Medical Library Association | Public Policy : Press Releases

Press Releases

What's New: September 2005

MLA Responds to the Hurricane Katrina Disaster

MLA Announces Election Slate for 2006/07 Election

Medical Librarians Prepare to Celebrate Ninth Annual National Medical Librarians Month

MLA Responds to the Hurrican Katrina Disaster

The Medical Library Association (MLA) Board of Directors and staff wish to express our deepest sympathy to the communities, MLA members, and members of the Southern and South Central chapters who are dealing with the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina.

MLA President M.J. Tooey stated, "Over the past few weeks we have been bombarded by the images of the tremendous destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina. Many have been directly and indirectly affected by this disaster. We have felt overwhelmed by the enormity of the event and by both the lack of, and overload of information. To those affected by this disaster, our thoughts are with you. To those who have already reached out to help friends, colleagues, and even strangers, thank you."

Twenty-nine MLA individual members and four MLA institutional members are located in the areas most impacted by Hurricane Katrina. As of September 12, these areas were not yet able to receive mail. The MLA Board of Directors has approved giving free 2006 MLA memberships to these members. The affected members will automatically receive free membership. We are also holding hard copies of the MLA News and Journal of the Medical Library Association for those unable to receive mail and will send copies to the affected areas as soon as possible. The association has also initiated the Medical Library Disaster Relief Fund to raise money specifically for medical libraries impacted by the hurricane.

MLA has developed a Website [outdated link removed] intended to be a portal to ongoing MLA efforts as well as relief efforts nationwide. The Website also provides ideas on ways MLA members can support medical libraries that are having difficulty providing information services.

Donations to the Medical Library Disaster Relief Fund can be made by visiting the MLANET secure donation site [outdated link removed], or by sending a check, noting that it is for the Medical Library Disaster Relief Fund, to MLA, 36348 Treasury Center, Chicago, IL 60694-6300.

MLA, a nonprofit, educational organization, is comprised of health sciences information professionals with more than 4,500 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.

MLA Announces Election Slate for 2006/07 Election

The Medical Library Association (MLA) Nominating Committee, chaired by MLA Past-President Patricia Thibodeau, AHIP, Medical Center Library, Duke University, Durham, NC, is pleased to announce the slate for the upcoming 2006/07 MLA election. The candidates will run for president-elect, Board of Directors, and Nominating Committee openings. Results of the election will be announced in December 2005, and all newly elected officials will be installed at the close of MLA '06, the association's annual meeting in Phoenix, AZ, in May.

Candidates for the 2006/07 MLA president-elect position are Mark Funk, AHIP, Samuel J. Wood Library, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, and Logan Ludwig, Library & Telehealth Services, Medical Center Library, Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, IL.

Two vacancies will be filled on the MLA Board of Directors. The candidates running to serve on the MLA Board are: Elizabeth Irish, AHIP, Schaffer Library of the Health Sciences, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY; T. Scott Plutchak, AHIP, Lister Hill Library, University of Alabama-Birmingham; Connie Poole, AHIP, School of Medicine Library, Southern Illinois University-Springfield; and Linda Walton, Galter Health Sciences Library, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL.

Nine of the eighteen candidates selected to run for the MLA Nominating Committee will be chosen to serve on the committee. The eighteen candidates are:

Nancy Allee, AHIP
Margaret (Peg) Allen, AHIP
Marcus Banks, AHIP
Janis Brown, AHIP
Karen Butter, AHIP
Janet Cowen, AHIP
Diana Cunningham, AHIP
Rosalind Dudden, AHIP, FMLA
Gale Dutcher
Janet Fisher, AHIP
Sandra Franklin, AHIP
Gary Freiburger, AHIP
Terry Ann Jankowski, AHIP
Janice Kelly
Teresa Knott, AHIP
Jett McCann, AHIP
Linda Milgrom
Mary Fran Prottsman, AHIP

More information about this year's candidates will be featured on MLANET in the coming months and in the November/December 2005 issue of MLA News.

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

Medical Librarians Prepare to Celebrate Ninth Annual National Medical Libriarians Month

As fall approaches, health sciences information professionals across the country are preparing for the Medical Library Association's (MLA's) ninth annual National Medical Librarians Month (NMLM) celebration held during the month of October. Various open houses, workshops, and promotions are being planned to showcase the significant contributions and services health sciences information professionals provide for the medical community and the public.

MLA declared October as NMLM to applaud medical librarians for the many efforts and accomplishments they have made in the interest of quality health care. By supplying the health care community and the public with the most accurate and current health information available, medical librarians have a major and direct impact on the care patients receive. The services heath sciences information professionals provide have been shown to reduce the number of diagnostic procedures, hospital admissions, and surgeries, resulting in a higher quality of health care and cost savings for both hospitals and patients.

Virginia Governor Mark R. Warner recently issued an official proclamation making October 2005 Medical Librarians Month in the Commonwealth of Virginia to recognize the contributions of medical librarians in Virginia, where the MLA Mid-Atlantic Chapter meeting will be held. The proclamation was made as part of the Healthy Virginians 2010 initiative, which is part of a nationwide health promotion and disease prevention agenda for the first decade of the 21st century.

In honor of NMLM, MLA sponsors the Creative Promotion Award, presented to the MLA member who designs and implements the most creative promotional idea to celebrate NMLM in his or her institution. The winners of the award will receive $200, $150, and $100 in MLA gift certificates for first, second, and third prizes, respectively. The certificates are applicable toward MLA publications, course or annual meeting fees, or membership dues.

For more information about NMLM or the Creative Promotion Award contest, please visit the NMLM Web page on MLANET. The cover article in the September issue of MLA News also features the NMLM celebration.

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