HSLIC News

As we all start to look at what is on the ballot for the upcoming election, I wanted to take a moment to talk about General Obligation Bond B (GO Bond B) and how it affects library users at UNM.

What is on the ballot?

The language on the ballot states the following:

“BOND QUESTION B– Library Acquisitions

The 2020 Obligation Bond Act authorizes the issuance and sale of library acquisition bonds. Shall the state be authorized to issue general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed nine million seven hundred fifty-one thousand four hundred thirty-three dollars ($9,751,433) to make capital expenditures for academic, public school, tribal and public library resource acquisitions and provide for a general property tax imposition and levy for the payment of principal of, interest on and expenses incurred in connection with the issuance of the bonds and the collection of the tax as permitted by law?”

What does this mean?

If New Mexico citizens pass GO Bond B, it will provide publicly funded libraries in New Mexico with a total of $9,500,000.   Around $3,000,000 will be distributed to each library category: higher education, public, and public school; $500,000 will be distributed to tribal libraries. $251,444 is dedicated to administrative expenses.

There is a formula to determine the funds distributed to each higher education or academic library based on the institution’s enrollment.  The allocation for the 2018 Bond was approximately $26 per FTE. The estimates for 2020 have not yet been determined.

How will Bond B affect you?

If GO Bond B is approved by voters, academic libraries across the state will receive much needed funding to support the success of our students. This funding will go towards providing access to quality electronic resources, such as Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and Academic Search Complete to name a few. Access to electronic resources is always important, but especially so during disruptions and building closures caused by COVID19. These funds allow both University Libraries and the UNM Health Sciences Library to continue to support education programs through library collections and resources. 

What is the cost to you?

If passed, property taxes will increase slightly. The State Board of Finance estimates that over a ten-year period, Bond Issue B accounts for $0.54 per $100,000 property value. That is less than the cost of a piece of gum and certainly less than a book, DVD, or database.

Why GO Bond B?

The $0.54 over ten years for property owners, will allow libraries to acquire and license resources that individuals would not otherwise be able to access. For example, CINAHL is a core resource for nursing and allied health sciences degree programs like Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Medical Laboratory Sciences, and the imaging professions. It is imperative to our students’ pursuing degrees in these fields.  The New Mexico Coalition of Academic Libraries (NMCAL) subscribes to this resource on behalf of academic libraries in New Mexico, significantly reducing the cost for each member institution.  Individual subscriptions to these resources would be extremely costly and highly unlikely.

For more information about GO Bond B, see NM Bonds for Libraries.

See HSLIC's blog post on how to Vote Safely During the Pandemic.

Thank you for supporting the important work of libraries in your community.

Click on the calendar image to be taken to a link that will allow you to zoom in and out of the text.

September 15th marked the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, which you can learn more about from the UNM Newsroom and in an exemplary statement from our Vice Chancellor of Diversity, Equity & inclusion, Valerie Romero-Leggott, MD. As Dr. Romero-Leggott says "This commemoration is also an occasion to acknowledge the ways in which Hispanic communities have faced oppression, as well as their accomplishments and breakthroughs. We recognize the sacrifices that they and so many people of color have made to uplift the next generation."

Be sure to check out events happening this month to learn, engage, discuss, and possibly find your affinity groups! These are all such important elements of your academic careers and education and the HSC Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion offerings can be particularly useful to understanding the needs of your communities as health care practitioners. Events offered from the HSC Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion can be found on their 2020 Hispanic Heritage Month Calendar and events from UNM's El Centro De La Raza are listed in the image of this post.

New Mexico offers several ways to vote in the upcoming November 3rd General Election. Options include voting absentee, early, or in person on Election Day. Early voting and voting in person on November 3rd allows you to ensure that your vote will be tabulated within 18 hours of Election Day.  Early or Election Day voters can maintain relatively low risks of contracting COVID-19 by keeping a social distance, wearing masks, and washing hands frequently. Voting absentee by mail offers less risk. The steps below will help guide your voting in New Mexico.

• Confirm that you are registered to vote. Simply go to the New Mexico Secretary of State’s website at: https://www.sos.state.nm.us/voting-and-elections/voter-information-portal/

• Scroll down and click on “Find my Registration and Election Information”
• Fill out your information to search and confirm your registration.
• Once you’ve confirmed your registration, proceed to the options below.
• If not registered, then register to vote at this site. You must register to vote by October 6th to be eligible to vote in the November 3rd General Election.

• Assess the varied risks of voting early, voting by mail, or voting on Election Day. These options are outlined below:

Voting Early:

Tuesday October 6th Early Voting begins in New Mexico. The Bernalillo County Clerk’s office manages this process here in Albuquerque. Consult their website for specific dates, hours and locations: https://www.bernco.gov/clerk/early-voting-locations.aspx  Early Voting ends on October 31st.

