So just before you leave make sure you hit the store so you help others out. Also if you bring your toiletries from the hotel each morning, housekeeping will replace them each day and you can bring more.

Now the book is free, so I am sure that helps keep it at the top of the best “seller” list.  One could argue the press surrounding the creation of an ibook by middle schoolers helps drive the ”buys” as well.  However, the book was just published April 26, 2012 and according to a May 1st  article (earliest report on the ebook I could find) on the Woodlawn Beach Middle School’s web page, the book was already the top ranking free book. So, while the press coverage might add to the popularity, the book itself started out strong.

Why is this important, especially on a blog about medical librarianship?  

Maybe I got up on a different side of the bed today, but this report got me thinking about the design of ebooks and whether publishers are just too old, to “get it.”  Are the powers that be and structure within publishing  too steeped in the traditional concept of a paper book to really understand the idea of an interactive ebook?  to further explain this let me draw upon my grade school experiences with computers. (Yes I can remember back that far.)

When I was a kid (2nd or 3rd grade) everyone seemed to be rushing to get computers in school and I remember an old room converted to a computer lab stuffed with Apple IIe’s.  Time in the computer lab was supposed to be important, but since the whole grade school had to share 10 computers, we didn’t visit the lab very often.  The only time I remember visiting the computer lab was for math class, specifically plotting graph equations on the computer.  We would spend the whole math hour inputting coordinates into the computer and at the end, if we did it right, we were “treated” to a green line or triangle.  Booooorring.  I got nothing out of that.  I actually dreaded computer lab time.

In grade school we never used the computers for anything other than that section in the math curriculum.  Yet everyone spoke about technology in the classroom, using computers in education, and teachers were asked to teach with computers.  However the problem was the teachers were using old traditional concepts and marrying them to computers.  They really didn’t adapt the lessons or concepts at all.  The tool of the computer was little more than complicated graphing paper.  They were forcing a square peg into a round hole but not realizing they were even doing that. 

Now the computer has been around for long time and we now have the Internet.  Many teachers today grew up with computers (or at least remember sitting in front of those old Apple II’s).  Their minds no longer think of the computer as a technology, it is a part of their life, a tool for other things.  It is integrated better into the curriculum because it is already integrated into their (and their students) lives.  It is now as common as other things in the classroom like reference books, smartboards (no more banging chalk out of erasers), desks, etc. 

The interactive ebook is the Apple IIe, we don’t know how to create or use it effectively.  The vast majority of us have been programmed with the linear thinking of traditional books.  Many of us talk about converting medical texts into ebooks but we (including publishers) think of the book as a linear progression; start, middle, end.  We throw in movies, pictures and sound but those are positioned in a linear way; within chapters.  Often the ebook is the paper book with multimedia and perhaps added chapters.  But it is usually pretty straight forward.  It is the paper juiced up on steroids, but it is still the paper.

So while the middle schooler’s ebook is still more in line with traditional books it was created only as an electronic product therefore it is free of some of the contraints from already printed version.  Perhaps as tablet devices evolve and people grow up with them and begin to think of them as an everyday thing, our ebooks will begin to evolve beyond the print model.  My 5 yr old or my 1 yr old will be thinking of something totally different regarding an ebook when they are adults.  They will be the ones to see how to publish and distribute content that was once in paper.

I have never taken a kickboxing class ever, but I am interested in trying it.  So if you are a Kung Fu Panda like me don’t be intimitated, come on try it out and learn from our Master Shifu of MLA.

To have fun with the idea and to get into the spirit of the meeting theme, there is now a Drinking SIG jersey for Seattle. It is completely unofficial, unsanctioned and not a real MLA SIG. (Really, if it were do you think a $20 membership fee would cover the SIG’s expenses?) But even though the SIG is unofficial the proceeds of the sales are going directly to the MLA Scholarship Fund.

So if you find that you are often meeting your MLA colleagues over drinks after the meeting you might be a member of the unofficial, unsactioned Drinking SIG and not even know it. So, why not embrace it and help the Scholarship Fund by buying a jersey.

;

This baseball jersey and other items are available at http://www.cafepress.com/drinkingsig
Just like that microbeer you order at the bar, the nerdy chic QR code expresses your social personality in a subtle yet fun way. The QR code sends you to a web page that says, “The unsanctioned #drinkingsig takes on Seattle! Engage, Learn, Enjoy, Cheers.”

Additionally the PubMed default Review and Free full text filters will also be moved to the filters sidebar. Filter your results portlet will eventually be added to the filters sidebar too.

The PubMed Abstract display will soon also be displaying author results using a ranking algorithm when searchers click on the author search link. This change was done to try and help deal with articles from authors of common names.

See the Tech Bull for pictures and a better explannation.

