by Zana Etter, Director
Media Library, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey

1. Collaboration and Co-Leveraging Between the LRC and the Dean's Office in Formation of a Graduate Medical Education Resource Center
   Presented by Guillaume Van Moorsel, Educ. Services & Information Literacy Librarian; Veronica Gornik, LRC Coordinator, Academic Information Services and Research, Scott Memorial Library; Clara Callahan, M.D., Office of Student Affairs; Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pa.

   Librarians at TJU, a private academic health sciences university, recognized the information needs of residency program applicants, and developed a value-added GME resource center in the main library. The facility includes a database-managed collection of print catalogs, handbooks, foreign residency and employment opportunities, electronic multi-media resources, as well as supported work stations. The presentation reported on overall activities and project outcomes and elaborated on initiatives toward a comprehensive, Web-based GME information center, including a digital information kiosk and student module, educational support programs and an electronic residency program evaluation and tracking system. Visit http://www.jeffline.tju.edu/aisr/ for more information.

2. The Physician Leadership Academy Web Site: A Virtual Learning Resources Center
   Presented by Gang Wu, Information Services Librarian; Sandra Martin, Assistant Director; Nancy Adams, Information Services Librarian; Shiffman Medical Library, Wayne State University, Detroit

   Established in 1997, the Physician Leadership Academy at Detroit Medical Center uses workshops, focus groups and seminars to enhance management skills of selected clinicians. Through collaboration with the CME division and the library, a virtual LRC was created to promote access to resources. A Web site at http://www.libraries.wayne.edu/shiffman/pla/index.html offers services that deliver materials to offices on-demand, and includes full-text journal access, reports and databases. The presentation discussed the evolution, content and technical development of the Web site, and included its strengths and limitations, and user evaluation.

3. Working Toward a Digital Future: Issues Surrounding the Delivery of Educational Technology Services
   Presented by James Duncan, Head of the Information Commons, Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, The University of Iowa-Iowa City.

   This clever and well-delivered presentation used the baseball diamond as a framework for discussing educational technology services. The paper examined issues involved with delivery of new media services, the development of educational technology training and consultation, and production of multimedia resources for instruction and learning in an exclusive digital environment. Practical examples were used in discussing the links between provision of new services and educational trends such as utilization of electronic materials in PBL curricula, delivery of computer assisted instruction, and changing roles of librarians, faculty and staff. Benefits and drawbacks of new technological initiatives were highlighted. The Information Commons has received a $700,000 commitment for expansion which will bring new challenges when construction is completed in Spring, 1999.

4. Square Pegs, Round Holes: Making Sense out of the EMTS Survey Results Christine Frank, Associate Director for Information Services; Bill Karnoscak, Manager, McCormick Educational Technology Center; Library of Rush University, Rush-Presbyterian-St.Luke's Medical Center, Chicago. The MLA Educational Media and Technologies Section survey results provided the first national picture of health sciences LRCs since the early 90's. It gathered information about institutional profile, expenditures, personnel, collection size, facilities, usage tracking and services. The survey revealed that only one measurement, AV software tracking is consistently applied in a majority of institutions. LRC benchmarking is difficult due to the variations in structure, services, staffing, and the way services are measured. Future benchmarking is complicated by rapidly developing technologies and changing user demands for LRC services. The report concluded that it will be difficult to use survey data to justify additional resource allocation if LRC librarians do not agree nationally on a standard set of record keeping practices. The EMTS LRC Survey Website is http://bones.med.ohio-state.edu/emts/stats/index.html

A detailed report of this session is included in this issue of MC Journal, together with the complete paper by the authors Bill Karnoscak and Christine Frank.

The author and editors do not maintain links to World Wide Web resources.

ISSN 1069-6792
Revised: 9/27/99
URL: http://wings.buffalo.edu/publications/mcjrnl/v6n2/mlaov.html