1. V OLUME 28 I SSUE 3
S P R I N G 2005
HLABC FORUM
REFLECTIONS
UPON
CHANGE
Inside ...
Winter Brunch Meeting Minutes
Anne Allgaier’s Selected Quotes on Change
Member’s Best and Worst Moments of 2004
A non-interactive map of BC!!

2. Page 2 VOLUME 28 ISSUE 3
2003/2004 HLABC
Executive TABLE OF CONTENTS
President Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Shannon Long President’s Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Winter Brunch Meeting Minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Website Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Vice President Treasurer’s Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Map of Moves in BC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Teresa Prior
Member’s Forum on Changes
Vicki Lee & Tricia Yu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Secretary Rebecca Raworth & Teresa Prior . . . . . . . 9
Cathy Rayment, BC Cancer Agency . . . . . 10
Ollie Kachmar
Anne Allgaier, NHA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Lion’s Gate Hospital, VCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Treasurer Notes from the Afterlife - A. Buhler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Web Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Marcia Bilinsky
The Forum is published quarterly by the Health Libraries Association of BC
FORUM ISSN: 0826-0125
Editor Krista Clement For mem bership information, visit our website at www.hlabc.bc.ca or write to:
Marcia Bilinsky, HLABC T reasurer
Guest editor: Medical Library Service
College of Physicians & Surgeons of BC
Anne Allgaier 400 - 858 Bea tty St.
Vancouver BC V6B 1C1
Tel 604 733-6671, ext. 2296
Fax 604 737-8582
em ail marciab@m ls.cpsbc.ca
Website
Robert Melrose / Robyn Fees are $25.00 (regular) or $15.00 (student, maximum 2 years) and include the Forum.
Joy Ingvallsen
Subm ission s an d story ideas are w elcom ed.
Publication is not guaranteed and manuscripts may be edited.
Contac t the editor:
Krista Clement
Em ail: kristac@shaw.ca
Phone: 250-762-3700

3. HLABC FORUM Page 3
REFLECTIONS UPON CHANGE - GUEST EDITORIAL
Anne Allgaier, guest editor of this issue, watches over the province from
the northern reaches of Prince George, with the Northern Health Authority.
The last year seems to have been a tumultuous one in health libraries
across the province. There have been new positions created and some of
us have moved to new positions at other libraries. The actual number is
probably the longest ever.
Though not all of these changes are due to the expansion of UBC’s Anne has selected some
Medical Program, the program has resulted in the creation of new quotes on change, which
positions at UBC, Uvic, and at UNBC. Many hospitals in BC will be appear in the margins of
affected by the Expanded Medical Program, (EMP) not just the larger this issue.
hospitals in Prince George and Victoria, the original hospitals named as
teaching hospitals for the EMP. Kelowna General Hospital for example,
will have third and fourth year students, and smaller hospitals in rural
areas in the North will be the site of clinical placements for students in
third or fourth years. Regionalization of health care delivery in BC
continues to develop and libraries that previously provided service to
hospital staff only are suddenly given a new mandate to start providing
library services to other sites within the health authority.
There is now increased emphasis on the provision of remote library
service from a central library, which will require us to think of ways of “Nothing endures but
delivering library services remotely in a manner that will be effective. It’s change” Heraclitus
one thing to offer online resources - it’s a great challenge to make sure (Greek Philosopher)
that there are no barriers to their use by the people for whom they are
intended.
The Electronic Health Library of BC, (eHLbc) an initiative of the BC
Academic Health Council, is also indirectly a result of the UBC Expanded
Medical Program. As a “distributed” program", there is a need to provide
access to resources regardless of the location of students and faculty. If
successful, the eHLbc will provide access to electronic resources to all
health care providers, students, faculty and researchers - a vision most of
us have been looking forward to for a long time. For the latest update on
the progress to date please go to the members only section of the HLABC
website. Please treat this information as confidential, since discussions
with vendors are not concluded at this time.
If all of this gives you a headache, perhaps the collection of quotations
about change, ranging from the ancient Greek and Chinese to modern day
business gurus, will provide you some themes for meaningful reflection
after a busy day of dealing with the only other thing in life more certain
than taxes: change.