When you click on an author’s name in the abstract display, PubMed conducts an author search. In the past if you clicked on Smith, J. You would get a list of all article by every Smith, J in publication date order. With these new changes, “If an author name is computationally similar to an author name for additional PubMed citations, the results will display those citations first, in ranked order, followed by the non-similar citations. The results sort notation will display as ‘Sorted by Computed Author”

If I understand this correctly PubMed will look at the original Smith, J article and compare it with other Smith, J articles and displays the citations to article that the orginial Smith, J probably authored ahead of others he might not have authored. So if you are looking for articles by the cardiologist Smith, J the article citations for the urologist who is also Smith, J won’t appear at the top of the results.

Since most people tend to publish in their own area of expertise this should be helpful. The only thing you have to do is make sure you account for those times where they publish outside of their usual field.

Of course all of this would be moot if NLM would adopt standard author ID numbers like other databases have done.

Simply join the mlanet group on flickr and upload your photos.  More details about the flickr group can be found on the MLA’12 blog.  Don’t forget to tag your photos with the year!

For more information on the Pigs and when they are playing, go to the MLA’12 Official Blog.

In the post I also included links to instructions for saving your itinerary and uploading it into Google Calendar, Outlook, and Lotus Notes.  So if you are going to MLA, check out the blog post and start getting your schedule together in the program planner.

A lot of librarians got back to me and I want to thank everyone who responded. 

Here are some links about current library loaning projects:

• Setting Up A Lending Program -Tips and resources for setting up an iPad lending program. Nova Southeastern University Health Professions Division Library
• iPad on loan: a project of the CMB UMCG – Background information, finding medical apps, and information on how to add bookmarks to iPad browser (check the side bar for a lot of information). University of Groningen Central Medical Library
• Setting up a library iPad program: Guidelins for success-  Full text article in ACRL News by Sara Thompson at Briar Cliff University
• Continuing the converstation: Integrating iPads and Tablet Computers into Library Services – ALA Tech Source article by Daniel Freeman.

Sampling of library policies:

• Duke http://www.mclibrary.duke.edu/services/ipad
• KOC University http://library.ku.edu.tr/technology_lending
• University of California Irvine http://libguides.lib.uci.edu/content.php?pid=71488&sid=529255
• University of Chicago https://itservices.uchicago.edu/page/techbr-equipment-lending-terms-and-conditions
• University of Utah (iPad, Xoom, Kindle, Nook) http://campusguides.lib.utah.edu/EcclesMobileDevices
• Virginia Tech http://www.lib.vt.edu/artarch/ipad-policy.html
• Wake Forest http://zsr.wfu.edu/about/policies/technology-ipad
•  ZweigBibliothek Medizin in Münster, Germany What to consider when borrowing English Translation

Sampling of general apps loaded on iPads: 

• Adobe Photoshop Express
• Apple’s iWork apps (Pages, Numbers, Keynote)
• Box
• DocToGo
• Dolphin Browser
• DropBox
• Elements
• Evernote
• GoodReader
• Google Search
• iAnnotate PDF
• iBook
• Kindle
• Nook
• PDF Expert
• QuickOffice
• Penultimate
• Podcasting 4 Education
• Print Central for iPad
• Sekai Camera for iPad
• Skype
• Whiteboard HD

Sampling of medical apps loaded on iPads: 

•  3D STem Cell Simulation & Strain Tool
• AHRQ ePSS
• AIDSInfo HIV/AIDS Glossary
• BrainPro
• DailyMed
• Davis’s Drug Guide
• Dragon Dictation
• Epocrates
• Eponyms
• Embryo
• Eye Chart Pro
• GeneIndex
• Health Hotlines
• Human Anatomy!
• Improve Bleeding Risk Tool
• Improve VTE Associative Model
• Inkly
• iMuscle
• iPharmacyPro
• iRadiology
• iTriage
• LactMed
• LexiComp
• MedCalc
• Micromedex
• MedPage Today
• Mobile REMM (Radiation Emergency Medical Management)
• Molecules
• Muscle & Bone Anatomy 3D
• NEJM This Week
• NeuroMind
• PEPID
• Skyscape Medical Resources
• WISER

Sample of medical library type apps loaded:
(Some overlap with above list. I think some maybe bookmarks not necessarily apps)

• AccessMedicine
• Annals of Oncology
• Annual Reviews
• Chest
• Clinical Pharmacology
• DailyMed
• Diagnosaurus
• DynaMed
• EBSCOHost
• First Consult
• Health Hotlines
• LactMed
• LexiComp
• Mary Ann Liebert Journals
• MDConsult
• Medscape
• Micromedex
• Natural Standard
• PLoS Medicine
• Procedures Consult
• PsychOnline
• PubMed (unclear whether PubMed Mobile or for Handhelds)
• PubMed Clip
• RefWorks Mobile
• Science Direct
• StatREF!
• Skyscape Medical Resources
• VisualDX

Summary:

Loan Rules
Loan rules vary from a few hours to a few days.  Most libraries reset the devices to factory standards for security and privacy reasons.  Although a few librarians have reported that some apps “remember” despite this and are looking into more.  I was unable to find many hospital libraries that loan out iPads. 

