This from Christoper Garriga at Unbound Medicine:
"As you seem interested in new research programs that have been
developed for
the palm, I thought you might be interested in our latest product,
Harrison's On Hand. Today Harrison's On Hand
(http://www.harrisonsonhand.com) was released in conjunction with our
business partner McGraw Hill. Like Ovid@Hand, Harrison's On Hand is
based
on the CogniQ platform from Unbound Medicine (www.unboundmedicine.com).
There is a nifty demo on the Harrison's on Hand website (could even be
used
for training purposes).
If you're interested in trying the CogniQ platform, we currently have a
free-trial going in partnership with the BMJ Publishing Group
(http://www.unboundmedicine.com/bmjtrial.htm).
How great to hear about a new product on the day of release!
Thanks, Chris!
Tuesday, April 16, 2002
Friday, April 12, 2002
Mastercard or PDA? You don't want to leave home without it/Try and Fly
What the Doctor ordered:Global Physician Survey Reports Mobile Devices Help Doctors Provide Better Patient Care; Improve Interactions with Pharmaceutical Representatives
Avantgo conducted a survey of physicians who said "mobile devices could significantly improve patient care." 92% of the docs
are using their pdas numerous times a day for calendars, to access drug reference guides, and read medical journals.
They would like to use their pdas to access medical reference sites, write and transmit prescriptions, etc.
Try and Fly: Hotspot
Program Lends PDAs to Travelers" And I thought I had it bad, loading 29 pdas for loan to medical professionals. :)
Swedish operator Tella lends pdas to travelers for 24 hours so that they can test the use of mobile computing for their
travelers and wireless network access. Boy, doesn't this sound like a great idea? Something for libraries to consider?
""The aim of 'Fly & Try' is to demonstrate, primarily to business travelers, how a mobile solution can facilitate and streamline their working day," said Mats Salomonsson, acting head of Telia Mobile Sweden. He added that the operator wanted to demonstrate that "waiting time at the airport can be turned into efficient working time." This is what medical libraries are trying to do for
medical professionals and doctors, what we are trying to do in our project, to demonstrate that the library is one of the first
places in an organization to embrace new technologies, to train others on their use and to provide valuable information via
the technology and about the technology. What a great idea...Try and Fly...think of what libraries of all kinds could do for
their clientele by allowing their customers test drive a pda. This struck me today what an all-encompassing and
wonderful device the pda has evolved into. I did my first presentation using Margi
Presenter to go at a small hospital in central Illinois. They invited me to do a presentation on pdas because they were
thinking about using them in a clinical setting. I did not take a laptop; I took the projector and the pda with my power
point on the pda. Using Margi Presenter to go, I set up the pda with the laptop and did my presentation. I could
have taken minutes of the meeting using the detachable keyboard and Documents to go. The network manager
there beamed me his business card so I could send him more information about our project. (This was my first
beam!) How exciting! I had the digital camera and could have used this to take pictures if I happened to be
on vacation. I could also use the pda as a picture album if I wanted to, keep all my names, addresses and
phone numbers. If I needed to make a call, I could plug my cellular phone into the expansion slot (which
I don't have yet). If I were traveling and needed directions, I could use a GPS system. If I were really into
traveling and wanted information about one of the cities on the vindigo service, I could look up restaurants, hotels
and more! Now that some magazines are becoming mobile, I could get my magazine subscriptions on
my handheld, keep in touch while I'm gone via wireless e-mail, load up ebooks on my pda for reading in the car,
instant message my friends when I got tired of reading, and eventually use my pda for all electronic money transactions. I am sure
Jenny can think of even more uses for the pda, but just think! We are not far from this. There is a lot libraries
could do to allow their customers to "try and fly" such as giving training to local businesses or educators; demonstrating
the Avantgo channels that would be of interest to them; the Margi Presenter to go so they can do a business
or classroom presentation; some reference tools specific to
that audience (such as ovid@hand for medical or westlaw for lawyers); e-books available for that audience; a vindigo
account for travelers; etc. Share your ideas--they probably are not that far away. The possibilities for libraries
increase on a daily basis.
I had the great pleasure of talking with Steven Grove today from Cleveland. He is talking
about his hospital library's pda project at the Case Western Reserve conference on wireless and pdas in academic settings. This
conference is May 1-2, 2002, and Steven has promised us a report. Lots of exciting topics and
big speakers. I wish I could go. Thanks, Steven!
E-books on the IPAQ:
Great news for travelers and the book obsessed Read this great article on the
author's positive e-book reading experience on an IPAQ. This author says he did
not like earlier ebook devices, but the IPAQ is a totally different experience. Things
are looking up for e-books!
Avantgo conducted a survey of physicians who said "mobile devices could significantly improve patient care." 92% of the docs
are using their pdas numerous times a day for calendars, to access drug reference guides, and read medical journals.