4. Page 4 VOLUME 28 ISSUE 3
PRESIDENT'S LETTER
Shannon Long
HLABC President 2004/2005
“Only the wisest and
stupidest of men never February 28, 2005
change.”
Some GREAT NEWS! I am very pleased to announce that Karen
Chinese Proverb MacDonell has agreed to be our Vice-President / President Elect for
2005-2006. It is always a challenge to find HLABC members who are
willing to step up to the plate and serve on the executive board. This is
puzzling to me. Way back in time, when I was in junior high school (ok,
maybe it was not really so long ago) the school principle’s main message
to students each year was “get involved”. It was not until I was much
older (ok, maybe I’m not so much older than I was back then) that this
message really sunk in. To me, getting involved means participating in
activities outside of my regular work and seeing to what extent I can
contribute to the organizations that have made an impact on my life.
Once I really started to put myself out I discovered that I had something
to offer that could be of value to others. Life was suddenly much fuller
and had more meaning.
I hope that you, too, will “get involved” in HLABC. In addition to Karen’s
position as vice-president, the executive is also looking for a Treasurer /
“If you don’t like change, Membership Coordinator to start after the AGM in mid-May. Marcia
you’ll like being Bilinsky has done a fantastic job in this role for the past two years but
irrelevant even worse!” has decided that it is time for a change. If you are curious about serving
on the HLABC executive but don’t want to get your feet too wet, consider
John Williams this position. It is a great way to get to know your colleagues throughout
the province - especially if you are new to the profession or new to BC.
Contact any one of the current executive members for more information.
This issue of the FORUM is all about change - and what changes have
taken place in our profession throughout the past year. There are more
changes ahead so hang on for the ride!

5. HLABC FORUM Page 5
WINTER BRUNCH MEETING MINUTES
Jimmy Patterson Pavilion
Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver, BC
December 11, 2004
Present: Barbara Saint, Barbara Trip, Bette Reimer, Cathy Rayment,Charlotte
Beck, Dean Giustini, Karen Shaw(guest), Lea Starr, Lee Perry, Mareen Devine,
Mary-Doug Wright, Ollie Kachmar, Pat Young, Rita Dahlie, Robert Melrose,
Robyn Ingvallsen, Sally Taylor, Shannon Long, Teresa Prior, Vicki Lee, Wendy
Hunt, Tricia Yu, Beth Morrison
1. Welcome & introductions: The meeting was called to order followed by
attendee introductions.
2. October minutes: Minutes from the October minutes were approved.
3. Forum update by Teresa: Krista Clement is the Forum editor with Judy Neill, “Be not afraid of going
as guest editor for the Winter 2004 issue on Reference. The Forum will require
slowly, be afraid of
another guest editor for the Spring 2005 edition. The next proposed topic is
"collections development." Would like member contributions to the Forum as a standing still.” Chinese
sharing tool and would like to develop an archive of past contributions. proverb
4. Presentations: Vicki Lee gave a presentation about her experience with
evidence base practice at Sunny Hill and Children's Hospital.
5. Spring HLABC meeting: To be held March 17, 2005. Venue will be either the
UBC Health Sciences' or Cancer Agency's new facility Suggested speaker:
Shelley Hourston.
6. PNC: Cathy Martin from the Portland chapter would like the HLABC to host a
conference in the future. (dates open from 2007-2010) Lea Starr is the president
of PNC. She suggested a joint CLA/PNC conference. Shannon Long will
communicate with PNC regarding.
7. CHLA Conference: Cathy Rayment updated the membership on the 2006
conference. The theme will be " Pearls of Wisdom." It will be CHLAs 30th
anniversary. The Committee is still looking for a venue and still requires a
Program and Hospitality Chair. Robert Melrose will be in charge of the website
and Barb has set up a list. Cathy requested that the membership send ideas.
Contact email is: chla.2006@ubc.ca
8. CE Ideas June 2005: Evidence based searching; PubMed update; Systematic
reviews mini-session; blogs and wiggins (not sure about these two); Gov't
websites for health and statistics; survey monkey. Ideas for speakers: Marian
Smith, Mary Luebbe, Tom Flemming and Ellen Crumley. MLS has agreed to
host the AGM.
9. Bookmark Brochure: Beth Morrison and Robin Ingvallsen have offered to work
on the bookmark strategy for the 2006 Conference.

6. Page 6 VOLUME 28 ISSUE 3
HLABC Winter Brunch Minutes cont..
10 Adjournment: Shannon moved the meeting adjourn.
Addendum to Line Item # 3:
Anne Allgaier subsequently volunteered as guest editor for the Spring 2005
edition of the Forum. Topic was originally to be "Collections Development" and
is now to be "New Developments in BC Health
WEBSITE REPORT
Submitted by Robert Melrose, Robyn Ingvallsen
We have completed the transfer of our website hosting from UBC to our
website designer Christopher Torgalson. Once completed Christopher began to
design the site with the capacity for password protected sections for HLABC
members only. We have not yet activated this option but an example may be
HLABC Activities Page
found in the right column on our splash page www.hlabc.bc.ca/
<http://www.hlabc.bc.ca/> Soon the membership directory will be available with
http://www.hlabc.bc.ca/ind password protection on the site. Regular maintenance of the site is continual
ex.php?id=publications and the Web committee appreciates any suggestions for upcoming educational
or informational opportunities of interest to HLABC members that it may post on
the site. Consult the activities page (sidebar ) for details on the upcoming
HLABC general meeting March 17th and the Annual General Meeting May
13th. In the previous newsletter we asked members for any archival HLABC
materials that they may have. Lee Perry was able to provide us issues of the
newsletter going back to January 1999. We will begin converting these issues
to PDF format and will begin loading them on the site soon. If anyone has any
newsletter pre January 1999 please contact either Robert or Robyn.
TREASURER'S REPORT
“If you want 1 year of Health Libraries Association of B.C.
prosperity, grow grain. If 24 February 2005
you want 10 years of
prosperity, grow trees. If Finances
Mutal Fund $1,665.43
you want 100 years of
Checking Account 6,097.03
prosperity, grow people.”
Total $7,762.46
Chinese Proverb
M em bership
79 regular
3 student
6 life tim e
Total of 88 (10 new)