Secure Network and EMR
Additionally few hospitals or medical school responded that their iPads were also able to access the EMR.  Mayo Clinic’s iPads can access the EMR as well as the devices used by residents at the NSU residency program at Palmetto Hospital.  As we are looking into our own iPad program we discovered that our devices must have specific Microsoft Client Access Licenses (CALs) to software necessary to access the secure network (and the EMR).  For us, the CALs add quite a bit to the cost of the iPad, about $200 more.  You pay per device.  So each regular 16 GB WiFi only iPad3 that normally costs $499 ends up costing $799 once you factor in the cost of the CAL’s and AppleCare+ (2 yr insurance on the device for $100).  We feel it is essential to get on the secure network so the extra cost of the CALs is something we have to plan for.  Working with IT has been essential in this process, without them we would not have known of the requirement to get the iPads on the secure network.  While the cost of the CALs was a surprise, I am glad we had IT help so that it was a surprise in the beginning/planning stages not after we bought them.

Apps
Both libraries who loan iPads and those who don’t are providing lists of mobile friendly (and tablet friendly) library apps and websites.  Things are bit like the Wild West with apps and mobile sites.  Some library vendors mobile friendly sites require secondary authentication (using their own personal login) despite being on institutional network.  Some vendors are creating apps when really a mobile friendly site is all that is needed.  Apps often require a username and password to use regardless of whether they are on institutional network.  Some apps are intended for individual subscribers NOT institutional subscribers, and unless the wording explicitly states that, it is confusing. 

Regarding medical apps (not medical library apps like databases), library purchase (or not) policies are varried as well.  Some libraries have accounts on iTunes to buy apps in bulk, while others just load devices with free apps that people might need.  Some have said that they do not buy specific medical apps because the iPads are circulated to eveyone and that would mean a lot of different subject specific apps that would need to be on the device.  Some librarians also spoke about the need to constantly update the apps, especially the free apps.  In order for the pre-installed library “owned” apps to be updated, somebody must log in using the library install account to update them.  Some mentioned this could be time consuming depending on how many they have loaded.

Many libraries seem to allow people to load their own apps on the loaned devices.  The reason is that the app follows the patron not the library.  So when the library restores the iPad to factory settings the app disappears from the library device, but the patron still retains ownership and can install it on another iPad.

Other thoughts and suggestions
Start off with a few iPads then grow if/as needed. 

Tie the iPads into the curriculum, load medical bookmarks/apps, or get them on the secure network, in other words make them relevant for work.  One library reported they bought iPads but really didn’t have a budget for apps and most already had smartphones and laptops so the iPad was more fun than productive. 

Many people said that their patrons often did a try before you buy with the library iPads.  Not sure how some feel about this given how expensive of an investment the devices are, but part of me knows they already do this with our textbooks.

Barcode and label EVERYTHING! Some librarians reported their patrons trying to swap out their old frayed Apple charging cables by passing them off as the library’s cables. 

Get a bag and a cover for the iPad.  Cover helps protects the device while in use. The bag makes it easier to hold all of the stuff (charger, forms, etc.) for circulation AND not everyone who use the device have lab coats and it is nice to just put in a shoulder bag.

I hope this is helpful to others who currently are lending iPads and to those looking to start.  Feel free to comment if you have more information or questions.

Annabelle Nunez, Health Sciences Library, University of Arizona–Tucson
Mentor: Nancy J. Allee, AHIP, chair, Leadership and Management Section
Project: Work with the Leadership and Management Section’s New Members/Emerging Leaders Survey Project

Rolando Garcia-Milian, Health Science Center Library, University of Florida–Gainesville
Mentor: Mary L. Riordan, AHIP, incoming chair, Awards Committee
Project: Work with the Awards Committee to increase the number of nominations for MLA awards

Kristi L. Holmes, Becker Medical Library, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO
Mentor: Gerald (Jerry) Perry, AHIP, chair, Task Force on the MLA Academy of Teaching Excellence (MATE)
Project: Work with the Task Force on MATE

Elizabeth V. Fine, Bio-Medical Library, University of Minnesota–Minneapolis
Mentor: I. Diane G. Cooper, AHIP, incoming chair, Federal Libraries Section
Project: Work with the Federal Libraries Section Web Committee to evaluate the section’s website

Heather L. Brown, McGoogan Library of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center–Omaha
Mentor: Julia Shaw-Kokot, AHIP, chair, Chapter Council
Project: Work with a Chapter Council team to implement recommendations for interactive web features in the communications plan drafted by 2010 Rising Star Karen L. Hanus, AHIP

The Rising Stars and their mentors begin their program activities at MLA ’12 in Seattle and be recognized at MLA ’13 at the completion of the Rising Stars Program.

If you are interested in learning more about the Rising Star program or the projects the first group of Rising Stars completed, go to http://www.mlanet.org/awards/honors/rising_star.html.