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Press Releases

What's New: March 2005

To top of page MLA Members Elect New Leaders
Jean P. Shipman, AHIP, to Serve as 2005/06 President-Elect

The Medical Library Association (MLA) is pleased to announce the results of its first electronic election. MLA members recently voted for president-elect, three MLA Board of Directors, and nine MLA Nominating Committee positions for the 2005/06 association year. All newly elected officials will assume their roles at the end of MLA '05, the association's annual meeting in May in San Antonio, TX.

Jean P. Shipman, AHIP, director, Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences, and associate university librarian, Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries, Virginia Commonwealth University-Richmond, was elected to serve as MLA 2005/06 president-elect. A Distinguished Member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals (AHIP), Shipman has long served the association as one of its most esteemed and valued leaders. Previously elected to the 1999-2002 Board of Directors, Shipman served as secretary while on the board. She has also served on numerous committees and task forces, including chair of MLA's Informationist Conference Task Force, associate chair of MLA's 2001 National Program Committee, and, from 1992 to 1993, as chair of MLA's Ida and George Eliot Prize Jury. She has also been an active member of MLA's Mid-Atlantic chapter having served as 1993 chair-elect and 1991/92 as secretary. In 1992/93, she served as both chapter program chair and board liaison to several committees.

On becoming the next MLA president-elect, Shipman stated, "It is quite an honor to be elected MLA president for 2006/07, and I am deeply appreciative of MLA members' support. Our profession has so much to offer and be proud of! Our unique skills, talents, and values are needed more than ever by health sciences practitioners. I look forward to leading us through new challenges, opportunities, and adventures as we reclaim our foundations and forge new frontiers."

The MLA Board of Directors welcomes three new members in May: Margaret Bandy, AHIP, manager, Exempla Healthcare Libraries, Exempla St. Joseph Hospital, Denver, CO; Craig Haynes, assistant director and head, Medical Center Library, University of California-San Diego Medical Center; and Connie Schardt, AHIP, education coordinator, Medical Center Library, Duke University, Durham, NC

Also joining the board is newly elected Section Council Liaison Tovah Reis, medical school librarian, Sciences Library, Brown University, Providence, RI.

The role of the MLA Nominating Committee is to identify strong leaders who have served MLA and the profession and present them in the slate of candidates for office. This year's Immediate Past President Patricia L. Thibodeau, AHIP, will chair the 2005/06 committee. The newly elected Nominating Committee members are as follows:

Judy Consales
Jay Daly
Jo Dorsch, AHIP
Janna Lawrence, AHIP
Logan Ludwig
Linda Garr Markwell, AHIP
Susan Murray, AHIP
Linda Walton
Gail Yokote, AHIP

MLA, a nonprofit, educational organization, is comprised of health sciences information professionals with more than 4,700 members worldwide. Through its programs and services, MLA provides lifelong educational opportunities, supports a knowledgebase of health information research, and works with a global network of partners to promote the importance of quality information for improved health to the health care community and the public.

For more information, please contact Evelyn Shaevel , mlaedo1@mlahq.org, 312.419.9094 x15.

To top of page 2004 NATIONAL MEDICAL LIBRARIANS MONTH CREATIVE PROMOTIONS AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED

The Medical Library Association is pleased to announce the winners of this year's Creative Promotions Award contest. MLA conducts the contest each year in honor of National Medical Librarians Month (NMLM). First, second, and third place winners receive $200, $150, and $100, respectively, in MLA gift certificates, applicable toward MLA publications, fees, dues, or meetings.

The Medical Library at Naval Hospital, Great Lakes, IL, took first place by successfully playing off of the 2004 NMLM theme, "Come Borrow Our Power Tools." To foster relationships with other departments, the library staff wore bright yellow hard hats and carpenter's aprons and traveled the hospital with a cart filled with "power tools" from their library. The library staff offered tool kits with handouts for each specialty, lists of Websites for continuing education for Navy nurses, literature on personal digital assistant (PDA) resources and CD-ROMS and DVDs that library staff allowed the medical professionals to check out on the spot. The library staff also brought Halloween treats for the medical library staff to enjoy, while they gave quick presentations about the Navy's electronic power-tool resources. The staff also decorated the main lobby entrance display case with their own NMLM posters that read "Buzz Saw Your Way through Our CD-ROMs on Pediatrics & Orthopedics" and "Drill Your Way to Resources-Use OVID."

After winning in 2003, the staff at Medical Center Library, Duke University, Durham, NC did it again by delivering this year's second-place entry, making this the third time the library staff has submitted a winning entry for the contest.

To kick off the month-long celebration, the library staff invited patrons to a "Power Break" in the library's Cyber Café, during which staff held a drawing for a portable flash storage drive. Staff also sponsored a weekly "It's Hammertime" Web-based scavenger hunt, and winners were able to choose from a variety of prizes. To find out which library resources their patrons preferred, library staff distributed a "What's in Your Toolbox?" survey. The patrons who participated in the weekly scavenger hunts and the toolbox survey were automatically entered to win the NMLM grand prize, an Apple iPod. Also, to generate awareness, each student officially enrolled in a medical center program was eligible to enter a drawing for a textbook give-away.

In third place, the staff at RN Barr Library, Minnesota Department of Health (MDH)-Minneapolis, held a weeklong open house to highlight their library's resources. During the open house, staff members distributed quizzes about searching PubMed, journal costs, interlibrary loans, copyright, and current lingo. They also combined educational quizzes and displays with door prizes and "getting to know your librarians" contests to help library users learn about the resources available to them. A final quiz featured a display with information about each library staff member, and participants were invited to guess which facts belonged to which librarian. Information about child-oriented health Websites was displayed, and another display highlighted MDH authors who published articles in professional journals. The open houses encouraged many people to stop by to try the quizzes, check out the displays, and talk with a librarian.

Congratulations to our winners and to everyone who participated in promoting their library and their profession during National Medical Librarians Month!

To find resources about how to promote your library, visit the NMLM page.

MLA, a nonprofit, educational organization, is comprised of health sciences information professionals with more than 4,700 members worldwide. Through its programs and services, MLA provides lifelong educational opportunities, supports a knowledgebase of health information research, and works with a global network of partners to promote the importance of quality information for improved health to the health care community and the public.

For more information, please contact Tomi Gunn , mlams@mlahq.org, 312.419.9094 x11.

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