HSLIC News

2022 marks the 45th anniversary of opening the Health Sciences Center Library Building, the home of the Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center (HSLIC), HSC Information Technology, and School of Medicine and HSC Academic Affairs units who occupy the first floor.

To commemorate this anniversary, HSLIC is serving cupcakes in the library lobby on October 11th from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Melissa Rethlefsen, HSLIC Executive Director, will speak briefly at noon. Everyone at the HSC is invited to stop by for a cupcake (while supplies last) to celebrate. 

History

Construction began on the library building in July 1974 with a $2.24 million federal grant from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. The architect for the building was Harvey Hoshour, who received a Merit Award from the American Institute of Architects for its design. UNM assumed the building in January 1977, officially opening on June 6, 1977. 

The “Library and Learning Resources Center” building was dedicated in October 1977. Robert D. Sparks, M.D., Program Director of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, was the keynote speaker for the dedication. He was joined by UNM President William Davis, Medical Center Director and School of Medicine Dean Leonard M. Napolitano, Library Director Erika Love, and Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe Robert F. Sanchez, who gave the benediction.

Prior to the opening of this building, the library had occupied Medical Building 2, a former 7-Up bottling plant, from the School of Medicine’s founding in 1963 until 1977. During those 14 years, the library’s collection grew from 5,000 to over 80,000 volumes.

Library employees moved into the new building over the course of 3 months, from March through May 1977, with the help of Hallett Moving Company of Chicago. UNM Physical Plant supervised a team of 16 student employees to move book boxes across the Upper Plaza to the new building. As part of moving the collection, a complete inventory was taken, and some 4,000 items were repaired. Library staff also installed the first 3-M Tattletape security system, which required inserting a security strip on over 40,000 volumes, as part of the move.

When it opened, the new library building served over 1,500 students from the School of Medicine, College of Nursing, College of Pharmacy, Allied Health Program, and several affiliated research and patient care organizations. It also served as a statewide information resource center for the National Library of Medicine’s Regional Medical Library Program. Today the library building serves well over 2,000 students and is the only publicly accessible health sciences library in New Mexico. The building has changed with the advent of electronic resources; and while the need for open stacks has decreased, it remains a central gathering place for the campus to collaborate, work together, and learn.

Erika Love, the library’s second Director, called this project “. . .the culmination of [Dr. Robert Devitt’s] primary goal as the Library’s first administrator.” She began her position at UNM in March 1977, at the height of preparations to move into the facility. "The vision of architect Harvey Hoshour and Library Director Erika Love has stood the test of time. The library building remains a gem on campus, featuring stunning views and a sense of community. HSLIC remains the heart of the HSC campus," said Melissa Rethlefsen, Executive Director. "We are thrilled to celebrate our building and continue to improve it to meet the needs of today's and tomorrow's students." 

Sources:

• University of New Mexico Medical Center Library Annual Report 1976-1977
• University of New Mexico Medical Center Library Annual Report 1977-1978

A collection of HSLIC annual reports from 1976 to the present can be found in the UNM Digital Repository.

You are invited to join us on Thursday, October 6th from 10 to 11:30 AM, for a virtual seminar by Gabe Peters, BA.

Topic: Inclusive Dermatology: Creating a Diverse Visual Atlas of Skin Conditions

Description: Existing literature on Dermatological conditions highlight little to no visual diversity amongst skin conditions of varying individuals of color. Inclusive dermatology focuses on the importance of gathering and sharing images of dermatological conditions in all skin types with an emphasis on individuals who have been excluded in medical education. By expanding the availability of images in varying skin types, we hope to not only advance medical education but also strive to improve patient care, especially with our diverse population here in New Mexico.

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe what Inclusive Dermatology is

2. Explain the importance of inclusivity and how it benefits patient care

Please email BLCarroll@salud.unm.edu to request Zoom info.

Jasmine Clark is a Student Assistant who has been working at HSLIC for about 3 months and is majoring in Nursing.  After Jasmine graduates from UNM, her goal is to work as an RN in an intensive care unit in Colorado (specifically in pediatrics). She is also interested in possibly becoming a nurse anesthetist after she gains some critical experience and expertise.

While working at the library, Jasmine really enjoys helping students find journals and articles using Browzine. By assisting students, Jasmine feels it helps her to improve her own research skills which she can directly apply to her own studies. 

