MLANET: MLA 2001/2002 Annual Report, , Sections

Medical Library Association Annual Report 2001/02

All Submitted Section Reports

Collection Development Section

Goal 1. Professional Development

For the 2002 Annual Meeting in Dallas, Texas, the section is sponsoring or co-sponsoring five sessions coordinated by Linda Walton, Chair-Elect & Program Chair. The section will be the primary sponsor of an invited speaker session, Dollars and Sense: Part 1, with Tom Sanville, Executive Director for OhioLINK. Mr. Sanville will focus his presentation on the impact of consortial agreements on collection development.

The section is co-sponsoring one invited and two contributed paper sessions on: Digital Archiving of Electronic Journals, Dollars and Sense: Part II, and Electronic vs. Print Resources. In addition, the section is co-sponsoring a Special Topics Roundtable.

Finally, the section is hosting a panel discussion on PDAs and their impact on collection development as part of the section's annual business meeting.

A Collection Development Symposium Committee was appointed to investigate/develop a proposal for a 4th Collection Development Symposium for MLA in 2004. The committee members are Jett McCann, Chair, Hope Barton and Ramune Kubilius.

Goal 2. Advocacy

A list of MLA and collection development resources (Web links) has been developed by Linda Walton and is on the section's website at http://colldev.mlanet.org/additional-res.html.

Goal 3. Organization

The section's Bylaws Committee, composed of Judy Rieke, BJ Schorre and Eric Albright, updated the section's bylaws to conform to the new MLA model bylaws. They were submitted to and declared in compliance by MLA. The revised bylaws will be submitted to the section membership on the section's discussion list, the CDS Website, and in the spring issue of Developments, the CDS newsletter. An official vote for approval of the bylaws will be conducted at the section's annual business meeting in Dallas.

Melissa Nasea, Editor, published the excellent section newsletter, Developments, electronically two times this year.

The section will be represented by Jett McCann as a member of the Section Council/Chapter Council Joint Programming Committee on Mentoring for MLA 2003.

The Nominating Committee, chaired by Eric Albright, secured nominations, sent out email ballots, and counted faxed returns to complete the section's election process for 2002-03. Those elected were: Chair-Elect Deb Blecic, Secretary/Treasurer Hope Barton, Section Council Representative-Elect Julie Schneider, and CDS Nominee to the MLA Nominating Committee Jett McCann. The election results will be ratified at the section's annual business meeting at MLA.

Goal 4. Research

The section promoted the Daniel T. Richards Prize for a significant publication on research in collection development. Cynthia Schmidt, Medical School Librarian and Assistant Professor of Pathology at Pikesville College School of Osteopathic Medicine, will be awarded the 2002 Daniel T. Richards Prize for her article "Circulation of core collection monographs in an academic medical library," which was published in the April 2001 issue of the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association.The article was co-authored with Nancy Pippen Eckerman, Special Collections Librarian at Ruth Lily Medical Library, Indiana University. The Awards Committee chaired by Deb Blecic also included Eric Albright and Carol Krueger.

The section proposes developing an MLA DocKit for collection management that will emphasize electronic resources management as well as traditional collection development policies for health sciences libraries. The proposal will be submitted to the MLA Books Panel for consideration at their MLA 2002 meeting. If approved, the DocKit will be completed by December 2002.

Goal 6. Information Technology

The section's membership and leaders discussion lists were successfully mounted on MLAnet. The section's website has been redesigned by Walter Morton, Website Editor. All of these have strengthened the communication for the section members and other professionals interested in collection development.

BLAB (Biomedical Libraries Acquisitions Bulletin) was moved from a published electronic newsletter to a section sponsored discussion list on MLAnet. The discussion of combining BLAB and the MLA-CDS list into one list will take place at the annual meeting.

MOTION

This report is informational and requires no action by the Board of Directors.

Respectfully submitted:
BJ Schorre
Chair, Collection Development Section

Section Officers:
Chair: BJ Schorre
Chair-Elect: Linda Walton
Past Chair: Eric Albright
Secretary/Treasurer: Hope Barton
Section Council Representative: Jett McCann

Committee Chairs:
Awards: Deb Blecic
BLAB Editor: Jett McCann
Bylaws: Judy Rieke
Candidate for MLA Nominating Committee: Gin Lingle Collection Development Symposium: Jett McCann Governmental Relations: Annette Williams
Membership: Gin Lingle
Newsletter Editor: Melissa Nasea
Nominating: Eric Albright
Program: Linda Walton
Website Editor: Walter Morton

Consumer and Patient Health Information Section

Strategic Goal: Information Technology

CAPHIS had an active Website Committee that continued to work diligently on the redesigned CAPHIS Website http://caphis.mlanet.org/ that was launched May 1, 2001. Some new features included: a fresh look and new logo; graphic navigation bars on tops and sides with text navigation at the bottom; enhanced information about CAPHIS; and more information about managing a CHI service. "Consumer Connection," the CAPHIS Newsletter moved to an electronic format with April-June 2001 issue 17(1) and is available on the CAPHIS Website.

Future directions for the CAPHIS site include: establishing guidelines for the Website Committee and Editor; developing quality assurance procedures for posting material on the CAPHIS site; and further enriching the content on the CAPHIS site. The CAPHIS Website continues to be monitored and updated by the Web editor. The Website served up an average of 18,270 pages a month from May 1 to November 1 to an average of 5,550 unique individuals. The site statistics can be found at: http://mlanet.org/tech_is/stat/caphis/

Prof. Feili Tu, an instructor of the Medical Libraries and Reference Class at San Jose State University Graduate School of Library and Information Science, worked with the Website Committee on a Usability Study of the CAPHIS Website. The class submitted a written report of their findings to CAPHIS in January 2002. Future plans for the website will be decided after results of the usability study are reviewed.

CAPHIS Website Committee Task Force Members: Rosalind Dudden, Sharon Gilbert, Dolores Judkins, Andrea Kenyon, Heidi Sandstrom, Michele Spatz (Chair).

To accomplish a critical review of the CAPHIS Top 100 Health Websites/ "Websites You Can Trust," a CAPHIS Website Top 100 Subcommittee was formed and met at MLA in Orlando in 2001. In January, they began a review of the program. The CAPHIS Directory is also being looked at and will be revised.

CAPHIS Top 100 Health Subcommittee Members: two year terms - Jennifer Friedman, Karen Keller, Kelly Near, Tanya Smith; three year terms - Tracy Bearden, Susan Blaskevica, Amy Frey, Naomi Miller; ex-officio - Rosalind Dudden (CAPHIS webmaster), Michele Spatz (CAPHIS Website Committee Chair).

Due to the proactive efforts of Andrea Kenyon, the CAPHIS Chair wrote to the American Accreditation Healthcare Commission regarding CAPHIS's concern that medical librarians were not involved with the URAC accreditation process for health Websites. At the February MLA Board Meeting, the Board voted to nominate an MLA member to serve on URAC's Health Web Site Accreditation Committee and Michele Spatz has agreed to put her name forth. For information about URAC (utilization review accreditation commission) and the Advisory Committee, see: http://webapps.urac.org/websiteaccreditation/portal/Business/Standards.asp

Strategic Goal: Advocacy

The redesign of the CAPHIS brochure began last year following the approval of the new CAPHIS logo. A draft was presented at the CAPHIS Business Meeting at MLA 2001, and it was agreed that some more fine-tuning was necessary. The brochure was successfully completed and sent to NLM Representatives in February. The brochure will be distributed at the MLA 2002 Meeting in Dallas. The brochure will also be available on the CAPHIS website http://caphis.mlanet.org/ later this year.

