The shovels came out and ground was turned in the June 25 ^th groundbreaking ceremony for the Wigton Heritage Center. A sizeable crowd and local media celebrated the kick-off of this 10,000-square-foot project, named in honor of its lead donor, UNMC faculty member and historian Robert Wigton, M.D. Dr. Wigton was joined by additional philanthropic supporters, representatives of the Leland J. and Dorothy H. Olson Charitable Foundation. The Heritage Center will feature meeting and reception space and historical exhibits utilizing the library’s archives, artifacts, and rare book collections. Emily McElroy, director of McGoogan Library, said “The people who have walked through these doors for generations – faculty, preceptors, students, researchers, administrators and community champions – have left their marks, and in doing so, have defined UNMC’s past, present and future. We are telling the story of UNMC’s history and outstanding medical achievements that have affected the lives of countless Nebraskans.” The Wigton Heritage Center is planned to open in the first quarter of 2021.

More information about the groundbreaking

Animated video walk-through

In May, McGoogan Library closed its doors in preparation for renovation activity. We commemorated our last day in Wittson Hall by giving the UNMC community a chance to say farewell. A large crowd gathered to celebrate the beginning of a new and exciting era at McGoogan Library. A library wall was turned into a canvas for those who wished to document their memories and well wishes. The comments placed upon the wall underscore the importance of the library’s work and its impact upon our faculty, staff and students.

With library staff settled into their temporary offices, library services continue to be available. The AskUs staff are taking questions via phone, email, and chat. Education & Research Services librarians are out teaching and serving embedded hours in various college locations, and the library’s interlibrary loan service is humming along with article and book requests. Meanwhile, Special Collections and Archives, with the support of other library departments, are readying and preparing for exhibits that will be included in the soon-to-be constructed Wigton Heritage Center.

To stay up to date with renovation news, follow the Central Campus Construction blog  and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

The Master’s thesis and Doctoral dissertation are a part of the culmination of studies by the graduate student at UNMC. The library has been a longtime collaborator with Graduate Studies, serving as a repository and archive of theses and dissertations. In 2015, that process moved from the print to digital realm with the launch of UNMC’s institutional repository, DigitalCommons@UNMC. All manuscripts hosted in DigitalCommons@UNMC are available to a worldwide readership under the principles of open access. To date, the 382 manuscripts have received over 20,000 downloads in over 150 countries. Two dissertations have exceeded 1,000 downloads each: Occupational Exposure to Isoflurane Anesthetic Gas in the Research Environment by Andrea R. Mulvenon and It Came Across the Plains: the 1918 Influenza Pandemic in Rural Nebraska by Kristen Watkins. Beyond downloads, many dissertations have been cited or shared on social media. Pam Carmines, Ph.D., Executive Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, sees multiple benefits for the students. “Uploading theses and dissertations to DigitalCommons yielded a significant savings to our graduating students in terms of both time and money. Open access to theses and dissertations through the DigitalCommons, together with the ability to perform searches of DigitalCommons documents using a variety of search engines, allows much broader dissemination of the students’ research.”

This summer marks two years since McGoogan Library of Medicine launched a partnership with the Resource and Wellness Center of the Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center. Patients, families and Nebraska residents can receive in-person assistance with finding quality information to support all aspects of health and well-being. In the past two years, 36% of consumer health questions received by the library were on cancer-related topics. Most requests came via the Resource and Wellness Center.

 

Health care providers and clinical staff are encouraged to refer patients to the Resource and Wellness Center for more information about their health condition. Library faculty and staff will research the health information question and compile an information packet containing articles about diagnosis, treatment, recovery, caregiving, and more.

 

The library also provides tablets that are available for check-out, which patients and families can use to stay up to date on their own care, find health information, watch patient education videos, or simply be entertained while visiting the Cancer Center.

 

The library is working to grow this relationship with the Cancer Center and continue making valuable information readily available to patients and families in their time of need. A cancer diagnosis is incredibly difficult, but finding answers can help provide clarity and peace of mind.

 

We are available in Room 2.12.01 of the Buffett Cancer Center on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 9:00 am – 12 noon, and on Tuesday and Thursday, 1:30 – 4:30 pm. Requests can also be made by calling 402-559-6221 or emailing  askus@unmc.edu .

Ron Philo, Ph.D., presented "Leonardo the Anatomist” for the 11 ^th annual Richard B. Davis History of Medicine Lecture on April 16, 2019.

Dr. Philo pointed out that Leonardo Da Vinci originally became interested in anatomy so he could more accurately draw the human figure, but by the time Da Vinci finished his study, “it had taken on a life of its own.” Eventually, Leonardo intended to produce an illustrated anatomical treatise in several volumes.

“There are usually more to his drawings than you suspect,” Dr. Philo said in the lecture. “They may seem simple, but he’s done a lot of interesting things.”

Dr. Philo is a retired adjunct associate professor in the department of cell systems and anatomy at University of Texas Health San Antonio. Dr. Philo spent more than 30 years teaching medical, dental and health professions students in the University of Texas Health Science Centers in Houston and San Antonio. He was the director of willed-body programs at each institution and is a former chair of the Anatomical Board of the State of Texas.

The first Davis lecture at UNMC was in 2009. The annual lectureship was set up to bring national experts to UNMC's campus to discuss the history of various scientific findings and support the library's special collections. The lectureship is supported through an endowed fund given by the late Richard B. Davis, M.D., Ph.D. (1926-2010), professor emeritus of internal medicine at UNMC, and his wife, Jean. Davis supported this lectureship out of his long-standing interest in the history of medicine; he was a faculty member at UNMC from 1969-1994.

"In a society with dramatic and accelerating changes in technology, it is appropriate to have an appreciation of the challenges faced by physicians and scientists in the past who tried to cure disease and solve research challenges, often with very limited information," said Davis in 2009.

A recording of the 2019 lecture is available online.

Alison Bobal was elected Secretary of the Acquisitions Section of the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services.

Christian Minter authored the following article: Minter, C.I.J. (2019). Information to Help Families Meet Their Breastfeeding Goals. Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet, 23(1): 83-93. https://doi.org/10.1080/15398285.2019.1573073

Christian Minter graduated from the Leadership Omaha program.

Emily Glenn has been appointed associate director of Education & Research Services.

Emily Glenn, Heather Brown, and Christian Minter co-authored the poster "Executing a University-Wide Research Dissemination Blitz" for the Medical Library Association Annual Meeting and Exhibition, Chicago, IL, May 2019.

Emily Glenn, with James Oluka, co-authored the poster "Hinari Workshops in Rwanda: A Training Partnership” for the Medical Library Association Annual Meeting and Exhibition, Chicago, IL, May 2019.

Emily Glenn, Heather Brown, Mary Helms, and Emily McElroy presented "Beyond the Elevator: Improving Library Staff Communication Everywhere" at the Medical Library Association Annual Meeting and Exhibition, Chicago, IL, May 2019.

Mary Helms and Stuart Dayton co-authored the poster “Elevating Library Outreach: Hosting Author Readings” for the Medical Library Association Annual Meeting and Exhibition, Chicago, IL, May 2019.

Mary Helms retired after nearly 28 years of service.

Nick Hanson started his work as a Student Worker in Special Collections.

McGoogan Library of Medicine

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