Voting on Election Day:

Voting in person on Election Day November 3rd might mean higher risk if it is crowded at your voting place. There are 70 places to vote in Albuquerque between 7am and 7pm on Election Day: https://www.bernco.gov/clerk/election-day-voting-locations.aspx

Absentee Ballots:

The New Mexico Secretary of State offers some variants of absentee voting. Every registered voter in New Mexico by now should have received an official application for an absentee ballot. One can request an absentee ballot online until October 20th, too. For options available for absentee voting, go to:  https://www.sos.state.nm.us/voting-and-elections/voter-information-portal/absentee-and-early-voting/   

Voters should understand the rules for absentee voting, including rules for how and when county clerks count absentee ballots during an election. The New Mexico Secretary of State’s website, as well as the websites of the county clerks around the state provide more information about this process. Bernalillo County offers several ways to deliver your absentee ballot: https://www.bernco.gov/clerk/return-your-absentee-ballot.aspx

Know Your Rights:

You have a number of rights connected with your voting. For example, you have the right to inspect a sample ballot before you vote. You also have a right to not be intimidated by others. Learn more at: https://www.sos.state.nm.us/voting-and-elections/voter-information-portal/voter-bill-of-rights/

Now's a great time to learn more about how to use PubMed and keep track of your resources and cite sources with Zotero. We only have 2 more workshops left  (PubMed on Friday, September 25th and Zotero on Tuesday, September 29th) so be sure to see our Events page to find out more information and register! We also have an Impostor Syndrome workshop and other specialized workshops coming up.

If you have any questions about these offerings or suggestions for more please feel free to reach out to our Student Success and Engagement Librarian, Kelleen Maluski.

Ever wonder how implicit biases might be impacting your learning experiences, professional development, or research? Come to our session on Wednesday, September 23rd from 12-1pm to learn more! This is a follow up to our workshop Implicit Bias: Understanding and Addressing It, though you don't need to have attended that session to come to this one. In this session we will discuss how implicit biases inherently exist within ourselves, research, publications, and databases. Participants will work to evaluate how these biases and isms build on the dominant narrative that already exists in the health sciences and the academy and thus further perpetuate white supremacy. Discussion on how to evaluate and not take resources at "face value" will be a major part of this workshop.

You can register for the session here and if you have any questions feel free to reach out to our Student Success and Engagement Librarian, Kelleen Maluski.

There are many options available for students and faculty to access course materials for the Fall semester! Many course materials on reserve are available electronically through WorldCat Discovery, and we're now offering scanning and permanent link services as well! Faculty may request PDF scans of print materials on reserve for use in their courses by filling out the Scanning & Permanent Link Request Form. Our Fair Use checklist can aid in determining what can be scanned and how much of a work can be used. Check out our Course Reserves Guide for more information!

The UNM Digital Repository is the place to centrally locate and preserve your posters like the ones being presented on 9/17/2020 for the Pediatric Research Forum.  The UNM Digital Repository has an event management system that will allow you to host your virtual conference.  Please contact Lori Sloane lsloane@salud.unm.edu for more information.

Now that the semester is fully under way, are you looking for some print materials to support your coursework, research, or exams? Do you want to access print or media items from HSLIC’s collection? Our Pickup Service for print materials could be just the service for you!

In order to provide greater access to the HSLIC print collection, we are providing contactless pickup for certain items in the library’s physical collection.

• Available items include the 4th floor books and media collection
• Pickup times are Tuesday and Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
• Holds must be placed by 5:00 p.m. the day before pickup
• Limit 5 items per pickup transaction
• Items will be held for 2 weeks awaiting pickup, after that, they will be returned to the shelf

For more information regarding how to place an item on hold and the pickup service, see our Worldcat Discovery Research Guide.

As always, you can reach us at Ask a Librarian if you have any questions.

The UNM Health Sciences Library & Informatics Center and the UNM Health Sciences Center Office for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion is excited to announce a two part workshop series on implicit biases - how you can understand them and how they can impact your learning, professional development, scholarship, and research.

With interlibrary loan (ILL), we can get articles and books for you, even when the library doesn’t own them. Thanks to ILL, other libraries across the country will send us articles via PDF or mail their books to us for you to use. The library provides this great service for no charge to HSC students, faculty, and staff.

The first time you use ILL, you must register your account with ILLiad using your UNM Net ID and password. Then you can request articles and books straight from our catalog using the Request Item from Interlibrary Loan button.

It depends on the lender and how hard it is to find the items you need, but the turnaround on articles is about three business days. Articles are delivered as PDFs that you can download straight from your ILLiad account.

Books take longer because we have to wait for them to arrive in the mail, but they are usually ready to pick up about two weeks after placing your request. We will notify you when your loan arrives, and then you can pick it up during our contactless pickup hours on Tuesdays and Fridays.

If you have questions about ILL, use Ask a Librarian or email Interlibary Loan.