The Cornflower

The Cornflower, the blog of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine Greater Midwest Region, is the latest evolution in our newsletter communication tools. After having a print and then an online newsletter for a number of years, the GMR transitioned to a blog or weblog. The Cornflower is a great tool to keep current with NLM and GMR news. Stay on top with the latest information about consumer health, outreach, DOCLINE, technology and more. Previous newsletters, ESources and 3Sources are available in the GMR Newsletter Archive.

For the latest updates, get the blog feed from the orange tag on The Cornflower site or add the following URL to your feed reader: http://nnlm.gov/gmr/blog/feed=rss2/.

Here are the latest headlines from the GMR's blog feed:

The GMR Email Address

is the GMR's new general email address. It is not a replacement for the GMR discussion list, GMRLIST. It is the address for network members and others to send email messages to the GMR. This email address is ready to use. The old GMR email address will eventually be deactivated.

Email correspondence sent to will be received by the GMR staff.

Email Discussion Lists

GMRLIST (gmrlist at uic.edu) is an email discussion list for the National Network of Libraries of Medicine-Greater Midwest Region (NN/LM-GMR) members in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

The GMR staff uses the GMRLIST as a mechanism to communicate news about the National Library of Medicine's (NLM) products and services such as PubMed®, MedlinePlus®, DOCLINE®, ClinicalTrials.gov, etc., and to announce funding opportunities from both the GMR office and NLM. It is also used to announce regional meetings, educational offerings, post jobs, highlight interesting news stories, ask for volunteers for regional activities such as exhibits, and to increase knowledge of and participation in NLM and GMR sponsored projects.

GMR staff moderates, maintains and makes announcements via the list. Commercial postings and advertisements are prohibited. The GMR staff reviews the messages that are sent out to the list as well as requests to subscribe in an attempt to prevent spam and other unwanted postings.

To sign up for GMRLIST, see LISTSERV® Software and Commands below.

To contact the GMR office directly with questions or comments, please send an email to , our office email address. Messages sent to GMR4U are sent to GMR staff and not the LISTSERV.

Other email discussion groups are hosted by the GMR for health information professionals in the region. Contact the GMR for more information about GMR list hosting.

GMR Update

The GMR prepares and publishes a quarterly (or sooner in emergent situations) document of service and resource updates, known as the GMR Update. The document is available in HTML and pdf formats for easy review and printing by network members. GMR staff use the GMR Update at local, state and association meetings to bring members up-to-date on regional activities of the GMR office.

At the fall Midwest Chapter, Medical Library Association Meeting, the GMR provides an annual GMR Update in presentation format. The current presentation is located at the following URL: http://nnlm.gov/gmr/about/gmrpdate2008.pdf .

When referring to the GMR Update, please be sure to have the most recent edition by checking the website for the current dated version. For questions or comments about the GMR Update or to request GMR staff to present it at a meeting, please connect with your GMR state coordinator; see Staff Directory and Contact Information.

LISTSERV® Software and Commands

Email discussion groups hosted by the GMR are run on LISTSERV software. Refer to the LISTSERV General User's Guide for information about LISTSERV commands. Following are a few tips (using GMRLIST as an example):

• To subscribe to GMRLIST, send the command SUBSCRIBE GMRLIST BARACK OBAMA to LISTSERV@UIC.EDU, replacing "Barack Obama" with your first and last name.
• To send a message to everyone on GMRLIST, send your note to GMRLIST@UIC.EDU. Do not send list commands to GMRLIST@UIC.EDU.
• When replying to messages received on GMRLIST, please check the "To" address in your reply. If your note is personal in nature, do not send your reply to GMRLIST@UIC.EDU. Sending a reply to GMRLIST@UIC.EDU broadcasts the message to the entire list.
• List commands should be sent to LISTSERV@UIC.EDU. For example, to unsubscribe from GMRLIST, send the command UNSUBSCRIBE GMRLIST to LISTSERV@UIC.EDU.
• If you have any questions about email discussion groups hosted by the GMR, please contact us at .