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MLA in the News

Links and references to articles that have appeared about MLA, by MLA authors, or featuring MLA members. Note: older links may no longer connect properly.

To top of page 2005

October
July
  • Pam Goodes wrote a brief in the July/August issue of American Libraries about MLA '05 in San Antonio, TX in May. "Medical Librarians Focus on Cultural Transformations" features highlights from the meeting.
    Please contact Tomi Gunn at MLA headquarters for more information about this article.
  • MLA's Deciphering Medspeak brochure was referenced in a July 17, 2005, brief in Medical Economics. The brief, by Joan Rose, "Helping Patients Interpret Medspeak," also included a link to the online version of the brochure on MLANET.
    [The full text of this article is available for free]
  • Paul Greenland interviewed MLA Past-President Patricia L. Thibodeau, AHIP, for an article in Business Community News regarding outsourcing in the library industry. The article appeared in the July 2005 issue of the online newsletter.
    [The full text of this article is available for free]
June
  • HealthNewsDigest.com ran the article, "Medical Librarians Extend Reach to Ethnic, Rural Groups, " in its June 6, 2005, edition. MLA's English and Spanish Deciphering Medspeak brochures and User's Guide to Finding and Evaluating Health Information on the Web were featured.
    [The full text of this article is available for free]
  • Websites from MLA's "Top Ten" Most Useful Websites were recommended in the June 7, 2005, edition of the Daytona Beach News Journal. The article, "More Use Internet for 2nd Medical Opinion," by Anne Geggis, featured patient testimonials about researching their ailments online after speaking with a doctor.
    Please contact Tomi Gunn at MLA headquarters for more information about this article.
  • MLA member Michael Liddicoat, AHIP, Community Health Library of Los Gatos, Los Gatos Community Hospital, CA, is featured in a San Jose Mercury News article about how that area's patients have access to the same information used by the hospital's medical staff. Written by Michele Jurich, "Health Libraries Keep Patients Informed" appeared in the print and online June 30, 2005, editions.
    [The full text of this article is available for a fee]
May
  • Joanne Mamenta interviewed MLA Board Member Faith Meakin, AHIP, FMLA, about MLA's "Top Ten" Most Useful Websites for an article about online health information. The article appeared in a May 29, 2005, Sarasota Herald Tribune health magazine supplement.
    Please contact Tomi Gunn at MLA headquarters for more information about this article.
  • John Fischman's article, "Hunting for Health; Patients Are Searching for More Medical Info Online," ran in the May 26, 2005, online and May 30, 2005, print edition of U.S. News & World Report. The article referenced MLA's recommendation for people to look at the source and date of health information on the Web.
    [The full text of this article is available for free]
  • The health and fitness section of the May 19, 2005, Seattle Post-Intelligencer mentions MLA and links to the Consumer and Patient Health Information Section Website. The article appeared in both the print and online editions of the newspaper.
    [The full text of this article is available for free]
  • Nancy McVicar mentioned MLA in her article, "Internet Users, Health Thyself," which appeared in the May 18, 2005, South Florida Sun-Sentinal online edition. The article discussed the fact that millions are now going online to seek health information.
    [The full text of this article is available for a fee]
  • MLA was also mentioned in another article by Nancy McVicar, "Millions Going Online to Find Cures for What Ails Them," which appeared in the print and online editions of the May 18, 2005, South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
    [The full text of this article is available for a fee]
April
  • Francine Milford interviewed medical librarian Vickie Hase for an April 6, 2005, Sarasota-Herald Tribune article about patient education resources available to the community at the Ronald T. Hanson Medical Library and Community Health Information Center, Venice, FL.
    [The full text of this article is available for a fee]
March/April
  • MLA's "Top Ten" Most Useful Websites list was mentioned in the March/April 2005 AARP The Magazine. The article, "Teach Your Doc a Lesson," by Linda Marsa, focused on using the assistance of medical librarians as a resource instead of paying expensive fees at research firms.
    [The full text of this article is available for free]

To top of page 2004

December
  • MLA member Ellen Justice was interviewed for an article in the December 7, 2004, issue of Delaware's News Journal. Justice answered questions about her career in health librarianship.
    [Read the full article...]
November
January

To top of page 2003

November
  • MLA members Cindy Scroggins, Baylor Health Services Library, Dallas, TX, and Laurie Thompson, AHIP, University of Texas Southwestern–Dallas, are quoted in "Medical Librarians: Making a Difference,'" published in the Sunday, November 30, 2003, Dallas Morning News. Highlighting the work of medical librarians, the article also mentions the profession's need for recruitment and lists job requirements and resources for those interested in becoming medical librarians.
    [Read the full article...]
  • MLA President Patricia L. Thibodeau, AHIP, is quoted in a special report, "Hunting for Health: From Web Diet Sites to Disease News, Here's How to Tell Quackery from Quality," in the November 17, 2003, issue of U.S. News & World Report, which also refers readers to MLA's "Top Ten" Most Useful Websites [Read the full article...]