They would like to use their pdas to access medical reference sites, write and transmit prescriptions, etc.
Try and Fly: Hotspot
Program Lends PDAs to Travelers" And I thought I had it bad, loading 29 pdas for loan to medical professionals. :)
Swedish operator Tella lends pdas to travelers for 24 hours so that they can test the use of mobile computing for their
travelers and wireless network access. Boy, doesn't this sound like a great idea? Something for libraries to consider?
""The aim of 'Fly & Try' is to demonstrate, primarily to business travelers, how a mobile solution can facilitate and streamline their working day," said Mats Salomonsson, acting head of Telia Mobile Sweden. He added that the operator wanted to demonstrate that "waiting time at the airport can be turned into efficient working time." This is what medical libraries are trying to do for
medical professionals and doctors, what we are trying to do in our project, to demonstrate that the library is one of the first
places in an organization to embrace new technologies, to train others on their use and to provide valuable information via
the technology and about the technology. What a great idea...Try and Fly...think of what libraries of all kinds could do for
their clientele by allowing their customers test drive a pda. This struck me today what an all-encompassing and
wonderful device the pda has evolved into. I did my first presentation using Margi
Presenter to go at a small hospital in central Illinois. They invited me to do a presentation on pdas because they were
thinking about using them in a clinical setting. I did not take a laptop; I took the projector and the pda with my power
point on the pda. Using Margi Presenter to go, I set up the pda with the laptop and did my presentation. I could
have taken minutes of the meeting using the detachable keyboard and Documents to go. The network manager
there beamed me his business card so I could send him more information about our project. (This was my first
beam!) How exciting! I had the digital camera and could have used this to take pictures if I happened to be
on vacation. I could also use the pda as a picture album if I wanted to, keep all my names, addresses and
phone numbers. If I needed to make a call, I could plug my cellular phone into the expansion slot (which
I don't have yet). If I were traveling and needed directions, I could use a GPS system. If I were really into
traveling and wanted information about one of the cities on the vindigo service, I could look up restaurants, hotels
and more! Now that some magazines are becoming mobile, I could get my magazine subscriptions on
my handheld, keep in touch while I'm gone via wireless e-mail, load up ebooks on my pda for reading in the car,
instant message my friends when I got tired of reading, and eventually use my pda for all electronic money transactions. I am sure
Jenny can think of even more uses for the pda, but just think! We are not far from this. There is a lot libraries
could do to allow their customers to "try and fly" such as giving training to local businesses or educators; demonstrating
the Avantgo channels that would be of interest to them; the Margi Presenter to go so they can do a business
or classroom presentation; some reference tools specific to
that audience (such as ovid@hand for medical or westlaw for lawyers); e-books available for that audience; a vindigo
account for travelers; etc. Share your ideas--they probably are not that far away. The possibilities for libraries
increase on a daily basis.
I had the great pleasure of talking with Steven Grove today from Cleveland. He is talking
about his hospital library's pda project at the Case Western Reserve conference on wireless and pdas in academic settings. This
conference is May 1-2, 2002, and Steven has promised us a report. Lots of exciting topics and
big speakers. I wish I could go. Thanks, Steven!
E-books on the IPAQ:
Great news for travelers and the book obsessed Read this great article on the
author's positive e-book reading experience on an IPAQ. This author says he did
not like earlier ebook devices, but the IPAQ is a totally different experience. Things
are looking up for e-books!
Thursday, April 11, 2002
Thoughts on pda training
I hope you will share your thoughts, ideas, and experiences with training on pdas.
We have been involved in training medical professionals from physicians to administrative assistants on pdas for almost a year now. In the past in other settings,I have done bibliographic instruction sessions for
college students, technology training for library staff on all levels, and other types of training. When we first started
our grant project, I envisioned that we would be planning formal
training sessions for small groups. We have done a number of presentations on specific pda resources for specific
groups, but by far, the most successful training with the most impact has been done on a one-on-one basis. During
the past three months, I have done 15-20 sessions per month averaging anywhere from a brief 10 minute orientation
to a session of an hour and a half to show someone how to set up their pda and use some basic applications.
There are so many possible applications for the pda from hundreds of medical applications to word processing
with a keyboard to using Avantgo, Ovid@hand, and Epocrates effectively, each training session has really had to be customized
and individualized almost from the seat of the pants according to the interests of the user.
This is different than other library settings where I have worked and from other technologies I have taught.
Has anyone else had the same experience or different?
