Disaster Apps for the Well-Prepared

What my Minnesotan eyes see during Florida's daily afternoon rainstorm

Considering that hurricane season is well under way in the southeast already and my hurricane go-bag is still only halfway packed (I’m from Minnesota originally and a blizzard kit doesn’t translate well to Florida), I thought I would interrupt our regularly scheduled tech tips to look at some interesting apps for disaster preparedness, for you or your library! 

Of course, if you want to use these apps in the midst of a natural disaster like a hurricane, you are going to need some way to keep your phone or tablet charged in the middle of a power outage, so feel free to take a moment and shop for external batteries and emergency generators before continuing.

SC/MLA Annual Meeting Call for Papers and Posters: Deadline extended to July 1!

Did you procrastinate on submitting a paper or poster abstract for this year's annual meeting? Or do you have a late-breaking project that you would like to share? Then today is your lucky day because the abstract submission deadline for meeting papers and posters has been extended to July 1!

This year's theme is Re-Think IT: The Evolving Landscape of Libraries.

Proposals should relate to:

• Innovative services, programs, or technology
• Transforming & re-designing space
• Research & data management
• Assessing and evaluating services
• Community outreach & information literacy programs
• Patient care, improving outcomes & patient safety

Visit the meeting's Call for Papers/Posters website for more details and submission instructions. Please direct questions to Gregg Stevens at stevens_ga@mercer.edu (papers) or Kelsey Leonard at KLeonard@mc.utmck.edu (posters).

Research Awards for SC/MLA Annual Meeting 2016

By J. Michael Lindsay, Chair, Southern Chapter Research Committee

The date for submitting poster and paper abstracts for Southern Chapter will be upon us before you know it!  As you are considering what to present, don’t forget about the Research Awards!  The first prize winner for research papers is $300 and the first prize winner for posters is $200.  Help advance the research progress of the Southern Chapter and maybe even win a prize by submitting a research-oriented paper or poster for consideration.

Upcoming Learning Opportunities for June and July

Please pour me a tall glass of learning to go with this cupcake of knowledge 

As you are sitting in your office, trying to decide if this weekend will be too hot and humid to spend outside (if you are in the Southeast, just assume it will be), you may suddenly remember that you set a goal of learning more this summer. Well, Memorial Day happened and Independence Day is almost here, so it’s time to hit the books!

To save you the effort of researching potential classes yourself (it’s too hot for internet searches you say, as you lounge about, sipping ice cold lemonade indoors with the A/C running), here’s some learning opportunities we’ve found that you may be interested in.

Call for Papers and Posters for SC/MLA 2016

You are invited to submit proposals for contributed papers and posters for the 2016 SC/MLA 66th annual meeting October in Greenville, SC on October 2-6. The meeting will be held at the Westin Poinsett in downtown Greenville.

This year's theme is Re-Think IT: The Evolving Landscape of Libraries.

Check the conference website (http://uscm.med.sc.edu/scmla2016) for full meeting details. As plans are finalized, find up-to-the-minute information there. Meanwhile, please consider submitting a proposal for a poster or a paper.

Reflections on the MLA Annual Meeting

By Ayaba Logan, MPH, MLIS, AHIP

MLA16 … Being a part of the Big Picture in Toronto was AMAZING. This was my second MLA Conference preceded by Austin 2015. What made it AMAZING? Toronto!!! A rich, diverse, city- a true Mosaic of cultures, languages, and head coverings. The conference programing was excellent as usual and Toronto was the icing on yummy cake. The sessions were overflowing with tools, ideas, and challenges to the work we do. The exhibit hall was packed with vendors poised to sell the latest and greatest widgets. The plenary speakers did a great job, both inspirational and enthusiastic (I thought I was at a TED talk). MJ Tooey gave quite the history lesson, and the stroll down leadership lane was much appreciated by this newer attendee.

Talking to people at their posters was enlightening professionally and personally- we have already begun planning for an MLA 17 whitewater rafting day trip. Networking, making conference friends, committee meetings, round tables, Aquarium Parties, catchups had me flying high and sleeping like a baby. And Toronto was the best backdrop to all of this excitement and development. For people with dietary restriction, especially religious ones like mine, Toronto eateries from food trucks to gourmet restaurants all accommodated my requirements with a smile and a YES- they made my questions and requests normal. I was moved to joyous tears.

Throughout the week, I learned, talked, walked, ate halal, drank juice, and was merry. Toronto has become one of my favorite cities and a second home- I can’t wait until I return to Toronto and MLA. See you next year Seattle (InshaAllah/ إن شاء الله)!!  

Ayaba Logan, MPH is a Research and Education Informationist at MUSC Library, and Instructor in the College of Nursing and Department of Public Health.

SLA Poster Presentation: Evaluating an Embedded Program

Some SC/MLA chapter members are presenting a poster at the Special Libraries Association (SLA) Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, June 12-14. Even if you can't make it to the City of Brotherly Love, you can still read the full abstract and download their poster.

Poster Title: Evaluating an Embedded Program: Increasing Awareness, Expanding Services, and Fulfilling Patron Needs

Authors: Lindsay Blake, Darra Ballance, Vicki Burchfield, Maryska Connolly-Brown, Kathy Davies, Julie K. Gaines, Kim Mears & Peter Shipman

Institution: Robert B. Greenblatt MD, Library, Augusta University, Augusta 


Poster objective: The research project objective is provide a multifaceted, generalizable toolkit for evaluating the effectiveness of an embedded program. An embedded librarian program was evaluated using a toolkit which includes traditional activity data and a survey aimed at measuring use of services, awareness of the embedded program, and satisfaction with embedded librarians and services.

Methods: An initial national survey of librarians in the health sciences and a literature review identified few evaluation tools for embedded activities, leading the librarians to begin developing an embedded evaluation toolkit to evaluate the success of their embedded program. The evaluation toolkit consists of data collected locally through LibAnalytics software on various service transactions, and a survey aimed to measure awareness, use of, and satisfaction with embedded librarians and services.