7. HLABC FORUM Page 7
WHO'S NEW AND WHO'S WHERE
There have been so many changes to health libraries recently that it merits some mention. Here are
some of the new positions and moves, as seen on a map of the province. I already know that we
have missed some of you. let’s include you in the next issue!

8. Page 8 VOLUME 28 ISSUE 3
BC CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL CLINICAL LIBRARIAN
Vicki Lee, Clinical Librarian
BC Children's Hospital / Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children
vlee2@cw.bc.ca
I have been in my role as Clinical Librarian at BC Children's Hospital
and Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children since mid-October. My role
focuses on increasing clinician access to the best available research
evidence in order to improve the quality and safety of health care for
children. Gosh, when I read my job description I sometimes get
overwhelmed! Translating that into daily practice, as a librarian
without a library, I deliver a "just-in-time" service responding to
clinical questions raised by physicians, nurses, physical therapists,
occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, social workers
and others. I also spend a lot of my time teaching and coaching health
sciences students in the art of turning their clinical queries into
specific questions that can inform their literature search and the
“No organization can selection of articles for critical appraisal. I am increasingly involved in literature
depend on genius; the searches for systematic reviews. Currently, I am
co-developing a knowledge broker strategy to develop key clinicians into
supply is always scarce
resource contacts in the area of EBP for their health care teams and
and unreliable. It is the disciplines. It is a challenging role and I have never been more
test of an organization to energized and excited about my work.
make ordinary human
beings perform better
than they seem capable
of, to bring out whatever ERIC HAMBER LIBRARIAN
strength there is in its
members, and to use
Tricia Yu, Eric Hamber Library, The University of British Columbia
each one’s strength to
Children's and Women's Health Centre of BC
help all the others Email: tricia.yu@ubc.ca
perform. The purpose of
an organization is to I started as the new librarian here at Hamber Library in July 2004. Just prior to
enable common people returning home to Vancouver, I spent three cold years in Winnipeg at the Neil
to do uncommon things.” John Maclean Health Sciences Library at the University of Manitoba. . I became
Peter Drucker interested in health sciences librarianship while working as a library school
student at the Gerstein Science Information Centre at UofT. I've also been a
reference and instruction librarian at the Earth Sciences Library at the
University of Toronto. As the Hamber Librarian, I am responsible for reference
service, library-related instructional programs, collection development, and the
organization and operation of services at the UBC branch library located at the
Children's and Women's Health Centre of BC. Other institutions located on the
same Oak street site include the BC Centre of Excellence for Women's Health
and the BC Research Institute for Children's and Women's Health.

