1. News & Current Awareness Nancy Allee and Helen Look Public Health Informatics Services & Access February 13, 2004

2. Acknowledgements U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Network of Libraries of Medicine. Information Access in Public Health: A Training Manual. Bethesda, MD: National Library of Medicine, 2003. U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Network of Libraries of Medicine. Information Access in Public Health: A Training Manual. Bethesda, MD: National Library of Medicine, 2003.

3. Overview Learn specific strategies for identifying the best resources for keeping current Learn specific strategies for identifying the best resources for keeping current Evaluate which strategies best suit your needs Evaluate which strategies best suit your needs Establish a personalized routine for staying informed Establish a personalized routine for staying informed

4. Class Participation Question 1: Question 1: What do you currently do to stay informed on public health issues? Please name specific resources/tools that you use

5. Class Participation Question 2: Question 2: What are some of the challenges/barriers to staying up to date on public health issues?

6. The Value of Staying Informed Staying informed is essential for being able to inform, educate and empower people about health issues Staying informed is essential for being able to inform, educate and empower people about health issues An awareness of current hot topics enables you to be prepared for developing risks and opportunities An awareness of current hot topics enables you to be prepared for developing risks and opportunities Consistently being aware of the latest information is important at any level of your career Consistently being aware of the latest information is important at any level of your career

7. The Cost of Staying Informed The two primary costs: time and money The two primary costs: time and money We will cover a list of strategies and the amount of time required We will cover a list of strategies and the amount of time required We will focus on resources and services that are free (unless otherwise indicated) We will focus on resources and services that are free (unless otherwise indicated)

8. Organizing Your Information Use folders/directories in your e- mail system to store electronic readings Use folders/directories in your e- mail system to store electronic readings Use web browser bookmarks or favorites to access frequently used web sites Use web browser bookmarks or favorites to access frequently used web sites Use physical folders to gather and store relevant readings Use physical folders to gather and store relevant readings

9. Top Ten Strategies For Staying Informed

10. Receive E-mail Announcements/Notification Lists Strategy 1: Receive E-mail Announcements/Notification Lists Announcement lists provide one-way communication of information that you deem relevant to your interest Announcement lists provide one-way communication of information that you deem relevant to your interest These lists may be daily, weekly, monthly, or only when there is news These lists may be daily, weekly, monthly, or only when there is news

11. Strategy 1: Receive E-mail Announcements/Notification Lists CNN Health Week (every Friday) or CNN Breaking News http://www.cnn.com/EMAIL/ CNN Health Week (every Friday) or CNN Breaking News http://www.cnn.com/EMAIL/ http://www.cnn.com/EMAIL/

12. Strategy 2: Participate in E-mail Discussion Lists (Listservs) Discussion lists are interactive lists where people may post or receive messages Discussion lists are interactive lists where people may post or receive messages Sign on to observe a list for a week or look at the archives Sign on to observe a list for a week or look at the archives Consider the percentage of the messages that were on target or potentially valuable to you Consider the percentage of the messages that were on target or potentially valuable to you Some lists offer options for a one-a- day digest format Some lists offer options for a one-a- day digest format

13. Strategy 2: Participate in E-mail Discussion Lists (Listservs) Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce’s Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce’s Discussion and E-mail Lists http://phpartners.org/dlists.html

14. Strategy 2: Participate in E-mail Discussion Lists (Listservs)

15. Strategy 3: Regularly Review Web Sites With News Updates Identify web sites related to your areas of interest that have news updates or continuous news feeds Identify web sites related to your areas of interest that have news updates or continuous news feeds You can add these sites to your browser bookmarks or favorites You can add these sites to your browser bookmarks or favorites You can make one of these web pages your default web page so it is the first thing you see in the morning You can make one of these web pages your default web page so it is the first thing you see in the morning

16. Strategy 3: Regularly Review Web Sites With News Updates CDC in the News: http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/ CDC in the News: http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/ http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/

17. Strategy 4: Request Auto-Notification of Changes to Web Sites of Interest If a web site you are interested in does not provide email updates, you can ask a free web service to track changes for you and notify you when a particular page is updated If a web site you are interested in does not provide email updates, you can ask a free web service to track changes for you and notify you when a particular page is updated

