 minute shifts. This more easily enabled staff from the busy Information Desk (circulation and reference) and other library service points to participate in the Showcase. Expenses for the Spring event were slightly more than $300. These funds covered the promotion of the event which included printing bookmarks, specialty posters advertising reference services, reusable vinyl banners, and flyers, all specially designed for the event. Additionally, an article from MLA entitled "The value of the hospital library" was enlarged and displayed. Tables for the event were provided by the campus physical plant and other assistance came from UT Southwestern Auxiliary Enterprises.

There were approximately 130 people contacted during the Fall 1998 Showcase. The Spring Showcase more than doubled this, with more than 265 one-on-one interactions between clients and Showcase staffers. The two associated one-hour presentations drew approximately 30 attendees. The total was more than 400 contacts between the all events for each Showcase which represents slightly more than 5% of our total campus population.

"The Wellness Team: Health Promotion for Library Staff"
Stephanie Goode, Lynne Jacobs, Michelle McConoughey, Catherine Mooney, Herldine Radley, Michelle Tippins, and Cecelia Wilson

Our vision is to promote activities and awareness in wellness for staff members; especially in the areas of exercise, nutrition, sleep, stress, mental health, disease prevention, and safety. Activities promoted: Healthy Nutrition, Poison Control Awareness, Stress Relief, Dealing with difficult people, Alternative Medicine, Campus and Library Walkathons, Wellness Game, and Physical Fitness Facility Awareness. Our poster will display the success and organization of this team.

26th SCC/MLA Annual Meeting
Fort Worth, TX
October 1998

Contributed Papers

"A Comparison of the Characteristics of the Most-linked and Least-linked Academic Medical Library Web Sites"
Research Special Commendation Award
(presentation)
Karen R. Harker and Judith Hill

There seems to be a great disparity in the number of links to the Web sites of the 125 academic medical libraries in the United States. Some, like Harvard Medical School, have over 4,000 links to their site. Others, like University of Nevada, Reno, have less than 10 links to them. The question then is, what makes people want to link to these often-used sites? This study will attempt to answer this question by ranking these sites according to the number of files pointing to them. An analysis will be done on the top and bottom 25% ranked sites. The following characteristics of each site will be categorized, counted and compared to determine if any one, or any combination of these factors affect their probability of being linked:

• Number of files
• Prominence in the institution's site
• Compatibility wit the variety of browsers
• Awards
• Placement in the top search engines/directories

Additionally, characteristics of the library and the institution will be analyzed, including library expenditures, the ratio of institutional to library expenditures, collection size, public/private institution, and the institution's rank in U.S. News and World Report 's list of the best medical schools. The results of this study could be helpful to library Web page designers, library outreach directors, and library administrators.

"Designing a Customer Service Survey Instrument for Use in Academic Medical Libraries"
SCC Research Award
Mitch Walters, Brenda Berkins, Jon Crossno, Nancy Gotcher and Judith Hill

Purpose: While libraries have traditionally been evaluated using tangible indicators such as size and quality of their collections, customer satisfaction as a measure of quality is relatively unfamiliar. Our goal in this project is to design a customer service survey instrument for use in academic medical libraries.

Methodology: Clients of the document delivery services at three academic medical libraries in the region will be randomly divided into two groups. One group will be sent the SERVQUAL instrument, while the other group will receive a redesigned survey. We will compare the responses from the three institutions between the survey instruments, testing for reliability and validity when applied to our populations.

Results: One objective of our research is to determine whether the SERVQUAL instrument gives comparable results in all three academic medical libraries. We also want to test the usefulness of a redesigned survey instrument in the same setting. With a goal of 600 responses for each of the two forms, we should have abundant data to answer these questions and for testing reliability and validity.

Conclusions: This project will contribute to the overall customer service efforts taking place in the medical library community by scientifically testing the usefulness of both an established instrument and an alternative scale for improving customer service, the results will help determine the viability of this type of tool for measuring customer satisfaction and improving customer service.

