Greetings, UNYOC Members,
The initial call for content had a deadline for submission of March 31st.
We are reopening the call today, with a new deadline of end-of-day on May 15th, 2025.
We encourage you to contribute content to the UNYOC’25 Thrive in 2025: Leadership, Development, & Innovation online conference.
Topics that are theme-related are preferred, but presentations on any aspect of librarianship, or the medical and health sciences, are welcome.
You can also consider one of these topics requested by your fellow UNYOC members in the 2024 post-conference survey:
Use this link to submit a proposal for a presentation, a lightning talk, or a poster: https://forms.gle/ynimiPxWYJ9j77gB8
For members that are not able to access Google products, please submit your abstract(s) via direct email to Mary Jo Russell and Beth Merkle (Cc’d on this message).
On behalf of the conference planning committee, thank you for contributing your time and expertise to make UNYOC’25 happen.
Best Regards,
Conference Communications Committee
Lorraine Porcello, Rebecca Kindon, & Liz Irish
On behalf of the 2025 Upstate New York and Ontario Chapter of MLA (UNYOC/MLA) Conference Planning Committee:
Be a part of the success of our Fall Conference
Theme: Thrive in 2025: Leadership ~ Development ~ Innovation
Dates: October 7-9, 2025
Place: Online, hosted by Southeastern NY Library Resources Council
Conference Speaker Highlight
Attorney and award-winning author, Jodé Millman, is one of this year’s distinguished keynote speakers. Creator of “The Writer’s Law School,” her talk will address aspects of copyright, artificial intelligence, and publishing articles in the present climate.
You are invited to share your expertise!The call for proposals is open now! Deadline to submit proposals is end-of-day on May 15, 2025.
Whether you are a seasoned professional or studying to be a librarian, UNYOC'25 is your chance to share your knowledge, insights, and groundbreaking research with a diverse and engaged audience. Your unique experiences and perspectives are highly valued and appreciated. And best of all, you can do it from the comfort of your office. We encourage you to submit presentations on any aspect of librarianship, or the medical and health sciences.
More details on the conference schedule will follow.
Please email any questions to mla.unyoc@gmail.com, and feel free to share this invitation!
Kind Regards,
UNYOC'25 Communications Committee: Elizabeth Irish, Rebecca Kindon, Lorraine Porcello
Conference Planning Chair: Mary Jo Russell
Dear colleagues,
Apply for the UNYOC Professional Development Award today!
The Professional Development Award is intended to provide an opportunity for librarians and information specialists to pursue a continuing education/professional development opportunity in the area of health sciences librarianship. Two awards of $500 will be given each year. Please see the web page for details on how to apply: https://unyoc.wildapricot.org/PDaward
Applications for this cycle must be completed by Thursday, March 27, 2025.
Looking forward to reviewing your applications!
Members-at-large,
Jamia Williams, Laura Riggs, and Jessica Hollister
Jessica Hollister
This October, I attended the 2024 UNYOC Annual Meeting in Celeron, NY. As a newer health sciences librarian, this served as a terrific opportunity to interact with and present to my fellow regional librarians.
At the University at Buffalo, I am the chair of the Libraries’ AI Literacy Training Task Force. This committee serves to assess AI competency and use in the UB Libraries, and to design and implement AI training opportunities for UB Libraries faculty and staff, and the wider UB academic community. When UNYOC put out the call for proposals, I was excited at the prospect of attending and the potential of presenting to a room of colleagues on a topic that was in line with the conference panel discussion.
After submitting a proposal, I was fortunate to be selected for a Lightning Talk session. From there, the challenge was to craft a presentation that would inform on the assessment work of the Literacy Training Task Force in a way that could be applicable to other institutions within the time limit. I elected to create a more content-heavy presentation, for the purposes of providing more scaffolding to any colleague who requested a copy. As a newer health sciences librarian, I was feeling a bit nervous to present. However, the UNYOC attendees did not disappoint as they facilitated an encouraging and dynamic atmosphere for each presentation. As an attendee, I was thrilled to learn about the creative and important work my chapter colleagues are doing at their institutions. Overall, the experience was energizing, and I look forward to continuing to interact with my fellow chapter members.
