Newsletter Editors
Jon Crossno
UT Southwestern Medical Center Library
David Midyette
Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Well, yet again, here's the post-MLA meeting issue — ready for your review several months after the meeting, of course.
Fortunately, the Texan co-editor had a fairly uneventful summer; he was able to attend two weddings and take a nice trip to Atlantic Canada — and didn't break any bones at all! What a relief!!
He has, however, had a slight change in job responsibilities at work, which you can read about in more detail in the newsletter's newest section — Colleagues' News — at the end. And this change has taken up quite of bit of his time lately.
As for the Californian (née North Carolinian) co-editor, he too has had some interesting changes, but mostly of a personal nature. Earlier this year, he lost his beloved cat of 15 years, got two new puppies (that makes four labs in the house now), got a new kitten, moved into a new house (OMG, California is soooooooooo expensive!), and celebrated his sixth anniversary with his partner.
As far as work goes, he has been getting more and more into the corporate environment and is now rather proficient at Dialog searching, contract development and management, creative budgeting, OPAC development and implementation, learning a ton about pharmaceutics, staff development and management, massive collection evaluation. ("WHEW, do I need to go on?") In sum — far too late for your now tired eyes — a boat load in a short time! Happy Holidays, Y'all!!
Anyhow, we welcome you to a new year! We've got a nice welcome message from our 2005-2006 co-conveners: Sheila Snow-Croft and Dale Prince. The 11 Questions featurette continues, and Dale and three other SIG members have graciously answered the questions to help you get to know them a little better. Richard Klein provides a brief report on our housing arrangements for the 2006 annual meeting in Phoenix, and at the request of the Hospital Libraries Section Professional Development Grant Jury, we've included an announcement about the grant's application deadline.
And last, but certainly not least, take a look at the Colleagues' News section to read about new professional and/or personal developments in some SIG members' lives.
So read on, gentle readers! And stay tuned for our next issue in April, which should be chock-full of 2006 meeting highlights.
Your Newsletter Co-Editors, Jon & David
This year, your co-conveners wish to say something deep and lasting, something witty yet showing evidence of a deep understanding of the human condition, something that will stick with readers for years to come, so that, on the 20th anniversary of the SIG, it will be emblazoned on banners as being a high point in SIG history. We want to say something that will make all past and future conveners bite their lips in envy and say secretly to themselves, "I wish we'd said that."
However, your co-conveners are neither deep nor wise, neither serious nor particularly capable. We are, moreover, witty mostly only to ourselves after a few cocktails. So we've given up on our desire to be erudite and devastating, opting instead for glib and passable. Nevertheless, should we come up with something startling, original, and smart, we'll be sure to share it with you in the spring edition of the newsletter. We hope, though, that you will not hold your breaths; we've enough pressure trying to find the perfect ringtones that will best illustrate our personalities and impress people in public places.
Since, evidently, being a co-convener of the LGBTHSL SIG is not as strenuous a job as, say, cutting Vin Diesel's hair, we've no choice but to thank, in no particular order, all those people who have actually accomplished things for the sake of the SIG. (And, by "in no particular order" we mean that we aren't judging by the hotness of the honoree; this is not, after all, a job interview.)
First, we'd like to thank Chris Shaffer and Greg Bodin, Web site maintainers, and Jon Crossno and David Midyette, newsletter editors. Without them, how would we know what we were doing? We especially thank them for demanding content from us only a couple of times a year, and for not reminding us about promises made in previous SIG meetings. What happens at a SIG business meeting stays at a SIG business meeting. Unfortunately, this is not absolutely true in regard to SIG parties. Having said this, we remind you that your co-conveners are well known for their discretion.
Thank you, Sally Harvey, for assisting us in accommodations for Phoenix next year. And for scrubbing out the hotel prior to our descent upon the city. And for offering up her home for our revelry.
Next we'd like to thank Michael Scott for his invisible but potent program planning. We'd also like to warn Michael that, should he choose not to appear in Phoenix, it is likely that he will plan programs for the rest of eternity. It's funny how absence and responsibility are often very closely wed.
No list of thanks would be complete without a holla to Bill Karnoscak for his work as unofficial SIG treasurer. The position is now defunct, but we are all aware of the awful responsibility it entailed while it existed. Bill is to be commended and, perhaps, considered a hero.
Finally, we'd like to thank Richard Klein for his continued support for the SIG. His skill in finding the perfect hotel for us is more than appreciated.
In summing up our thankfulness, we wish to point out that, most importantly of all, if these people were not doing these things, someone else would have to. Ponder that thought and tremble.