18. Strategy 4: Request Auto-Notification of Changes to Web Sites of Interest ChangeDetection.com ChangeDetection.com http://changedetection.com/moni tor.html http://changedetection.com/moni tor.html Be aware that not all changes to a page will be due to substantial content updates Be aware that not all changes to a page will be due to substantial content updates

19. Strategy 5: Browse Table of Contents of Relevant Journals Some fields have their own journals and therefore receiving the contents is a good strategy for keeping up Some fields have their own journals and therefore receiving the contents is a good strategy for keeping up This strategy is less successful for fields that are too narrow to have their own journals or so multidisciplinary that they are published in many journals. This strategy is less successful for fields that are too narrow to have their own journals or so multidisciplinary that they are published in many journals. Note: The automatic update search strategy is better suited for multidisciplinary fields Note: The automatic update search strategy is better suited for multidisciplinary fields

20. Strategy 5: Browse Table of Contents of Relevant Journals To identify relevant public health journals: Core Journal List in the Public Health from the Public Health/Health Administration Section of the Medical Library Association http://info.med.yale.edu/eph/library/phjourn als/ Core Journal List in the Public Health from the Public Health/Health Administration Section of the Medical Library Association http://info.med.yale.edu/eph/library/phjourn als/ http://info.med.yale.edu/eph/library/phjourn als/ http://info.med.yale.edu/eph/library/phjourn als/ Lamar Soutter Library’s Evidence- Based Practice for Public Health Project Lamar Soutter Library’s Evidence- Based Practice for Public Health Project http://library.umassmed.edu/ebpph/ Your local librarian can also help you identify journals Your local librarian can also help you identify journals

21. Strategy 5: Browse Table of Contents of Relevant Journals BioSecurity and BioTerrorism: Biodefense Strategy, Practice, and Science BioSecurity and BioTerrorism: Biodefense Strategy, Practice, and Science http://www.biosecurityjournal.com/index.asp

22. Strategy 5: Browse Table of Contents of Relevant Journals After identifying relevant journals, user your favorite search engine to find the home page for the journal After identifying relevant journals, user your favorite search engine to find the home page for the journal The table of contents and/or the full-text of articles may be available for free The table of contents and/or the full-text of articles may be available for free Some journals allow you to view articles that will appear in a future issue Some journals allow you to view articles that will appear in a future issue Some journals will automatically e-mail you the table of contents for new issues. Look for a link to “email alerts” or “email notifications” Some journals will automatically e-mail you the table of contents for new issues. Look for a link to “email alerts” or “email notifications” Some sites only require your email address while others require additional information for registration Some sites only require your email address while others require additional information for registration

23. Strategy 6: Activate Online Access for Journal Subscriptions Many individuals and institutional subscriptions allow for online access to the full content of recent issues. Many individuals and institutional subscriptions allow for online access to the full content of recent issues. Be sure to activate the online access to your subscriptions, particularly those resulting from individual or organizational memberships. Be sure to activate the online access to your subscriptions, particularly those resulting from individual or organizational memberships.

24. Strategy 6: Activate Online Access for Journal Subscriptions PubMed Link Out Journals by Title http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/jo urnals/loftext_noprov.html PubMed Link Out Journals by Title http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/jo urnals/loftext_noprov.html http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/jo urnals/loftext_noprov.html http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/jo urnals/loftext_noprov.html A list of PubMed journals that links to full text articles A list of PubMed journals that links to full text articles

25. Strategy 7: Run Automatic Updates Searches You can set up automatic update searches in a variety of databases relevant to your discipline. You can set up automatic update searches in a variety of databases relevant to your discipline. There are free services that you can use to set up automatic searches of the PubMed database to email regularly to you. There are free services that you can use to set up automatic searches of the PubMed database to email regularly to you. These searches can be by subject area, by author to track particular experts in your field, or by institution to track the work of particular organizations. These searches can be by subject area, by author to track particular experts in your field, or by institution to track the work of particular organizations.

