It’s Archives Awareness Week!

This April 1st to 5th marks Archives Awareness Week in Ontario!  In celebration, the St. Michael’s Hospital Archives has launched a Flickr site hosting a selection of archival photographs taken from our large photo collection.  Each photo contains a date of creation and descriptive caption.  Look for new photos to be added on a regular basis.  You can view our Flickr site here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stmichaelshospital_archives/

Send any questions or comments to:

Teruko Kishibe, Archivist

416.864.6060 x77542

archives@smh.ca

You said…. Part 1

Over 500 people responded to the Library survey in January/February.  We are analyzing the results and planning a process for further investigation.  Meanwhile, we would like to respond to some of the many suggestions, and questions you sent us.  Please feel free to continue to share your opinions with us, by commenting in this blog space or by sending emails to hslibrary@smh.ca

You said:  “The Library does not have the texts that our unit needs.”

Our response:  If we don’t have what you need, we will do our best to get it—just send a title or topic to hslibrary@smh.ca, or contact your information specialist at x5059. We want to talk to you!

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You said: We wish the library or library computers were more accessible at nighttime, as there is no place to go to do homework in the hospital after hours for front line staff, and the computers we have on our units are often busy.”

Our response: We hear you!  If we had our way, our computer lab would be available 24/7 for all staff.  Unfortunately, our building is not accessible 24/7.  We do our best to advocate for more computers in the hospital.  We are open until 8pm Mon-Thurs; until 6 on Fridays and on Saturdays from 11-5.

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You said:  It was great having access to Up-to-Date, why can’t the library purchase it?

Our response:  Many of you asked us about this.  We recognize that this is a popular product.  Unfortunately, while an individual subscription to Up-to-Date is not too outrageous, their pricing model for institutions makes it prohibitively expensive for most libraries to purchase.   A subscription for St. Mikes would likely be in excess of $120,000 a year.  We continue to negotiate with the vendor and to explore options for cooperative purchasing.

However, there are other good products available that are much less expensive.   We recommend trying ACP Pier by STAT!Ref as a good evidence based tool that the library provides access to (look under databases on our website).  If you are a physician, Dynamed is a very good point of care tool that is generally more up to date than Up-To-Date and is available free from the CMA.

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You said:  I have always received excellent and professional help from the staff. Always a pleasure doing business with you.

Our response: Thank you! We enjoy meeting those of you who come into the library, too.

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You said:  Most comments about the staff were very positive, but one person was not happy.“[The staff] was too busy to provide assistance. ..I am not greeted when I come into or leave the library!

Our response:  We’re sorry you caught us at a busy time.  If we are distracted and do not notice when you come in, please say something. When we are at the desk, providing reference service is our primary responsibility. We like it when people ask questions!

Canadian granting agency uses social media to engage the public

A Canadian grant agency is using social networking to contribute to their review process.  All applicants must submit a 2 min video explanation by the investigator to try to engage the public.  This U of T grant application by Tim Chan (Engineering), includes Dr. Laurie Morrison from St. Michael’s Hospital and other team members both here in Canada and in Bangladesh.   The project will develop a simulation model to optimize transportation routes (through traffic, population density and urban upheavals) for ambulances in a city in Bangladesh to transport the sick and injured quickly to hospital.  This simulation model will have important implications to improving survival rates of the sick and injured in developing and developed countries and the software application has the potential to save many lives where time sensitive interventions are helpful.

Check out the video and ‘LIKE’ it to support this application.

http://applications.grandchallenges.ca/en/viewVideo/28735E6AA6E83AB7569B19B5

Thank You

The survey is now closed.  We’ve gotten excellent feedback.  Thank you to everyone who took the time to give us your thoughts and opinions.  We will announce the winners of the Kobo e-readers soon.

Pam Richards, Team Leader Health Sciences Library

The Library needs your input – share your opinions and win prizes

The St. Michael’s library is bright and shiny and new … but how well does it serve our community?  The Health Sciences Library is embarking on a visioning and planning exercise to try and imagine the library of the future.

An important component of this process is engaging the community to find out what they think. To that end, the library has recently launched a community survey and a corresponding blog.

Complete the quick online survey, and be entered in a draw to win prizes including a Kobo e-Reader, and share your opinions in the Idea Factory.