November 1998
MEET MLA’S 1999/2000 ELECTION CANDIDATES
The voting members of the Medical Library Association (MLA) will soon decide who will hold the president-elect, three Board of Directors and nine Nominating Committee member positions opening for the 1999/2000 year. Ballots will be mailed to members in early November and must be returned by December 18. Complete text of candidates’ background and statements can be found on MLANET and in the November/December issue of MLA News. The outstanding health sciences information leaders campaigning for the open positions are as follows.
Running for the 1999/2000 president-elect seat are J. Michael Homan, AHIP, and James Shedlock, AHIP. Homan, Director of Libraries, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, has been a member of MLA for 28 years and has served as editor of the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association for the past three years. He has also served as chair of several MLA committees including the Information Systems Task Force, Scholarship Committee, and the Section Council Advisory Committee.
A Distinguished Member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals(AHIP), Homan feels that MLA has done a great job of responding to the major issues facing the profession but must make an even stronger effort as the association enters its next century. “Now is an opportune time to act strategically to attract new members who are passionate about health sciences librarianship, ignite the passion in existing members, and forge new, creative, and long lasting alliances with the other organizations where goals intersect, ” he stated. The other candidate for president-elect, James Shedlock, has served as chair of several committees and sections including the Medical Informatics Section, Medical School Libraries Section, and the Interlibrary Loan and Resource Sharing Standards and Practices Committee. A current MLA board member, Shedlock also spearheaded the MLA Cookbook Project with recipes provided by MLA members. Cookbook proceeds will go to help fund continuing education in collection development.
Director of Northwestern University’s Galter Health Science Library in Chicago, IL, Shedlock sees technology playing a vital role in the future of the health sciences information profession. He stated, “Our vision must focus on our skills and the constant updating of these skills in using technology as a means of fulfilling our mission to connect users to the information they need. We must serve our core idea of bringing users together with information, making quality information service lead to quality health care, and employing management, selection, technical, and organizational skills.”
Three of the following candidates will be elected to serve on the MLA Board of Directors:
An active MLA member, Wendy Carter is Co-Director of the Health Information Resources Service, Department of Veteran Affairs, in Washington, DC. Currently a member of both the Hospital Library Section and the Federal Library Section, Carter is also an Ex Officio Member of the National Library of Medicine Board of Regents. She comments, “The challenge to the MLA and its individual members is to partner with the medical informatics community, provider associations, academic institutions, and consumer organizations to better define their needs and design multidisciplinary strategies to address them for the 21st century.”
Susan Schweinsberg Long, AHIP, believes that MLA’s challenge for the next century is to use its strengths: professional development, governmental relations, research, and advocacy to solidify its position as a leader in health sciences information. “My goal as an MLA Board member is to leave the association stronger, more resilient, more agile, and more connected to our members, our strategic partners, and our mission of excellence in health information,” she commented. A recipient of the MLA Award for Excellence and Achievement in Hospital Librarianship and the AHIP Distinguished Member status, Schweinsberg is a former chair of the MLA Task Force on Hospital Library Certification, the Hospital Libraries Section, Strategic Planning Task Force, and the Professional Development Committee.
Julie McGowan, AHIP, Director, Dana Medical Library, University
of Vermont and Fletcher Allen Health Care/Medical Center Hospital
of Vermont, Burlington, has received many professional honors
including the MLA Career Development Award in Medical Informatics,
and the Frank Bradway Rogers Information Advancement Award. An
extensively published author, McGowan has served as chair of the
Medical Informatics Section, Research Section, International Cooperation
Section, and the Bylaws Committee. She states, “As we finish
our first hundred years, medical librarians can look back proudly.
However, now is not the time to rest on our laurels; the
profession must re-envision itself to remain viable. MLA is now
in a unique position to help its members realize its full potential.”
Director of the Medical Library and Peyton Anderson Learning Resources Center, Mercer University School of Medicine, in Macon, GA, Jocelyn A. Rankin, AHIP, has served on several MLA committees including the Nominating Committee, and the Grants and Scholarship Committee. Rankin is also the recipient of several MLA honors including Distinguished Membership in AHIP, Ida and George Eliot Prize, and MLA’s Frank Bradway Rogers Information Advancement Award. She is also the editor of a new book, The Handbook of Problem-Based Learning, published by MLA. “As a member of the board, I would advocate the development of skills, strategies, and tools to better integrate our libraries into our institutions, whether these are hospitals or universities, and to achieve integration from both the technological and programmatic perspectives,” Rankin stated.
Intellectual property rights management is the most critical issue facing the health sciences information profession according to Jean Shipman, AHIP. The Associate Director of Information Resources Management at the University of Washington, Seattle, Shipman, feels that because the Web provides an automatic publishing forum, the ability to protect intellectual property rights while maintaining a balance of fair use presents a major challenge to the health librarianship profession. A Distinguished Member of AHIP, Shipman has served on many committees including the 2001 National Program Committee and the Governmental Relations Committee. Shipman has also served as chair of the Ida and George Eliot Prize Jury of the Awards Committee.
Lois Weinstein, AHIP, believes that actively encouraging new legislation to benefit the profession and its patrons should be one of MLA’s primary goals. “We need to be pro-active about drafting legislation that we want, not just respond to legislation that others want to impose on us. I would work to see that MLA takes the lead on collaborating with other library and information associations to create and gain passage for new legislation that would benefit our profession.” Executive Director of the Medical Library Center of New York, Weinstein is a Distinguished Member of AHIP, and former chair of MLA’s Information Technology and Automation Committees.