Strategic Goal: Professional Development

CAPHIS established a Mentoring Task Force. To first determine if the level of interest among CAPHIS members was sufficient to establish a section-sponsored Mentoring Service unique to consumer health specialists, the Task Force created a needs assessment survey in August, 2001 to determine the membership's response to a Mentoring Service. The CAPHIS Mentoring Service survey was posted to the CAPHIS discussion list in January 2002 and yielded a total of 36 responses out of a possible 200 after two invitations to participate. The sample has been loaded into a statistical package and Marge Kars, Bronson Health Sciences Library, Bronson Methodist Hospital, will be meeting with the manager of clinical and community research to tabulate the results. The survey results and report will be available in May, 2002. The Committee will be prepared to report on the results at Medical Library Association Meeting in Dallas. Should the survey's results show a high level of interest and a corresponding level of commitment, the Task Force will recommend to the Executive Board that a Mentoring Service be established for CAPHIS.

Task Force Members: Jo-Ann Babish, Erica Burnham, Marge Kars, Janet Schneider, Gail Hendler (Chair).

Michele Spatz is CAPHIS's representative on the MLA Consumer Health Continuing Education Credential Task Force - this program has been in a preliminary stage since January 2001. The Task Force is developing policies and procedures for the MLA Consumer Health CE Credential and has worked through the thorny details regarding the Consumer Health Credentialing program. Kathleen Gaydos Combs and Debra Duffenbach are drafting the final program document that will be shared with the Task Force for review before it is posted on MLANET and new brochures are printed. In early 2002, the Committee 1) discussed the policies and procedures governing the credential program; and 2) reviewed the CAPHIS CE courses and determined which courses met the guidelines to qualify for the Consumer Health Credential. MLA will be revamping the brochure and begin a marketing campaign sometime in 2002. After it is launched as an official program, two members of the CE committee and the CAPHIS liaison will remain as advisors for marketing activities with members, helping assess applications, researching and organizing courses/instructors, etc.

Task Force Members: Mary Van Antwerp, Katy Nesbitt , Mary Fran Prottsman, Susan Speer , Kay Wellik; Credentialing Committee Liaison: Becky Lyon - NLM Liaison, Michele Spatz - CAPHIS Liaison, Priscilla Stephenson (Chair). Interest in initiating a CAPHIS grant or scholarship did not result in any action this year and will be discussed as a 2002-2003 initiative at the 2002 Executive Meeting.

Strategic Goal: Organization

The CAPHIS Treasurer has prepared an Executive Manual that will be reviewed at the 2002 Executive Meeting.

CAPHIS appointed a Task Force to write the Section's history, but this work has been deferred until 2002-2003. Task Force Members: Andrea Kenyon, Kathy Moeller, Michele Spatz (Chair).

Respectfully Submitted by Susan Murray, CAPHIS Chair, 2001-2002

Corporate Services Information Section

Goal 3: Organization

1. The email list was updated to include new members that joined in 2002.
2. As of February 2002 there are 55 members in the Section.
3. The Section is the sponsor for a program at MLA 2002 on competitive intelligence. Co-sponsors are Pharmacy and Drug and Hospital Libraries Sections.
4. Website is being developed and updated, and will include 2-3 profiles of corporate librarians.

MOTION
This report is informational and requires no action by the Board of Directors.

Section Officers:
Interim Chair: Tovah Reis
Chair-Elect and 2002 Program Chair: Jean Demas Secretary-Treasurer: Diane Cooper
Section Council Representative: Tovah Reis Section Nominee to MLA Nominating Committee: Penny Coppernoll-Blach

Committee Chairs:
Bylaws: Janette Schueller
Nominating: Vee M. Kwon

Educational & Media Technologies Section

Professional Development
Participate as a sponsor or co-sponsor of a contributed paper session, round table, panel, or social at the MLA conference in Dallas.

The Educational Media and Technologies Section is the primary sponsor and the History of the Health Sciences Section is the secondary sponsor of a contributed paper session entitled Library Digitization Projects.

The Educational Media and Technologies Section and the Public Health/Health Administration Sections are hosting a Digital Devices to Go Roundtable to invite informal discussions on wireless technology, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and other handheld devices. It will be held on held on May 19, 2002 at 4:00 PM.

The EMTS newsletter was published in April 2002.

THE EMTS Learning Center will provide Internet accessible computers and PDAs for librarians to evaluate educational software titles in the exhibit hall during MLA 2002.

The EMTS annual business meeting breakfast will be held on May 19, 2002 at 7:30 AM.

Participate as a co-sponsor of a symposium at the MLA conference in San Diego. Propose a stipend or scholarship instead of a subsidy for participation in the symposium. EMTS will not be officially co-sponsoring the symposium for MLA 2003 on Ehealthcare. The section's participation and proposed stipend was not approved by the in-coming 2002-2003 EMTS Chair.

Advocacy

Finish work on section quilt piece and investigate the possibility of getting chapter stickers or pins for members. The chair completed a fabric embroidered quilt.

Investigate the possibility of having the EMTS Website hosted on MLANET. Inquire about the scope and costs for this service. The Website Editor has recommended that the EMTS Web be hosted by MLANET.

Update highly recommended instructional technologies material into a Web database. The RIT editor and chair did not complete this project.

Propose and approve an EMTS continuing education or service recognition award for outstanding achievement or potential in medical education technology innovation. This proposal will be voted on at the for the EMTS business meeting at MLA 2002 in Dallas TX.

Organization
Start a successor mentoring program for each chair appointment. Have appointed chairs nominate the mentored for their chair appointments. This goal was not completed.

Seek and accept vendor funding for the LC computers and internet connectivity with MLA Headquarters assistance or budget for computer/projector/microphone expenses for EMTS sponsored events at the MLA conference in Dallas. The chair-elect, LC committee chair, and the chair are working on this budget for MLA 2003

Update EMTS membership brochure. The chair completed this task for use at MLA 2002 in Dallas TX.

Create a new interface for EMTS Website.The Website Editor led this project with his committee for launching at the EMTS business meeting at MLA 2002 in Dallas TX.

Increase membership by 10% with solicitations to selected MLA members who are interested or have participated in EMTS paper program sessions. The membership committee chair marketed and solicited with personal letters to lapsed members and potential new ones.

Propose a dues increase from $15 to $16 for 2003. Vote to approve this increase. This proposal and the bylaw changes will be voted on at the for the EMTS business meeting at MLA 2002 in Dallas TX.

Motion

This report is informational and requires no action by the Board of Directors.