Anne Meore gave the keynote address on Thursday, October 24, 2024. Meore’s work as an instructor, social worker, and horticultural therapist presented a unique perspective for us librarians. She asked us to consider not only the physical characteristics of our own working spaces, but also the spaces in which we interact with our health sciences or hospital library constituents. Through her lecture and activity, she reasoned that spaces could be both productive and welcoming by introducing light and greenery sensory elements. The horticultural therapy exercise wherein each attendee decorated their own plant environment demonstrated the positive impact these elements can have—regardless of how small the element. Moving forward, my team and I seeking opportunities to apply these lessons and create friendlier spaces for ourselves and our patrons.
Thank you, UNYOC, for affording this opportunity, and your continued support for the regional MLA community!
Presenting a poster at UNYOC is a great way to showcase your innovation, project, website upgrade, user experience, or any other library endeavor. You can use the opportunity to test a new approach or new way of doing something, or to demonstrate a library product or invention. It can also be a great way to test out an idea before submitting it to a national conference. Share your experience with us!
A poster does not need to be complicated or printed out on high-gloss paper. I’ve done three of these, and in all three cases I used either a stiff poster board or a tri-fold display board, either of which can be purchased at Staples. Having said that, a professionally printed poster is the best if you have the means to do so.
Test your poster on an easel to make sure it will stay open and upright; bring your own portable easel if you can. Hotels do not allow posters to be attached to the walls in any manner.
Here are some tips on creating a poster for display:
Keep the layout simple and the text easy to read from a short distance. Most people stand about 3 to 5 feet away when they view a poster.
Do check and make sure any graphics or images used are not copyrighted; an easy way to avoid copyright is to make your own graphic or use your own photo images.
Go with a simple font like Ariel or MS Sans Serif.
If adding information in your own handwriting, be sure to use a good sharpie or poster marker.
Would a handout be nice for the viewers? If so, include any relevant information and/or references along with poster details.
Is there additional information you’d like to share but can’t fit it on the poster? Consider creating a companion web page and insert a QR code on the poster.
Things to Avoid:
Blurry or pixelated images
Layout too busy or font too small
Notes or words added using thin marker or ball point pen
Poster too large for easel and falls off
Multiple handouts
(By the way, it is best to remain at your poster for the entire poster session.)
Greetings UNYOC members!
Each year, UNYOC recognizes a UNYOC member for exemplary service to the Chapter. The recipient receives a plaque and paid registration to the next Annual Meeting. In 2004, the award was named in honor of Katy Nesbit, a dedicated member of both UNYOC and the Medical Library Association. Among her many honors and achievements, Katy was a past recipient of the Chapter’s Service Award. The call for nominations for the Katy Nesbit Service Award occurs annually. The deadline date for this year is Sunday, September 30.
The Katy Nesbit Service Award is given to a UNYOC member for exemplary service to the Chapter during the past year. A plaque and paid UNYOC registration for the next UNYOC meeting will be awarded to the recipient. The Award will be presented at the Annual Meeting.
Criteria used to determine the recipient of the award include, but are not limited to:
If you know of an UNYOC member whose contributions to the Chapter deserve recognition through the Katy Nesbit Award, please nominate him/her.
Please complete the nomination form by September 30, 2024, to be considered. If you have any questions, please contact us at MLA.UNYOC@gmail.com.
We invite you to present at the 60th UNYOC Annual Conference in Celeron, NY.
This year we are "Having A Ball!" at the beautiful Chautauqua Harbor Hotel from October 23 – 25, 2024.
We encourage you to submit presentations on any aspect of librarianship, or the medical and health sciences, that you are passionate about! Your unique perspectives and experiences are highly valued and appreciated.
The deadline for submissions is Friday, September 13, 2024.
Please note that there are two separate forms that you can use to submit content for consideration.
The topic for this year's panel discussion is Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Academic Health Sciences and Hospital Libraries. The panel discussion will take place during morning programming on Friday, October 25, 2024 after Dr. Steven Petersen's keynote presentation titled "Why AI Is an Existential Risk."
