I risk opening up a whole other can of worms here, but I know I am constantly figuring out how to promote our value. We are not considered "healthcare services" in some eyes because we do not directly work with patients. This I was told as it was explained to me why I was not eligible for a particular program. It is sad to see a state of affairs such as discussed on the listserv already and I am glad to see it shared, so we know what is going on outside our own world. That said, I also agree that we should be standing up for ourselves. I like to use the promotional material available through MLA whenever possible to promote services (although, it takes some work to translate it to French). Promoting our services is very important and once you impress one person, more are likely to come request your services. We have many sayings about librarians being the ones to find the one answer or throwing away the "librarian" sign to replace it with "search engine". Everyone talks about how in the digital world we will become obsolete whereas I see it as an opportunity for us to promote our services and become more involved.

So I ask: What are some examples of promotion that have worked for you? What would you like to see as forms of collaboration and methods of proving/promoting our professionalism? What is our value? And for those of who enjoy anecdotes, what are some positive ones you have to share?

Cheers,
Amanda

Amanda Horsman, B.A. (hons), MLIS, AHIP
Bibliothécaire de référence,
Centre de formation médicale du N.-B.
Bibliothèque Champlain
Université de Moncton
506-858-4478
[log in to unmask]

-----Message d'origine-----
De : Medical Libraries Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] De la part de Nichols, William
Envoyé : 13 janvier 2012 09:31
À : [log in to unmask]
Objet : Re: sad state of a hospital library (long)

We're surely all capable of being coolly objective, but we also all surely do the occasional vent over a cup of coffee in the staff lounge too, do we not? -grin-

Bill


William F. Nichols, MLS | Medical Librarian | Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine |
350 Howard Street | Spartanburg, SC 29303| Office: 864-327-9852  Fax: 864-804-6986 (The views and opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, and they may not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes.)


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-----Original Message-----
From: Medical Libraries Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Donna Beales
Sent: Friday, January 13, 2012 8:24 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: sad state of a hospital library (long)

I confess that the behavior of those who have responded to this story worries me greatly.

I have read all of the posts in today's digest version before posting.
I observe that responses are generally:

1. Emotional
2. Anecdotal

This is critical.  We must move beyond emotionalism and "In my library thus-and-so..." types of responses to a more political stance, and we must do so **immediately.**

The lack of a qualified **librarian**, not library, in a healthcare facility is an unambiguous risk management issue, and Tone Mendoza nailed the zeitgeist of this most accurately.

But the response from our community, at least on this forum, lacks any attempt at solution.  We seem to enjoy the hand-wringing and war-story swapping, but nowhere have I seen posts to the effect of "Here in XYZ state, we approached our medical association..." or "MLA is doing thus-and-so..."  The lack of such posts it very telling.  Meanwhile, closings and lay-offs continue apace.

I come out of public libraries but have almost 14 years in medical librarianship now.  Public libraries *routinely* discuss such important collaborations and actively lobby for themselves.  To date, I have not seen this type of behavior from our ranks.

I would also like to make this comment.  The strange and somewhat rude comments I received privately the last time I responded with professionalism to this type of scenario also worries me.

If I receive any this time, it is my intention to repost them to the list, so caveat emptor!  Let's all be grown-ups here, and should you want to take me to task at least have the professionalism and courtesy to do so in a public venue.

I personally was unaware that I had done anything more than point out something that should be obvious, and critically important, to all.

Herein, I have cc'd Dixie Jones, the incoming President of MLA.


Donna Beales, MLIS
Lowell General Hospital
Health Science Library
295 Varnum Ave.
Lowell, MA 01854
Email: dbeales AT lowellgeneral.org
http://www.lowellgeneral.org/library
Tel. 978-937-6247
Fax 978-937-6855

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