Committee Personnel

Veronica A. Gornik (05/2001-05/2002) CHAIR

Judy M. Spak (05/2001-05/2002) CHAIR-ELECT, CONTINUING EDUCATION COMMITTEE CHAIR, PROGRAM COMMITTEE CHAIR

Norma Funkhouser (05/1999-05/2002) SECTION COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE

Cynthia Henderson (05/2001-05/2002) SECRETARY/TREASURER

Committee Chairs
Veronica A. Gornik (05/2001-05/2002) CHAIR

Judy M. Spak (05/2001-05/2002) CHAIR-ELECT, CONTINUING EDUCATION COMMITTEE CHAIR, PROGRAM COMMITTEE CHAIR

Norma Funkhouser (05/1999-05/2002) SECTION COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE

Cynthia Henderson (05/2001-05/2002) SECRETARY/TREASURER

Bill Karnoscak (05/2001-05/2002) MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE CHAIR

Dave Piper (05/2001-05/2002) BYLAWS COMMITTEE CHAIR

Scott Garrison (05/2001-05/2002) EMTS NOMINATING COMMITTEE CHAIR

Jim Duncan (05/2001-05/2002) MLA NOMINATING COMMITTEE CHAIR

Debbie Jankowski Porter (05/2001-05/2002) LEARNING CENTER COMMITTEE CHAIR

Brenda L. Seago (05/2001-05/2002) RECOMMENDED INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES EDITOR

Guillaume Van Moorsel (05/2001-05/2002) COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE CHAIR

Larry Woods (05/2001-05/2002) NEWSLETTER EDITOR

Eric Schnell (05/2001-05/2002) WEB SITE EDITOR

Christine Frank (05/2001-05/2002) STATISTICS COMMITTEE CHAIR

Submitted by Veronica A Gornik, Chair of the Educational Media and Technologies Section 2001-2002

Health Association Libraries Section

This year we co- presented 2 programs at the Annual conference, got our website up and significantly fleshed out, our newsletter was sent out electronically, and are planning 2 programs for Dallas. We held elections; the results have been submitted earlier.

Our name change was approved. There were no motions submitted.

Harriet Schick, chair
David Sweet , chair elect

History of the Health Sciences Section

GOAL 1 - Professional Development

Objective - Sponsor programs for MLA 2002 Outcome: Our section is sponsoring four sessions at MLA in Dallas.

GOAL 2 - Advocacy

Objective - Increase section membership and membership activity. Outcome - In our Fall newsletter the HHSS Chair encouraged all members to recruit more members. email list subscription has increased as a result of this call for participation.

Objective - Publish a section newsletter twice a year. Outcome- Published Fall newsletter, INCIPIT, in November. April issue is in press.

GOAL 3 - Research

Objective - Continue to encourage submission to the Murray Gottlieb Award. Outcome - Provided more information about this award to section membership by using the HHSS newsletter and email list. This year there were four entries and a winner of the award.

Motion: This report is informational and requires no action by the Board of Directors.

Submitted by:
Heidi Heilemann, Chair
History of the Health Sciences

Hospital Libraries Section

Goal 1: Professional Development
Objective: (1) To sponsor two programs at the 2002 meeting in Dallas and be a secondary sponsor of five or six other section programs.

HLS will sponsor programs on "PDA's and Pocket PC's" and Benchmarking. HLS is a secondary sponsor for programs on Corporate Intelligence, Dollars & Sense, Unwanted Library Content and Electronic vs. Print.

(2) To support members in the evaluation of information systems with a program at the 2002 meeting on Benchmarking.
Done.

(3) To finish the development of the second edition of the Hospital Library Standards

The Standards Committee completed a draft of the "Standards for Hospital Libraries 2002" which will be presented to the section for a vote at the business meeting in Dallas. If it passes, it will be sent to the MLA Board for consideration.

In addition, the Chair-Elect, with the assistance of the Program Committee, submitted a preliminary proposal for a symposium on E-Health, which might be held at MLA 2003 in San Diego.

Goal 6: Information Technology
Objective:
To provide a program at the 2002 meeting on the use of PDA's and Pocket PC's in libraries.

Several committees are encouraging members to participate in the MLA Benchmarking project. We will sponsor a program on the project at the Dallas meeting, as well as one on PDA's and Pocket PC's in libraries. An informal meeting in Dallas will foster hospital librarians' mentoring of each other.

Goal 2: Advocacy
Objective:
(2) To recognize HLS members with various Section awards and to notify winners' workplace and home community.

The Professional Recognition Committee is introducing a "Scroll of Exemplary Service" to recognize member's service to MLA or other organizations over a five-year period. They have also initiated the practice of notifying award winners' institution and hometown.

Goal 3: Organization
Objective:
(3) To provide association work opportunities.

More than 75 people participated in committees, appointments and offices this year. In an election held in November and December, the members elected Sharon Jorski as the next Chair-Elect, Amy Frey as the next secretary, Jerry Carlson as the next treasurer, Mary Jo Dwyer as Section Council Representative-Elect and Michael Kronenfeld as the HLS Nominee to the MLA Nominating Committee.

(4) To foster effective communication within the section and with other constituencies through the National Network, the HLS website and HLS Announce

The first HLS Announce Manager published HLS Announce seven times and managed the email addressing very well. The Strategic Planning Committee reports that we have made excellent progress on our communication goals. The Government Relations Committee informed members of several immediate concerns following the September 11 terrorist attacks. Katherine Stemmer-Frumento, the new editor of the National Network successfully moved it to a new publisher and mailing house in Connecticut. There is a new column, "From a Former Chair". Connie Schardt will complete her term as Web Editor in May and be succeeded by Mary Fran Prottsman who has been working as the Assistant Web Editor.

(5) To continue the development of the leadership of HLS

The Section has added two new appointments: Archivist and HLS Announce Manager. The Archivist received and forwarded officers' and committee chairs' papers to the MLA archives

HLS sponsored the third annual Connection Reception with an emphasis this year on mentoring for section leadership.

Carole Gilbert quilted HLS's quilt square for annual display at the Section Council booth.

The Bylaws Committee considered and rejected (for the time being) electronic balloting.

ELECTED OFFICERS

Chair - Michelynn McKnight
Chair-Elect Anna M. Habetler
Past Chair - Michael R. Kronenfeld
Secretary - Barbara Henry
Treasurer Lois Weinstein
Section Council Representative: Kathleen Murray Nominating Committee Nominee: Mary Riordan