"It's a Whole New Ball Game: Pitching the Electronic Journal in the Medical Library"
(presentation)
Jon Crossno and Timothy Judkins

In the library ball park, think of the journal as a baseball. Until recently, we have pitched our best and only weapon: the fast ball, or the paper journal. We know the rules for the paper journal and can pitch it the right way every time. However, as electronic journals have become more common and are available in several formats and combinations, we can now add a few more pitches to our repertoire: the knuckle ball, or the electronic journal; the curve ball, or the paper plus the electronic journal subscriptions; and the slider, or a variety of archival options for paper and electronic subscriptions.

Electronic journals bring additional benefits to the game. No longer will the game be played within the walls of the library ball park. Remote access is possible through a variety of availability options and pricing schemes. No longer will the copyright law umpire make decisions based on rules limited by the paper subscription cost. Site licenses both complement and add to the rules of the game.

To continue to attract our fan clients, the library team management must recognize these enhancements and make changes in our tactics. This paper surveys the rapidly changing electronic journal environment by discussing access, pricing strategies and multiple source availability. The management changes which must be made to accommodate the electronic journal into the rules of the library ball game will be forecast.

"Making the Most of Client Complaints"
Louella Wetherbee and Brenda Berkins

Purpose: We were concerned that considerable valuable client input was being lost because our library was not capturing and fully utilizing client complaints and suggestions. We have not developed a systematic process to solicit, capture, store, and analyze client data. In this study, we will survey other medical libraries to discover whether and how they collect this information and how they use it to improve their service to clients.

Methodology: We will survey a group of approximately 20 medical libraries comparable to ours, first by telephone and then in a written follow-up. We will gather data on the ways in which these libraries solicit suggestions and complaints, their processing of this information, and the actions that may result from the client input.

Results: The responses from the surveys will be analyzed not only for the most common ways of handling complaints, but also to discover new trends or innovative ways of using this kind of client input to improve a library's service.

Conclusions: The results of the survey will give some indication of how carefully libraries are listening to our clients and making changes based on what they tell us. We should discover, when a client gives us the "gift" of a complaint, how to make the most of that gift and how to grow that relationship.

"The Millennium Bug and Library Devices"
Richard Wayne

Many intelligent devices will encounter problems when the calendar changes to January 1, 2000. That is because many software programs record the date using only the last two digits.

The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas Library has over thirty-five groups of devices that will be examined for Year 2000 compliance. For advanced systems and computer, we will need to work closely with product vendors. Each system will be tested to ensure that it will work when the millennium changes.

Special software will be required to check Library PCs. Some systems may be upgraded or replaced to address the Year 2000 problem.

This session will first explain the millennium bug. The types of devices that are affected as well as vendor activities will be discussed. Then we will look at developing an action plan to successfully address the year 2000 problem.

"The Process of Seeking Permission to Use Copyrighted Material"
Kathryn S. Connell, Heather L. Perkins and Laura Wilder

For many years, libraries have relied on faculty-signed forms which affirmed that the faculty member had satisfied copyright compliance for materials placed on reserve and photocopied for classes. In light of recent court decisions, more attention is being focused on copyright permissions seeking. Libraries are fast becoming campus centers for managing the permissions process. Faculty members are turning to the library to handle permissions for presentations, publications, web sites and course packs both in hard copy and electronic formats.

In Fall 1997, when the UT Southwestern Medical School embarked on conversion of the medical school curriculum to electronic format, a core team from the Library was charged with permissions seeking and tracking. To establish a reportable audit trail for both course materials and permissions, we designed and developed a materials tracking system from commercially available software which became the primary control interface for the permissions project. The presentation will describe the design and implementation of a process to obtain permissions to use copyrighted material. The major steps in the process include advising faculty on the necessity for acquiring copyright permission, searching for attribution, handling publisher contact, informing faculty of publisher response, and most importantly, record keeping. The presentation will discuss both the process workflow and the software used to document and control the process at each step.

