Web links

There's a nifty custom search from Google that searches authoritative and trusted consumer health information and patient education resources recommended by the U.S. National Library of Medicine and/or by the Consumer and Patient Health Information Section of the Medical Library Association.

While you're here, watch this interesting video about the future of publishing.

Pronunciation guides!

MedlinePlus adds audio pronunciations to dictionary!
Have you ever read a medical word and wondered how to pronounce it? Do your customers ask you for help pronouncing medical words? MedlinePlus can help!

The MedlinePlus medical dictionary now includes audio pronunciations. Learn how to say words like ptosis, Sjogren's and fibrillation. Search the medical dictionary on MedlinePlus. Then click on the red speaker icon next to your word to hear the pronunciation.

If you have any questions or comments about this new feature, please send them to the MedlinePlus team via the contact form on MedlinePlus.

A friendly reminder

While we're more than happy to allow food in both buildings, please don't forget to help keep our space clean and pest-free.  The cockroaches at the University of North Carolina remind us why this is so important in this little video.



With thanks to the David R. Poynter Legislative Research Library for sharing the link.

New statistics available

From the National Network of Libraries of Medicine:

A new set of reports which ranks the overall health of every county in all 50 states is now available on www.countyhealthrankings.org. County Health Rankings ranks each county within the state on how healthy people are and how long they live. Counties are also ranked on key factors that affect health such as: smoking, obesity, binge drinking, access to primary care providers, rates of high school graduation, rates of violent crime, air pollution levels, liquor store density, unemployment rates and number of children living in poverty.

The 50-state report, released by the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, helps public health and community leaders, policy-makers, consumers and others to see how healthy their county is, compare it with others within their state and find ways to improve the health of their community.

Other studies have ranked states on health factors, but this is the first time researchers have examined the multiple factors that affect health in each county in all 50 states.

For more information, visit http://www.rwjf.org/publichealth/product.jsp?id=55508 .

The statistics for our parish and the surrounding parish are found on the page for our state here. You'll notice that East Baton Rouge is ranked 19th in the state.  Our neighbors in West Baton Rouge are 54th, Pointe Coupee is 22nd, West Feliciana is 14th, East Feliciana is 45th, St. Helena is 58th, Livingston is 18th, Ascension is 6th, and Iberville is 53rd.

Now Send Questions to the Library from your Smartphone using Meebo!

It's here! Meebo Mobile, with apps for iPhone & Android and a mobile interface.  Now you can send questions to the Library from your smartphone.  Meebo can also be used as an alternative to text messaging, essentially providing you with FREE UNLIMITED TEXTING to anyone with a Meebo account!!!

• Smartphone users can use meebo through the mobile interface through their phone's browser at http://www.meebo.com/.
• For iPhone and Android users, download the Meebo app.  The app is currently free.
• You can also add all your other IM accounts to Meebo and use them through its web interfaces and apps.

Don't Forget to Add the College Library!:

After you have created a free account with one of the apps or at http://www.meebo.com/, simply add the library to your "buddies."  Our ID is: ololcollegelibrary.  We will confirm you ASAP and then you can begin sending your questions.  You won't miss our responses because your complete chat history will be saved, unlike when using the guest chat widgets from our website.

If you need any help setting this up, just stop by the library for assistance.

Meebo for iPhone

Meebo for Android:

*Please note that the College Library's Meebo response time varies, as our staff is often away from the computer, assisting patrons in the library.  When we're online, we will answer all questions as soon as possible.  If you would like to send a comment or question about Meebo, please email the Library staff at:  library@ololcollege.edu
Thank you

New & Improved MedlinePlus E-mail Update Service

The National Library of Medicine is pleased to announce that MedlinePlus now offers a new e-mail subscription service to make it easier for you to stay up to date on the health topics that matter most to you. With this new service, you can subscribe to any or all of the over 800 health topics on MedlinePlus, over 770 topics on MedlinePlus en espanol, and a variety of other health-related e-mail lists in English and Spanish.

To subscribe to health topics that are of interest to you, visit the MedlinePlus subscription options pages for MedlinePlus and MedlinePlus en espanol. Whenever MedlinePlus adds new information on a topic page to which you are subscribed, you will receive an e-mail alert to notify you of the new materials. You can also sign up by visiting a MedlinePlus topic page and entering your e-mail address in the box beneath the summary.

With this new service, you now have the ability to customize your e-mails based upon your particular interests. If you are already subscribed to one or more of the MedlinePlus announcement lists, you will receive an e-mail with more information on how you will be transferred over into the new service.

If you have any questions or comments about this new service, please contact MedlinePlus. Please visit MedlinePlus for more information on e-mail updates.