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Melody Allison

Previous Position(s)

• 1998-2002: Information Services/Monographic Cataloging Librarian (Assistant Librarian), Cunningham Memorial Library, Indiana State University.
• 2002-2008: Assistant Biology Librarian, and Assistant Professor of Library Administration, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• 2008-2009: Assistant Biology Librarian, and Associate Professor of Library Administration (In 2009 Biology Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Note:  In 2009 the Biology Library closed and its collection was merged into the Funk Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences Library.)
• 2009-present: Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences Librarian, and Associate Professor of Library Administration, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• June-August 2012: Acting Head, Veterinary Medical Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Education

• 1998 - Master of Science in Library and Information Science: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL.
• 1987 - Bachelor of Science in Nursing: Angelo State University, San Angelo, TX.
• 1975 - Associate of Arts in Nursing: Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, IN.

Research Interests

The majority of my research relates to biomedical literature.  Incorporating research findings into practice is a challenge in most professions, and there are few that have more of a challenge than the health sciences professions.  My experience as a registered nurse in very dynamic healthcare settings for over twenty years provides me with insights on how difficult it is to find and utilize current research in practice for nurses and physicians.  My interest lies in how librarians can help healthcare professionals to connect with knowledge from current biomedical and nursing research so that these research findings can be incorporated into clinical practice. 

Areas of research interest includes:

The identification and organization of important literature sources
The identification and evaluation of important information resources
Literature use studies
Translation of nursing and biomedical research findings into clinical practice
Librarians as social entrepreneurs, especially regarding gender-specific biomedical research

Awards and Distinctions

Awards

• NAHRS Award for Professional Excellence, Medical Library Association, Nursing and Allied Health Resources Section, 2009
• Certificate of Distinguished Service to the Medical Library Community, Doody's Enterprises, Inc., 2006.
• Certificate of Distinguished Service to the Medical Library Community, Doody's Enterprises, Inc., 2005.
• Certificate of Distinguished Service to the Medical Library Community, Doody's Enterprises, Inc., 2004.
• Beta Phi Mu, Invited and inducted 1998.  
• Health Sciences Information Management Award, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, 1998.

Grants Awarded

• Allison, Melody M. [Contributor, selector], 2008: Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI) Collection Partnerships/ Collaborative Digitization Awards Program – Theme: Green, Global, and Sustainable.  Selector contribution “Medicinal Plants and Indigenous Medicinal Plant Knowledge: Implications for Human Health” ($3000.00) as part of group proposal “Impact of the Environment on Health & Wellness Collection Partnership Project,” a collaboration of state academic libraries (Chicago State University, Columbia College Library, Illinois Wesleyan University, Northeastern Illinois University,  and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) to collect materials about the environment as it relates to health.  (Total partnership award = $19,000.00)
• Allison, Melody M., 2002: Information Seeking Behavior of Registered Nurses in an Online Environment, UIUC Scholars Travel Fund Award.

Recent Publications

Articles

• Allen, Margaret (Peg), Melody M. Allison, Margaret M. Bandy, Joy C. Kennedy, and Pamela Sherwill-Navarro. 2009. The Magnet journey: opportunities for librarians to partner with nurses. Journal of the Medical Library Association Oct;97(4):302-307. 

• Allison, Melody M. "Internet resources: gender biology." MLA News, 406:12 (May 2008):12.

• Allison, Melody M. "Women's health: librarian as social entrepreneur." Library Trends, 56/2 (2007):423-448.
• Allison, Melody M. and Margaret Bandy, "Magnet Recognition Program collaboration proposal: The American Nurses Credentialing Center and the Medical Library Association," Medical Library Association White Paper, 2007: http://www.mlanet.org/resources/vital/mlawhitepaper.html.
• Allison, Melody M. "Mapping the literature of nephrology nursing." Journal of the Medical Library Association, 94/2 Suppl (2006): E74-9.
• Allen, Margaret (Peg), Melody M. Allison, and Sheryl Stevens. "Mapping the literature of nursing education." Journal of the Medical Library Association, 94/2 Supple (2006): E122-E127.
• Allison, Melody M. "Comparison of CINAHL vis EBSCOhost, Ovid, and ProQuest." Journal of Electronic Resources in Medical Libraries, 3/1 (2006): 31-50.
• Allison, Melody M. "U.S. government statistics on the World Wide Web." Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 22/1 (2003): 39-55.
• Allison, Melody M. "Non-governmental health statistics on the World Wide Web." Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 22/3 (2003): 39-51.