9. HLABC FORUM Page 9
CHANGE IS GOOD - UVIC IMP
Rebecca Raworth, Information Services Librarian (Medical Sciences)
University of Victoria Libraries.
In November 2004, I had the great, good fortune of becoming the Island Medical
Program’s (IMP) librarian at the University of Victoria (UVic). I left behind the
challenges of working in a hospital library (ordering books, filling interlibrary
loans, dealing with subscription management companies, etc.) for the challenges
of Academic Librarianship (lots of committee work, liaising with various
departments, becoming familiar with information sources in all subject areas,
creating a Medical Sciences collection from scratch, teaching in computer labs,
etc.) I am really enjoying everything about working in the UVic libraries: talented
and enthusiastic co-workers, excellent professional development opportunities,
high morale, autonomy, lots of wonderful reference sources, liaising with faculty,
and working with students, both medical and others. And being part of the IMP
allows me to work collaboratively with librarians at UBC and UNBC which is a
real bonus.
The change in environment has been quite positive, too. On campus there are
lots of adorable rabbits hopping about, ducks in ponds, and green spaces - very
different from the agricultural land around Chilliwack. My husband and I have
bought a house in south Oak Bay and are looking forward to walking our dogs by
the ocean each day when we move in at the end of February.
While staying in a job for many years can lead to a sense of comfort and
security, I highly recommend shaking up your life a little with a new job, perhaps “If to do were as easy as to
even in a new city/town/country. Change can stimulate your intellect and know what is good to do,
encourages growth in career and life experiences. I highly recommend change! then paupers would be
princes and a poor man's
SERVING MORE STAFF MEMBERS - NANAIMO hovel, a rich man's estate.”
Teresa Prior, Librarian
Nanaimo Regional Hospital William
Shakespeare
My big news was my move to Nanaimo after 14 years at the Royal Inland
Hospital in Kamloops. My job title here is Librarian, Central & North Island,
Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA). The only "real" library is at Nanaimo
Regional General Hospital, serving all VIHA staff and physicians from Nanaimo
on up, including: Tofino, Port Alberni, Parksville, Courtenay, Campbell River, Port
Hardy, Port Alice (the Mt. Waddington North Island area). These facilities
include Acute Care, Public Health, Long-Term Care, Home & Community Care).
The portfolio is quite big but very scenic! I report to Cliff Cornish (in Victoria),
Manager of VIHA Library Services and there is lots of collaboration and
consultation locally. There are interesting new developments for all the VIHA
Libraries - Stat-Ref e-books, and the Cochrane Library. The rural areas in
particular are thrilled to have access to these new online resources.

10. Page 10 VOLUME 28 ISSUE 3
IT'S FUN TO WORK IN THE RFDC! - BC CANCER AGENCY
Cathy Rayment, Provincial Library Leader
BC Cancer Agency
On January 30, 2005 the Vancouver Cancer Centre branch of the BCCA Library moved
from its longtime home to a 2900 sq. ft. storefront space in the new BC Cancer
Research Building. The m ove was the result of a generous donation to the BC Cancer
Fo undation from Dr. Don Rix given expressly to create a pro m inently placed and publicly
acc ess ible cance r library in ne w R ese arch Bu ilding.
The Found ation christened the new sp ace as the R ix Fam ily Discovery Centre. W e are
still calling ourselves the Library, but our initials (RFDC) work well with an old disco
song, as an irreverent fellow librarian pointed out, so who know s, we m ay start
ans wering the pho ne b y singing the new initials.
It was just a move across the street, but planning for the new library taxed all of our
resources. I’m not even going to touch on the challenges involved on working with the
architects as all that frustration was over before I arrived. The activities of the past year
were focused on the logistics of the actual move, because it was not just a move we
were plan ning, it was s imultane ous ly a merge r and a collection s plit.
There is only one corner
of the universe you can The new library space was intended to house the joint collections of the library and three
be certain of improving - m ajor jo urna l collection s pre vious ly held in se para te res earc h de partm ents . W e ha d to
come up with a way to merge four collections into a space not much larger than the
and that is your own
existing VCC library. The four collections took up 2011 linear feet of shelving, and the
self.” Aldous Huxley new library was plan ned to have a m axim um of 13 41 linear feet of s helving . W hat a
squeeze!
W e took exact m easurem ents o f all th e jo urnals, year by year, in order to dete rm ine how
m uch spa ce e ach title would take , and how m any years we co uld ac com m oda te. W e
also spent a lot of tim e consulting with the res earchers, to a scertain which m ate rials in
their collections we could weed. Based on their feedback and our measurements we
developed spreadsheet after spreadsheet - what volum es could go to th e new libra ry,
wh at w ere duplicates , wh at w ere needed but w ould have to m ove to a storage fa cility,
what could (gulp) be discarded. W e also had to develop a shelf map to merge the four
journal collections into one, and we had to clearly label all the shelves in the different
locations a nd in the ne w library to ens ure th e m overs k new wha t wen t whe re.
W e were forced to make really hard decisions about our book collection. W e weeded.
and weeded.. and weeded, until some days the piles of stuff to be thrown out seemed
m ore th an w hat w e we re leaving on the she lves.
During the planning phase we spent a lot of time consulting with the clinicians and other
health professionals about how their library use and information needs would change
when the library moved across the street. W e received a wide range of feedback
running the gamut from encouragement and active support to righteous fury - but the
feedback helped us dete rm ine that we needed to esta blish a rea ding ro om for the clinic
staff and a Cancer Information Centre (CIC) for patients in the clinic. Two of the BCCA
can cer cen tres h ave both a library an d a sepa rate C IC, so the idea w as n ot hard to
accept. Unfortunately it meant that in addition to the weeding and planning for the
merged library collection, we were also struggling to create a distinct CIC collection.

