News from the Libraries

The UT Health Science Center’s Regional Academic Health Center (RAHC) in Harlingen became part of the new University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) effective September 1, 2015. Along with other RAHC related services, the Mario E. Ramirez, M.D. Library became part of the UTRGV library system on September 1. The Ramirez Library will serve the UTRGV’s School of Medicine including its faculty, students, residents, staff and researchers. The Ramirez Library will also continue to serve UT Health Science Center faculty, students, and residents who are assigned to locations in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

The medical library at the RAHC was established in 2002 and quickly became a popular place for students to study and use both print and electronic materials. In 2007, the Ramirez Library was named after Dr. Mario E. Ramirez a well-known physician in the Lower Rio Grande Valley and former University of Texas Regent who also served as Vice-President for South Texas Programs at the UT Health Science Center from 1995 to 2007.

Greysi Reyna, Assistant Director for the Ramirez Library, was one of the RAHC’s first librarians. Until her retirement in 2013, Greysi was instrumental in developing the Ramirez Library’s service programs, particularly outreach to the local community. Kathy Carter succeeded Greysi as Assistant Library Director in 2013 and has been appointed as the UTRGV Library’s Associate Director for the School of Medicine. Kathy is looking forward to serving as the inaugural librarian for the new medical school.

A library with a primarily digital collection is being constructed as part of the School of Medicine Education Building on the UTRGV Edinburg campus. When fully staffed, the UTRGV School of Medicine will have librarians and staff at both Harlingen and Edinburg locations.

Perhaps the words of a UT Health Science Center medical student best express the sentiments of those who have benefited from the services of the Ramirez librarians and staff: “I was one of the full-time RAHC MS3’s last year. I used the library a ton and I really appreciated the awesome services y’all provided!  … I absolutely loved my time at the RAHC (and the RAHC library staff) and look forward to being back.”

The UTRGV School of Medicine Library can be reached by phone at (956) 296-1500 and by email to somlibrary@utrgv.edu.

Anne Comeaux, AHIP, CRM, DAS will retire on Sept. 11, 2015, after more than 41 years as a health science librarian.   Anne began working in libraries as an undergraduate student at the University of Texas at Austin in 1970, continuing to work for UT while attending library school and receiving her MLS. Her first professional job was at the Texas Medical Association Library in Austin, where she served as a reference librarian from 1974 – 1977 and became a member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals. Anne moved to San Antonio in November of 1977 to begin work at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and remained there in various capacities for the next 38 years. She started as the Search Analyst in charge of online searching, switching to programming and systems in support of the library’s LIS online catalog system, miniMedline, and other functions. When the library converted from LIS to Innovative Interfaces, Anne was responsible for writing the programs needed to export the library’s data for import into the new catalog. She worked for several years as the head of Interlibrary Loan, designing an automated system for tracking ILL borrowing and lending before ILLiad was available. She also wrote financial databases to track library expenditures and bill departments for services and created an archival database to manage collections in the University Archives.

In December 2000 Anne was appointed as the records management officer (RMO) for the university when the library was assigned responsibility for this function, and started a whole new career as a records manager. She developed records management training classes for university staff, created a database to retain information on retention of records and generate retention schedules, set up a system of Records Management Representatives to manage state records for departments and divisions, and developed an online, searchable Records Retention Schedule. She has been very active in the San Antonio Chapter of ARMA International, serving as an officer and on the Board since 2006, and received her Certified Records Manager (CRM) designation from the Institute of Certified Records Managers in January 2012.

In 2007 Anne became the Assistant Director for Special Collections, adding the roles of University Archivist and rare books librarian to existing RMO duties. She received a grant to finance a preservation specialist’s evaluation of current practices in the University Archives and P. I. Nixon Medical Historical Library and recommend improvements for better preservation. She was also successful in securing several Rescuing Texas History grants to digitize interesting books about San Antonio and early physician pioneers in the Nixon Library and Bexar County Medical Society membership records for physicians born before 1911. Both of these collections are now available through the Portal to Texas History. Anne worked with others to set up the CONTENTdm Digital Archive for the university and earned her Digital Archives Specialist (DAS) designation from the Society of American Archivists in 2015. She has successfully supported the Friends of the P. I. Nixon Medical Historical Library and its student-led group the History of Medicine Society since November 2014, marketing events, designing newsletters, arranging speakers, and supporting the Board.

Anne is looking forward to traveling, reading, gardening, and spending time with her children, grandchildren, and other family. She feels extremely lucky to have had such a varied and interesting career and the opportunity to learn many, many new skills – from database searching to programming to creating finding aids and doing historical research. She says it has never been dull and always a challenge!

• Presented by Allison Hays Lane, Archivist, University Health System
• Tuesday, September 29, 2015, 12:00 noon – 1:00 p.m.
• Howe Conference Room, Briscoe Library 5th Floor

An exhibit of World War I posters, on loan from the Texana Collection of the San Antonio Public Library, is now on display on the 3rd floor of the Briscoe Library.

The collection consists of lithographs depicting war propaganda that were commissioned in 1916-1917 by the U.S. government to inspire people to enlist, to pick up a flag, to support the men and women who participated as soldiers and nurses. The illustrators, including James Montgomery Flagg, Charles Buckle Falls, Haskell Coffin, and others whose works also appeared on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post, volunteered their creativity to the war effort.  These prints are excellent examples of use of advertising strategies and graphic design of the period.

Curator Allison Hays Lane will talk about her research and share many interesting stories about the artists and the fascinating prints in this vintage collection.

Light refreshments will be served.

RSVP 210-567-2430 or feldman@uthscsa.edu