The purpose of this discussion panel is to highlight and share the many ways that library staff are engaging with, or affected by, the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, including but not limited to generative pre-trained transformers or GPTs.
Some examples include:
Curriculum development to address the intersection between information literacy and AI literacy. Chasing citation "hallucinations". Policy development to address ethical concerns.
We encourage you to volunteer as a panelist to share your experiences, whatever they may be.
Whether you are a seasoned professional or studying to be a librarian, UNYOC'24 is your chance to share your knowledge, insights, and groundbreaking research with a diverse and engaged audience.
Your expertise and passion are what make UNYOC great!
If accepted, first and second authors and discussion panelists who submit an abstract by August 31, 2024, will receive a $50 discount on conference registration.
Submissions will be evaluated using rubrics and criteria for MLA'23 Papers, Posters, and Lightning Talks.
Once you have completed your abstract submission, remember to register for the event and book your hotel stay.
UNYOC’s 2024 Conference will be held on October 23-25th at the Chautauqua Harbor Hotel in Chautauqua, NY! Explore the area ahead of time in anticipation of early bird specials when registration opens this summer. We’re going to have a ball this fall.
If you have an idea, no matter how big or how small, we are the group to share it with! We build our program around the submissions we receive. Your content can be a poster, a lightning talk, or more. Please consider presenting; you won’t find a more welcoming group. Start your noggins! Invitations for proposals will open later this summer.
We are delighted to welcome three keynote speakers to our 60th conference this October
Anne M. Meore, MA, LMSW, HTR
Licensed Master Social Worker & Registered Horticultural Therapist
Ms. Meore is a licensed social worker in New York and a registered horticultural therapist with the American Horticultural Therapy Association. Anne is the Garden Projects Coordinator for Bon Secours Charity Health System in Suffern, NY, where she is responsible for designing and managing therapeutic garden spaces and conducting Horticultural Therapy programming in the accessible and therapeutic, “Garden of Hope,” at Good Samaritan Hospital. At the New York Botanical Garden, Anne serves as the Horticultural Therapy Program Coordinator for THRIVE (Therapeutic Horticulture and Rehabilitative Intervention for Veteran Engagement) in partnership with the Bronx VA’s Resilience & Wellness Program.
Lori V. Quigley, Ph.D.
Full Professor & Program Coordinator in Leadership and Policy at Niagara University
Dr. Quigley has enjoyed a career in education that ranges from achieving the rank of tenured full professor to university president. Currently, Dr. Quigley is a full professor of leadership and policy at Niagara University and is also an educational consultant and advisor to many school districts and colleges/universities in areas ranging from curriculum development to strengthening diversity, equity, and inclusionary policies and practices. Lori grew up on the Allegany territory of the Seneca Nation of Indians; currently, she lives in Grand Island, NY, with her husband, Don, and their Goldendoodle, Clancy.
In her address, "Multigenerational Effects Resulting from the Native American Residential Boarding School Era", Dr. Quigley will draw on her lived experience growing up on the Allegany territory of the Seneca Nation of Indians and reflect on her mother's experiences as a survivor of a residential boarding school.
Steve Petersen, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Philosophy at Niagara University
Steve Petersen is a philosopher at Niagara University. He first started publishing on the philosophy of Artificial Intelligence in 2006, and for the past ten years his focus has been on philosophical and mathematical aspects of "the alignment problem" for artificial superintelligence. Related research involves formalizing scientific theorizing using tools from algorithmic information theory. He is also a local part-time actor and improvisor - though not so much since the birth of his delightful children.
Dr. Petersen's keynote address, "Why AI is an Existential Risk", will explore the myths and realities behind the worries about future super-intelligent computers.
This May, I attended the 2024 Annual Meeting of the Medical Library Association in Portland, OR. It was a great experience. It afforded me the opportunity to learn a lot, reconnect with old colleagues, and meet new ones.