11. HLABC FORUM Page 11
It’s Fun - C. Ra ym ent - con t.
In our existin g Vancouver Ce ntre library collectio n we had patien t educatio n m ate rials
mixed into the regular clinical collection but we also had a separately shelved Hum an
Values collection full of psychosocial resources for patients and professionals alike. The
decision to create a CIC entailed assessing and weeding this collection, reintegrating the
professional resources into the library collection, and at the same time separating out the
m ost heavily used p atient e duc ation m aterials from both collections for the future CIC .
It helps to have lots of sorting space to do a project like this but our existing library shelves
we re full to bursting , and our workspace was severely lim ited . In th e end we got by,
tha nk s to a loan of m any book -tru ck s from Ac adem ic Bookb inding and a clever, if
complicated, system of coloured dots. W e used lots of dots, lots of different colours of
dots, and som etimes e ven m ultiple coloured dots on s ingle books. I’m su re the library staff
involve d in that convoluted pro ces s are still dream ing of dots in their sleep.
Of co urse while all this planning was going on , the regular everyday work of being a library
continued. By November, the library staff were starting to feel overwhelmed by the weight
of all the extra work so we reduced hours of access (for the public) to 1pm - 5pm. BCCA
staff were still able to get service from 8 to 5. W e remained on these reduced service
hours for a four month period, and we completely closed for a week before and a week
after the move. The move itself went smoothly; the library was completely emptied in the
four hours forecast by the moving company! The movers were impressed by the amount
of organizing and planning we had done ahead of time, and they told us some horror
sto ries about previous m oves they’d been involved in. By th e end of the m oving day,
Sunday January 30th, we were all exhausted, but proud!
W e sp ent the m onth after th e m ove establishing netw ork con nec tions, s orting out “I am always ready to
workspac e, trying to c om plete th e CIC collection proje ct, adding new journ al holdings into learn, although I do not
the catalogue, dealing with myriads of picky details. W e have come to realize that always like the things I am
perh aps it was n ot a good idea to put the boo k collection at the far en d of the library. W e
are all getting our exercise walking up and down the length of the library many times each
taught.”
day.
Winston Churchill
Th e ou ter do ors of the Resea rch building rem ained lock ed fo r the firs t m onth for secu rity
during the m ove-in period, so clinic staff an d the public often experienced frustration in
trying to get in to use the library. W e heard more than a few disgruntled comments,
especially from the doctors who used to be right next door to us on the 4th floor of VCC.
Lately we are noticing that the beauty of the new space, with floor to ceiling windows and
com fy chairs is starting to entice them over. W e are still planning the establishm ent of a
reading room up in a small corner of our old 4th floor space, and hope that will mollify the
remainder of those busy clinicians.
As of March 1st, the official opening of the new BC Cancer Research Centre, we are back
to full operation, open to our s taff fro m 8am to 5pm , and to the p ublic fro m 9am to 5pm .
The CIC is still not completed, but when it opens (in early April?) it will be located in the
lobby of the cancer clinic and will be sta ffe d with volunte ers. T he public will m ost definitely
be welcome in the RFDC, but cancer clinic patients won’t have to cross the street to pick
up the m ost us ually req ueste d m ate rial.
The Canc er Agenc y’s vision in placing the library in the new res earch bu ilding is to ensure
that researchers, clinicians, and patients will all be rubbing shoulders in their search for
information. The hope is that this will promote com munication between scientists and
clinicians, to facilitate the transfer of knowledge, and at the same time put a human face
on the goal we are a ll working toward - curing cancer.