One last administrative issue: Sheila Snow-Croft will be departing from her work as co-convener, choosing not to pursue a second, exhausting term, this spring. Should anyone be interested in sharing co-convener duties (whatever they are; no one has actually told us) with Dale Prince, please speak up for consideration, keeping in mind that, absence from the spring SIG meeting will be the same thing as saying, "Please, please, please, I've never wanted anything more than to be SIG co-convener." Forewarned, etc.
We look forward to seeing all of you in Phoenix.
Sheila Snow-Croft and J. Dale Prince
When is your birthday?
July, and I'm 35, so that'll be July 1970. I think.
Where are you located geographically?
Balmer, hon. That's in Merlan.
Where did you get your MLS?
In Indiana. On the frozen tundra. I had to wrestle my degree away from wolverines.
What was the worst part of library school?
I had to commute 72 miles in a direction in the middle of winter in Indiana. I hate snow. I hate driving in snow. And snow starts in November in Indiana and goes away in early May, making it easier, of course, for wolverines to sneak up on you and for polar bears to go through your garbage.
And there were a lot of terribly earnest librarian wannabes in school, hard as that is to imagine. One guy kept raising his hand, in every class, children's lit, cataloging, history of reading, it didn't matter, and would say, "What about MeSH? What about MeSH?!" If you have a hammer, I suppose...
How do you really feel about cataloging?
It's a dirty job and someone else has to do it.
What would your mother say was your most embarrassing moment?
When she gave me the gay talk. How not to be.
What would you say was your mother's most embarrassing moment?
When she gave me the gay talk. How not to be. It got all confused with a conflation of gayness and PE. Or, at least, I think that's what happened. She, crying, told me to just get angry and hit the ball, not realizing, of course, that gays are more afraid of balls than balls are of us. "Get mad and hit the ball" was her way of telling me to close my eyes and do it for the empire. Or she could simply have been telling me how to be a better softball player.
How did you come to medical librarianship?
Purely accidentally.
An informationist is...
A reference librarian in nurse's clogs.
What is your fondest SIG/MLA memory?
Sheila will get mad at me if I rehash my fondest memory, so I'll tell my second fondest. It was in Dallas when we'd all gathered in the Amerisuites breakfast room and I realized that the shorts that Bill K. was wearing were, in fact, his underwear. It still makes me happy to this day. There should be more men in underwear wandering around in our hotel.
What is the most trivial fact you have rattling around your head?
Avagodro's number: 6.02 X 1023
It isn't trivial to anyone trying to figure out the number of atoms/molecules
in a mole of gas, but for me ...
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When is your birthday?
January 17th.
Where are you located geographically?
Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Where did you get your MLS?
Queen's College, New York City.
What was the worst part of library school?
Finding a place to park.
How do you really feel about cataloging?
I always think of cataloging as a puzzle and I enjoy puzzles.
What would your mother say was your most embarrassing moment?
I was 12 when my cousin Fred, who was 7, announced to the grown-ups after a family dinner that they should all leave the room now, because we wanted to play doctor and pull down our pants.
What would you say was your mother's most embarrassing moment?
Visiting unannounced, and seeing me from the back of the sofa, lying face down and fully clothed, she walked into the living room only to find me attached to a half-naked person. I was 32 and my friend David, 28.
How did you come to medical librarianship?
Before I was a librarian, I was a retail pharmacist — I just wanted a job where I could sit down!
An informationist is...
A pretentious librarian.
What is your fondest SIG/MLA memory?
I'm new to the group and have attended only one event, a business meeting scheduled practically at the crack of dawn. Any fond memory is nearly overshadowed by embarrassment. I arrived late, half asleep, hungry and needing that cup of coffee I had forgone in the interest of arriving on time and making a decent first impression. Passing the breakfast table in the hall, I loaded up — coffee, juice, Danish, milk, muffin, Danish, apple, orange, banana and, yes, another Danish — entered the room to many turning heads, not one of whom had at least a single cup of coffee. Uh oh! Well, I brought it in here; I might as well eat it! During the meeting it was noted that the group had decided not to purchase the hotel-catered breakfast. When I left I saw the sign over the table, "Breakfast for Clinical Librarians Only." The fond part of this memory is that I was not publicly scolded, only privately mortified, or perhaps, judging by all those hungry-looking faces staring at me, envied.
What is the most trivial fact you have rattling around your head?
In the 1970s, phenformin, an antidiabetic drug introduced to compete with insulin for controlling blood glucose, was marketed as D.B.I.®, an acronym for "don't buy insulin."
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When is your birthday?
September 3, 1957.
Where are you located geographically?
Arizona.
Where did you get your MLS?
I have a MA. The University of Arizona changed it from MLS to a MA in Library Science. I know why it isn't a MS instead of MA.