APPOINTMENTS
Archivist -Mary Jarvis
Editor, National Network - Katherine Stemmer-Frumento
HLS Announce Manager David Dugger Web editor Connie Schardt
Bylaws Committee
Anne Fladger, Chair
Dena Fracolli Hanson (2001-2002)
Jane E. Borland (2003-2004)
Linda Farmer(2003-2004)
Joanne B. Jahr(2003-2004)
Sue Ben-Dor(2003-2004)
EX-OFFICIO, Secretary, Barbara Henry
Governmental Relations
Mary Jo Dwyer, Chair
Laura Mueller (2001-2002)
Ursula Scott (2003-2004)
EX-OFFICIO Past Chair, Mike Kronenfeld
Information Technology Committee
Sharon Jorski, Chair
Ann Russell Potter (2003-2004)
Kate Kelly ( 2001 2002)
Pam White (2001-2002)
Lola H. Purvis (2001-2002)
Laurie Schwing (2001-2002)
Karen Quinn (2002-2003)
Lois Wyndham (2003-2004)
Rebecca Lynn Fisher (2003-2004)
EX-OFFICIO, Treasurer, Lois Weinstein
Membership
Linne Girouard, Chair
Barbara J. Henry (2003/2004)
Janice Leonard (2003/2004)
Leone Neegan (2003/2004)
Darlene G. Ward (2002/2003)
EX-OFFICIO Treasurere, Lois Weinstein
Nominating
Mike Kronenfeld, Past President, Chair
Diane Wolfe
Linne' Girouard
Jane E. Walczak
Barbara J. Henry ex officio (HLS Secretary) Professional Development
George Wahlert, Chair
Joy Harriman (2001-2002)
Velora A. Jernigan-Pedrick (2001-2002)
Amy Frey (2001-2002)
Susan C. Speer (2002-2003)
Judith P. Hayes (2002-2003)
Diane G. Schwartz (2003-2004)
EX-OFFICIO Secretary, Barbara Henry
Professional Recognition
helen-ann brown, Chair
Kathy Bilko (2002-2003)
Saundra H. Brenner (2002-2003)
Shirley Brooke (2002-2003)
Susan Cleveland (2002-2003)
Cheryl Dee PhD (2002-2003)
Carole Gilbert (2003-2004)
Pat Hammond (2002-2003)
Eileen H. Stanley, (2002-2003)
EX-OFFICIO: Section Council Representative, Kathleen Murray
Program
Anna M. Habetler, Chair
Jagels, Suellen T.
Gittings, Jeanne A.
Prottsman, Mary Fran
Hamilton, Patricia J.
Hanson, Dena F.
EX-OFFICIO: Chair, Michelynn McKnight
Publications
Frederic C. Pachman, Chair
Dee Disardina (2003-2004)
Sue H. Felber (2002-2003)
Sheila Hayes, M.S., AHIP (2003-2004)
Susan L. McCullough (2002-2003)
Mary Fran Prottsman, MLN, AHIP (2003-2004)
Billy L. Triplett (2003-2004)
Terrie R. Wheeler (2001-2003)
Marian Simonson (2003-2004)
EX-OFFICIO: Chair, Michelynn McKnight
Standards
Jeannine Cyr Gluck, Chair
Margaret Bandy (2002-2003)
Jacqueline D. Doyle (2002-2003)
Robin Ackley Hassig (2001-2002)
Katherine Lindner (2002-2003)
JoAn Petersen (2002-2003)
Debra C. Rand (2002-2003)
Leeni Balogh (2003-2004).
EX-OFFICIO Section Council Representative, Kathleen Murray (double duty)
Strategic Planning
Christine Chastain-Warheit, Chair
Dixie Jones (2003-2004)
Janet L. Cowen, AHIP, 2001-2004
Ann Pederson (2001-2002)
Rosalind K.Lett (2003-2004)
EX-OFFICIO Chair, Michelynn McKnight
EX-OFFICIO Chair Elect, Anna Hableter
EX-OFFICIO Past Chair, Mike Kronenfeld

International Cooperation Section

ICS Sister Library Initiative

The Sister Library Initiative committee has worked particularly hard in 2001/2002 and the following should be thanked for all the success they have brought to the Initiative:

Donna Flake - Chair, Library Director, Coastal AHEC Medical Library, Wilmington, NC
Janet Fisher - Library Director for Development and Outreach, James H. Quillen College of Medicine Library, East Tennessee University, Johnson City, TN
Leslie Mackler - Director, Moses Cone Health System Library, Greensboro, NC
Eve-Marie LaCroix - Chief, Public Services Division, National Library of Medicine; Washington, DC
Diane Ebro - Retired
Barbara Ruelle - Collection Management Librarian, Emory University Health Sciences Center Library; Atlanta, GA
Avril Reid - Librarian/Information Specialist, Caribbean Epidemiology Centre; Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, West Indies
Lenny Rhine - Assistant Director for Collection Management, University of Florida Health Science Center Library; Gainesville, FL
Livija Carlson - Head, Veterinary Medical Library, University of Minnesota at St. Paul

The Latvian Subcommittee's Work

Sister Library Initiative member, Eve-Marie LaCroix of the National Library of Medicine, was instrumental in obtaining a DOCLINE account for the Medical Research Library of Latvia and in facilitating the receipt of electronically transmitted documents.The Latvian subcommittee enthusiastically recruited pledges from 46 libraries for free interlibrary loans for the Medical Research Library of Latvia for one year. Forty of the 46 libraries agreed to continue sending free interlibrary loans to the Latvian library during the current year. Several of the libraries have offered to continue sending interlibrary loans to the Latvian library indefinitely.

We networked to solicit support from various Latvian-American humanitarian organizations. Some of them are The American Latvian Association, Latvian Welfare Groups is various US cities, and the Latvian Physicians and Dentist's Group. Several of these groups have made pledges to pay for shipping for boxes of books, journals, etc. to the Medical Research Library of Latvia. We wrote journal articles on the Sister Library Initiative and they were published in Latvian/American newspapers and newsletters. The Latvian Physician's and Dentist's Group in Toronto, Canada, chaired by Dr. Andris Rubenis raised $250 to use for shipping books and journals from Canada to the Medical Research Library of Latvia.

In May 2001, 32 boxes of books and journals arrived at Medical Research Library of Latvia. Over 50 US medical libraries donated the books and journals and mailed the books and journals to the Latvian Welfare Agency in Cleveland, Ohio. The Latvian Welfare Agency in turn repacked the materials, and shipped them to the Medical Research Library of Latvia. In August 2001, 23 boxes of books and journals arrived at the Medical Research Library of Latvia. Approximately 30 US medical libraries donated these materials and mailed them to the Latvian Welfare Agency in Milwaukee, which in turn shipped them to the Medical Research Library of Latvia. Thus the American Latvian Association and its Latvian Welfare agencies have formed a partnership with the Medical Research Library of Latvia. The Sister Library Initiative created this partnership and continues to help it.

MD Consult has given the Medical Research Library of Latvia their product for a one-year period at the 2 concurrent user level. This allows the main Medical Research Library of Latvia in Riga, as well as any of the 9 branch libraries throughout the country to use MD Consult. Stat! Ref have allowed the Medical Research Library of Latvia to use their product for a two-year period.

Members of the American Latvian Association visited the Medical Research Library in Riga, Latvia to demonstrate support and establish a better rapport. They also visited Latvian governmental officials to advocate for the library. Also, Livija Carlson, Sister Library Initiative member, visited Latvia, the Medical Research Library of Latvia, provided training, and met with government officials to promote funding for the library. Livija will visit again in May 2002.

At the request of the American Latvian Association, a brochure about the Sister Library Initiative with the Medical Research Library of Latvia was created. It contains excellent photographs and the basics of the program. This will be given out at conventions of the American Latvian Association in several US cities.

Library Director, Velta Poznaka, received a librarian award from the Ministry of Culture of Latvia. The award recognizes outstanding Latvian Librarians. Velta credits the Sister Library Initiative with creating a climate that led to the award.

