MLA


submitted by Katy Nesbit; originally posted to MEDLIB-L

Call for MLA 2000 CE Courses

What exciting CE courses would you like to be offered at MLA 2000 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada? The MLA Continuing Education (CE) Committee needs you to submit your course ideas now. Please do not hesitate to send any course topics that you would like to see there, and if you know of any instructors or colleagues proficient in areas you mention, do include their names. We would also like to hear about any courses that you have taken in the past and would like to see offered in 2000.

Are you an instructor with a course that you would like to offer to your MLA colleagues? If you have developed a course, or are thinking of developing a course, we would like to hear from you, too. For more information on how to teach your course at an MLA Annual Meeting, see page 26 of the February 1997 issue of the MLA News. For copies of that article, contact Kathleen Gaydos.

Please send all your course ideas to the 2000 National Program Committee CE Liaison, Katy Nesbit, AHIP, Edward G. Miner Library, University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Ave., Rochester, NY 14642; 716/275-6877; 716/275-4799(fax).


submitted by Penny Coppernoll-Blach; originally posted to MEDLIB-L

Do you have a great idea for a symposium that would be of interest to the MLA membership? MLA is now accepting proposals for symposia for the 2000 Annual Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Symposia are usually sponsored by an MLA section or unit and organized by a committee of members. I would encourage anyone with ideas for symposia to take this opportunity to step forward.

MLA considers a symposium to be "a learning opportunity organized for the purpose of providing a forum for discussion of a well-defined topic." A symposium typically consists of a series of presentations by experts, followed by an exchange of opinions among symposium participants.

Proposals are evaluated by the Continuing Education Committee (CEC) according to the importance and uniqueness of the subject and content; the timeliness, appeal and marketability of the topic; and the availability and adequacy of funding. Proposals for MLA 2000 symposia are due to the professional development department at MLA headquarters by April 30, 1999, and should include

For further information and a copy of the official MLA Symposium Guidelines, please see MLANET or contact Kathleen Gaydos, coordinator of continuing education, 312/419-9094 x29.

Thanks for your ideas,

Penny Coppernoll-Blach
Chair, Continuing Education Committee, MLA
Technical Information Specialist
Monsanto Company
8355 Aero Drive, San Diego, CA 92123-1718
(619) 467-6478
(619) 467-6570 (FAX)


submitted by Katie Bauer; originally posted to MEDLIB-L

MLA Dues Increase

The MLA board is proposing dues increases of approximately 23% for regular members. The stated reason is that this is in line with inflation. I have posted a request to the official MLA forum, listed below, for more information on how they arrived at their inflation figures. I won't bore you with my entire question here, but the condensed version is that inflation, as measured by the CPI, has increased 10% since 1994 (when MLA dues were set at $110), and this is clearly well below the proposed 23% increase (some membership categories face a smaller increase).

The forum is the official place to discuss the increase, and I am sorry for posting here as well, but since there don't seem to be many postings on the forum yet, I thought maybe this proposal could use some publicity.

This increase might be justifiable, but I am having trouble agreeing with the inflation argument, and I would like to see the MLA board more fully explain their numbers.

Copied below is the message from MLA.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. DUES INCREASE PROPOSAL
<http://www.mlanet.org/>
<http://www.mlanet.org/am/am1999/forum/>
<http://www.mlanet.org/am/am1999/forum/dip.pdf> (44k PDF)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

March 12, 1999

Dear Colleague:

At the February 1999 MLA Board of Directors meeting, the board voted to recommend a dues increase to the membership that would be implemented no later than 2001. The recommended increase is about 21% or, for example, $25 for a regular member and $5 for a student member. The increase was figured using the increase in inflation since 1992. Current and proposed dues are listed at the end of this letter. This letter has also been mailed to the entire membership so that everyone will be notified of the proposal.

As MLA members, we all want expanded services from our professional association. We want services to help each of us face the increasing technological challenges of our jobs and the rising expectations of our users. We want services to ensure that we have a strong collective voice and visible presence on the national scene -- to protect the balance between intellectual property rights of copyright owners and fair use rights of users; to assert our leadership role as health information professionals in the age of the Internet; and to demonstrate our value to quality and cost-effective health care.

You will see these themes reflected in the strategic initiatives of the board for 1999, including expanding MLANET, providing continuing education (CE) courses locally by using new technologies, participating in coalitions to encourage competition in publishing and bring down journal prices, and working with other associations to protect fair use rights. We must take proactive measures to make them a reality. For this reason, we have used Association Reserves and Shaping Our Future Funds to support them this year. But this is not a feasible long-term strategy, which is why we propose acting now on a dues increase. While the association continues to focus on fund-raising and entrepreneurial activities with much success, the MLA Board of Directors believes the time has come to consider our personal responsibility for investing more financially in our association. We should all expect a return on our investment for the profession and for ourselves.

Please take time to consider these facts:

The dues increase proposal will be presented and discussed at an open forum at MLA '99 in Chicago on Monday, May 17, 1999 from 3:00 P.M.-4:00 P.M., where everyone can share their views. We will also set up an online open forum via MLANET beginning March 15, 1999, to gather more information and answer questions about the proposed dues increase. We will conclude the discussion at Business Meeting II on Tuesday, May 18 at 4:00 P.M. If you cannot attend MLA '99 or participate in the online open forum and would like your voice heard, please send your comments by May 1 to Linda Watson by email, by phone (804/924-0187), fax (804/982-4238).

Sincerely,

<authorized signature present>
Jacqueline Donaldson Doyle, AHIP, President

<authorized signature present>
Linda A. Watson, AHIP, Treasurer

MLA Membership Categories Current dues Proposed dues:

Carla J. Funk, Executive Director
Medical Library Association
65 E. Wacker Place, Suite 1900, Chicago, IL 60601-7298
Phone 312/419-9094 x14; FAX 312/419-8950

Katie Bauer, Reference Librarian
Cushing/Whitney Medical Library, Yale University
203-737-2964 / 203-785-4369 fax


Table of Contents

Northwest Notes / 20(1) Jan.-Mar. 1999 / April 22, 1999