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Objective: In 2002, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) introduced semi-automated indexing of Medline using the Medical Text Indexer (MTI). In 2021, NLM announced that it would fully automate its indexing in Medline with an improved MTI by mid-2022. This pilot study examines indexing using a sample of records in Medline from 2000, and how an early, public version of MTI's outputs compares to records created by human indexers. Methods: This pilot study examines twenty Medline records from 2000, a year before the MTI was introduced as a MeSH term recommender. We identified twenty higher- and lower-impact biomedical journals based on Journal Impact Factor (JIF) and examined the indexing of papers by feeding their PubMed records into the Interactive MTI tool. Results: In the sample, we found key differences between automated and human-indexed Medline records: MTI assigned more terms and used them more accurately for citations in the higher JIF group, and MTI tended to rank the Male check tag more highly than the Female check tag and to omit Aged check tags. Sometimes MTI chose more specific terms than human indexers but was inconsistent in applying specificity principles. Conclusion: NLM's transition to fully automated indexing of the biomedical literature could introduce or perpetuate inconsistencies and biases in Medline. Librarians and searchers should assess changes to index terms, and their impact on PubMed's mapping features for a range of topics. Future research should evaluate automated indexing as it pertains to finding clinical information effectively, and in performing systematic searches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A growing body of research demonstrates that adapting the popular entertainment activity "escape rooms" for educational purposes as an innovative teaching method can improve the learning experience. Escape rooms promote teamwork, encourage analytical thinking, and improve problem solving. Despite the increasing development and use of escape rooms in health sciences programs and academic libraries, there is little literature on the use of this method in health sciences libraries with health professions students. Case Presentation: Staff at a health sciences library collaborated with faculty to incorporate escape rooms into library instruction in a variety of settings (in-person, hybrid, online) and formats (team, individual) with health professions students from various disciplines (optometry, pharmacy, medicine). The escape rooms described in this paper offered unique experiences for students through active learning. Discussion: Important considerations when planning escape rooms for health sciences library instruction include deciding on team-based or individual design, calculating potential costs in time and money, deciding on an in-person, hybrid, or online format, and determining whether grades should be assigned. Escape rooms can be an effective strategy for library instruction in the health sciences, working in multiple formats to bring game-based learning to a variety of health professions students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Overcoming health disparities between majority and minority populations is a significant national challenge. This paper assesses outreach to Native Americans (American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians) by the National Library of Medicine (NLM). A companion paper details NLM's portfolio of Native American outreach projects. Method: NLM's Native American outreach is assessed in light of the presentations at a community-based health information outreach symposium and the goals set by NLM's plan to reduce health disparities. Results: NLM's current portfolio of Native American outreach projects appears most advanced in meeting the goal set in area 1 of the health disparities plan, "Promote use of health information by health professionals and the public." NLM's portfolio also shows significant strength and good progress regarding area 2 of the plan, "Expand partnerships among various types of libraries and community-based organizations." The portfolio is weaker in area 3, "Conduct and support informatics research." More knowledge-building efforts would benefit NLM, the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, and Native American and community-based organizations. Implications: The current Native American outreach portfolio should be continued, but new approaches are needed for evaluating Native American outreach and for forging collaborations with Native American groups, approaches grounded in consultation and mutual understanding of needs and perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The objective of this study was to identify trends in academic health sciences libraries (AHSLs) as they adapt to the shift from a print knowledgebase to an increasingly digital knowledgebase. This research was funded by the 2003 David A. Kronick Traveling Fellowship. Methods: The author spent a day and a half interviewing professional staff at each library. The questionnaire used was sent to the directors of each library in advance of the visit, and the directors picked the staff to be interviewed and set up the schedule. Results: Seven significant trends were identified. These trends are part of the shift of AHSLs from being facility and print oriented with a primary focus on their role as repositories of a print-based knowledgebase to a new focus on their role as the center or "nexus" for the organization, access, and use of an increasingly digital-based knowledgebase. Conclusion: This paper calls for a national effort to develop a new model or structure for health sciences libraries to more effectively respond to the challenges of access and use of a digital knowledgebase, much the same way the National Library of Medicine did in the 1960s and 1970s in developing and implementing the National Network of Libraries of Medicine. The paper then concludes with some examples or ideas for research to assist in this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper reports on a course developed for school nurses. The course focused on locating reliable and high-quality medical information resources on the Internet. Setting/Participants/Resources: The Health Sciences Library System (HSLS) of the University of Pittsburgh formed a partnership with the Pennsylvania Association of School Nurses and Practitioners (PASNAP). Through this partnership, a hands-on course was offered at the PASNAP annual conference. Brief description: As one component of the Health Information for the Public Project, a subcontract of the National Library of Medicine, HSLS collaborated with PASNAP This collaboration resulted in HSLS librarians' offering a course titled "Access to Electronic Health Information for School Nurses" at PASNAP's annual conference. This paper describes the school nurse population, their professional