The Antiguan Subcommittee's work

The library received a $1000 cash donation from Elsevier. This donation was used to purchase the library's first computer and printer. In addition, a local Antiguan Internet provider, Cable and Wireless, donated one year of free Internet to the library. Avril Reid travelled to Antigua in December 2001 to set up the computer and provide training and consultation.

Eve Marie-LaCroix set up a Docline routing table for the library. A notice asking for volunteer libraries to give free electronic interlibrary loans to the Antigua library was sent out from MLA. Twenty libraries have offered to give free interlibrary loans. Barbara Ruelle is co-ordinating the document delivery offers of help. The Research Libraries Group has been contacted to ask for a donation of the Ariel software to facilitate document delivery in Antigua.

Various libraries have made donations of books and journals. We are working currently to overcome shipping problems to Antigua.

Ebsco will donate several full text databases to Antigua when the technical infrastructure is in place. Stat!Ref have also been asked to donate their product to Antigua.

In December 2001, Vicki Croft stepped down from the role of chair of the Sister Library Initiative. Donna Flake took on the role of chair.

This Sister Library Initiative with Latvia and Antigua is a Pilot Project. Originally this Pilot Project was scheduled to conclude April 2002; however, the MLA Board approved a one-year extension to the project. Thus the Sister Library Initiative with the two libraries will conclude in April 2003. From the beginning, the goal of the program has been to improve the libraries, provide training, equipment, improve the collections, facilitate interlibrary loan, and improve the status of the library within its own institutional hierarchy. The goal was sustainability of the accomplishments of the program at each library.

ICS Programs at the MLA Annual Meeting
ICS is the primary sponsor of two contributed paper programs at MLA 2002, Document Delivery in the 21st Century: Different Formats, Innovative Methods and Electronic vs. Print Resources and one invited speaker program, AIDS in Africa and Impact of Information. Speakers of the sessions include people from Africa, Australia, Europe, Canada and United States. Both the topics and speakers reflect the international perspective.

Newsletter and Website
The ICS has discontinued the print version of the Section's newsletter, making it available in an electronic format only. Ellen Sayed has continued to do a good job on obtaining interesting material for the Newsletter. Several companies were also approached about sponsorship opportunities but these have yet to materialise.

Kathy Murray has taken on the job of Web editor following in the footsteps of Polin Lei and Wendy Wu. Kathy is currently updating all the information on the site, which had not been changed for two years.

MOTION This report is informal and requires no action by the Board of Directors.

Officers:
CHAIR - Bruce Madge
CHAIR-ELECT - Jie Li
SECTION COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE - Thomas Williams
SECRETARY/TREASURER - Helen Seaton

Committee Personnel:
MLA 2001 PROGRAM CHAIR - Jie Li NEWSLETTER EDITOR - Ellen Sayed NOMINATING COMMITTEE CHAIR - Keir Reavie MEMBERSHIP CHAIR - Carole Sturdy-Gall CUNNINGHAM FELLOWSHIP PLANNING COMMITTEE CHAIR - Keir Reavie
email list MANAGER - Rick Ralston BYLAWS CHAIR - Jill Mayer
WEB SITE MANAGER - Kathy Murray GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS CHAIR - Ruth Marcolina
SISTER LIBRARY COMMITTEE CHAIR - Vicki Croft/Donna Flake
JOB EXCHANGE CHAIR - Donna Flake

Submitted by: Bruce Madge, Chair, International Co-operation Section

MOTION
This report is informational and requires no action by the Board of Directors.

Medical Infomatics Section

Goal 1: Professional Development

The section is sponsoring two programs for the annual meeting: a contributed paper session on Knowledge Management co-sponsored by the Technical Services, Medical Library Education, Electronic Media & Technology, and Medical Societies sections and the African-American Librarians Alliance SIG; an invited speakers panel on Electronic Records Management, co-sponsored by History of the Health Sciences, Educational Media and Technology, and Technical Services sections. We are also co-sponsoring a program led by the Hospital Libraries section called "PDAs and Pocket PCs: Uses and Issues."

With the Molecular Biology and Genomics SIG, we co-sponsored an electronic journal club on Bioinformatics. Gail Persily, section chair, was asked by the Continuing Education Committee to serve as our section's liaison to the Technology Continuing Education Credential Task Force. Persily contributed significantly to the work of that task force, which has resulted in a document recommending goals and scope of a Digital Library CE Credential.

Goal 2: Advocacy

The MIS/MLA Career Development Grant was awarded to two recipients this year: Mary Linn Bergstrom, Biomedical Library Education and Outreach Services, University of California-San Diego and Marilyn Teolis, AHIP, Baptist Hospital, Nashville, TN.

Goal 3: Organization

One of our organizational goals is to involve new section members in the activities and committee work of the section. Martin Brennan has taken over the management of the section Website, Wallace McLendon is working with the membership committee, Sandi Parker is chairing our Bylaws committee, and Zo� Stavri is our Professional Development liaison. Stavri also chaired this year's nominating committee, which included Kellie Kaneshiro and Ruth Riley.

A successful election was held. Jean Sayre is our new chair-elect. We have also nominated Ruth Riley as our nominee to the MLA Nominating Committee.

Sandi Parker successfully completed the necessary bylaws revisions to reflect the changes in the Section Council Representative term. At our business meeting, the section will be voting to approve those changes.

Goal 6: Information Technology

We are working to find more ways to use technology to improve communication among section members and to inform MLA members about our activities. Wallace McLendon has recruited colleagues to develop a PDA-compatible version of our membership brochure. We will be able to beam the brochure to colleagues at the annual meeting.

Section Personnel:

Martin Brennan, Web Site Editor
Elizabeth Connor, Section Council Representative
Karen Crowell, Consultant to Membership Committee
Diana Cunningham, Section Past Chair
Lynn Eades, Consultant to Membership Committee
Nunzia Giuse, Section Chair-Elect
Kellie Kaneshiro, Nominating Committee
Beth Layton, Secretary and Treasurer
Shawn Manning, Membership Committee Chair
Wallace McLendon, Membership Committee
Sandi Parker, Bylaws Committee Chair
Gail Persily, Section Chair
Ruth Riley, Nominating Committee
Nancy Roderer, Government Relations Committee Liaison
P. Zo� Stavri, Professional Development Liaison
P. Zo� Stavri, Nominating Committee Chair

Leadership and Management Section

Goal 1. Professional Development

During the 2001 Annual Meeting in Orlando, the Section sponsored a panel discussion, "Making the Magic: Essentials of Leadership, which featured Maureen Sullivan and a panel of section members as reactors. The Section also co-sponsored Core Competencies for Librarians in Informatics-Intensive Environments, and Profiles in Leadership: Time Travel with Some of Our Most Memorable Mentors.

For the 2002 Annual Meeting in Dallas, the Section will sponsor 2 programs: Dimensions of Mentoring: A Family Portrait, and in cooperation with the Mental Health SIG, Dealing with At-Risk Employees.

The Section is also producing a full Symposium at the end of the meeting, Leadership Reconsidered: Leading Health Sciences Libraries in a Transformational Age which is targeted to hospital and academic health sciences librarians in middle and upper management. The Section is also co-sponsoring a half-day CE course, Library Directors: Knowledge, Skills, and Career Paths for those interested in becoming medical school library directors.

