So

as part of Patient Access week, we were each awarded a certificate in a category based on our coworkers' votes (including those from other departments). Mine was for most creative. Someone must have heard I used to do educational bulletin boards for the hospital. I did do the scramble puzzle we used on Thursday. It was a fun week.

I had a nice surprise in the post today

I have been placed on the Scroll of Exemplary Service by the Hospital Libraries Section of the Medical Library Association for this year. Here is a description from their awards page:

Scroll of Exemplary Service

Exemplary means serving as an example to others. This award recognizes members who have made a difference in advancing the cause of hospital librarianship over the past year (June - May). Activities such as leadership, publishing, service, and/or management of special projects/events. It is not the quantity of services, but the quality of at least one service that obtains a person a place on the scroll.

The scroll is cumulative from its inception in 2002-once a person has been awarded a place on the scroll it is permament for as long as they are a member of HLS. The names of those who are no longer members of HLS are removed annually.

This is the second time I have won the award (the first being being in 2003). Thank you to the Hospital Libraries section and to the person who nominated me. It is indeed an honour! [and it doesn't look too bad on a résumé, either. :)]

To be honest, I think of myself as a fairly ordinary librarian (I'm not really a mover and shaker, I don't have a lot of knowledge of some aspect of the field that others don't, I don't think I stand out from other people practicing librarianship.) But I guess someone thought I did something worthwhile. I appreciate it.

It's award time!

A Very New York Novel Wins Newbery Medal

A list of all the award winners can be found on the American Library Association's web site.

An excellent short film

about a mother descending into dementia, and a daughter struggling to keep things together. It's called 'My Name is Lisa' (this won the best short film category in 2007 on YouTube).



The sad thing? Judging by the comments, the vast majority of watchers had no clue that the mom was descending into Alzheimer's. Jeesh.

I actually found out about this because YKWIA (who finds all sorts of things on the Web) found the version with German subtitles:



and of course my name is Lisa (Eilir is my middle name), so he thought he'd found a German counterpart.

It's by Shelton Films and has won several other awards. It puts a lot into a very short video.

Anyway, it's sad, but very good. My great-grandmother had Alzheimer's. I saw her slip away over fifteen years of the disease. This is right on. We think about Alzheimer's as being a disease of the old, but it can strike much younger. According to the film's website, 250,000 children ages 8-18 are caring for someone with Alzheimer's. They suggest the website http://www.actionalz.org for more information on this disease.