ABC's of DNA @ ODL

Do you want to know more about your own genetic traits and conditions? Are you curious about genetic issues that you hear about in the news? Are you uncomfortable when customers ask you questions about genetics?

The National Network of Libraries of Medicine, South Central Region will present the class ABCs of DNA: Unraveling the Mystery of Genetics Information for Consumers at the Oklahoma Department of Libraries (ODL) in Oklahoma City on March 12, 2008. This free, 4-hour hand-on class explores basic concepts such as genes and chromosomes and offers an overview of genetic disorders, genetic testing, genetic counseling, and the Human Genome Project. Ethical and legal issues associated with genetic disorders will be covered with regard to privacy, discrimination, and potential legislative impact on medicine and society. A variety of reliable health information resources will be demonstrated, including, but not limited to: Genetics Home Reference, ClinicalTrials.gov, NORD (National Organization for Rare Disorders), and MedlinePlus.

Upon successful completion of this class, each participant will receive 4 hours of continuing education credit awarded by the Medical Library Association. This class is approved by the Medical Library Association for the Consumer Health Information Specialization Program (http://mlanet.org/education/chc/). If you have any questions, feel free to contact Karen Vargas at karen.vargas@exch.library.tmc.edu

ABCs of DNA: Unraveling the Mystery of Genetics Information for Consumers
March 12, 2008, 9:30 am to 3:00 pm
Instructor: Karen Vargas, Consumer Health Outreach Coordinator, NN/LM SCR
Oklahoma Department of Libraries, Computer Lab
To register for this class, contact Steve Beleu at sbeleu@oltn.odl.state.ok.us
For more information about the class: http://nnlm.gov/training/genetics/index.html

Following this class, the ODL’s Regional Depository Librarian, Steve Beleu, will teach an advanced 1.5 hour class, Nucleotide, Protein, Genome: Beyond the A, T, C, and G’s of Genomics.

Why should librarians care enough about the scientific tools of online genomics learn anything about them? Dr. Elias Zerhouni, Director of the National Institutes of Health, is determined that genomics will become mainstreamed into our nation’s healthcare services. This is already happening in parts of our nation. To know enough about the basic online tools of genomics to provide referral services for them is this workshop’s goal. We will examine these major online tools—BLAST, RefSeq, Entrez Nucleotide aka Genbank, Entrez Protein, Entrez Genome, Map Viewer, and additional online tools as time allows.

This workshop will focus on learning these online tools for REFERRAL purposes rather than REFERENCE purposes. You can either work in these tools in an active mode, or simply watch the instructor demonstrate them.

Steve Beleu attended a 3-day workshop at the National Center for Biotechnology Information in Bethesda, Maryland titled Introduction to Molecular Biology and Information Resources to learn how to use these resources.

Nucleotide, Protein, Genome: beyond the A, T, C, and G’s of Genomics
March 12, 2008, 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Instructor: Steve Beleu, Regional Depository Librarian, Oklahoma Department of Libraries
Oklahoma Department of Libraries, Computer Lab
To register for this class, contact Steve Beleu at sbeleu@oltn.odl.state.ok.us