Books

• Schmidt, Diane, Melody M. Allison, Kathleen A. Clark, Maria A. Porta, and Pamela Jacobs, 2005. Guide to Reference and Information Sources in Plant Biology, Libraries Unlimited.

Book Chapters

• Allison, Melody M., 2012. "Librarian as social entrepreneur." In The Entrepreneurial Librarian. Eds. Mary Krautter, Mary Beth Lock, MaryG. Scanlon. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co.
• Allison, Melody M., 2008. "U.S. government documents and technical reports." In Introduction to Reference Sources in the Health Sciences. 5th ed. Eds. Jeffrey T. Huber, Jo Anne Boorkman, Jean Blackwell. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers.

Other Publications

• Allison, Melody M. "The benefits of NMRT [American Library Association's New Members Round Table]." NMRT Footnotes, 33/4 (2004): 3.
• Allison, Melody M. " Lights! Camera! Action!" Info Career Trends - Lisjobs.com's Professional Development Newsletter, 3/5 (2002).
• Allison, Melody M. "NMRT President's Program 2002 report: 'The successful 21st century librarian.'" NMRT Footnotes, 32/1 (2002): 6.
• Allison, Melody M. " Review of Quick Look Nursing: Legal and Ethical Issues, by Susan Westrick Killion, and Katherine Dempski." E-Streams, 5/1 (2002).
• Allison, Melody M. " Review of Lippincott's Critical Care Drug Guide by Marla J. DeJong and Amy M. Karch." E-Streams, 5/1 (2002).
• Allison, Melody M. " Review of Nursing Diagnosis Reference Manual, 5th edition, edited by Sheila M. Sparks, Cynthia M. Taylor." E-streams, 4/8 (2001).
• Allison, Melody M. " Review of Handbook of Dementia Caregiving: Evidence-Based Interventions for Family Caregivers, edited by Richard Schulz." E-Streams, 4/4 (2001).
• Allison, Melody M. " Review of Historical Encyclopedia of Nursing, by Mary Ellen Snodgrass." E-Streams, 3/9 (2000).
• Allison, Melody M. " Review of Handbook of Infusion Therapy, edited by Andrew T. McPhee." E-Streams, 3/5 (2000).

Recent Presentations

• Slater, Robert, et. al. "The Web is My Library: Undergraduate Students and their Research Behaviors." Association of College and Research Libraries 2009 Virtual Conference, Seattle: March 13, 2009. http://www.learningtimes.net/acrlconference/2009/the-web-is-my-library-undergraduate-students-and-their-research-behaviors/. [co-researcher.]
• Allen, Margaret (Peg), Melody M. Allison, Frances A. Delwiche, Ellen Hall, Susan Kaplan Jacobs, Pamela Sherwill-Navarro, and Mary K. Taylor. 2008. "Bridging the Dissemination Gap: Communicating NAHRS Research to the Nursing and Allied Health Profession,” Poster, Medical Library Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL: May 16 - 21, 2008.
• Allen, Margaret (Peg), Pamela Sherwill-Navarro, Melody M. Allison, and Susan Kaplan Jacobs. 2008. "Reconnecting Librarians with Nursing Accreditation: Key Results," Paper (presented by Allen), Medical Library Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL: May 20, 2008. [Panel member of the Nursing and Allied Health Resources Section (NAHRS) contributed paper program Connecting Librarians, Nurses, and Accreditation/Credentialing Organizations to Improve Patient Care.]
• Allison, Melody M. & Margaret Bandy. 2008. "Building a Bridge Between MLA and the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program," Paper (presented by Allison), Medical Library Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL: May 20, 2008. [Panel member of the Nursing and Allied Health Resources Section (NAHRS) contributed paper program Connecting Librarians, Nurses, and Accreditation/Credentialing Organizations to Improve Patient Care.]
• Allison, Melody M, "Women's Health Beyond OB/Gyne [Gender-Specific Medicine]." Coles County League of Women Voters Annual Meeting, Charleston, IL: May 2005.
• Allison, Melody M, "Women's Health: History in the Making." Indiana Library Federation (ILF) Annual Conference, Division on Women in Indiana Libraries program, Women and History, Indianapolis, IN: 23 March 2005.
• Allison, Melody M, "Information Seeking Behavior of Registered nurses in an Online Environment." Midwest Chapter of the Medical Library Association Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, MN: September 20, 2002.
• Allison, Melody M, "Mapping the Literature of Nursing," Medical Library Association Annual Meeting, Vancouver, B.C., Canada: May 5-10, 2000.

