MLA '05: Continuing Education Symposium
Sunday May 15, 2005, 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
CE 800
The Role of Information Services for Emergency
Preparedness and Response 
Sponsored by the National Library of Medicine and MLA's Public Health/Health Administration, Federal Libraries, Nursing and Allied Heath Resources, and Hospital Libraries Sections.
Cost: $100
Includes a box lunch
MLA CE contact hours: 6.5
State and local firefighters, emergency responders, urban
search-and-rescue teams, law enforcement, and public health specialists
are the front line of response to terrorist attacks and disasters in the
United States. The need to connect these responders and their agencies
with the reliable information they need to support rapid and integrated
responses is critical.
Libraries have always worked to provide access to information needed by
their users but typically find it difficult to get good information to
public health planners and the frontline responders who need it and in
the format that they can best use. Better understanding of the settings
and situations in which emergency responders work and the way they use
information will help librarians plan for the information needs of those
involved in disaster preparedness and response. Librarians can also establish
and expand on cooperative efforts to get information and training to the
emergency responder community.
This symposium includes presentations from experts who will address the
information resources and services that need to be developed and promoted
to strengthen public health planning and emergency preparedness. Keynote
speaker Harold L. Timboe coordinated the Walter Reed Army Medical Center's
response to the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon. An experienced public health
trainer will facilitate group activities. The symposium will discuss unmet
needs, the possibility of a nationally coordinated catalog of resources,
collection and access issues, and the librarian's expanding role in training
emergency services personnel.
Mini posters will be solicited, and organizations will be asked to bring
literature to share with attendees.
Speakers:
Harold L. Timboe, (keynote speaker), associate vice president, Administration,
and director, Center for Public Health Preparedness and Biomedical Research,
University of Texas Health Sciences Center–San Antonio
Brad Robison, library director, Oklahoma City National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, Oklahoma City, OK
Lian Ruan, director/head librarian, Illinois Fire Service Institute Library, Champaign, IL
Kristine Alpi, AHIP, library manager, Public Health Library, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York, NY
Marti Szczur, deputy associate director, Division of Specialized Information Services, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD
Carl S. Osaki, clinical associate professor and research
project manager, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences,
School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Washington–Seattle
Shari Clifton, associate professor/head, Reference and Instructional Services, Robert M. Bird Health Sciences Library, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK
The symposium will give participants:
- an understanding of the roles of different types of emergency responders
- a better understanding of where librarians "fit" in the public health and emergency responder world
- new strategies to ensure that the best information is available to public health policy makers
- insights into training and information needs of emergency responders and ways to meet those needs
- examples of specialized tools and resources available for various components of the public health workforce
General format: The symposium will be six hours long and consist of a keynote lecture, panel presentations on information needs and solutions, a table-top exercise designed to illustrate the roles of public health workers in an emergency response situation, and final synthesis of the program.