What was the worst part of library school?
The commute was the worst; it was 220 miles round trip a couple times a week.
How do you really feel about cataloging?
It's a necessary evil. I'll copy catalog every chance I get. Sometimes, it is nice to work with something that is so very structured.
What would your mother say was your most embarrassing moment?
Fortunately, I probably don't remember my most embarrassing moments. I have a history of seizures. During a seizure I tended to try to go bed and sleep it off. I've been told I've tried to undress and go to bed in supermarket.
What would you say was your mother's most embarrassing moment?
With 5 brothers and sisters, I was always the quiet, well-behaved one. Although I don't remember a lot before 1992, I'm sure it would have to involve one of my wild child siblings. I'll leave why I don't remember much before 1992 to your imagination, but if you ever want to know just ask. I promise to tell the truth.
How did you come to medical librarianship?
My undergrad degrees are in healthcare, education with a school media specialist certification. This qualified me for a library technician position. Later, I earned my MA to become the librarian.
An informationist is...
A good special subject reference librarian.
What is your fondest SIG/MLA memory?
The Kansas City meeting, it was the first meeting I was involved with the SIG. Everyone was wonderfully welcoming and just fun to be around.
What is the most trivial fact you have rattling around your head?
Far too many, but the one that is most trivial to me is that automatic transmissions are based on hydraulic principles, and manual transmissions are based on mechanical principles.
Reservations are now being accepted at our selected SIG hotel for MLA 2006 — the San Carlos Hotel (http://www.hotelsancarlos.com), 202 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85004. We are holding our standard block of 15 rooms from May 19-26, 2005; a 10-room block is available for May 17 and 18.
To make reservations, just call 866-253-4121, and be sure to mention "Special Interest Group" to secure the SIG group rate of $106 per night (guaranteed), either single or double occupancy, plus 12% tax (at present). Continental breakfast is included.
The hotel is just two blocks from the Hyatt Hotel and one block from the Wyndham, which are the MLA headquarters hotels, and a similar distance from the Phoenix Civic Plaza. Meeting sessions could likely be held at any of the three locations.
Accommodation types consist of double, two doubles, or queen bedded rooms. The hotel will attempt to be flexible regarding earlier arrival and later departure dates. Suites are also available, but while they are provided for within our contract, you are encouraged to make inquiries about rates and availability.
More information about the hotel and how to register may be found on the SIG Web site at http://lgbt.mlanet.org/2006housing.html.
Apply Today!
HLS/MLA Professional Development Grant for Hospital and Clinical Librarians
Application Due by: February 1, 2006
Are you looking for financial support to:
The HLS/MLA Professional Development Grant helps librarians in hospitals and other clinical care settings to acquire knowledge and skills through educational or research activities.
For information and an application, check the MLA web site: http://www.mlanet.org/awards/grants/.
For additional questions, please contact Deborah Jameson.
Have any news (professional, personal, or other) that you'd like to share with your colleagues? Published any articles? Changed jobs recently? Gotten married or had children?
If so, your friendly, neighborhood co-editors would love to hear from you. Just send us your news bites, and we'll publish it in the next newsletter. (We know, of course, that the next issue won't be published until April 2006. We've never promised timeliness!)
Here are news items for this issue ...
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Jon Crossno, the Texan co-editor of this prestigious newsletter, is no longer toiling away as manager of the UT Southwestern Library's public service point, the Information Desk. Effective October 2005, he began working in the lofty confines of the Collection Development unit as a resource development librarian. He is being trained "by immersion" — having spent nine years in public services — in the ins and outs of book selection, electronic books and journals, and licensing. He remains excited, curious, and a little (or more than a little) overwhelmed.
Oh, and Jon was also recently elected Secretary of the South Central Chapter of the Medical Library Association for 2005-2006. He took office at the end of the Chapter's annual meeting in Little Rock, Arkansas, in October. This is in addition to his regular — and extensive! — duties to the Chapter as the Membership Database Manager.
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Paul Blobaum is currently President (through 2006) of the Health Science Librarians of Illinois, and he is currently working on bringing the MedlinePlus GoLocal to Illinois.
Paul also received a $4,000 grant from the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI) to acquire materials — primarily in monographic format — that will address research and health care needs for GLBT persons, especially regarding health disparities. If anyone knows of recent bibliographies of these kinds of materials or runs across a good title, he would certainly appreciate a "heads up."
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Jacqueline Leskovec is now the new Communications Coordinator for the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Greater Midwest Region, at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She was previously employed as a librarian at the University of South Florida Area Health Education Center in Tampa, and she is very happy to be back in the City of Chicago.
This page was last updated on December 21, 2005. Credits