"Spinning a Web Curriculum: Library Participation in Developing a Web-based Curriculum at UT Southwestern Medical Center"
Anthony G. Frisbie, Mori Lou Higa and Laura Wilder

This project is a collaborative curriculum development activity between the Library and several departments on our campus. When complete, the project will be a Web-based curriculum that serves both first and second year medical students in all areas of basic science instruction. The Library's involvement was manifold. This includes providing expertise in educational and instructional design, project and resource management, identifying image attributions, pursuing copyright where necessary, providing Web development expertise as required, as well as housing and setting up the project. Other major components of the project, such as interactive self-assessment questions and implementing the client (Student) testing of the product, were also performed by library staff.

Posters

"Collecting and Organizing Residency Web-brochures"
Karen R. Harker

Choosing a residency program can be the most defining event in a physician's career, perhaps more important than choosing a medical school. Many schools and hospitals advertise their programs using Web-brochures. These Internet sites offer not only information about the programs, but in some cases, online application forms. However, these sites were scattered throughout the Web. The only site which attempted to gather and organize links to these sites (The Residency Page) was operated by a medical student, making permanency and currency questionable. Also, this site was only organized by specialty, not geographically, and was not as thorough as it could be, listing only about 250 programs.

It was decided to create a site which gathered links to as many Web-brochures as possible, organized by state and specialty. The idea for the site was conceived in February 1997. The first form was launched in June. There are about 100 files located in a separate directory on the Web server. It is updated several times a month, with new links highlighted in a "What's New" page. There are currently links to 1,053 residency brochures at this site, and there have been 3,800 hits to these pages from February 1 to February 18, 1998 -- most of these requests coming from off-campus, and many from out of the country.

Future developments of the site include making it a searchable database, and adding links to hundreds of more programs, especially hospitals and Canadian programs. Efforts will be made to include more fellowship programs, an expansion for psychology and physician assistant programs, and more in-depth information for foreign medical school graduates.

"Email Marketing for Libraries"
(poster)
Sharon Giles, Jeff Perkins and Jon Crossno

The possibilities of using electronic mail for marketing library services and products are enormous. This new venue offers an innovative, inexpensive, timely, and easy-to-distribute means of promotion. An exploration of options will include the use of mass distribution, targeted distribution, client databases, in-house library listservs, and e-newsletters. As an example, the development, implementation, and initial results of an email marketing program at UT Southwestern Library will be summarized.

"Introducing Specialized Database Products to the Healthcare Community: The Community of Science Experience"
Helen Mayo and Mary Snyder

The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas is currently developing a database of university researchers in cooperation with the Community of Science (COS), an electronic consortium of research institutions and funding entities.

The COS databases provide multiple opportunities for enhancement of information exchange and scholarly communication. The Funding Opportunities database identifies grant funding sources and provides a user-friendly interface for locating information about funding entities and opportunities for support. The COS Expertise database enables a controlled audience to identify potential collaborators and reviewers and to match fu dig opportunities with possible candidates. A recent addition to the COS product line, Funding Alert, automatically notifies participating researchers weekly by electronic mail of new funding sources in their area of expertise.

The purpose of this poster is to highlight the efforts of Library staff members in organizing and building the COS Expertise database; marketing the COS products to the healthcare community; and educating users about the available databases and their utility for research, development, and scholarly communication. Techniques for institutional data gathering, development of publicity materials, and implementation of educational programs will be reviewed. Additionally, strategies for networking with COS member institutions will be included.

"The Skyrocketing Growth of a Consumer Health Web Site"
Judith Hill

There is plenty of consumer health information on the Web. Much of it, however, is of questionable validity and many authoritative sites have no original content, but are merely providing links to other sites. Health Watch is an example of the successful use of the World Wide Web to convey authoritative health information directly to the consumer. The content of the Health Watch site is written for radio broadcast nationwide by the Office of News and Publications at UT Southwestern. The printed transcripts are mounted on the Web site and maintained by the Library.