Web Projects

• Allison, Melody M., 2010-present, Twitter, "GenderBiology.net"
• Allison, Melody M., 2006-present, News blog, GenderBiology.net: http://www.genderbiology.net
• Allison, Melody M., Medical Library Association, Consumer and Patient Health Information Section (CAPHIS), 2002-2003, Web Sites You Can Trust: Women's Health Web Sites: http://caphis.mlanet.org/consumer/consumerWomen.html

Professional Service

• American Library Association (ALA),  1998-2009

  ALA Council Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship, Appointed by President-Elect Michael Gorman and the ALA Committee on Committees, 2005-2007; re-appointed by President-Elect Loriene Roy and the ALA Committee on Committees, 2007-2009

  ALA Task Force on Librarians and Caregiver Issues, member, 2008-2009

  New Members Round Table (NMRT), member, 1999-2004

  President's Program Committee, member, 1999-2000; Chair, 2001-2002

  Midwinter Discussion Forum, Event Moderator, 2000-2001

  Conference Coordinator, 2002-2003

  Conference Planning Task Force (CPTF), Chair, 2002-2003

  Governance Committee, Chair, 2003-2004

• Medical Library Association (MLA), 1998-present

  Consumer and Patient Health Information Section (CAPHIS), 2002-2003; 2011-present
  

  The CAPHIS Top 100 [list of consumer health Web sites] Committee, 2002-2003.  http://caphis.mlanet.org/consumer/Top100.html.; Women’s Health Web Sites, pagemaster, 2002-2003 http://caphis.mlanet.org/consumer/consumerWomen.html..

  Nursing and Allied Health Resources Section (NAHRS), 2000-present

  Task Force on Mapping the Literature of Nursing, 2000-2009; Co-Chair, 2008-2009

  NAHRS Executive Board, 2005-2008

  Chair-Elect and Program Chair, 2005-2006

  Section Chair, 2006-2007

  Task Force to Create Standards for Nursing Information Resources and Services in Healthcare Settings, 2006-2007

  Immediate Past Chair and Nominating Chair, 2007-2008

  Nominating Committee, Chair, 2007-2008

  Strategic Planning Committee, Chair, 2007-2008

  Task Force for Policy and Procedure Manual Revision / Bylaws Synchronization, Chair, 2007-2008

  Standards Committee, member, 2007-2009 [newly formed 2007 ]

  Research Committee, member, 2008-2009

  MLA White Paper, Invited, 2007 (See Publications above)

  One of two co-authors of the white paper Medical Library Association and American Nurses Credentialing Center: Magnet Recognition Program® Collaboration Proposal which was sent by MLA to the American Nurses Credentialing Center Magnet Recognition Program in support of MLA/ANCC MRP collaboration as they deliberated over the new edition of the Magnet application manual.

  MLA Donald A. B. Lindburgh Research Fellowship Jury, member, 2008-2009

  MLA Allied Representative to Allied Organization: URAC [Utilization Review Accreditation Commission] Health Standards Advisory Committee. Appointed by President Jerry Perry, 2011-2014.

• United States Agriculture Information Network (USAIN), 20010-present
  

• Doody’s Core Titles in the Health Sciences (DCT). Chicago, Doody Enterprises, 2004-2006

  Library Selector

  Health information management, health policy/reform, informatics, legal/ethics, library and information science, and maternal/child, 2004

  Informatics, legal/ethics, library and information science, and maternal/child, 2005  

  Legal/ethics, library and information science, and maternal/child, 2006

More Information

Healthcare Consumer Representative. URAC [Utilization Review Accreditation Commission] Health Standards Advisory Committee, 2011-present.  Note: URAC is the largest accrediting body for health care. See URAC FAQs for more information. Additional Note: I wear two separate hats on this committee - MLA Rep. AND Health Care Rep.

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Last modified by: Melody Allison on 8/22/12