26. Strategy 7: Run Automatic Updates Searches Some database producers have already prepared these “canned” searches on topics of interest that you can receive as email updates. Some database producers have already prepared these “canned” searches on topics of interest that you can receive as email updates. Another method of getting these search updates is to visit a page with links to live PubMed searches such as Healthy People 2010 Information Access Project http://phpartners.org/hp/ Another method of getting these search updates is to visit a page with links to live PubMed searches such as Healthy People 2010 Information Access Project http://phpartners.org/hp/ http://phpartners.org/hp/

27. Strategy 7: Run Automatic Updates Searches BioMail BioMail http://biomail.org PubCrawler http://www.pubcrawler.ie/ PubCrawler http://www.pubcrawler.ie/ http://www.pubcrawler.ie/ By Subscription: By Subscription: Current Contents

28. Strategy 7: Run Automatic Updates Searches Demo Cubby feature in PubMed Demo Cubby feature in PubMed

29. Strategy 8: Form a Local Support System for Specific Projects/Topics Journal Clubs Journal Clubs Newspaper Clippings Newspaper Clippings Routing Journals Routing Journals

30. Strategy 9: Join or follow organizations focused in your area of interest Newsletters, discussion lists, real and virtual meetings, continuing education in a variety of formats from organizations focused on your area of interest may be some of the benefits of membership Newsletters, discussion lists, real and virtual meetings, continuing education in a variety of formats from organizations focused on your area of interest may be some of the benefits of membership See sample issues of the newsletter See sample issues of the newsletter Talk to colleagues about whether the networking in that group has been valuable to them Talk to colleagues about whether the networking in that group has been valuable to them Local or regional groups tend to be less expensive and more relevant Local or regional groups tend to be less expensive and more relevant

31. Strategy 9: Join or follow organizations focused in your area of interest Links to Public Health Organizations and Resources Online Links to Public Health Organizations and Resources Onlinehttp://www.phf.org/links.htm

32. Top Ten Strategies For Staying Informed 1. Receive e-mail announcements/notification lists 2. Participate in e-mail discussion lists (listservs) 3. Regularly review web sites with news update 4. Request auto-notification of changes to web sites of interest 5. Browse table of contents of relevant journals 6. Activate online access for journal subscriptions 7. Run Automatic Update Searches (SDIs) 8. Form a local support system for specific projects/topics 9. Join or follow organizations in your area of interest 10. Develop a formal plan for staying informed on a regular basis (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.)

33. Evaluating Strategies The most efficient strategies will maximize the equation: Value = Relevant Items/Time Spent Strategies for keeping up can be short-term, long-term or project specific Strategies for keeping up can be short-term, long-term or project specific

34. Time for Staying Informed With a list of possible strategies, consider how much time you can devote to keeping up to date With a list of possible strategies, consider how much time you can devote to keeping up to date Five Minutes Per Day: Five Minutes Per Day: Read and respond to an e-mail announcement listing Read and respond to an e-mail announcement listing Quickly read the topics from a listserv digest Quickly read the topics from a listserv digest Review the table of contents of a journal Review the table of contents of a journal One Hour Per Week: One Hour Per Week: Do all the activities listed above Do all the activities listed above Read abstracts of selected journal articles or newsletters Read abstracts of selected journal articles or newsletters Review the results of an automatic update search and request journal articles Review the results of an automatic update search and request journal articles

35. Final Class Activity Develop a formal plan for staying informed on a regular basis Develop a formal plan for staying informed on a regular basis

36. Additional Services for MI-INFO Project Reference Service (Free): Reference Service (Free): E-mail: mi-info@umich.edu E-mail: mi-info@umich.edumi-info@umich.edu Phone: 734-763-5109 Phone: 734-763-5109 Loansome Doc Service (Fee): Loansome Doc Service (Fee): http://www.lib.umich.edu/taubman/ ldregister.html http://www.lib.umich.edu/taubman/ ldregister.html

37. Conclusion Contact us: mi-info@umich.edu or 734-763-5109 Contact us: mi-info@umich.edu or 734-763-5109mi-info@umich.edu Evaluations Please remember to fill out your evaluations. Please remember to fill out your evaluations.