Goal 2. Advocacy

The Section is developing collaborative relationships with other organizations, most particularly AAHSL, the Association for Academic Health Sciences Libraries as co-sponsors of the Leadership Reconsidered Symposium and as participants in the mentoring activities of their Future Leadership Task Force, and in the proposed CE course on knowledge, skills and career paths for those seeking health sciences library directorships.

The Section contributed two columns on Leadership to the MLA Newsletter; Judy Consales, Chair of the Membership Section attended the MLA Membership Committee Meeting.

Goal 3. Organization

The Section will published 3 newsletters this year in August, December and April. The newsletters are in print and available on the Section Website.

The bylaws were streamlined in accordance with Section Council recommendations and a procedures and policy manual is being developed. A draft Tableof Contents has been submitted to the executive Committee.

The Section used email and fax balloting for its annual election.

The membership committee is leading a membership drive to publicize and recruit new members, particularly from other constituencies than medical school libraries. Announcements will go out on MEDLIB-L, and other chapter list-servs. A special link has been added to the chapter Website for those wishing to join.

A strategic planning process was begun at the 2001 Business Meeting and was continued in the spring on the section list-serv, website and newsletters. It will be completed at the Annual Businiess Meeting.

MOTION
This report is informational and requires no action by the Board of Directors

Respectfully Submitted:
Karen Brewer
Chair, Leadership and Management Section

Section Officers:
Chair: Karen Brewer
Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect: Elaine Russo Martin
Secretary: Ann Linton
Treasurer: M. Sandra Wood
Section Council Representative: Carolyn Reid Bylaws Committee Chair: Pat Thibedeau
Membership Committee Chair: Judy Consales Nominating Committee Chair: Julia Sollenberger Program Committee: Elaine Russo Martin
Strategic Planning Coordinator: helen-ann brown Newsletter Co-Editors: Dixie Jones, Walter W. Morton Web Site Co-Editors: Sue London, Julia Sollenberger, Jean Siebert
Liaison to MLA Mentoring Task Force: Jean Shipman

Medical Library Education Section

Goal 1. Professional Development

a. MLES is again sponsoring its New Perspectives session at the 2002 Annual Meeting. The program is entitled "Debuting Fresh Perspectives," with five contributed papers by recent graduates, current students, and current fellows/trainees. This is an opportunity for new colleagues to present a paper at an annual meeting. The individuals chosen to present have been offered small travel stipends by MLES to defray the costs of attending the annual meeting.

b. MLES will also be co-sponsoring two sessions. The first with International Cooperation, Public Health/Health Administration and the African American Medical Librarians Alliance SIG is AIDS in Africa and the Impact of Information. The second with the Medical Informatics, Health Association Libraries and the African American Medical Librarians Alliance SIG is Knowledge Management.

Goal 2. Advocacy

The 2002 LIS School Reunion will be held during the Annual Meeting. This session is held each year to give MLA members a chance to meet with library school faculty and colleagues from both current and defunct library and information science schools. The reunion provides an opportunity for establishing and maintaining links between graduates and their schools.

Goal 3. Organization

The section website continues to provide information to members of the section, students interested in health sciences librarianship, and to MLA members interested in medical library education. The section discussion list is the primary means of communication among the membership.

MOTION

This report is informational and requires no action by the Board of Directors.

Respectfully submitted,

Kristine M. Alpi, AHIP, Secretary/Treasurer for Alexandra Dimitroff

Nursing and Allied Health Resources Section

Goal 1. Professional Development

NAHRS will be cosponsoring three programs at MLA's annual meeting in Dallas.

1. "DEALING WITH TOUGH QUESTIONS" - Health sciences librarians are increasingly being asked to respond to 'tough' questions on issues related to death, dying, medical/ethical choices, and grief. The speaker, a noted hospice educator and counselor, will address these issues from the consumer health and patient educator perspective. Cosponsored with Consumer and Patient Health Information, Cancer Librarians, Veterinary Medical Libraries, Federal Libraries Sections and the Mental Health SIG.

2. "PDAs AND POCKET PCs: USES AND ISSUES" - This session will explore how libraries can support PDAs and pocket PCs, including case studies on how these devices are currently being used in medical, nursing and administrative settings. Cosponsored with Hospital Libraries, Veterinary Medical Libraries, Health Association Libraries, Collection Development, and Medical Informatics Sections.

3. "MORE TO LIFE THAN MLA: OUTREACH TO OTHER PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS" - This session will feature reports on outreach to other professional associations, particularly those of a library or information center's primary clientele. Topics will include reports of teaching continuing education benefits and knowledge gained from serving on committees for groups beyond typical library-related associations (MLA abstract). Cosponsored with Public Health/Health Administration Section.

The section's continuing education committees, as well as, members are continuously soliciting feedback on programs that may be of interest to the membership. Possible plans also include the co-sponsorship of a 'Evidence-Based Nursing' symposium at MLA in 2003.

Goal 2. Advocacy

Members of the section were urged to participate in the MLA Benchmarking survey. It is hoped that survey results will serve to advocate for the profession in general.

The Section's "Globalization Initiative" continues to provide a vital link between current NAHRS members and International medical librarians. Nelia C. Wurangian, Membership Committee Chair, is facilitating these global partnerships. Under this initiative in 2002, one section member traveled to Nigeria.

Goal 3. Organization

The following individuals took office at the 2001 annual meeting: Elizabeth (Betty) Warner, Chair-elect and Priscilla Stephenson, Secretary-Treasurer. For 2002, Mary K. Taylor, Morris Library, Southern Illinois University will assume the position of Chair-elect.

Since the 2001 annual meeting, the NAHRS newsletter has been produced four times on the website and the email list. The newsletters included reports and regular columns on the "In the Literature", and a variety of NAHRS events. Minutes for the 2001 annual meeting in Orlando were published in the April 2002 issue. The editors are seeking volunteers for the positions of Executive Committee and Advertising Editors. The section will continue to seek advertisers for the upcoming year.

In order to come into compliance with the MLA bylaws, the NAHRS Bylaws Committee drafted new section bylaws language. Distributed via the newsletter, members will vote on the changes at the annual business meeting in Dallas.

Review of the section's procedure manual is underway so that newly elected and appointed section leaders will have updated information. Also the Executive Committee will be examining issues related to section finances, such as developing a budget process and streamlining the reimbursement process for members.

Goal 4. Research

A meeting of the Task Force to Map the Literature of Nursing was held immediately following the topically related presentation at the 2001 annual meeting. The task force has a meeting scheduled at the 2002 'Big D' meeting. The group consists of more than 30 members. Most are researching specific nursing disciplines, with others contributing consulting, technical and editorial assistance. The Phase 1 (1996-1998) papers analyzing source journal citations have been submitted for review by other members. Phase 2 (1997?99) and Phase 3 (1998?2000) projects will complete coverage of all major nursing disciplines. The initial goal of completing the research and papers by early 2002 has been slightly delayed. Phases are determined by the issue years for the source journals chosen for each study. Activities of the group are posted to the email list: nahrsmap@yahoogroups.com.