information needs, and the development of the course curriculum. Results/Outcome: This course provided participants with the skills to effectively utilize the Internet to locate high-quality medical information. Evaluation method: A course evaluation and impact survey were used to assess the effectiveness of the instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This paper describes the GeneTests genetic testing information resource with a focus on the GeneReviews component. Methods and Findings: The need for authoritative genetic testing information and issues in the development and maintenance of GeneReviews are discussed: Hampered by lack of currency and content deficits, traditional medical information resources such as textbooks and the published literature are generally inadequate sources of genetic testing information. Problems encountered in developing GeneReviews include the evolution of new authorship models and academic and genetics professionals' skepticism about the quality of Web- based publications. Conclusions: GeneTests is an authoritative, highly used, and well-regarded resource in the international medical community that is intended for health care providers. Future development issues to address include ways to (1) manage the increasing editing and updating load as content grows and 2) address technical and content issues that need to be considered in displaying GeneReviews as a "just in time" resource in the electronic medical record to achieve the project goal of integrating appropriate use of genetic testing into patient care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The information landscape in biological arid medical research has grown far beyond literature to include a wide variety of databases generated by research fields such as molecular biology and genomics. The traditional role of libraries to collect, organize, and provide access to information can expand naturally to encompass these new data domains. Methods: This paper discusses the current and potential role of libraries in bioinformatics using empirical evidence and experience from eleven years of work in user services at the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Findings: Medical and science libraries over the last decade have begun to establish educational and support programs to address the challenges users face in the effective and efficient use of a plethora of molecular biology databases and retrieval and analysis tools. As more libraries begin to establish a role in this area, the issues they face include assessment of user needs and skills, identification of existing services, development of plans for new services, recruitment and training of specialized staff, and establishment of collaborations with bioinformatics centers at their institutions. Conclusions: Increasing library involvement in bioinformatics can help address information needs of a broad range of students, researchers, and clinicians and ultimately help realize the power of bioinformatics resources in making new biological discoveries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper provides an overview of the two-year Texas Lower Rio Grande Valley Health Information Hispanic Outreach (HI HO) project. The project included a needs assessment, four pilot projects, and focus groups on the use of MedlinePlus and MedlinePlus en español. The needs assessment included a survey of physicians' information usage and a review of the circuit librarian program that had been established in 1989. The pilot projects were located at a high school, a rural health clinic, an urban health clinic, and a community center. Diffusion of innovation theory provided a framework for interpreting the results of the pilot projects. Methods: The survey of physicians' information usage partially replicated a similar 1990 survey. The review of the circuit librarian program included usage statistics, interviews of administrators, and a survey of participants. Pilot project methodology varied by site. At the high school, four students were trained to instruct their peers in the use of MedlinePlus. At the two clinics, a computer workstation was installed for patients to access MedlinePlus. At the community center, staff were trained to use MedlinePlus en español to train community residents. Project evaluation included surveys, focus groups, and interviews. Indicators of success included increased level of consumer use of MedlinePlus, reports by key informants and consumers of how MedlinePlus was used, reports about training, and development of self- sustaining activity. Results: The physician survey documented usage of health information resources in 2002 compared to 1990. The review of the circuit librarian program documented the change in program usage between 1989 and 2003. The pilot project at the high school was the most successful of the four pilot projects in introducing MedlinePlus to a large number of people, followed by the community center project. In the high school and community center projects, the participating institutions had reinforcing educational missions and paid staff who were highly motivated to achieve the project goals. The computer workstations projects at the two clinics were less successful, due in part to limited staff commitment and conflicting priorities. Conclusions: The HI HO project tested methods of reaching the Hispanic community in the Lower Rio Grande Valley region of Texas. The four HI HO pilot projects varied in achieving their stated objectives. But taken as a whole, the HI HO project significantly contributed to a better understanding of health information outreach to the Hispanic community, knowledge that should be useful to others with similar outreach activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's experience at the National Library of Medicine (NLM), Bethesda, Maryland. Twenty-one years ago, the author went to the NLM as a library associate. In those days, the first couple of months of the program included orientations and training across the full range of NLM programs and services. He spent an entire week getting indexing training from Thelma Charen, the grande dame of NLM indexing. He spent another entire week learning how to search the various MEDLARS databases, using "Silent 700" terminals, where one stuck the telephone handset into a cradle above the keyboard and watched one's search results print out on thermal paper. The author was taught that unless he understood the structure of the database, the details of the commands, the intricacies of indexing, he should not be allowed to have access to the database. A year or two later, the author was editing the NLM Technical Bulletin, sent out to everyone who held a MEDLARS user ID. He mailed out a few hundred copies every month. That did not represent the entire universe of MEDLINE searching, because by then many people searched MEDLINE via DIALOG or BRS but, generally, even those searchers had a MEDLARS code as backup.