My Health Minnesota → Go Local

As of today, My Health Minnesota → Go Local is up and running!

My Health Minnesota → Go Local is a free, online directory of health care services and providers throughout Minnesota, including clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, health screening programs, and more. All 87 counties in Minnesota are covered. This is a joint project of the National Library of Medicine and the Health Sciences Libraries of the University of Minnesota, the Mayo Clinic Libraries, and the MINITEX Library Information Network. It is associated with MedlinePlus, a Web site created by the National Library of Medicine that provides consumers with useful, accessible and credible health information.

As you can see, many individuals and organizations have contributed to My Health Minnesota → Go Local (I had the privilege to play a truly teeny part by gathering information for the database). I want to send a special shout out to the indefatigable Karla Block, whose hard work and strong leadership were crucial to making My Health Minnesota → Go Local manifest. May she enjoy a nice, long, restful vacation after all the hoopla dies down.

Patience, Grasshopper

So, a few days ago, one of the librarians with whom I work shared with me the following words of wisdom:

"being a librarian is all about feeling like a moron more frequently than you'd like."

I told her I was going to have this inscribed on a tasteful, decorative plaque.

In all seriousness, though, I understand what she was getting at, that it really is okay not to know everything. Sometimes it seems that librarians are supposed to know how to do everything except pilot a nuclear submarine. Knowing how to find and organize information is the least of it. We are also expected to be able to masterfully code, design Web sites, create databases, write, research, analyze data, manage projects, design buildings, manage people, teach, speak in public, fund raise, etc. And then there's figuring out how to develop a professional identity, safely navigate the perilous waters of office politics and cultivate positive relationships with co-workers. Honestly, a girl could get a little overwhelmed.

Many bibliobloggers quite rightly been advocating recently for developing minimum tech competencies for librarians. I'm doing pretty well by the Library Revolution list, but I lack many of the competencies on David Lee King's lists (here and here). The Cool Librarian, however, wisely counsels, among other things, that "we need to understand that we can learn from each other, and we need patience."

And so, I am reminded that it is okay for me to consult with my colleagues and to ask for help when I need it. Also, it is okay for me to take the time to learn what I need to know to become a kick ass librarian. After all, even though I am a bit *ahem* older than some, I am still officially a student. Patience, Grasshopper, patience.