12. Page 12 VOLUME 28 ISSUE 3
FROM HOSPITAL LIBRARY TO REGIONAL LIBRARY FOR
Anne Allgaier, Regional Librarian
Princ e G eorg e Regional H osp ital, North ern H ealth A utho rity
Ov er the years, the PGR H Library ha s un derg one several chan ges and trans form ations :
in 1996 library staff were re duced to half tim e, w hile sim ulta neously the U BC Fa m ily
Practice Program opened with 6 new Residents on site for the next two years. Today
there are 14 Residents in the program. In 2001, library staff became full time again, and
in the sam e year, funding was provided by the hospita l for OVID Medline, Cinahl, as well
as online Micromedex, and the Cochrane Library. The last three years have included
planning in a collaborative fashion with all the other libraries to ensure that the services
for the Northern M edical Pro gram will be available fo r stud ents and facu lty.
In the spring of 2003, existing library budgets in sm all hospitals thoughou t the Northern
Health Authority were amalgamated into the PGRH Library’s budget, and the PGRH
Library became a regional library, serving health facilities in the northern half of the
prov ince. Althou gh the ex isting budg ets w ere very sm all, there was sufficient fu nding to
be able to consider licensing various online resources so that all staff in NHA facilities
would have access to online resources, especially those not already served by the
Medical Library Service or the RNABC ’s Helen Randall Library. Understandably, our
rem ote sites were not very happy about losing what few do llars were in their library
budgets, but it was hoped that online access to several resources, including a selection
of core online journals, would appease most people.
“It is not always the In th e sum m er of 2 003 (b ad tim ing!) an online surve y atte m ptin g to assess their
strongest who survive, information needs, was sent to all sites and all staff. Although the response rate was
nor the most intelligent, very low, the message was clear: staff wanted the convenience of online databases,
online books, and online journals. Accordingly, the licenses to Medline, Cinahl, and the
but those who adapt and Cochrane Library were extended to all Northern Health sites. Unfortunately, the cost of
change the most.” doing the same with our LW W Collection (Journals @ OVID) was too costly, as was
Microm edex, or Up ToD ate . All users of d ata bases m ust co nta ct th e library for a u serid
Charles Darwin and password, which is a barrier to the use of databases. Database usage has not
changed significantly since our other sites were given access. The next step is to find
ways to remove the barriers to access - most likely by sending the Librarian to these
relatively remote sites for some instruction and training sessions for the staff. Since
there are 1 9 ac ute care s ites in the NH A, this c ould be a length y process .
The m ost recent developm ent is a pro posal to exte nd our lice nse fo r UpT oD ate to all
No rthern Health s ites, with physicians donating their CME fund s to m ake it pos sible.
Up To Da te is ex trem ely popular - utilization increase d by 41 % in the las t year. UpT oD ate
really is up to date and is quite comprehensive, including general medicine, obstetrics
and gynec ology, pediatrics, as well as drug inform ation a nd d rug interac tion inform ation.
Topics included in U pT oD ate include the lates t tha t is to be fou nd in journal articles in
Medline.
As I write th is, plans are being developed to renovate the are a that th e library is c urrently
located in, so we will be moving soon to a temporary, smaller location with lots of
windows . By Septem ber 2 006 , we s hou ld be in a bra nd n ew libra ry, in close prox imity to
the new lecture theatre that is going to be built as p art of th e Northe rn M edical Pro gram .
Stay tun ed..

13. HLABC FORUM Page 13
LION'S GATE AND GUATEMALA
Ana Rosa Blue
I have only just completed my first 6-months at Lions Gate, so I feel that I am just starting
to get m y fee t we t. One of the best th ings I love about the job is that it's giving m e a well-
roun ded exp erience in a ll facets of library w ork .
Since Lions Gate Hospital is part of Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), it no longer
functions in isolation from the other libraries in Vancouver Coastal Health. VCH
encompasses Richmond Health Services Library, Vancouver Comm unity Library, VGH
Patient and Fa m ily Learning Centre And Lions Ga te Hosp ital. The four libraries have to
start thinking as one, rather than as separate entities. It's a bit of a challenge when the
logistics are s epa rate, fo r exa m ple, ou r library catalogu es a re still sep arate ! Lion s G ate
and Rich m ond will beco m e teaching ho spitals aga in, and that's e xciting.
Because of my experience as a radiology technologist, and bibliographer to the B.C.
Royal Co m m ission on He alth Ca re & C osts (1991), I fe el very m uch at hom e here, as well
as m y backgrou nd as a S panish-languag e health-care interpreter. My extensive
reference ex perience in legal, business, philanthropic, post-seco ndary and public library
settings has enabled me to confidently answer the diverse range of questions that come
m y way at Lions Ga te Hosp ital.
Prior to working at Lions Gate Hospital, I worked as a Research and Information
Sp ecialist of the VG H & U BC Ho spital F oundatio n. I investig ated the philanth ropic
interests of the Foundation's donors, including individuals, companies and other
foundations. It was not strictly a 'library-related' job, but all my skills as a librarian were put
to good use. I would verify information on an individual's CV, or be asked to find the
cau se o f dea th of an individual. “Life always bursts the
I was an Inform ation Analyst at the Ca nadian Ven ture Excha nge. The Cana dian Venture
boundaries of formulas.”
Exchange was born out of the amalgamation of the Vancouver and Alberta Stock
Excha nge s, until we were bo ugh t out by the To ronto Stoc k E xch ang e. In this jo b, I Antoine de Saint-Exupery
perform ed d ue d iligence sea rches o n individuals/directors o f pub lic com pan ies wishing to
be listed on the stock exc hange. W e investigated for fraudulent activity, and were
required to write reports for the surveillance officers of the Exchange. It was a great
learning ex perience .
As reference librarian of the Courthouse Library Society of B.C., I honed my skills as a
legal researcher. I updated statutes, noted-up cases and indexed B.C. and Canadian
legislation for the two indexes published by the courthouse library. W hilst there, I studied
to becom e a court inte rpreter. I not only becam e an Acc redited Court Interpreter, but I
continued my studies to become an Accredited Health-care Interpreter as well. My training
as a court interprete r ha s com e in handy for a projec t near and dear to m y heart. This
proje ct involves w ork ing with Cro wn C oun sel an d G uate m alan deleg ations to assist with
the interpretation and translation into Spanish of legal materials for use in the Canada-
Gu atem ala O ral Trials Projec t.
This Guatemalan project, funded by the Governments of Canada and British Columbia, as
well as CID A, (C ana dian Internationa l Developm ent A gen cy), is m ean t to edu cate
Gua tem alan prosecu tors, judges and lawyers on the intricacies of how crim es are
investigated and criminal trials conducted in Canada. The Guatemalans send delegations
of adult learners to Vancou ver, and I was there as S panish-languag e interpreter for a
mock -trial and the course itself, while they were here for the course.

