MLA Distance Education

Survival Tips and Stories: Expanding the Library's Services in Times of Disaster

MLA's Educational Webcast
Held Wednesday, November 12, 2008, 1:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m., central time

Presenters

Ethel Madden, AHIP

Ethel Madden graduated from Our Lady of Holy Cross College with a bachelor's degree in education, and received a master's degree in library and information science with a specialization in health services from Louisiana State University. She graduated as a Fellow from the National Library of Medicine's Medical Informatics Program and has been very involved with medical librarianship across the country.

Madden served Ochsner Clinic Foundation as library director for fifteen years. She was recognized by the South Central Chapter of the MLA as the 2006 Librarian of the Year. Madden was named the recipient of the 2007 Lois Ann Colaianni Award for Excellence and Achievement in Hospital Librarianship Award. In her leadership role at Ochsner Library, she was instrumental in acquiring the first National Science Foundation Internet Connectivity Grant awarded to a New Orleans hospital in 1995. Ochsner Library continued to be recognized by receiving other funding specifically dedicated to patient education resources. Ochsner Library was one of the first hospital libraries in Louisiana to open its doors not only to all health care professionals, but to all patients and family members.

Today, the Ochsner Library System boasts a rich electronic resource main library with branch libraries powered by the latest systems in library technology. This same technology enabled continuous access to library resources within a day of Hurricane Katrina's devastation. In fact, Ochsner Library served for months as the only functioning medical library in the New Orleans area. Tulane and Louisiana State University Health Science Center librarians worked through Ochsner Library as their information systems were completely destroyed. The library team was awarded $135,000 this year for their special Katrina project: Medical Library Recovery for Southeastern Louisiana. Library e-stations are being placed at various Ochsner and nonaffiliated sites so that displaced health care providers and patients can access the National Library of Medicine resources. This project allowed the reopening of the St. Anne Hospital Library, Baptist Hospital Library, Summit Hospital Library, and Ochsner Kenner Hospital Library and strengthened the Ochsner Westbank Hospital Library. The Ochsner Library provides electronic resources to over 8,000 health care professionals throughout Louisiana.

As Madden works to expand electronic resources and aims for seamless access to information for Ochsner health care providers, she cherishes Ochsner's amazing history. In 2000, she welcomed the Ochsner Historical Archives and developed the oral history program. The archives are now organized and preserved, and parts of the collection are in the process of being digitized.

In 2006, Madden assumed a newly created position of director of the Center for Knowledge Management in the Division of Academics. Madden's new role includes overseeing the medical library and archives while also assuming leadership responsibilities for medical editing, The Ochsner Journal, medical illustrations, federal grant support services, academic systems, web development projects, and all aspects of academic outreach. Madden has been charged with integrating these creative services in order to encourage more academic achievement by all of Ochsner's health care professionals throughout the various regions.

Julie Page

Julie Page co-coordinates the California Preservation Program for the California State Library and its statewide training, building surveys, and information resources. She is also user services coordinator for the Western States and Territories Preservation Assistance Service (WESTPAS). Until recently, Page was preservation librarian, University of California–San Diego, and coordinator for San Diego/Imperial County Libraries Disaster Response Network (SILDRN). Page is very active in disaster preparedness and response training for libraries and is an instructor for the National Endowment for the Humanities funded Emergency Response for Cultural Institutions program. She copresented the pre-conference "Before Disaster Strikes: Essential Steps in Disaster Preparedness" for the South Central Chapter, MLA. She has presented programs for the National Conference on Cultural Property Protection and the Heritage Emergency National Task Force Alliance for Response project and helped to organize the California Alliance for Response forums. She serves on the advisory committees for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Cultural Heritage Training Curriculum and the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) Model for Statewide Disaster Planning.

Clinton Marty Thompson Jr., AHIP

Clinton Marty Thompson, Jr., AHIP, is director of the Robert M. Bird Health Sciences Library, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences, and chair and professor of the Department of Health Sciences Library and Information Management in the graduate college since 1980 and was the director of the Health Sciences Center Library, University of Oklahoma–Tulsa, from 1976 to 1980. Thompson has taught as an adjunct professor since 1980 for the School of Library and Information Studies, University of Oklahoma. His association involvement has included the MLA, South Central Chapter, Oklahoma Library Association, South Central Academic Medical Library Consortia, and Oklahoma Council of Library Directors. He has been active in the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, South Central Office, of the National Library of Medicine. His library degree is from the University of Oklahoma, and he received a bachelor's degree in biology from Oklahoma City University.

Dan Wilson

Dan Wilson is the associate director for collection management and access services at the University of Virginia Health Sciences Library. He is also the national coordinator for the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) Emergency Preparedness & Response plan. In this role, he assisted in development of the national plan, trained NN/LM and Regional Medical Library staff in the eight regions in the preparedness and response procedures that were developed, and continues to provide training in emergency preparedness and service continuity planning for libraries. Wilson maintains the NN/LM Emergency Preparedness & Response online toolkit and continues to work with the regional coordinators across the country to promote awareness of the plan among network members. He received his master's degree in library science from the State University of New York–Geneseo.

Video-taped Presenters

Kristine Alpi, AHIP

Director, William Rand Kenan, Jr. Library of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University–Raleigh

Renée Bougard

Outreach Librarian, NN/LM, National Network Office, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda MD

Michelle Brewer

Director, J. Harold Johnston Memorial Library, New Jersey Hospital Association–Princeton

Deborah Halsted

Associate Director, Texas Medical Center Library, Houston Academy of Medicine, Houston, TX

Susan Parker

Deputy University Librarian and Chief Financial Officer, Library, University of California–Los Angeles

Chris Young

Director, Information Technology, Houston Academy of Medicine–Texas Medical Center Library, Houston, TX

Watch MLANET for more information! Or contact Debra Cavanaugh, mlapd3@mlahq.org, 312.419.9094 x32.