We have been involved in training medical professionals from physicians to administrative assistants on pdas for almost a year now. In the past in other settings,I have done bibliographic instruction sessions for
college students, technology training for library staff on all levels, and other types of training. When we first started
our grant project, I envisioned that we would be planning formal
training sessions for small groups. We have done a number of presentations on specific pda resources for specific
groups, but by far, the most successful training with the most impact has been done on a one-on-one basis. During
the past three months, I have done 15-20 sessions per month averaging anywhere from a brief 10 minute orientation
to a session of an hour and a half to show someone how to set up their pda and use some basic applications.
There are so many possible applications for the pda from hundreds of medical applications to word processing
with a keyboard to using Avantgo, Ovid@hand, and Epocrates effectively, each training session has really had to be customized
and individualized almost from the seat of the pants according to the interests of the user.
This is different than other library settings where I have worked and from other technologies I have taught.
Has anyone else had the same experience or different?
Monday, April 08, 2002
Random House newsletters:
Random House has their newsletters available as Avantgo channels. Here's the link to the set-up instructions.
Random House has their newsletters available as Avantgo channels. Here's the link to the set-up instructions.
Tuesday, April 02, 2002
More handheld information
Join the Educause Personal
Digital Assistants Constituent Group. The moderator is Linda Deneen, Director,
Information Technology Systems and Services, University of Minnesota Duluth.
"This EDUCAUSE constituent group is designed for discussion of issues and challenges that arise from the use of personal digital assistants (PDAs) in higher education. Topics include basic tools, special uses, wireless access to the campus network, web services for PDAs, and others. This group usually meets at the EDUCAUSE annual conference and uses an electronic discussion list (called PDA) to discuss issues on an ongoing basis throughout the year. "
Check out this great site by Megan Fox.
It has links to a variety of sites on pdas, including groups to join, pda initiatives in academic libraries,
pda applications, wireless and more. What a nice site!
Digital Assistants Constituent Group. The moderator is Linda Deneen, Director,
Information Technology Systems and Services, University of Minnesota Duluth.
"This EDUCAUSE constituent group is designed for discussion of issues and challenges that arise from the use of personal digital assistants (PDAs) in higher education. Topics include basic tools, special uses, wireless access to the campus network, web services for PDAs, and others. This group usually meets at the EDUCAUSE annual conference and uses an electronic discussion list (called PDA) to discuss issues on an ongoing basis throughout the year. "
Check out this great site by Megan Fox.
It has links to a variety of sites on pdas, including groups to join, pda initiatives in academic libraries,
pda applications, wireless and more. What a nice site!
Handheld Computer Use By Librarians in Experience Library/ Computers in Libraries
The Experience Library
has just opened up in Cerritos Library in California. Among many creative and exciting things, this
"new model for public libraries in the 21st century" it also features staff using wireless headsets
and handheld computers. WOW! I wonder if they have any job openings. Oops, forgot I am
very geographically bound. :) This from Computers in Libraries, April 2002. Visiting that library
would be worth a vacation. I hope they keep us up to date on all that is happening there.
This same page in Computers in Libraries
gives an announcement about the LSTA grant OSF Saint Francis
Medical Center and the the University of
Illinois at Chicago Library of the Health Sciences-Peoria are hosting on pdas June 7. Thanks, Computers
in Libraries!
has just opened up in Cerritos Library in California. Among many creative and exciting things, this
"new model for public libraries in the 21st century" it also features staff using wireless headsets
and handheld computers. WOW! I wonder if they have any job openings. Oops, forgot I am
very geographically bound. :) This from Computers in Libraries, April 2002. Visiting that library
would be worth a vacation. I hope they keep us up to date on all that is happening there.
This same page in Computers in Libraries
gives an announcement about the LSTA grant OSF Saint Francis
Medical Center and the the University of
Illinois at Chicago Library of the Health Sciences-Peoria are hosting on pdas June 7. Thanks, Computers
in Libraries!
Leave the laptop at home! Take the handheld to do your power point presentation!
This may be one of the "killer apps" for handheld computers. If you ever wondered why
you might want a handheld, or if you love handhelds and want a nifty application, read the rest of this! Margi
Presenter to Go, (I don't know why it is called Margi), is a plug-in for your Handspring Visor,
Handera, or certain types of Pocket pcs that you can use
with a digital projector to present a power point, or to display files from your handheld. (Where is
Palm?) If you've had to lug a projector and laptop, leave the laptop at home and take your
presentation on your handheld. Also,
if you have ever tried to project a presentation on handheld computing using a palm emulator
or palm screen shots, you will know what a hassle it can be. The emulator is touchy!
What a nifty piece of software/hardware Margi is! You install the software on your pc and go into Power Point.
There is an icon on power point "M". You click that to turn any Power point into a presentation
to load on your handheld. After it converts your presentation, you pop it into the queue for hot
sync to your handheld. After hotsyncing, the presentation is ready to go on your handheld!
It does not support animation, sound or video in Power Points, but my
Power points don't have these anyway. What a small price to pay for such convenience.