14. Page 14 VOLUME 28 ISSUE 3
Lion’s G ate and Gu atam ala - cont.
Crown Co unsel and I dubbed tw o videota pes into S panish fo r ins tructio nal use in
Guatemala. As well, we have translated written materials for the course. (The videos
we dubbed and the course materials we translated are still in use today.) The m aterial
covers very technical language, su ch as: crim e scene investiga tion tec hniques, basic
and aerial photography, blood-splatter analysis, forensic dentistry, etc. The project has
involved several phases and visits by the Guatemalans, and I have been involved since
2000. This involvem ent has com plete c hanged m y life. One of the best p arts, for m e, is
the cooperation between all of the participants, from Guatemala and from C anada, who
come together for the duration of the course, (the last one, last summ er, lasted 5-
weeks), and we all work as a team, although we don't necessarily work together at any
other time
I thoroughly love my work with the Guatemalans and I shall continue my involvement
with this project. It keeps up my practice of the Spanish language, and keeps my hand
in the legal field. W hat better balance to the library world?
“There is nothing more
difficult to take in hand,
more perilous to conduct
or more uncertain in its
success, than to take the
lead in the introduction
of a new order of things.”
NOTES FROM THE AFTERLIFE:
Machiavelli RETIRED IN THE SUNNY OKANAGAN - SORT OF
Andy Buhler
I retired from Health and Human Services Library a year ago last October.
Since that time the HH&S Library has had both MCFD and MHR libraries merge
into what was primarily a health-focused library. Now that library must serve
many more clients, including those whose primary interests are social services
and/or management/personnel materials. Those clients seem to require a
number more AV materials (for training or group presentations) than did the
health people HH&S originally served. Since the HH&S library has had limited
staffing increases I have been the fortunate recipient of materials to catalogue
on a contract basis. The first year I was sent only print materials (plus a
database conversion project from MCFD to HH&S). However, with the changed
needs of the added MCFD and MHR clients, I am now being given a number of
video materials to catalogue and fewer print materials. This constitutes a
change in the way the library clients request materials and in the library
collection focus overall.
_______________________________________________________________
______
Notes From The Afterlife is a continuing feature. We welcome your ideas.

15. HLABC FORUM Page 15
WEB SURVEY: CHANGES
Compiled and comments added by Krista Clement, Forum editor.
It is interesting to compare the personal response to change since last years
survey. Overall, we are pretty good at adapting to things, this year with even
more confidence, perhaps gained in weathering the changes of the past few YAY!
years. Best Changes:
4. Did you (personally) do something for the first time ever in 2004? New job _ love the
challenge & the change.
Working on our website
Deciding to quit my job
and aggressively pursuing
other opportunities.
2004 Responses
2005 Responses
Well, we are a pretty active bunch!
We travelled: sailed Alaska, travelled to Singapore and Australia, went to Spain,
went to Costa Rica. cruised around the tip of South America - fabulous - and BOO
travelled to Newfoundland for the first time! Worst Changes:
We tried new means of transportation: Bought a kayak. Rode the wooden roller Leaky condo repair job
coaster at the PNE! Went biking in the Okanagan. costs.
We did different things at work: Worked as an independent librarian consultant.
Our organizational
Portered patients to OR during the strike. Made a decision to quit job, regardless
of whether or not another one was lined up. Luckily, opportunities presented structure changed and we
themselves, and I had to decline interviews once I had accepted a position. were placed in a division
that maintains an
We faced some challenges: Had surgery for cancer. Moved after 14 years in 1 extremely rigid heirarchy
place. Dealt with new health challenges and contains lots of
middle managers who see
And one lucky person enjoyed grandchild moving nearby. no value in the library.

