Any librarian out there that hasn't been following BoingBoing.net? The newest guest blogger is (drum roll): Jessamyn West! http://www.boingboing.net/2010/01/24/welcome-guestblogger.html.
Stand up and cheer, and follow her postings on this great blog. In addition to searching updates on libraries and librarians on Google News, BoingBoing is one of my most frequently read sites on the Internet.

Interesting blog post mentioning librarians as fact checkers from the blog, Discovering Biology in a Digital World . The author, Sandra Porter, is attending ScienceOnline 2010 [ http://www.scienceonline2010.com/index.php/wiki ], and comments on what she heard during a session on trust and critical thinking.

Speaking from professional experience, reaching out to scientists can be one of the most difficult jobs I have as a librarian. I truly admire and am in awe of reseachers, and consider it a high honor to serve their information needs. It is so hard getting them to tell me what they need, though - almost as if they don't want to appear lacking in knowledge. Also hard is to gain their respect as one that can locate information - I was once challenged in a PubMed class by a scientist who asked me who I thought I was that I could look up their information when I did not share their degree. I hope I responded effectively: I said that I was once a US Army librarian, and could look up information about tank parts, even though I could not drive a tank. My specialty is in locating information in databases, and it is my job to know how those databases/directories work in order to dig out the information needed. The scientist appeared to take my comment well, but I continue to work hard to reach out to the teams of hard-working researchers on my campus.

Online Certificate of Advanced Study in Health Sciences Librarianship
Applications are now being accepted
for University of Pittsburgh's inaugural online "HealthCAS" program from
June 2010-May 2011. Please encourage your up-and-coming librarians or a
promising hospital librarian in your area to apply! The cohort is
limited to 25 students. All students will complete an applied research
project in their community or institution as part of their studies.

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The University of Pittsburgh invites applications to its online
Certificate of Advanced Study in Health Sciences Librarianship
(HealthCAS). This one-year 15-credit post-master's program is offered
jointly by the University's School of Information Sciences (iSchool) and
the Health Sciences Library System (HSLS). HealthCAS will provide
librarians with in-depth knowledge of the health care environment and
skills in managing information collections, resources and technologies.
Because it is offered online, students have the flexibility to fit
coursework into their working schedule. The project is made possible by
a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
Applications are now being accepted for the online program which begins
in May 2010. Financial aid and scholarships are available.

For more information, visit http://www.ischool.pitt.edu/health or e-mail
healthcasinq@sis.pitt.edu.