A few fun facts about Jasmine include: she loves reading and visiting museums (especially art and natural history museums). She also enjoys hiking and is trying her hand at rock climbing. Jasmine’s favorite food is Pad thai (which she says she could eat every day and not get tired of it). She loves to cook and her favorite recipe is bibibap, which is a Korean dish made up of a medley of vegetables, meat, and rice!

One accomplishment that Jasmine is proud of is that she has made the Dean's List and earned all A's since the fall 2020 semester. She is especially proud of this because she struggled with her grades when she obtained her first bachelor's degree. Jasmine is very happy that she is currently excelling while in her nursing program.

Alt text: Image of birds and birdcages, books unite us, censorship divides us

Banned Books Week is held from September 18-24, 2022.

For the year 2021: 1,597 books were affected by censorship attempts.

Yes unfortunately, books are still being banned or challenged across the United States. Censorship in any form seeks to create barriers to information where reading seeks to decrease barriers to information. These challenges or bans usually focus on books that contain subject matter of historically underrepresented groups, LGBTQIA themes, and books that discuss sex and sexuality. Since these topics are often on the ‘fringe’ , trying to restrict this information increases harm that often already exists due to years of repression and/or denial of their existence. 

The following information is from the American Library Association’s Banned Books Week website.

What is the difference between a challenge or banning?

A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials.

Who challenges books?

Throughout history, more and different kinds of people and groups of all persuasions than you might first suppose who, for all sorts of reasons, have attempted—and continue to attempt—to suppress anything that conflicts with or anyone who disagrees with their own beliefs.

For information on how to get involved see, https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/bannedbooksweek/ideasandresources/activity

The top 10 most challenged books:

https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10

This week is peer review week, and it’s acknowledged and celebrated worldwide. This community-led event provides the opportunity to consider, question, and explore the role of peer review in research quality and scholarly communication. Peer review has been defined many ways, and it has been critiqued and described from multiple angles. One definition suggests it is “a longstanding system of appraisal where journal editors rely on the views of outside content experts in making decisions on publication of submitted manuscripts”.[1]

Some authors write about peer review to inform about the principles, processes, elements, and intent. Others take a critical approach and aim to expose the potential limitations and problematic influences. Each discourse is valuable and contributes to the overall conversation.

The theme of Peer Review Week 2022 is “Research Integrity: Creating and supporting trust in research,” which ties in to both informative and critical discourses. Here are a few resources about peer review. Note, this list is not meant to be comprehensive but rather to introduce multiple perspectives. See also the reference at the end.

• Charlotte R. Owning the peer review process: If we have to do this work, we should own it. 
• Eldredge J. Characteristics of peer reviewed clinical medicine journals. 
• Houghton F. Keep calm and carry on: Moral panic, predatory publishers, peer review, and the emperor’s new clothes. 

After reading, consider whether, and how, your response has changed to the question: What does peer review mean to you?

References:

1. Jefferson T, Rudin M, Brodney Folse S, Davidoff F. Editorial peer review for improving the quality of reports of biomedical studies. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007 Apr 18;2007(2):MR000016. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.MR000016.pub3

Alt text: Hispanic Heritage Month September 15-October 15 surrounded by colorful banners

Hispanic Heritage Month is recognized September 15-October 15

We hope you can use this time to recognize and celebrate the contributions, cultures, customs, and people from all over Mexico, Latina America, South America, Spain, & the Caribbean. As @Ganeshspace has recognized, there are some wellness practices we can and should work to decolonize during this time. For example, burning palo santo and using it for smudging has led to over harvesting and it is difficult for the peoples of the Amazon to use palo santo for health ceremonies as a result. While the cacao fruit can be processed to produce chocolate, the pure cacao is important for spiritual practices in Latin America. Yerba Mate is a popular drink in the US but it has been used by the Indigenous Guarani people of Paraguay for medicinal purposes since time immemorial. Finally, plant medicines are often seen in western culture as "alternative medicine" but have been utilized and recognized for wellness across Latinx Indigenous cultures for healing and ceremonies. Being aware can help us to incorporate mindfulness into our wellness practices. 

Hispanic, Latino/a, Chicano/a, or Latinx?

Hispanic: denotes people ethnically from Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America and Spain. The term has been used since the 16th century to describe people from the Iberian Peninsula, or Spain and Portugal and was adopted by the U.S. government and Census Bureau in the 1980s.