Nine of the following candidates will be elected to serve on the MLA’s Nominating Committee.
| Sharon L. Berglund | Ysabel R. Bertolucci | Virginia M. Bowden |
| Karen A. Butter | Ellen Gay Detlefsen | Dottie Eakin |
| Cynthia Goldstein | Anna M. Habetler | Terry Ann Jankowski |
| Dixie A. Jones | Joanne G. Marshall | Debra C. Rand |
| Melinda Saffer-Marchand | Barbara Slater | Julia Sollenberger |
| Kay Cimpl Wagner | Elizabeth H. Wood | Karen M. Zundel |
The Medical Library Association (MLA) will wrap up its year-long Centennial Celebration next year at its ninety-ninth annual meeting and exhibit in Chicago, IL. The meeting will take place May 15 to 19, 1999, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, close to the MLA headquarters office.
The ’99 National Program Committee (NPC) has created a stimulating and unique program that will include well-known speakers such as noted librarian/futurist, Clifford Lynch, Ph.D., and bioethics expert, Dr. Daniel Callahan. Continuing education opportunities, poster sessions, and the Hall of Exhibits are also among the many events scheduled for the meeting. During the meeting, MLA ’99 meeting attendees will also be invited to a reception celebrating MLA’s new headquarters office.
“The meeting’s theme, Present Tense/Future Perfect?, embodies the focus of the meeting--the future of the health sciences librarianship profession,” states MLA President Jacqueline Donaldson Doyle. “The conference will provide health sciences information professionals from all over the world with a forum to discuss and envision what must be done to create secure and challenging professions in the new century. ”
The MLA ’99 Preliminary Program will be mailed to all MLA members inJanuary 1999. Non-members can request a copy by calling 312/419-9094 x21. For more information about MLA ’99, visit our Web site.
For more information, please contact Ray Naegele at 312/419-9094 x17. This release is also available at www.mlanet.org/press/
November 1998
DOODY’S ELECTRONIC JOURNAL UPGRADE RELEASED
Allowing instant Internet access to Doody’s entire database, Doody’s Electronic Journal (DEJ) provides medical librarians with an excellent reference, collection development, and cataloging resource. DEJ features a database of 65,000 bibliographies complimented by Doody's Star Ratings and Reviews, tables of contents, book list managers, and customized weekly e-mail bulletins. Version 4.0, the latest upgrade to DEJ, is now available.
The enhancements to DEJ were added in response to feedback from MLA members, technological advances, and developments in the industry. MLA Executive Director Carla Funk, comments, "Since 1994, MLA has endorsed the book review service provided by Doody Publishing as a valuable collection development, cataloging, and reference tool.”
Dan Doody, founder and President of Doody Publishing, adds, "Our systematic upgrades every November and May allow us to respond quickly and sensibly to the excellent suggestions we continually receive from our most thoughtful customer, the medical librarian. We at Doody Publishing are proud of the results of this customer feedback as evidenced in our latest upgrade." Doody’s Electronic Journal can be found on the Web at http://www.doody.com/dej.htm.
MLA members are eligible for a 20% discount when subscribing to either the library or site license version of Doody's Electronic Journal. MLA members can also take advantage of a one-month free trial subscription to DEJ. For more information, contact Doody Publishing at 800/219-9500.
For more information, please contact Sioux Johannsen at 312/419-9094 x23. This release is also available at www.mlanet.org/press/
October 1998
CONGRESSMAN HENRY BONILLA RECEIVES MLA AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED
PUBLIC SERVICE
Congressman Henry Bonilla (R-TX, 23rd District) was recently awarded the 1998 Medical Library Association (MLA) Award for Distinguished Public Service. Established in 1988, the award recognizes persons whose exemplary actions have served to advance the health, welfare, and intellectual freedom of the public. Congressman Bonilla received the honor for his contributions to the health information community, which has made a difference in the quality of our nation’s health care in the United States.
The award was presented to Congressman Bonilla at his Capital Hill office by Marianne Puckett, AHIP, Associate Director, Louisiana State University Medical Center Library, and Chair of the MLA Governmental Relations Committee; and MLA Past President Naomi Broering, Executive Director, Texas Medical Center, Houston Academy of Medicine. Also in attendance was MLA Executive Director, Carla J. Funk.
In presenting the award, Broering stated,
“Congressman Bonilla’s knowledge and understanding of
the key role of information and information services in support
of health care has been invaluable to those of us in the health
information sciences profession. His strong and consistent support
has resulted in much-needed increases in appropriations for the
National Library of Medicine (NLM), which have helped us provide
our nation’s health professionals and the public with high
quality information services.”
In her statement, Broering also mentioned the joint effort by the South Central Regional Medical Library and the public libraries in Houston and Congressman Bonilla’s district in San Antonio to support consumer access to current and reliable health information.
For more information, please contact Mary Langman at 312/419-9094 x16. This release is also available at www.mlanet.org/press/
October 1998
THE 1998/99 MLA DIRECTORY --YOUR LINK TO HEALTH INFORMATION EXPERTS
The 1998/99 Directory of the Medical Library Association (MLA)--the essential resource for locating health sciences information professionals--will soon be released. Featuring a unique, eye-catching cover design, the Directory contains a complete listing of MLA’s individual and institutional members.
The “Yellow Pages,” a list of companies that provide products and services for those in the health sciences information profession, is also included.
For Internet users, MLA is preparing to launch an online directory exclusively for MLA members. The new, electronic membership directory will be available in the near future.
The 1998/99 Directory of the Medical Library Association is a benefit of MLA membership and is available to nonmembers for a fee of $150.00. If you would like a copy of the Directory or would like to inquire about MLA membership, please call the MLA headquarters office at 312/419-9094.
For more information, please contact Kate Corcoran at 312/419-9094 x12. This release is also available at www.mlanet.org/press/