I have a number of presentations coming up for which I want to use power point and
display handheld applications. Thanks to Margi, I don' t need a laptop! Since I don't have
one, this is a good thing. No more laptop envy for me. You can even plop a keyboard on
to your handheld while it is hooked up to the projector so you can maneuver files on your
handheld for display on the screen. Well, this week as I discover the wonders of Margi, I
will share them with you. Is anyone else using this? Let me know.
you might want a handheld, or if you love handhelds and want a nifty application, read the rest of this! Margi
Presenter to Go, (I don't know why it is called Margi), is a plug-in for your Handspring Visor,
Handera, or certain types of Pocket pcs that you can use
with a digital projector to present a power point, or to display files from your handheld. (Where is
Palm?) If you've had to lug a projector and laptop, leave the laptop at home and take your
presentation on your handheld. Also,
if you have ever tried to project a presentation on handheld computing using a palm emulator
or palm screen shots, you will know what a hassle it can be. The emulator is touchy!
What a nifty piece of software/hardware Margi is! You install the software on your pc and go into Power Point.
There is an icon on power point "M". You click that to turn any Power point into a presentation
to load on your handheld. After it converts your presentation, you pop it into the queue for hot
sync to your handheld. After hotsyncing, the presentation is ready to go on your handheld!
It does not support animation, sound or video in Power Points, but my
Power points don't have these anyway. What a small price to pay for such convenience.
I have a number of presentations coming up for which I want to use power point and
display handheld applications. Thanks to Margi, I don' t need a laptop! Since I don't have
one, this is a good thing. No more laptop envy for me. You can even plop a keyboard on
to your handheld while it is hooked up to the projector so you can maneuver files on your
handheld for display on the screen. Well, this week as I discover the wonders of Margi, I
will share them with you. Is anyone else using this? Let me know.
Saturday, March 30, 2002
Neat PDA Program by Cleveland Area Library System
The Cleveland Area Metropolitan Library System
has linked to the Handheld Librarian and are sponsoring a really neat program The Dog Ate My PDA.
The speaker is Steve Bush, the editor of Pen Computing magazine. The program will provide
an overview of mobile computing and pdas; case studies from high schools and universities; hands
on use of a pda; and popular applications from course scheduling to e-books and more. CAMLS
even has their own blog, Jenny!
Thanks CAMLS for linking to us and congratulations on a wonderful sounding program! I wish
we could do it via videoconference so I could attend.
has linked to the Handheld Librarian and are sponsoring a really neat program The Dog Ate My PDA.
The speaker is Steve Bush, the editor of Pen Computing magazine. The program will provide
an overview of mobile computing and pdas; case studies from high schools and universities; hands
on use of a pda; and popular applications from course scheduling to e-books and more. CAMLS
even has their own blog, Jenny!
Thanks CAMLS for linking to us and congratulations on a wonderful sounding program! I wish
we could do it via videoconference so I could attend.
Friday, March 29, 2002
Big news at Avantgo - other news
Big news today comes from palm infocenter. Avantgo
has changed their $1000 pricing policy. Today, they announced
"they will still limit access to some custom channels but the company will look at each channel individually before making
a decision." Channels that become popular by word of mouth will not be restricted."Channels that advertise for subscribers and offer products or services for sale will need to sign a contract with AvantGo." This is great news for libraries that want to
publish pda friendly information on websites for their users. After trialing a bunch of other programs, my opinion is that nothing
quite compares with Avantgo! What do you think? Although some have responded to this story by saying they will not go
back to Avantgo, that they will use isilo, Handstory
or Plucker. For an interesting read, read some of the comments to the story. I'm not
proud-I'm pleased Avantgo made this decision and plan to use it to create a library channel and content for our users' handhelds.
Some online journals on handheld computing
Here are some online journals on handheld computing
topics.
Handheld Computing Weekly.
Sign up for a free subscription
Mobile Computing
Palm Power
Pocket PC Magazine
Beyond the Four
Functions: Academic Uses for a PDA" is a wonderful document written by Dr.
Carol Leibiger, of the ID Weeks Library at the University of South Dakota! This is
a great document all libraries should take a look at. The University of South Dakota
gave pdas to all of their incoming freshmen, medical students and law students this
year. It is great to see the library is playing a key role in this in helping students to
use their pdas for e-books, creating documents, database software, and online information
via Avantgo! What a great document!
The University of
Texas has some great flash tutorials on pdas!
I think e-books are alive and well! (thanks to pdas!)
Libraries Launch E-Book Programs
about a project in California from the Washington Post.
Metronet E-Book Project - an ebook
project in the Metronet, a multi-type library system serving
the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area.