Goal 5. National Information Policy

Governmental Relations Committee Liaison, Yelena Friedman accepted reappointment to the position and continues to monitor information regarding initiatives at the Federal legislative level using MLANET and the Legislative Action Center, ALA and ANA Government Affairs. When appropriate the information is disseminated to the membership via the newsletter and email list.

Goal 6. Information Technology

At the 2001 annual meeting, issues related to the section's email list were discussed. Barbara Schloman, section Web editor, agreed to address the needed changes and during the year the discussion list was moved to Kent State University. Revised handling of the section's discussion list has been made and currently all NAHRS members are automatically subscribed to the email list.

Content of our Website continues to be updated on a regular basis with access to the current and archival issues of the newsletter being members-only password protected. The Website also provides valuable information related to section structure and manuals. Individuals may also apply for committee appointment through a Web-based template. The email list provides the other valuable asset of our association that of being able to network with our peers on issues and topics of special concern to nursing and allied health information professionals.

MOTION

This report is informational and requires no action by the Board of Directors.

Submitted
Warren G. Hawkes, Chair
Nursing and Allied Health Resources Section

Pharmacy and Drug Information Section

Goal: Professional Development

The Pharmacy & Drug Information (PDI) Section organized the 2002 EMBASE Lecture scheduled for presentation at the annual meeting in Dallas on May 19th. Loyd Allen, Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Pharmaceutical Compounding and Professor Emeritus at the University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy, has agreed to speak on the topic: "Contemporary Pharmaceutical Compounding." In addition, the PDI Section will be co-sponsoring two other programs at the meeting, in cooperation with other MLA sections. Sarah McCord, Electronic Resources Librarian at Washington State University, is PDI's invited speaker for a session on competitive intelligence scheduled on May 22nd. Corinee Aragaki, Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston School of Public Health, has also accepted an invitation to participate in a program on pharmacogenetics to take place on May 21st in Dallas.

Goal: Advocacy

Work is ongoing to maintain liaisons with other drug and pharmaceutical information professional associations, in particular, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy-Libraries and Educational Resources Section. Both PDI and AACP-LER members are encouraged to participate in the Pharm-Lib discussion list maintained independently at the University of Wisconsin. LER's Secretary contributed a publication announcement and description to our section newsletter published in October, 2001.

Goal: Enhanced Technology Applications

The PDI Website has been updated to include a new, downloadable membership brochure, as well as a link to the latest (2001) edition of AACP-LER's Basic Resources for Pharmaceutical Education. The Website is now also being used to maintain e-archives of PDI Alert newsletter issues from Fall 1999 to the present.

MOTION
This report is informational and requires no action by the Board of Directors.

Section Officers
Chair: Bonnie Snow
Chair-Elect/Program Chair: Natalie Kupferberg Secretary/Treasurer: Kimberley Lyons-Mitchell
Section Council Representative: Peg Hewitt
Committee Chairs
Bylaws: Jill Nissen
Government Relations Committee Liaison - Veong Kwon Membership: Jean Siebert
Newsletter Editor: Gina Kaiser
Nominating: Penny Coppernoll-Blach
Web Developer: Sharon Giovenale

Public Health/Health Administration Section

Professional Development:

The Public Health/Health Administration (PH/HA) Section is sponsoring one event and co-sponsoring 4 events at the MLA annual meeting in Dallas

Public Services

Goal 1: Professional Development:
PSS will sponsor two program sessions at the MLA Annual meeting. PSS will sponsor a roundtable discussion session to meet PSS special interest group needs.

The PSS Newsletter was published in the fall of 2001, winter 2001 and a spring issue is expected in 2002.

Goal 3: Organization
Members of the PSS are encouraged to sign up for the PSS email list at pssmla-subscribe@egroups.com. The list is dedicated to keeping PSS members informed about Section plans, programming and other relevant news.

A revision to the PSS Bylaws was passed at the May 27, 2001 Business Meeting.

A Policy and Procedures Manual was distributed at the May 27, 2001 Business Meeting.

Election for Section Officers was conducted and results reported to MLA and Section Council.

This report is informational and requires no action by the MLA Board of Directors.

Section leaders:
Stewart Brower, Newsletter Editor
Susan Dorsey, Membership Committee and Access Services SIG Chair
Alice Edwards, Past Chair
Barbara W. Francis, Section Council Representative
Janis Glover, Online Services SIG
Sharon Gray, General Reference SIG
Charles J. Greenberg, Secretary Treasurer
Sally Kasalko, Web Site Editor
Jennifer Lloyd, Access Services SIG
Scott E. Marsalis, Fee-Based Services SIG
Ammon Ripple, Standards Committee
Sondra Pfeiffer, Chair Elect
Kristin Stoklosa, Bylaws Committee
Nancy Tannery, Governmental Relations Committee Liaison
Barbara Slater, PSS Chair Section

Relevant Issues Section

Goal 1. Professional Development

The Relevant Issues Section will cosponsor three invited paper sessions at the 2002 Annual Meeting in Dallas, TX which are: Diversity, Demographics and Disparities in Accessing and Delivering Health Information and Health Care - Pt I and Pt II; and Health Care for the Transgendered Community.

Goal 3. Organization

The by laws revisions have been electronically distributed to the membership in preparation for approval at the Section's 2002 Business meeting.

Goal 6. Information Technology

Revisions to the by laws and candidates for office were electronically distributed to the Section's membership.

Plans are underway to revise the Section's Website.

MOTION

This report is informational and requires no action by the Board of Directors

. Denise Corless, Chair
Robert T. Mackes, Chair-Elect
Sally Harvey, Secretary/ Treasurer
Catherine L. Wolfson, Section Council Representative
Nancy I. Henry, Government Relations Committee Chair

Technical Services Section

Goal 1. Professional development: The CE committee identified CE opportunities of interest to technical services librarians in the health sciences and published an annotated list of them in our Web-based newsletter, Technical Trends. The committee also developed a survey for the TSS membership to identify CE needs and barriers to getting needed CE. A draft of the survey is currently being evaluated, and should be ready to administer by mid-April, with results tabulated and analyzed in time for the annual meeting in May.

Goal 2. Advocacy for technical services librarians: At the MLA annual meeting in Dallas, the program committee, under the leadership of our chair-elect, Sandy Arnesen, will sponsor: Technical Services, Collection Development, and Public Services Sections Special Topics Roundtable, with brief presentations by discussion leaders followed by dialogue with attendees. We will also co-sponsor two additional programs Dollars and Sense, part I (an invited speaker session on consortial purchasing and management), and Digital Archives (an invited speaker session discussing electronic journal archiving projects), both with the Collection Development Section.

During our business meeting, an invited speaker from the National Library of Medicine will present a program discussing the metadata scheme NLM is planning to use for all electronic resources they publish and how this metadata will affect librarians in the field.

Goal 3. Organization: The membership committee has been very active this year, with our section membership currently at 163. Eighteen new members joined the section this year, and a program was instituted to contact each new member, to welcome them to the section and to inform them about section activities.

An electronic brochure has been developed which will be distributed to the membership and used to promote membership. Stickers highlighting the section have been ordered and will be distributed to those members attending the annual meeting in Dallas.

Outreach is also being addressed by contacting institutions with members in MLA that have no representation in the section.