16. Page 16 VOLUME 28 ISSUE 3
As an association, Question 5 shows that we definitely believe the Health
Libraries profession is changing.
YAY!
Best Changes:
Officially becoming part
of a team of librarians
within my health
authority.
6. What have you seen change in our profession?
New computers at work Computerization of resources and processes tops the list.
and at home High emphasis on electronic resources. More online material. Increasing
electronic publications, ejournals, e-databases, etc. Electronic journals have
become mainstream. Cancellation of print journals. Electronic features. Move to
Using health challenges digital world.
to reasses Everything!
The Internet in particular has become essential rather than optional.
Dependence on online sources. Increased computer software advances and
the advances in the services provided on the Internet. Greater reliability on the
Internet as a way to get information very quickly. It is so easy to fall prey to its
allure. In general the rise of the Web has established a watershed between the
early Web years and the ubiquity of it now. More free access using Scirus &
Google Scholar; more ways of communicating on the net such as Blogs.
Library clients expect it all to be available on the net. We are spending a lot of
time educating users about the availability and unavailability of online
resources.
Librarianship requires a whole new set of skills.
BOO Increasing reliance on computer skills in all aspects of medical librarianship.
Worst Changes: The profession is constantly grappling with the bountifulness and inadequacies
of the Web for ourselves and our users. The impact of the evolving digital
environment not only on reference services but also on serials management
Having to wear and
and interlibrary loan practices. For example, negotiation of licences, impact on
adjust to bifocals! copyright, and varying Interlibrary loan permissions. Technology, of course:
huge expecations, and an increased need to educate about what is good
The worst change is no information.
change. Almost no
change here in 2004. Everyone’s expectations have changed.
Less professional searching and more customer searching. Major shift to
New management take enduser-focused research over the web. Library clients expect to be able to
over the workplace. It search info themselves. More businesslike at all levels. Moved from being
reference desk librarians, to connecting with the community; more collaboration
was definitely a case of
across libraries. More available online has changed the kinds of reference
better the devil we knew requests (more difficult). Regionalization of health care has changed
than the devil we did not expectations of the library and the place of librarians in the organization.
know. Locally, several retirements but also new librarians energizing the profession.

17. HLABC FORUM Page 17
HLABC Members saw changes in a variety of ways this year in their libraries.
The top changes were staffing changes and the electronic environments.
However, most comments were on the organizational changes.
YAY!
Best Changes:
Lost 40 pounds!
library staff solidarity
2. Describe the one biggest change for your library last year (anything at
all!)
Staff changes: Staff members on leave and no replacements hired.
Organizational changes: New management who do not understand what we do.
Change in reporting structure within the health authority. The change is only
conceptual at this time. Lots of planning to become a major teaching hospital and
bringing the library up to standard. Increased workload due to expanded services
to all health professionals throughout the region.
New Software: New catalogue and expanding the "bookstore" services.
Introduction on Bibliomondo. Moving to an new Integrated Library System.
Implementation of lending component. New ILS at UBC.
Hardware and facility changes: New computers and networked printers installed.
Change of workplace. Planned and prepared last year for move this year from BOO
clinic building to research building. Downsizing the library space by 40% Worst Changes:
Not many changes can be bigger than this: We merged with another library (boy, new management;
was that a big change!) Change in reporting
structure.
Personally, dealing with a
contractor for our strata
unit
Health challenges getting
in the way of goals!
It looks as though the UBC Medical program changes will impact nearly half of
us. This will be a hot topic over the next year or two, I am sure!

18. Page 18 VOLUME 28 ISSUE 3
YAY! It’s always a bit risky to ask for anonymous advice! But I am reassured that
Best Changes: nobody thought that HLABC needs to start over from scratch. Most of you
thought we are doing pretty good, and only need “minor” changes.
Getting published.
So, to finish off this issue, here is the “suggestion box” for us to all consider.
conference attendance 8. What suggestions would you like to pass on (anonymously) for change
and the new ideas and in HLABC?
people they bring into
your work life More members involved in the Association
More involvement from more members. All members would be ideal! I would
like to see more people getting involved in running the association. Few people
volunteer for executive positions and other planning committees.
More members, period.
We need more new members, and no offense, younger members. We need to
reach out beyond the traditional library community to all professionals involved
in health information. Increase in promotion; reaching out to library school
students. One of the problems is that although the membership is small, it is
very diverse and what is of interest to one group another finds totally foreign or
insignificant.
A more politically active Association.
Play a greater political advocacy role promoting health science libraries within
health care to nonlibrarians. More interaction with other library organizations
and other health organizations. Perhaps more linkages with other groups would
be useful - eg Alberta groups, PNC groups - but then the BC focus gets lost.
Calendar changes
Offer some CE courses in the evening, so more members could attend.
BOO
Worst Changes: Procedural changes
Need to run the meetings a bit more business like. Time is limited, want to
make the most of it when I am at meetings. Socials are different, it’s fine for
increased workload
them to be casual! Increase outreach to non-Lower mainland HLABC members
by things like videoconferencing, increase use of e-mail use for discussing
Family illness. topics that used to be just done at meetings.