This from Dr. Mohammad Al-Ubaydli:
"Hi there,
I saw your site through the excllent Shifted Librarian, and I'm most interested by your work. I wonder if you would be interested to include Medical Approaches within your Handheld Libraries section. We launched a month ago, with an article in Wired News, which Shifted Librarian also picked up on:
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,50655,00.html
Basically, we are a group of enthusiastic doctors who wrote a medical textbook for junior doctors / medical students, and have made it freely available for all handheld platforms. Our model is the open source movement.
By way of background, my name is Mo. I recently graduated as a doctor, but I also spent the last six years working as a freelance programmer. I love using IT to help in medical education. Last year I worked on Project Palm, at the University of Cambridge, to create a collaborative learning environment for all the medical students. Using their Palm Pilots, they could share their learning no matter which of the hospitals in the regions they were studying in at the time.
http://www.cbcu.cam.ac.uk/handhelds/"
Medical Approaches is certainly an interesting way to combine the development
of a medical text, a collaborative educational experience, and the use of handhelds!
Thanks Dr. Mohammad Al-Ubaydli!
Our project is going along well-more next week!
has changed their $1000 pricing policy. Today, they announced
"they will still limit access to some custom channels but the company will look at each channel individually before making
a decision." Channels that become popular by word of mouth will not be restricted."Channels that advertise for subscribers and offer products or services for sale will need to sign a contract with AvantGo." This is great news for libraries that want to
publish pda friendly information on websites for their users. After trialing a bunch of other programs, my opinion is that nothing
quite compares with Avantgo! What do you think? Although some have responded to this story by saying they will not go
back to Avantgo, that they will use isilo, Handstory
or Plucker. For an interesting read, read some of the comments to the story. I'm not
proud-I'm pleased Avantgo made this decision and plan to use it to create a library channel and content for our users' handhelds.
Some online journals on handheld computing
Here are some online journals on handheld computing
topics.
Handheld Computing Weekly.
Sign up for a free subscription
Mobile Computing
Palm Power
Pocket PC Magazine
Beyond the Four
Functions: Academic Uses for a PDA" is a wonderful document written by Dr.
Carol Leibiger, of the ID Weeks Library at the University of South Dakota! This is
a great document all libraries should take a look at. The University of South Dakota
gave pdas to all of their incoming freshmen, medical students and law students this
year. It is great to see the library is playing a key role in this in helping students to
use their pdas for e-books, creating documents, database software, and online information
via Avantgo! What a great document!
The University of
Texas has some great flash tutorials on pdas!
I think e-books are alive and well! (thanks to pdas!)
Libraries Launch E-Book Programs
about a project in California from the Washington Post.
Metronet E-Book Project - an ebook
project in the Metronet, a multi-type library system serving
the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area.
This from Dr. Mohammad Al-Ubaydli:
"Hi there,
I saw your site through the excllent Shifted Librarian, and I'm most interested by your work. I wonder if you would be interested to include Medical Approaches within your Handheld Libraries section. We launched a month ago, with an article in Wired News, which Shifted Librarian also picked up on:
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,50655,00.html
Basically, we are a group of enthusiastic doctors who wrote a medical textbook for junior doctors / medical students, and have made it freely available for all handheld platforms. Our model is the open source movement.
By way of background, my name is Mo. I recently graduated as a doctor, but I also spent the last six years working as a freelance programmer. I love using IT to help in medical education. Last year I worked on Project Palm, at the University of Cambridge, to create a collaborative learning environment for all the medical students. Using their Palm Pilots, they could share their learning no matter which of the hospitals in the regions they were studying in at the time.
http://www.cbcu.cam.ac.uk/handhelds/"
Medical Approaches is certainly an interesting way to combine the development
of a medical text, a collaborative educational experience, and the use of handhelds!
Thanks Dr. Mohammad Al-Ubaydli!
Our project is going along well-more next week!
Thursday, March 28, 2002
Technical problems
Hello. There have been some technical problems associated with the scripts
I had running on this blog. I will patch things up and get things/links, etc.
going again over the weekend. Thanks!
I had running on this blog. I will patch things up and get things/links, etc.
going again over the weekend. Thanks!
Friday, March 22, 2002
The Week in the Life of a Handheld Librarian
Hello! What a week! The circulation of our specialty pdas started this week
and I am very happy with the results and very relieved that it is over. Details coming up...