Along with some other colleagues at the University at Buffalo, I am a co-developer of our Evidence Syntheses Service so most of the programming I went to had a focus on systematic reviews [SRs] and specifically about similar services. There were also some interesting sessions about the use of AI with SRs. “An empirical study evaluating ChatGPT’s performance in generating search strategies for systematic reviews” looked at how well the free and premium versions of ChatGPT worked with both question formulation and search strategy. Not unsurprisingly, the premium version of ChatGPT performed better. I am personally still not sure where AI fits in conducting SRs, but there are definitely some tedious parts of reviews that it would be nice to have automated.
“’Do I really need to work with a Librarian?’: Exploring the Reporting and Reproducibility of Comprehensive Reviews Published on an Academic Medical Campus” and “Examining Institutional Evidence Synthesis Publications to Inform Outreach & Provision of Service for an Academic Library’s Evidence Synthesis Service” were a few sessions I attended where librarians had run searches of SRs done at their institutions and then evaluated the reviews to see if a librarian had been involved and to evaluate the quality of the reviews.
Several of the papers I heard dealt with managing workload, team preparation, dealing with ill-formed research questions, and other issues. “Defining our scope: Eliminating “service creep” in library systematic review support services” was an engaging lightning talk with some suggestions for some of these issues. For instance, requiring that a protocol be written before meeting with a team and having the SR coordinator being firm about compliance with their policies were suggested. Lydia Howes gave a lightning talk, “What to do when the SR team is at capacity: Grab a number, get in line, and learn SR methodology” and shared that their library utilizes learning checklists “to provide a scaffolded approach to learning” for their teams so they are better prepared to write protocols and conduct reviews.
“Speed Dating Through Evidence Synthesis Education: Finding Your Instructional Match” was a great immersion session where we heard from a panel of librarians and then did breakouts working our way through questions designed to help us figure out solutions to a lot of the very common hurdles that come from SRs. One of the presenters, Sally Smith, talked specifically about a course she has developed and mounted on their course management system designed to help both non-medical librarians and research teams with learning the basics of conducting Evidence Syntheses projects. Another librarian shared that she had created scripts for every aspect of doing a review that she could then email each time. All of these are things that I would like to suggest that we adapt for our own purposes at our library.
Thank you UNYOC, for awarding me UNYOC Professional Development Scholarship!
Photo from left to right: Liz Stellrecht, Molly Maloney, Jocelyn Swick-Jemison, Amy Lyons, Michelle Zafron, and Nell Aronoff
Hello Everyone,
I hope you all had a wonderful, inspiring, and scenic conference last week. Congratulations to our award winners, presenters, and first-time attendees. We’re already getting to work on next year’s conference so let the ideas ruminate and get ready for submissions next year.
Caucus News
1. There are several officer positions open for nominations
If you are interested, please contact Denise Smith (she/her: dsmith@brocku.ca) to inquire about descriptions, lengths of commitments, and elections.
Save The Date
We’re turning 60! The 2024 Conference will take place in Chautauqua, New York! More information
To come.
Continuing Education
Registration is open to enter the lottery for the University of Michigan's Systematic Review Course in April 2024: Lottery registration is due by January 10th, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. ET:
https://www.lib.umich.edu/research-and-scholarship/library-workshops-and-credit-courses/systematic-reviews-workshop/registration-and-fees
Scholarships & Grants
There are numerous scholarships and grants accepting applications right now, many of which have November 15th deadlines. These can be easily overlooked in your emails, so consider your projects and what you could possibly be eligible for. Good luck!
· MLA is now accepting applications for the Research, Development, and Demonstration Project Grant. The purpose of this grant is to provide support for research, development, or demonstration projects that will help to promote excellence in the field of health sciences librarianship and information sciences. More than one grant can be awarded each year, and the amount can range from $100 to $1,000. Application Deadline November 15th.
Acknowledgments
Congratulations to Nell Aronoff of the University of Buffalo’s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. On October 26th, Nell was named the recipient of the 2023 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Librarianship. She has held numerous roles with both UNYOC and the MLA, and this chapter is so proud of her achievements. You can read more about her career and this accomplishment here.
MLA.UNYOC@gmail.com
The Upstate New York and Ontario Chapter of the Medical Library Association is a 501(c)6 non-profit organization.