Since we began tracking usage in January, 1996, the hits to Health Watch have increased ten-fold, and growth shows no signs of slowing. The organization of the site is continuously revised to make information more accessible. The phenomenal growth in use of the site is an indication of the insatiable appetite of the health information consumer. The poster will contain charts showing growth rate, most popular topics over time, and the distribution of use over the various topics.

"What Good Is a Site Map?"
Judith Hill and Janis Darden

Once a World Wide Web site achieves a certain size, it becomes important to have tools such as site maps to assist in understanding the structure of the site. These tools can assist in the rational construction and maintenance of the site, which in turn can facilitate access to the site. The author analyzed the Web site of a large academic medical library by means of several graphic representations of its architecture. Both hierarchical and non-hierarchical site maps were created in order to understand the structure of the site. To these maps, we then added other layers of data such as total use and use by particular groups of clients in order to reveal relationships among the variables of structure, accessibility, and usage.

The knowledge gained in the study will be used to modify the architecture of the site to enhance the accessibility of important resources and to increase use by certain "target" groups of clients. The poster will display sitemaps in the form of a non-hierarchical "web" and a hierarchical "tree." It will also demonstrate the overlaying on these maps of statistical and other data.

25th SCC/MLA Annual Meeting
Albuquerque, NM
October 1997

Contributed Papers

"Beyond the Flat Organization: Identifying and Removing Other Organizational Boundaries"
Louella Wetherbee, Marty Adamson and Richard B. Wayne

Academic institutions and their libraries are adopting private sector ideas concerning organizational structure. Middle management layers are disappearing, and decision making is becoming the domain of front line staff. However, internal, vertical structure is only one of the psychological boundaries which can slow the organization's cycle time and change tolerance. Boundaries can also arise in relation to functions, disciplines, suppliers, customers, and regulators. Using the experience of UT Southwestern Library as an example, this paper discusses techniques for overcoming boundaries which can impede a library in making speedy decisions and course corrections in a time of rapid change.

"Development of a Library Unified Interface"
Richard Wayne

This paper describes the development and implementation of UT Southwestern Library's unified interface to electronic resources. The common interface provides a user-friendly microcomputer environment for library clients. The unified interface is based upon Web browser technology. In addition to providing a familiar searching tool to library users, the interface enables the integration of pockets of single-purpose microcomputers. The unified interface has helped library clients to become more self-sufficient in the use of library resources. Information Desk staff are able to more easily support the new interface since each public PC has an identical configuration.

"Improving Library Services Through a Collection Availability Study"
Bill Maina, Timothy Judkins, Darlene Huddleston, Cynthia Peterson, Mitch Walters and Eric Zeidler

This study was undertaken to determine to what extent our library's materials are actually available to our clients. Library staff searched approximately 600 items (monographs and journals), first in the catalog and then in the stacks. For those not found, a second more extensive search was performed by another staff member. The success rate for the first set of searches gives a rough indication of the clients' success rate in locating material. The more diagnostic second searches are used to highlight areas for improvement such as the quality of cataloging, or reshelving time.

"Measuring the Quality of Service in Document Delivery"
Research Award
Kathryn Connell, Mitch Walters, Nancy Gotcher, Lucy Vasquez and Eric Zeidler

In order to determine the level of customer satisfaction with document delivery services in our library, five hundred customers were surveyed using the SERVQUAL survey instrument. This paper explains the instrument and reports the results of the survey. Originally developed for retailing operations, SERVQUAL has been widely used in a number of other customer service settings including libraries. The SERVQUAL instrument will be applied to other services within our library in the future, and it could easily be adapted by other libraries wishing to investigate service quality.

"Using Internal Staff Focus Groups as a Source of Customer Satisfaction Feedback"
Sally Harvey, William E. Maina and Louella Wetherbee

The UT Southwestern Medical Center Library has explored several options for determining satisfaction levels among its customers. Many libraries have used customer focus groups for this purpose. The UT Southwestern Library decided to begin by asking focus groups composed of library staff, rather than customers, to report. Participants were asked to discuss customer comments, personal opinions on customer satisfaction and barriers they as staff encountered in serving customers. This paper reports the results of those focus groups and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of this method of collecting customer satisfaction feedback.

