Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Only 2 days to go - HLA/HCN Health Informatics Innovation Award


As I type this there are only 2 days to go before applications close for the HLA/HCN Health Informatics Innovation Award. The folks at HCN tell me they've had opportunity to talk to many health librarians, during meetings and recently at the Online 2009 conference, and there are "lots of people doing fantastic things out there". This is your opportunity...nominate yourself or a colleague.

Click here for details of the award and here for the application form.

Closing date: This Friday, February 27th

Library photos


A big thanks to Karen Carson (Manager of the Ramsay & Buttfield Libraries in Tassie) who sent me a link to photos of the new Douglas Piper Library at Royal North Shore Hospital. Karen took these photos during a visit organised by Gillian Wood, Area Library Manager for NSCCAHS, to coincide with the Online 2009 conference.

If any of you have photos of your library that you'd like to share, I'd love to hear from you!

[Photo of cockatoo and DPL mascot by Dr Richard Piper]

Saturday, February 21, 2009

WebJunction

In a recent press release, WebJunction, an online social network learning community for librarians and library staff, has released Library Management Competencies, a guide to courses and resources to help current and aspiring library managers be more successful in their work. Competencies are grouped around the following sub-categories:

* Budget & Funding
* Community Relations
* Facilities
* Laws, Policies & Procedures
* Marketing
* Organisational Leadership
* Personnel Management
* Project Management
* Staff Training & Development
* Strategic Planning
* Trustees and Friends

I can't comment on the quality of the courses but it may be useful to know that many are self-paced - you have a year in which to complete them - and each costs around US$40 (just over AU$60).

Friday, February 20, 2009

FOLIOz for 2009



ALIA and ScHARR (University of Sheffield, UK) are presenting 4 online courses this year as part of the FOLIOz (Facilitated Online Learning as an Interactive Opportunity) series.

Promoting and Marketing Library and Information Services' (PROMISE)
Monday 23rd March - Friday 8th May 2009
Cost $220 for ALIA members

Moving into Supervision: Supervisory skills for library technicians and/or newly qualified professionals (MOVES)
Monday 1st June - Friday 17th July 2009
Cost $220 for ALIA members

Managing for Service Quality (MSQ)
Monday 24th August - Friday 9th October 2009
Cost $220 for ALIA members

Maximising the impact of your service (Maxim)
Monday 30th November 2009 - Friday 22nd January 2010 (including a two-week break 21st December-4th January)
Cost $270 for ALIA members

I completed the KM FOLIOz course that was offered in 2008 and really got a lot out of it. The course was delivered by email (typically one per day) supported by web materials, briefings, powerpoint tutorials, audio and video presentations, quizzes and buddy exercises. Some days, all I had to do was read an article. Other days, I needed to complete an exercise. Whatever the task of the day, by the end of the course I had developed a portfolio of work that reflected what I had learnt and how I intended to apply my new found knowledge. It was suggested that participants would need to put in 2-4 hours of work per week but I found, like most things in life, what you put in was what you got out! Another great thing about the course was how flexible it was; I could complete the activities at my own pace (though I would highly recommend trying to maintain a consistent pace!).

If you are interested, contact Judy Brooker, ALIA's Professional Development and Careers Manager, on 1800 020 071 or email judy.brooker@alia.org.au for more details.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

HLA News - Jan 09 issue


The January issue of HLA News was distributed to HLA members at the end of January 2009. If you believe you are a HLA member but didn't receive it, please email me directly at melanie.kammermann@alianet.alia.org.au.nospam (remove the 'no spam' from the address) so we can check that your name is on the mailing list next time.

The Jan issue has also been loaded on the HLA News website. You will need your ALIA login and password to access it. Older issues are freely available.

Thanks once more to our bulletin sponsor, EBSCO.

I am always looking for contributions to the newsletter. If you have implemented a new piece of software, made service improvements, done some benchmarking, attended a conference...anything that's of interest to health libraries...please consider writing this up for publication. The bulletin is selectively indexed in CINAHL and the Informed Librarian Online, and you can also earn ALIA CPD points.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

The HLA Exec Needs You!


It's that time again when you are asked to consider nominating for the Executive Committee of Health Libraries Australia. Back in August 2006 I wrote a post about why I continue to be involved and those sentiment still hold.

All positions are open and include: Convener, Secretary, Treasurer, Editor or General Member.

Please contact the secretary, Mary Peterson at mary.peterson@imvs.sa.gov.au.nospam (remove 'no spam' from the address) before the end of February.

New ALIA member benefit - full text LIS journals

ALIA has just announced that they will be joining forces with Proquest to provide ALIA members with access to more than 100 online full-text LIS journals. Titles will include Library Journal, Computers in Libraries and The Electronic Library.

For those working in small, special libraries, access to LIS journals is often not readily available so this news is very welcome, particularly with regards professional development and evidence-based practice.

More details will be made available in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

HLA/HCN Health Informatics Innovation Award


If you haven't checked it out already, HCN is sponsoring a new award, the HLA/HCN Health Informatics Innovation Award. This is a great opportunity to showcase innovative projects which, through the use of health informatics or web technologies contribute to or support improved health outcomes.

The winner of the Award will receive $2500 to put toward professional development... a substantial amount of money at the best of times but especially in the current economic climate. $2500 might enable all the members of a winning team to attend workshops, or an individual a trip to an overseas conference.

But what I really like about this Award is the sharing of information; we get to learn from one another. And, remember, you can self-nominate or be nominated by a colleague. Please do consider nominating a deserving colleague if you think they won't self-nominate.

The application form and guidelines can be downloaded from the HLA website or contact a member of the HLA Executive for an application.

Applications close 27 February 2009 so get your skates on!

Friday, February 06, 2009

Results from the ALIA member survey

ALIA members can now access the executive summaries of the results from the member survey conducted last year. There are summaries for both individual and insitutional results.

The reports summarise those factors most important to members versus member impressions of how well ALIA is performing against each of these factors. It also sets out some potential improvement opportunities for ALIA.

These documents are worth a read...only 3 pages each...as you can expect the results to heavily influence the future activities of our national professional body.

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Kung Hei Fat Choi


HLA Blogs! has been a little dormant over the last 6 months but we'll see if we can't rectify that in the coming months.

Happy New Year from the HLA Executive and, equally important from my desk here in Hong Kong, Kung Hei Fat Choi! It's the Year of the Ox and let's hope it's not as bad as one might imply from a headline I saw recently..."Get ready for an absolute cow of a year". Perhaps it would be more positive to think about the coming year in terms of harnessing the qualities of the Ox...patience, common sense and the achievement of prosperity through determination and hard work.

One definite bright spot on the horizon and a biggie for us this year is ICML 2009 in Brisbane. The keynote speakers listed so far are most impressive. Registrations are open at the early bird fee up until 17th April. This is one event you won't want to miss.