McGoogan News

Get Creative at the Design Hub Open House

Join McGoogan Library staff and UNMC design thinking coaches for the Design Hub open house on Wednesday, September 18 from 11 a.m.–2 p.m. in the library (WHM, Level 6). Attendees will have an opportunity to tour the space, participate in demos and grab a snack.

For those who cannot attend in person, a virtual open house will be held from 1:00–2:00 p.m. via Zoom that day as well. Register to receive the Zoom link.

Both in-person and virtual attendees will have a chance to win one of four “creative mindset” door prizes.

Four door prizes—three LEGO kits and one Kickstart Creativity prompt cards—on a table in the Design Hub in front of a faux green vine backdrop that says Innovation Grows Here!

Why attend the open house?

Meet design thinking coaches and library staff associated with the Design Hub
Learn how you and your team can use the Design Hub
Connect with colleagues across the NU system who are also interested in design thinking

About the Design Hub

The Design Hub is aimed at fostering creativity, innovation and problem-solving among students, faculty and staff. The hub, located on Level 6 of the McGoogan Health Sciences Library, is designed to promote collaboration across disciplines in health care and medical research, encouraging users to tackle complex challenges with a fresh perspective.

“The Design Hub represents a new frontier in how we approach solving problems in health care,” said Dr. Dele Davies, UNMC Interim Chancellor. “By equipping our community with the tools and environment needed for design thinking, we hope to inspire breakthrough solutions that will improve individual and system performance and transform lives.”

The Design Hub features flexible workspaces, prototyping tools and supplies, and interactive digital platforms that allow for brainstorming and rapid development of solutions. The hub is envisioned as collaboration space for interdisciplinary projects, where medical professionals, students and researchers can come together with designers and engineers to improve patient care, health care delivery, and medical education.

The space is available to be used independently by individuals or small groups or with a trained design thinking facilitator. Guides and templates for design thinking activities are available and can be used as part of a larger project or simply to explore new solutions and points of view. The UNMC community may use the Design Hub anytime the room is free or by reservation via the library website.

The Design Hub is funded in part by an NU Collaboration Initiative Grant awarded for 2023-2025. Led by Tyler Scherr, PhD, of UNeMed, the NU Health x Design grant team includes faculty and staff from UNO, UNL and UNMC. Planning and development of the Design Hub was led by UNMC faculty and staff:

Emily Glenn, MSLS, McGoogan Health Sciences Library
Brian Maass, MLIS, McGoogan Health Sciences Library
Katherine Bravo, PhD, College of Nursing
T.J. Welniak, MD, College of Medicine, Dept. of Emergency Medicine
Bethany Lownes, PhD, College of Medicine, Dept. of Neurological Sciences
Luther Mardock, MAED, Academic Affairs

Since receiving funding in 2023, the NU Health x Design team has planned and facilitated design thinking sprints with interprofessional teams of students from UNL College Engineering, UNO Biomechanics Lab, and UNMC. The design teams have worked on real-world clinical issues presented by UNMC faculty and staff, including Dr. John Windle, Center for Intelligent Health Care and Dr. Jason Johanning, College of Medicine, Dept. of Vascular Surgery. One solution, a treadmill-based device developed by students for post-surgical ambulation for vascular surgery patients, has been prototyped by the UNO Sports Medicine and Biomechanics Research Lab and is currently part of a customer discovery project for NSF’s Innovation Corps (I-Corps).

Inaugural International Health Design Thinking Conference

The inaugural International Health Design Thinking Conference will be held at the UNMC campus in Omaha October 24-26.

Join fellow thought leaders, industry experts and change-makers who share your passion for a dynamic and inclusive academic society dedicated to the advancement of design thinking in health care practice, education and scholarship.

The conference is presented by INSIGHT, the International Society of Health Design Thinking, and aims to develop best practices and innovative approaches to address complex challenges in health care and health sciences education using design thinking.

Learn more about the conference.

Join Us for Our Library Open House

Date: Tuesday, September 3, 2024
Time: 11 a.m.–2 p.m.
Location: McGoogan Library, Wittson Hall (WHM), Levels 6–8

Discover McGoogan Health Sciences Library’s services and resources available to students during our open house on Tuesday, September 3, from 11 a.m.–2 p.m. Library faculty and staff, along with building and department partners, will be stationed throughout the library sharing information, handing out giveaways and providing snacks.

What to Expect

Library Services and Resources: Learn about services and resources the library has to offer, including the Writing Center @ UNMC , 3D printing, interlibrary loan (ILL), e-books, journals, databases and more.

Wellness at the Library: Discover how the library can be a place to de-stress, relax and unwind thanks to reflection rooms, napping pods, leisure reading and more.

Special Collections and Archives: Connect with the library’s special collections and archives team. The people who collect information and archival materials on the history of health sciences, curate exhibitions in the Wigton Heritage Center and host Health Sciences History Hour.

