submitted by Tomi Gunn <mlams@mlahq.org>

After 10 years at its current location in Chicago, the headquarters office of the Medical Library Association (MLA) is moving to a new location at 65 East Wacker Place, Suite 1900, Chicago, IL 60601-7298. Effective October 1, 1998, all correspondence should be mailed to this address.

Because the old and new headquarters offices are in close proximity, only the address will change. All telephone numbers, fax numbers, lock box, and e-mail addresses will stay the same. The headquarters office will remain open during the move. To announce the new address, MLA will send members and other organizations an e-mail and a postcard notification.

According to Carla J. Funk, MLA’s Executive Director, “We would have liked to renew our lease at the present location, but the building was up for sale and the building’s owner would not renegotiate a new lease. While the headquarters staff has enjoyed working at the current address, we are also excited about beginning the next 100 years of MLA in the new office,” she said.

Ray Naegele, MLA’s Director of Financial and Administrative Services stated, “The new office is economical, is conveniently located in downtown Chicago just one-half block from Michigan Avenue, and should meet all of MLA’s office needs for the foreseeable future.”

MLA’s new location is just a few short blocks from the Hyatt Regency Hotel, site of MLA’s 1999 Annual Meeting on May 14-20, 1999. To celebrate our new home, MLA will invite MLA ’99 meeting attendees to a reception at the office during the meeting.

As October approaches, medical librarians across the country are preparing for the Medical Library Association’s (MLA) second annual National Medical Librarians Month (NMLM) celebration held during the month. Various workshops, seminars, and promotions are being planned to showcase the significant contributions and services health sciences information
professionals provide for the medical community.

“National Medical Librarians Month provides MLA members with a way to highlight the value a professional medical librarian and well-executed library service provide. This is a time we all look forward to, a time to display our talents, a time to feel a pride in our profession,” MLA President Jacqueline Donaldson Doyle stated.

MLA declared October as NMLM to applaud medical librarians for the many efforts and accomplishments they have made in the interest of quality health care. The information provided by medical librarians can have a direct impact on the quality of patient care. Because of the skilled men and women in the field of health sciences librarianship, physicians and nurses have been able to reduce the number of procedures, tests, and surgeries performed on patients. The accurate and current information that health science librarians provide can also reduce the number of patient deaths.

In honor of NMLM, MLA is sponsoring the Creative Promotion Award, to be presented to the MLA member who designs and implements the most creative promotional idea to celebrate NMLM in his or her institution. The winner of the award will receive $100 applicable toward MLA publications, fees, dues, or meetings.

For more information about NMLM or the Creative Promotion Award, please visit the NMLM Web page on MLANET or contact Tomi Gunn at the headquarters office at 312/419-9094 x11; mlams@mlahq.org.

The Medical Library Association (MLA) has recently released BibKit #3: Osteopathic Medicine: An Annotated Bibliography and Guide to the Literature. Compiled by Craig S. Elam, MLS, AHIP, Gibson D. Lewis Health Science Library, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, the BibKit was written to increase awareness of osteopathic literature among health sciences librarians, especially those who may be serving osteopathic students or physicians for the first time.

Intended as a selective guide to osteopathic medicine, the publication will also prove useful to osteopathic students, physicians, and other health care personnel who may not be aware of the sources listed in the BibKit #3.

The BibKit is arranged by topic and focuses on osteopathic medicine as a profession and in clinical practice. There is also a chapter devoted to manual medicine because of its close relationship to osteopathic medicine.

BibKit #3: Osteopathic Medicine: An Annotated Bibliography and Guide to the Literature can be ordered from the MLA Headquarters Office at a cost of $15 for members and $20 for nonmembers, plus shipping and handling. To place an order, call 312/419-9094 x19 or fax us at 312/419-8950.

In the increasing amount of print and electronic health information now available to consumers, there are many medical terms unfamiliar to the general public. Consumers encounter medical journals and articles filled with medical jargon or “medspeak,” the specialized language of health care professionals. “We as medical librarians recognize the public’s need for information they can understand,” Medical Library Association (MLA) President Jacqueline Donaldson Doyle says.

To support consumers who wish to take an active role in their health care, MLA has developed a new consumer brochure, Deciphering Medspeak. The brochure contains definitions of over 100 medical terms and a list of prescription shorthand terms. The brochure also contains tips on identifying quality medical information available on the Internet.

Doyle’s presidential theme, “Making a Difference,” captures the essence of the brochure and of medical librarians’ efforts in addressing the medical information needs of consumers.

“As medical librarians, our knowledge and perspectives are unique; they add to the value of the national medical information infrastructure. By responding to the needs of health care consumers and organizations, medical librarians can and do make a difference,” Doyle stated.

Deciphering Medspeak can be ordered from MLA headquarters at a cost of $10 for a pack of 50 for MLA members, $16.50 for nonmembers, plus shipping and handling. To place an order, call 312/419-9094 x19. Single copies of the brochure are available free of charge by contacting Tomi Gunn at mlams@mlahq.org or by calling 312/419-9094 x11.