  • In the November 1, 2003, Medicine on the Net, MLA President Patricia L. Thibodeau, AHIP, Past-President Linda Watson, AHIP, MLA's Governmental Relations Committee Chair Logan Ludwig, AHIP, and MLA members Kathleen Moeller, FMLA, and Margaret (Peg) Allen, AHIP, were quoted in the article, "Open Access: Will It Spell the End of the Medical Library?"

    Commenting on the issue of open access and its potential threat to medical librarians, Thibodeau said, "Even if open access makes everything free, there will always be a role for librarians as educators and specialists at retrieving hard-to-find information." She also mentioned that MLA supports the concept of open access to information generated from federally funded scientific research and that open access could put needed pressure on the publishing industry to reduce high subscription costs. About the issue, Ludwig stated, "Senior executives are looking to cut costs, so open access is attractive." Watson, who initiated a campaign promoting open access publishing among researchers at the University of Virginia's Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, where she is director, stated, "As we've begun to cancel more and more of the faculty's favorite journals, they start getting concerned and we have their attention." She also noted in the article that open access could make the librarian's role even more important. Even with some physicians turning to subscription-based services for information, the services of a medical librarian are still needed for in-depth searches. "Anyone can throw a couple of words in Google and get back 23,000 Websites," stated Moeller. "Our doctors are in a hurry. They need information and they need it fast." Allen closed the article with her statement, "I don't think costs should be a factor when a provider decides whether or not to search the literature. Why should it all fall on the back of the hospitalized patient?" The article also referred to MLA's official statement on open access.
    The full text of the article, by Catherine Zandonella, is available to subscribers on the Medicine on the Net Website.
October
  • Real Simple Magazine interviewed MLA President Patricia L. Thiobdeau, AHIP, for "Ten Tried-and-true Health Websites."
  • For the October 2003 issue of Medicine on the Net, MLA member Debra Rand, AHIP, was interviewed about the rising costs of journal subscriptions in "Medical Librarians Forced to Make Difficult Decisions."
  • MLA member and panelist Michele Spatz was quoted in the October 1, 2003, issue of Oregon's The Dalles Chronicle for an article about MLA's September 2003 teleconference, "Reading Between the Lines: Focusing on Health Information Literacy."
September
  • The Postgazette.com interviewed MLA Governmental Relations Committee Chair Logan Ludwig, AHIP, about new restrictions at the University of Pittsburgh's medical library. The September 15, 2003, article, "Academic Libraries Restricting Public Access to Online Research Journals," discusses the university's significant decrease in health journals currently available for public view.
    [Read the full article...]
August
  • In its August 17, 2003, edition, the Duluth News-Tribune featured "Tips for Online Searches," which discussed the 2002 Pew Internet Study and mentions MLANET as a good place to find Internet search tips and MLA's "Top Ten" Most Useful Websites.
July
  • The Wall Street Journal ran "Doctor's Orders Are Useless If They're Befuddling," in its July 3, 2003, paper. Laura Landro's Informed Patient Column referenced MLA resources.
  • Modern Physician Magazine featured an article in its July 1, 2003, issue about physician-preferred Websites. MLA President Patricia L. Thibodeau, AHIP, was interviewed by the magazine's health editor. The full text of the article is available to subscribers on the Modern Physician Magazine Website.
May
  • Marilyn Hyder interviewed MLA President Linda A. Watson, AHIP, during MLA '03 in San Diego, CA, for local radio station KOGO-AM [ABC, CNN, AP] about ways consumers can take advantage of the services their local medical libraries offer. The interview aired on May 19, 2003.
February
  • "Health Care Websites Can Be Helpful If They're Reputable" in the February 24, 2003, suburban Chicago Daily Herald quoted MLA member Carol Scherrer, AHIP, saying that she often directs health seekers to MLANET and mentions MLA's Deciphering Medspeak brochure.

  • Journal of the Medical Library Association Editor T. Scott Plutchak, AHIP, is quoted in the February 10, 2003, Chronicle of Higher Education article, "Elsevier Announces New Procedures for Retracting Online Articles."
    [Read the full article...]
  • MLA's career site on MLANET is touted in the February 1, 2003, Library Journal article "Tackling Recruitment," by Michael Rogers: "The Medical Library Association's MLANET also outdoes ALA. This invigorating site offers medical librarianship brochures in both English and Spanish. There also are tip sheets, both for new librarians and for those entering the field as second careers. There are links for career exploration and resources and online career fairs, as well as a list of U.S. and Canadian library schools divided by state and province."
    [Read the full article...]
January
  • In the January 15, 2003, Library Journal, John Berry's editorial, "Is Certification the Answer?," states: "The certification efforts of the Medical Library Association (MLA) have been the most successful. The majority of people who have an MLA credential seem to treasure it and report that their careers and status have been advanced by it."
    [Read the article...]

To top of page 2002

November
  • MLA member Michelle Spatz is quoted in a November 14, 2002, press release from URAC (also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission), "Consumer Health Online: Closing the Credibility Chasm": "Consumer health librarians and information professionals as a whole are very concerned about how consumers approach and use the World Wide Web for personal health research. They've developed tools, such as hands-on classes and posting quality criteria on their Web sites. The Consumer's Union report confirms what many librarians already know."
    [Read the full press release...]
October
September
June

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