Elections were held in accordance with our bylaws, and the following officers were elected for the coming year:

Chair-elect: Virginia Lingle Secretary-Treasurer: Karleen Darr Nominee to the MLA Nominating Committee (and TSS Nominating Committee chair): Connie Poole

Revised by-laws are being prepared, and will be distributed to the membership through our website, electronic discussion list, and newsletter. Members will vote on the bylaws at the annual meeting. The section procedure manual is also being updated to document current policies and procedures.

Goal 4. Research and Standards: At the annual meeting in Dallas, the Research Committee will suggest a program to TSS officers to improve the performance of our research activities, and to encourage members to take advantage of current research benefits. Potential activities will include: improved promotion of existing TSS research benefits; expanded CE benefits for TSS members; and more realistic funding for research grants. The standards committee has reviewed and commented on five national/international standards during the past year: ISO/PDTR 21449 Content Delivery and Rights Management : Functional Requirements for Identifiers and Descriptors for Use in Music, Film, Video, Sound Recording, and Publishing industries; U.S. National Z39.50 Profile for Library Applications, and ANSI/NISO Z39.86-200X File Specifications for the Digital Talking Book; ANSI/NISO Z39.50-200X, Information Retrieval (Z39.50): Application Service Definition and Protocol Specification; ISO/WD 20925-1: Version Identifier for Audiovisual Works.

Goal 6. Information technology: Our Website at http://library.umsmed.edu/tss/ continues to be central to communication among our membership. Three issues of Technical Trends were posted on the site during the past year, with the spring issue in preparation. There are currently 166 individuals subscribed to the MLATSS email list mlatss@lanelib.stanford.edu and information about subscribing is maintained on the Website.

MOTION
This report is informational and requires no action by the Board of Directors.

Respectfully submitted,

Maggie Wineburgh-Freed
Chair, 2001/02

Section officers:
Sandy Arnesen, Chair-elect
Marianne Burke, Immediate past chair
Patricia M. Rodgers, Section Council representative
Mary Holcomb, Section Council representative-elect Elizabeth (Beth) Schneider, Secretary-Treasurer
Walter Morton, Connie K. Machado, Newsletter co-editors

Committee chairs:
Program: (see Chair-elect)
Membership: Virginia Lingle
Nominating: Frances Lynch
Continuing Education: Janet A. Crum
Bylaws: (see Immediate past chair)
Standards: Leopoldo Montoya
Research: Robert A. Pisciotta
Website manager: Walter Morton
email list manager: Mary Buttner

Veterinary Medical Libraries Section

VMLS successfully presented two programs at the 2001 MLA Annual Meeting in Orlando, FL. VMLS co-sponsored "Bioethics, Genetic Counseling and Gene Ethics: Issues in Veterinary and Human Medicine" with the Cancer Librarians and Medical Society Libraries Sections and the Molecular and Genomics and African American Medical Librarians Special Interest Groups. Invited speakers were Dr. William T. Watson and Ms. Tene' Hamilton, National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care, Tuskegee University and Dr. William Allen, College of Medicine, University of Florida.

Additionally, VMLS solely sponsored "Odyssey to the Unknown: Research in Toxicology." Invited speakers were Dr. Louis J. Guillette, Department of Zoology, and Dr. Elizabeth A. Guillette, Center for Bioenvironmental Research, Tulane University and Mr. Philip Wexler, Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program, National Library of Medicine.

Goal 2: Advocacy

VMLS section members, Carol Elmore, Kansas State University and Melinda Saffer, Tufts University, participated in staffing a booth sponsored by the regional NLM/NNLM at the 2001 Annual American Veterinary Medical Association Meeting held in Boston, MA on July 14-18, 2001. These librarians met conference attendees to discuss veterinary libraries, describe information resources, promote VMLS, and demonstrate information access tools.

The VMLS Public Relations Committee compiled and made copies of a handout listing academic veterinary libraries and services to veterinary professionals for distribution at the booth.Additionally, through VETLIB-L, all veterinary libraries were invited to submit copies of any materials about their libraries for display at the booth. This endeavor was successful. Currently, VMLS members Carol Elmore, Kansas State University, and Ann Viera, University of Tennessee, are making arrangements to participate in the staffing of the booth at the American Veterinary Medical Association Meeting to be held in Nashville, TN in July 2002. The VMLS Public Relations Committee revised and submitted updated listing data for veterinary medical libraries in the United States and Canada for the next edition of the AVMA Directory & Resources Manual to be published in March 2002. In addition, the information resources section that discusses how veterinarians can utilize the resources contained in the various libraries was reviewed and partially re-written. The AVMA Directory & Resource Manual is utilized by animal health professionals across the continent as a source of information.

In recognition of National Medical Librarians Month, VMLS Public Relations Committee published the article, "Veterinary Medical Librarians: Your Link to Quality Information," in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. The article appeared in the October 1, 2001(v.219 n.7 p.892) issue. Additionally, the article can be retrieved from the Website of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

In April 2002, a revised and updated listing of "Veterinary Medical Libraries of U.S.A. & Canada will be distributed to members of VMLS. This is another project of the Public Relations Committee.

Goal 3: Organization

The VMLS Public Relations Committee has revised and updated its membership brochure. The brochure documents the purpose of the section, its activities, structure and contact information. The membership brochure serves as a primary membership tool in publicizing VMLS as well as retaining and recruiting new members. Copies will be distributed to members of VMLS, veterinary medical and related libraries in the United States and Canada including individuals who are not presently members of VMLS and/or MLA. In addition, copies of the membership brochure will be displayed on the Section Council table at MLA.

The VMLS archivist is presently working on the revision of, "The Veterinary Medical Libraries Section of the Medical Library Association: 1972 through 1998." Atha Louise Henley, Katherine MacNeil and Gretchen Stephens wrote the twenty-two page history of VMLS. Current and retired veterinary medical librarians as well as the founders of VMLS are assisting with the revision. The projected completion date is the year 2003.

The Bylaws Committee has completed revision of the VMLS Bylaws. The VMLS Bylaws have been revised to bring the Section into compliance with the October 2000 MLA Bylaws. The bylaws were distributed to VMLS members on April 24, 2001, discussed at the 2001 annual business meeting in Orlando, FL. Membership approval of the bylaws was conducted by mail ballot in June 2001.

The Survey Committee has distributed the 2000-2001 Survey of Veterinary Medical Libraries. The Committee will compile, publish and distribute the results after the data is received from veterinary medical libraries.

Members of VMLS utilize VETLIB-L, a discussion list, as a forum to assist in obtaining needed information and resources from other veterinary medical libraries in the United States, Canada and European Countries. The email list is also used as a means of distributing Section information and business in a timely manner.

In addition to VETLIB-L, another means of communication between the members of VMLS is through the Highlights & News Notes, the newsletter of VMLS. The newsletter is published two times a year, summer and fall.

MOTION

This report is informational and requires no action by the Board of Directors.

Submitted by: Margaret K, Alexander, Chair

Adam Glazer, Chair-Elect and Program Planner
Jill Crawley-Low, Section Council Representative
Joe Jaros, Secretary
William H. Wiese, Treasurer
Rebecca Davis, Past Chair
Gretchen Stephens, Archivist
Victoria Kok, Website Manager/VETLIB-L Coordinator

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