First a piece of important information. The Shifted
Librarian has a secret crystal ball and soon we will all say we knew her when...she was
our information maven! I have become so emmeshed in e-book unlock codes for the handhelds
and loading content that I have not been able to see the forest for the trees. Last night, I realized
that the significance of pdas and handheld devices is not in the devices themselves but in the way they allow the library to deliver information. Libraries used to be and at some extent still are brick, mortar and paper-based and users were expected to go to the library to get reading material and retrieve information. With the advent of the Internet, distance learning, and the growth of technology, it became important for libraries to harness electronic information, provide training to their users on how to retrieve it, and deliver the information to the user wherever they are-at home, in their office, on the road, a world away. The pda allows the user to become even more mobile and the library to provide information to the user at the bedside, at the grocery store, in the courtroom, in the car, when and where they want the information. To remain viable and valuable, libraries must keep abreast of technology trends such as pdas and wireless technology, and invent, create, and promote new, efficient ways of delivering desired information at the point of care, the point of need wherever that may be. Thinking of this reminds we why we got involved in a pda project
in the first place!
Congratulations to Charlotte Johnson of Southern Illinois University--Edwardsville,
who just wrote a successful grant for "PDA Access to Medical, Nursing and Dental
Collection." The five libraries at SIU will provide faculty and students with access to ovid@hand, training, website
resources, and collaborate to offer these services. The neat part of the project is that
through our current pda project at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, I will get the
opportunity to work with Charlotte Johnson, someone I have known for awhile, but never
had the opportunity to work with! Congratulations Charlotte, and I look forward to
working with you!
Our PDA conference scheduled for June 7 in Peoria, Illinois was approved for four hours of
MLA CE credits. If you want information, I will share the web address next week when the
info will be posted or you can email me (lbell927@yahoo.com) for a flyer. Cost is only $25.00.
The keynote speaker is the ultimate handheld librarian, Mari Stoddard, who has been doing
this for longer than anyone I know, and who is the best known in the library field for her
knowledge of handheld devices. It will be a lot of fun and hopefully informative.
Cheers and welcome to Steven Grove, who has just agreed to be a contributor to this blog.
Steven is a librarian at Harold Brittingham Memorial Library in Cleveland, Ohio. He is
doing a presentation on pdas at MCLMA in Minneapolis this fall. Karen Anderson will be on the panel also.
I will definitely be at
that presentation! Steven has posted to other lists and wonders if anyone out there
is participating in institution wide synching of information. At their library, they have
a beta-site for a workstation that will employ infrared beaming to synch in-house products
to users. They are starting with a phone directory and a security product called ONLY ME.
Steven has also published a great article on PDAS
in the Midwest. Welcome, Steven!
Well, the debut week is over. Next week our specialty content and conference page will be on the project
website. When it is up, I will give you the url. Peg at UIC LHS Peoria is going to start circulating their
specialty handhelds next week. The most interesting thing about the week is that every single training
session and orientation I have done this week has been unique. Everyone is looking to the handheld
device for something different. Also, many are interested in the "toys" which we will begin circulating
in 2 weeks - the digital cameras, the voice recording and the Margi Presenter to Go, a device which
allows you to do a power point presentation from your handheld by connecting your handheld to it
via the Margi to Go in your expansion slot. My learning curve right now is very steep. :) And, no, I am
not full-time on this project.
Here is a brief overview of some of my experiences this week. A computer trainer is trying documents to go
for word processing and checked out a pda, a cradle, and a keyboard. She is going to evaluate this for us.
This week I learned from an enthusiastic cardiology nurse that "it is an exciting time to have heart failure!"
I had never heard heart failure referred to as particularly exciting or seen anyone so enthusiastic about it. This
nurse cheerfully explained that people experiencing heart failure at this particular time had a lot of options and
that there was so much they could do to help these patients. There are a lot of new developments in treatments.
After seeing the library's pdas, she and a department administrative assistant went out and purchased handhelds
and keyboards. The assistant is using documents to go; the nurse is using documents to go; Epocrates; downloaded
5 Minute Cardiac Consult from Skyscape and checked out our cardiology pda to try the other resources.
Two emergency medicine pdas have been checked out by an attending physician and a resident. The neurology
pda went out too! The resident interested in neurology had already tried Clinical Neurology, but wanted to try
Principles of Neurology. The internal medicine pda went out and so did the family medicine to a nurse who is
signed up for more in-depth training next week. She wants to try the Washington Manual. Today I met with
a process improvement staff person who is interested in the calendar, note taking, address book, and Avantgo
type services. She is signed up for more in-depth training next week too. It seems like half of the people who
checked out pdas have their own and wanted to try our resources and half had never tried one. People are
anxious and eager to try them and word of mouth has been our best publicity so far.
Peg's library and our library have each publicized the project in our library newsletters. The projects have
grown like wildfire! It's hard to keep up but exciting at the same time! For the first time since the project
began, less than 50% of user's questions have been about Epocrates. Now that's progress! Kudos to
Carol Galganski, Library Manager at OSF Saint Francis and Jo Dorsch at UIC LHS Peoria for effective
marketing of this project to powers that be within the institutions!