Latino/Latina: is used to describe people with ancestry from Latin American countries. Unlike “Hispanic,” the term “Latino” does not imply the country of origin is Spanish speaking, so it includes peoples from Brazil and Haiti.

Latinx: Is a gender-neutral form of “Latino” or “Latina”.

Chicano/Chicana: Someone who is native of, or descends from, Mexico and who lives in the United States.

“Hispanic Heritage Month” also encompasses many Independence days and holidays during this same time.

September 15th: Independence days of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, & Nicaragua 

September 16th: Independence day, Mexico

September 18th: Independence day, Chile

October 10th: Virgin Islands-Puerto Rico Friendship Day

UNM Health Sciences is holding both in person and virtual events in recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month including food trucks and a virtual Loteria (Bingo). For a complete listing see, https://hsc.unm.edu/diversity/celebrating/hispanic.html.

For more information: https://sites.ed.gov/hispanic-initiative/national-hispanic-heritage-month/

https://learninglab.si.edu/news/top-8-reasons-why-and-how-we-celebrate-hispanic-heritage-month

Piper Finley is a Student Specialist in Public Services who has worked at the library for about 3 months. She is majoring in both History and Psychology. After graduating from UNM, her plan is to attend law school.

According to Piper, one of her greatest academic accomplishments is being on the Dean’s List every semester she has been enrolled at UNM. She is very proud of this!

While working at the library, Piper loves to scan articles for our interlibrary loan library users. She also enjoys assisting students with questions on chat.

In addition to her academics and working at the library, Piper likes to camp, hike, swim, and bake. Her most favorite thing is to do is spend time with her wonderful son.

Piper also has a pet Black Brazilian tarantula named Elvira who is about a year old. Her favorite food is enchiladas and she loves to bake cinnamon rolls.

Want to learn more about eTextbooks? Unsure which titles have unlimited access and whether or not you should assign to your class? Join us for an information session to learn more about eTextbooks and the HSLIC Course Reserves Service on September 22, 2022, from 1:00 – 2:00pm. There will be time at the end of the session to ask any questions you might have.

Register here for Understanding eTextbooks at HSLIC.  A link to the Zoom session will be email to all registrants the morning of the session.

Daniel Serrano is a Student Assistant who has been working at HSLIC for about 4 months and is majoring in Computer Engineering. While working at the library, Daniel really enjoys introducing students to virtual reality and helping them realize VR can be utilized as a study tool. He assists with both the VR Lab in the library and with the headsets that are available for checkout.

A few fun facts about Daniel include: he enjoys working out at the gym, listening to music, playing video games, and hanging out with friends and family. Also, his favorite food is Philadelphia style sushi. Something that people may not know about Daniel is that is half Mexican and half Puerto Rican.

One accomplishment that Daniel is proud of is the fact he graduated high school with an associate’s degree. His future plans include securing a job in cybersecurity outside the state of New Mexico.

You are invited to join us on Thursday, September 15th from 10 to 11 AM, for a virtual seminar by Deborah L. Lauseng, AMLS

Topic: Roles, Collaborations, and Activities in Health Informatics Education - a discussion of scoping review findings and your own involvement

Description: Librarians and libraries have been engaged in informatics training for decades, however, sharing of the types and extent of engagement has been limited in the literature. The scoping review, “Library involvement in health informatics education for health professions students and practitioners,” published in JMLA, seeks to explore the extent library involvement in health informatics education, specifically focused on activities and outcomes described in the published literature.

In this BioMISS session, the lead author will share findings on the roles, collaborations, and activities librarians have had in health informatics beyond instruction. The author will lead a discussion about current and potential collaborations. Additionally, attendees will explore how best to report their involvement with health informatics to inform the profession.

Learning objectives: 

• Participants will gain insights into the extent and nature of librarian/information professional involvement with health informatics as discovered through this scoping review. 

• Participants will explore potentials of collaboration with health informatics activities in their own work. 

• Participants will discuss generating a standardized template for reporting librarian/information professional involvement in informatics educational activities. 

Please email BLCarroll@salud.unm.edu to request Zoom info.

We want to wish all of our students a safe and happy Labor Day!

The front desk and other library services are closed today but will reopen at 8 am tomorrow, September 7th. The library is still open to students with badge access that would like to come in and study.