Library Partners: Meet library partners who are located within Wittson Hall and across campus. Learn more about how they can provide support during your time at UNMC.

Why attend?

Connect with liaison librarians.
Learn how to prioritize your wellness.
Find out how you can explore the library’s medical-related archival materials, artifacts, and rare books.
Get to know who some library partners are, including: Office of Interactive E-Learning, the Writing Center @ UNMC, Gender and Sexuality Resource Center and folks with the Brave/Safe Spaces.

A Bridge to Exploration: McGoogan Library’s Pass Lending Program

Immerse yourself in nature or delve into rich cultural heritage by utilizing McGoogan Library’s pass lending program.

McGoogan Health Sciences Library has partnered with Fontenelle Forest and El Museo Latino to offer free admission for UNMC students.

The pass lending program is an effort to help UNMC students de-stress and experience the metro community.

Be sure to take advantage of this free opportunity! Check out a pass, return it, and repeat whenever you need a break off campus.

How to check out a pass

Passes to Fontenelle Forest and El Museo Latino can be checked out by contacting AskUs via email or calling 402-559-6221.

About Fontenelle Forest

The mission of Fontenelle Forest is to provide a place where people can experience and enjoy the quiet wild of nature. Their mission is “to inspire current and future generations to care for the natural world.”

Founded in 1913, Fontenelle Forest is one of Nebraska’s oldest conservation organizations and one of the largest private nature centers in the nation.

Fontenelle Forest manages two nature centers at Fontenelle Forest in Bellevue and Neale Woods in Omaha, encompassing 24 miles of trails and over 2,100 acres of forest, prairie, wetlands, and Native American historical sites along the Missouri River.

In 2016, they opened their Raptor Woodland Refuge, located at the Fontenelle Forest Nature Center, which provides visitors with an opportunity to observe many species of birds of prey in a unique, tree-top environment.

About El Museo Latino

El Museo Latino opened its doors in the historic Livestock Exchange Building on May 5, 1993, as the first Latino Art & History Museum and Cultural Center in the Midwest. In 1997, the museum moved to its present brick and red tile roof building. The original construction of 1887 was a school and was reconstructed in the 1930s. Today, El Museo Latino is one of only seventeen Latino museums in the United States. Visit El Museo Latino to explore works by Latino artists from Pre-Columbian to Contemporary arts in their permanent and special exhibitions.

El Museo Latino organizes and presents special events during the year highlighting the annual Cinco de Mayo Celebration in May and Hispanic Heritage Month in September. May features the annual Almuerzo (brunch) while September features the Hispanic Heritage celebration Banquet. During the year, Family Day celebrations are also scheduled as well as special dance performances by the museum’s dance company, “CHOMARI” Ballet Folklorico Mexicano, and by visiting artists.

CAS SciFinder-n Issue 8/20/24

8/20/24 2:15 p.m. UPDATE: The issue has been resolved.

McGoogan Library is experiencing an access disruption to CAS SciFinder-n. While the vendor fixes the issue, please use this alternate link to access CAS SciFinder-n.

New Dates Added: What’s New in AI at UNMC?

Who says summer is a slow time? Not us! The UNMC community has been abuzz with excitement the past few months, thanks to AI-focused events. In June, the first installment of “What’s New in AI at UNMC?” an online discussion series kicked off and in July, McGoogan Library co-hosted the Generative AI at UNMC | Summer Symposium alongside the College of Public Health, Office of Faculty Development, and Academic Affairs.

When reflecting on the recent symposium, Emily Glenn, symposium co-chair, said “We have learned a lot about AI and what other colleagues are doing across campus to use it in their workflows. The symposium seemed to provide the right space for many people to talk in real-time about facets of AI in practice and consider many complex paths.”

Rachel Lookadoo, symposium co-chair, added, “The symposium fostered a vibrant exchange of ideas and highlighted questions that we need to work through as we integrate this technology at UNMC. One way we’re addressing some of these questions is with this online discussion series.”

Additional dates have been added for the “What’s New in AI at UNMC?” online discussion series. This series provides a chance to talk with colleagues across UNMC about how they have encountered or integrated AI in their work and builds upon the dialog that took place during the summer symposium.

“What’s New in AI at UNMC?” schedule:

Wed., August 21 | 9–10 a.m. via Zoom

Wed., September 18 | 9–10 a.m. via Zoom

Wed., October 16 | 9–10 a.m. via Zoom

Wed., November 20 | 9–10 a.m. via Zoom

Reminder: This series is open to all UNMC colleagues.

“What’s New in AI at UNMC?” is brought to you by the UNMC AI Task Force co-chairs, Rachel Lookadoo, JD (College of Public Health) and Emily Glenn, MSLS (McGoogan Health Sciences Library).

This series follows the UNMC AI Task Force work and contributes to a “community of practice.”

Look back on presentations from the Generative AI at UNMC | Summer Symposium.