Also thanks to Carol, Roy Jones and I have done a small trial of Unbound
Medicine/BMJ's free six month trial of Clinical Evidence for the handheld. This works like ovid@hand in
that you can select the types of clinical evidence materials you would like to download to your handheld.
When you view the information on your handheld, if you wish to see the full text on a topic, you can click
save to web, and after a hotsync, view the full text in your personal web library! Has anyone else tried this?
We are putting this on our Internal Medicine pdas as a type of content for people to try.
and I am very happy with the results and very relieved that it is over. Details coming up...
First a piece of important information. The Shifted
Librarian has a secret crystal ball and soon we will all say we knew her when...she was
our information maven! I have become so emmeshed in e-book unlock codes for the handhelds
and loading content that I have not been able to see the forest for the trees. Last night, I realized
that the significance of pdas and handheld devices is not in the devices themselves but in the way they allow the library to deliver information. Libraries used to be and at some extent still are brick, mortar and paper-based and users were expected to go to the library to get reading material and retrieve information. With the advent of the Internet, distance learning, and the growth of technology, it became important for libraries to harness electronic information, provide training to their users on how to retrieve it, and deliver the information to the user wherever they are-at home, in their office, on the road, a world away. The pda allows the user to become even more mobile and the library to provide information to the user at the bedside, at the grocery store, in the courtroom, in the car, when and where they want the information. To remain viable and valuable, libraries must keep abreast of technology trends such as pdas and wireless technology, and invent, create, and promote new, efficient ways of delivering desired information at the point of care, the point of need wherever that may be. Thinking of this reminds we why we got involved in a pda project
in the first place!
Congratulations to Charlotte Johnson of Southern Illinois University--Edwardsville,
who just wrote a successful grant for "PDA Access to Medical, Nursing and Dental
Collection." The five libraries at SIU will provide faculty and students with access to ovid@hand, training, website
resources, and collaborate to offer these services. The neat part of the project is that
through our current pda project at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, I will get the
opportunity to work with Charlotte Johnson, someone I have known for awhile, but never
had the opportunity to work with! Congratulations Charlotte, and I look forward to
working with you!
Our PDA conference scheduled for June 7 in Peoria, Illinois was approved for four hours of
MLA CE credits. If you want information, I will share the web address next week when the
info will be posted or you can email me (lbell927@yahoo.com) for a flyer. Cost is only $25.00.
The keynote speaker is the ultimate handheld librarian, Mari Stoddard, who has been doing
this for longer than anyone I know, and who is the best known in the library field for her
knowledge of handheld devices. It will be a lot of fun and hopefully informative.
Cheers and welcome to Steven Grove, who has just agreed to be a contributor to this blog.
Steven is a librarian at Harold Brittingham Memorial Library in Cleveland, Ohio. He is
doing a presentation on pdas at MCLMA in Minneapolis this fall. Karen Anderson will be on the panel also.
I will definitely be at
that presentation! Steven has posted to other lists and wonders if anyone out there
is participating in institution wide synching of information. At their library, they have
a beta-site for a workstation that will employ infrared beaming to synch in-house products
to users. They are starting with a phone directory and a security product called ONLY ME.
Steven has also published a great article on PDAS
in the Midwest. Welcome, Steven!
Well, the debut week is over. Next week our specialty content and conference page will be on the project
website. When it is up, I will give you the url. Peg at UIC LHS Peoria is going to start circulating their
specialty handhelds next week. The most interesting thing about the week is that every single training
session and orientation I have done this week has been unique. Everyone is looking to the handheld
device for something different. Also, many are interested in the "toys" which we will begin circulating
in 2 weeks - the digital cameras, the voice recording and the Margi Presenter to Go, a device which
allows you to do a power point presentation from your handheld by connecting your handheld to it
via the Margi to Go in your expansion slot. My learning curve right now is very steep. :) And, no, I am
not full-time on this project.
Here is a brief overview of some of my experiences this week. A computer trainer is trying documents to go
for word processing and checked out a pda, a cradle, and a keyboard. She is going to evaluate this for us.
This week I learned from an enthusiastic cardiology nurse that "it is an exciting time to have heart failure!"
I had never heard heart failure referred to as particularly exciting or seen anyone so enthusiastic about it. This
nurse cheerfully explained that people experiencing heart failure at this particular time had a lot of options and
that there was so much they could do to help these patients. There are a lot of new developments in treatments.
After seeing the library's pdas, she and a department administrative assistant went out and purchased handhelds
and keyboards. The assistant is using documents to go; the nurse is using documents to go; Epocrates; downloaded
5 Minute Cardiac Consult from Skyscape and checked out our cardiology pda to try the other resources.
Two emergency medicine pdas have been checked out by an attending physician and a resident. The neurology
pda went out too! The resident interested in neurology had already tried Clinical Neurology, but wanted to try
Principles of Neurology. The internal medicine pda went out and so did the family medicine to a nurse who is
signed up for more in-depth training next week. She wants to try the Washington Manual. Today I met with
a process improvement staff person who is interested in the calendar, note taking, address book, and Avantgo
type services. She is signed up for more in-depth training next week too. It seems like half of the people who
checked out pdas have their own and wanted to try our resources and half had never tried one. People are
anxious and eager to try them and word of mouth has been our best publicity so far.