Posters

"Allied Health Web Site"
Dawn Reneau, Karen Harker and Stephanie Goode

Allied Health is an essential part of the healthcare community. However, it is under- represented in terms of information and resources available to its practitioners. A Web site has been developed devoted to Allied Health practitioners to remedy this situation. The site contains information about professional organizations as well as practical information such as financial aid, training programs, job opportunities,and peer discussion groups. This poster will demonstrate the structure and features of this web site. It is hoped this site could be used as a model for under represented areas and encourage "non-technical" persons to work with the Internet and HTML.

"Creating a Consumer Health Web Site for Your Library"
Judith Hill

The Consumer Health Information Project is a Web site devoted to general health facts and patient education that includes over 400 separate Web pages. Since 1995, this site has archived weekly Health Watch radio transcripts from the campus Office of News and Publications. The site also includes reviews and links to other Internet sites on related topics. Our Library uses the Planetree Consumer Health classification scheme to organize the content. This poster will demonstrate the categories, content, and organization of this Web site.

"Developing New Indicators of Organizational Health"
Mori Lou Higa, Brenda Berkins and Laura Wilder

Libraries traditionally collect a wealth of data about their operations, from which they compile statistics that are used for decision making or for comparative purposes. However, a rich source of knowledge remains hidden in library files. Using the technique of "data mining" as described by Pollock and Roth, we analyzed existing library files such as database searching statistics, collection circulation statistics, journal usage surveys, web statistics, and document delivery statistics, in order to fully realize the implicit knowledge value of this underutilized repository of data. Using the technique of "knowledge discovery," we searched for significant relationships, patterns, and trends among these statistics and identified leading diagnostic indicators that reflect the health of our library.

"Developing Medical Pathfinders"
Sharon Giles and Herldine Radley

The development of pathfinders or subject resource guides on various medical topics is one of the goals of the Information Resource Center. The process of development, standards for publication in printed and Web statistics, and document delivery statistics, in order to fully realize the implicit knowledge value of this underutilized repository of data. Using the technique of "knowledge discovery," we searched for significant relationships, patterns, and trends among these statistics and identified leading diagnostic indicators that reflect the health of our library.

"The Fast Track to Staff Development: The Process of Creating a Staff Development Program in an Academic Medical Library"
Suzanne Beckett, Judith Hill, Mitch Walters, Lou Wetherbee, Anthony Frisbie and Beverly Hayes

In the fall of 1996, UT Southwestern Medical Library instituted a staff development program based on a staff needs assessment survey and on the Library's six-year strategic plan. The program, coined "Career Express", offered the Library's 58 employees a choice of 20 courses, 4 of which had to be completed for recognition at the end of the year. Designed to reflect a wide variety of learning styles, the program offered staff the opportunity to choose among self-paced video/audio courses, hands-on classes, and workshops from library and non-library presenters. This poster will address the development, implementation and outcome(s) of this program.

"Market Segmentation: Developing Client Profiles in an Academic Medical Library"
Sharon Giles, Suzanne Beckett and Lou Wetherbee

As an underpinning to the marketing of library services, the Marketing Team of the UT Southwestern Medical Center Library has developed profiles of its primary clients. The profile for each category of client contains a detailed description of the category, demographic data and projections, usage statistics and projections, research studies (including internal studies and a review of the literature), a list of currently targeted services, and suggested marketing strategies. A review of this process, its impact, and samples of profiles will be displayed.

