: For Students, Faculty, and Staff 
We’re celebrating 2022 with a look back at our favorite stories of the year that feature the innovative, impactful, fun, and purpose-filled work at the Health Sciences Library and the Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine.
10. Life-long learner: Robert G. McKinnell has a lot to share — including his love of Libraries, the Wangensteen in particular
Call him Dr. McKinnell, if you like, or Dr. Bob, if you know him well. His research on Leopard frogs established his reputation in a field popularly called cloning. At the Health Sciences Libraries, Dr. Bob has also contributed to the development, exploration, and joy of our staff, adding his gifts as a natural-born storyteller, a feminist, a scholar, and a kind human being to his many accolades.
9. Activate active learning in the Health Sciences Library Commons
The Commons is a gathering place located in the Health Sciences Library intended for interprofessional development, discussion, and innovation. It connects a broad community of librarians, instructional designers, teaching experts, and technology leaders in support of educational goals — including a great partnership between the School of Nursing for a faculty development event called Microlectures and Active Learning. “It’s the perfect space to share active learning strategies using all the technologies you find in HSEC classrooms,” says Nima Salehi, School of Nursing Instructional Design and Assessment Specialist.
8.Practicing for an emergency: Virtual Reality has been incorporated into training for medical students specializing in Emergency Medicine
Through a partnership with the Health Sciences Library, Emergency Medicine students experienced patient scenarios in virtual reality to see how efficiently and accurately they can help pin down the causes of pain or other issues that the patients are expressing. They ask questions; they move around the patient; they strive to provide the best care possible in an urgent, albeit virtual, situation.
7. Celebrating the Health Sciences Libraries from 1892 to 2022: A 130 year photo history
The Health Sciences Library and the Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine are known as collaborative partners in the interprofessional Health Sciences Education Center, but the roots of the Health Sciences Libraries started 130 years ago. Enjoy this photo history that spans the 1892 collections funding from the Board of Regents to our 2022 expertise and resources that advance the research and education needs of today’s health professionals!
6. Wangensteen Library receives Cultural Heritage Grant: Funding will be used to provide greater access to artifacts and more
Lois Hendrickson and Emily Beck (co-PIs) have been awarded a Minnesota Historical & Cultural Heritage grant in the amount of $103,162 from the Minnesota Historical Society. Their successful proposal “Access to Historical Healthcare Artifacts” will complete catalog records, enrich descriptions, and create reference photos of 4,000 medical instruments that document the history of medical practice and experiences of health care in Minnesota from c.1850-1950. In addition, the funding will support the creation of 3D digital models of several high-demand, fragile, or significant artifacts, making them available as part of the library’s permanent digital collections.
5. Research Byte: *NEW* NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy: Important compliance changes to impact NIH awards
This story (published in May 2022) was just the start to the great work of the Libraries’ Research Data Services (RDS) Team to prepare the University of Minnesota for the new NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy, which begins January 25, 2023. The policy applies to all research funded in whole or in part by NIH that results in the generation of scientific data. Jumpstart your learning about the policy through this article, and visit the RDS website for more information, including three short videos to get you started.
4. My time as a Health Sciences Library intern
This year the Health Sciences Libraries got to host the amazing Emily Ramirez through the Step UP internship program, which trains and places high school youth in paid internships. Emily shared her intern experience in her own words through a photo journal. This post was the fist in the series, where Emily shares a few snapshots of glass bottles from the Wangensteen Historical Library’s infant feeding collection.
3. What’s new at the Wangensteen?
Our library collections are always growing, and the Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine is no exception. But how do our curators decide what new purchases to select? Get a sneak peak at six books that the Wangensteen purchased in the last year, and learn more about our collection development mission.
2. UMN Student wins national award with Libraries’ help
The Health Sciences Library Virtual Reality (VR) Studio welcomed a cross-campus collaboration with the College of Design. The outcome? Design student Kim Than won a national award for her VR presentation of a retail store. The prize? A paid internship at the Kate Spade fashion house in New York City. “Our students have the cutting edge skills that they need” because of the Libraries’ Virtual Reality Studio, says Professor Juanjuan Wu. This collaboration is a perfect example of how the Health Sciences Libraries can open opportunities for interdisciplinary innovation.
1. Libraries play a key role in international dentistry exchange
Students of dentistry from Heidelberg University were introduced to the high-tech spaces in the Health Sciences Library and the history-rich learning environments in the Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine. The visit inspired a new partnership within the School of Dentistry’s Dental Professional Development 1, led by course director Karin Quick in partnership with Dentistry Librarian Nicole Theis-Mahon. This work made a difference to the students, including Atlanta Roloff, DDS ’22, who said the exchange “opened my mind to the fact that there are so many ways to approach every situation, and the more ways I can learn, and the more people I can find to teach me their perspectives, the better dentist I will become.”