Peg's library and our library have each publicized the project in our library newsletters. The projects have
grown like wildfire! It's hard to keep up but exciting at the same time! For the first time since the project
began, less than 50% of user's questions have been about Epocrates. Now that's progress! Kudos to
Carol Galganski, Library Manager at OSF Saint Francis and Jo Dorsch at UIC LHS Peoria for effective
marketing of this project to powers that be within the institutions!
Also thanks to Carol, Roy Jones and I have done a small trial of Unbound
Medicine/BMJ's free six month trial of Clinical Evidence for the handheld. This works like ovid@hand in
that you can select the types of clinical evidence materials you would like to download to your handheld.
When you view the information on your handheld, if you wish to see the full text on a topic, you can click
save to web, and after a hotsync, view the full text in your personal web library! Has anyone else tried this?
We are putting this on our Internal Medicine pdas as a type of content for people to try.
Some more article citations
Here's some more article citations that might be of interest to readers of this blog:
Ekhaml, Leticia T. "Those amazing hand-held computers!" School Library Media Activities Monthly v17, no4 (Dec. 2000) p.38-9, 48
Stoddard, Mari J. "Handhelds in the health sciences library at the University of Arizona." Medical Reference Services Quarterly v20, no3 (Fall 2001) p.75-82
Ekhaml, Leticia T. "Those amazing hand-held computers!" School Library Media Activities Monthly v17, no4 (Dec. 2000) p.38-9, 48
Stoddard, Mari J. "Handhelds in the health sciences library at the University of Arizona." Medical Reference Services Quarterly v20, no3 (Fall 2001) p.75-82
Wednesday, March 20, 2002
Sacred Heart School
Here's a recent article on what another school has done:
McMillan, Sam. "The Sacred Heart Palm Project." Design Interact.
McMillan, Sam. "The Sacred Heart Palm Project." Design Interact.
School Includes Media Center in Handheld Project
Cheryl Litt, Media Specialist at West Hills Middle School in Bloomfield Hills Schools, Michigan just wrote to tell me that she is coordinating her school's handheld pilot project for their 6th grade class for next year and will be including the school's media center. Congrats, Cheryl!
Article for business users & other miscellany
Have you seen this article in Fortune? It looks like PDAs are more mainstream than I thought.
The Palm Education Pioneer grants have posted their findings on current pilot projects. While there seems to be lots of talk of how to integrate handhelds into the curriculum, none of the schools I have talked to or the participants in the PEP grants (as far as I can tell) have included their libraries/media centers in their projects.
Another good site for school librarians investigating handhelds is pdaED.com.
The Palm Education Pioneer grants have posted their findings on current pilot projects. While there seems to be lots of talk of how to integrate handhelds into the curriculum, none of the schools I have talked to or the participants in the PEP grants (as far as I can tell) have included their libraries/media centers in their projects.
Another good site for school librarians investigating handhelds is pdaED.com.
Tuesday, March 19, 2002
PDA resources for law librarians
I stumbled accross a couple of resources for law librarians that might be of interest here. They are:
Law.com Legal newswire is a legal newswire formatted to be read on palms and other handheld devices.
pdaJD.com is a legal portal for attorneys. They have some good product reviews of general office products. The writing is very clear and aimed at those just getting their feet wet when it comes to technology.
Law.com Legal newswire is a legal newswire formatted to be read on palms and other handheld devices.
pdaJD.com is a legal portal for attorneys. They have some good product reviews of general office products. The writing is very clear and aimed at those just getting their feet wet when it comes to technology.
Sunday, March 17, 2002
Handhelds.org
Good morning! Steven Cohen from Library Stuff
kindly sent me a url for a neat web site/one of the new wikis - have you seen them on Feb. 16.
For some reason, I just received it today. Handhelds.org
is a neat site that encourages and facilitates the creation of open source software for use on
handheld and wearable computers. Thanks, Steven! These wiki websites are quite intriguing - Tom
Peters mentioned one on ebooks too. Have a great day!
kindly sent me a url for a neat web site/one of the new wikis - have you seen them on Feb. 16.
For some reason, I just received it today. Handhelds.org
is a neat site that encourages and facilitates the creation of open source software for use on
handheld and wearable computers. Thanks, Steven! These wiki websites are quite intriguing - Tom
Peters mentioned one on ebooks too. Have a great day!
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