24th SCC/MLA Annual Meeting
Galveston, TX
October 1996

Contributed Papers

"Creating and Maintaining a Unified Point of Service: Successes and Challenges"
Sally Harvey, Suzanne Beckett, Sharon Giles and Nancy Trask

Managers from The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center share their experiences creating and maintaining a unified point of service in their library. When the results of strategic planning indicated a need for reorganization, the Information Resource Center Department (IRC) was developed by combining the Circulation Department, the Reference Department, and the Educational Technology Lab. The IRC has been staffed largely by high-level paraprofessional staff, with professional staff as back-up. One of the central goals of the IRC Managers has been to streamline, simplify, and speed up routine circulation processes. The institution of a new, "instant" library card issuing process and a new overdues procedure has done much to accomplish this. Efforts to allow library clients as much self-sufficiency as they desire are also underway, with self-renewal capabilities and the proposed self-check out system. Future IRC management goals include developing new, innovative services for library clients and striving toward ever-more paperless processes.

23rd SCC/MLA Annual Meeting
Little Rock, AR
October 1995

Posters

"Solving Problems Through Research: A Document Delivery Case Study"
(video poster session)
Kathryn Connell, Mitch Walters, Heather Perkins, Jeff Perkins and Mike Paxton

Document Delivery Services at the UT Southwestern Library identified a problem with low lending fill rate. Using scientific research methodology, the Fill Rate Team, which was composed of cross-departmental staff, investigated factors affecting fill rate. With audience participation, the Fill Rate Team communicates its findings through the video spoof, LIBRARY'S MOST WANTED.

Contributed Paper

"Identifying and Assessing Client Needs"
Mori Lou Higa and Mitch Walters

With the opening of a new library in a brand new research facility, the staff faced the problems of publicizing the library and of determining the information needs of its new client population. The library was intended to serve departments of neuroscience, developmental biology, pathology, cancer immunobiology, human growth and development, and future research communities at the new site.

The library staff decided to address both the needs for publicity and for client information by conducting a formal information needs assessment of the entire facility population. This assessment would identify the populations' needs, concerns, and expectations, while at the same time publicizing the services of the library. Between November 1994 and March 1995, a project team conducted the needs assessment in two phases. Phase One consisted of a series of one-on-one and group interviews. Phase Two consisted of an information needs survey which was mailed to all personnel of the new research facility. The survey was designed using information obtained in the first phase of the project. This paper will explain the assessment process, the analysis and results of the assessment, and the library's response to the results.

22nd SCC/MLA Annual Meeting
Irving, TX
October 1994

Contributed Paper

"Outsourcing Your Cataloging: Report of a Pilot Project"
Timothy Judkins

Posters

"The Cost of Monographic Cataloging: Two Methods of Calculation"
Bill Maina and Mitch Walters

As part of a project to test the cost-effectiveness of outsourcing the library's cataloging, we wanted to determine the cost of in-house monographic cataloging. In one method, individual titles were tracked through the cataloging process, with staff entering the time spent at each stage of the process. Then the time spent was totaled and multiplied by the hourly salaries of the staff performing the work. Cost factors for fringe benefits, equipment, and environmental overhead were also included in the total. In the second method, the total yearly cataloging output of the unit was divided by the total yearly salaries, benefits, equipment and overhead costs of the cataloging unit. The two methods produced very different results. The in-house cataloging cost per item for each method is also compared with the prices quoted by a commercial cataloging service.

This poster demonstrates the two methods of calculation using simple formulas and examples. Proportions of staff time spent at various tasks and the breakdown of salary, benefits and overhead costs are displayed using pie charts.

21st SCC/MLA Annual Meeting
New Orleans, LA
October 1993

Poster

"Participative Methods in Strategic Planning"
Timothy Judkins and Nancy Trask

The quality of library service and the levels of employee commitment and productivity can be improved by increasing participation and ownership of the strategic planning process. The following methods to broaden employee and client participation are emphasized:

• Wall of Wonder
• Outside Consultant
• Environmental Scanning Team
• Focus Groups
• Vision Team
• Organizational Design Scenarios

The steps of strategic planning at UT Southwestern Library during 1992 and 1993 are illustrated. The results of our planning process are displayed, and the events which led to creative teamwork and full participation are highlighted.