MLA News Selected Articles

February 2000

MLA Elects New Leaders

Ballots for MLA’s election of 2000/2001 president-elect, Board of Directors, and Nominating Committee members were mailed to 4,386 voting members, who returned 1,570 countable ballots. An ad hoc task force gathered at MLA headquarters on January 6, 2000, to count the ballots. The Board of Directors joins Executive Director Carla J. Funk and the staff of MLA in congratulating the following elected officials who will assume office at the conclusion of MLA/CHLA/ABSC 2000 in Vancouver, BC:

President-Elect
Carol G. Jenkins, AHIP, Chapel Hill, NC

Board of Directors (2000–2003)
Mark E. Funk, AHIP, New York
Lynn M. Fortney, Birmingham, AL

Nominating Committee (2000 election)
Margaret (Peg) Allen, AHIP, Stratford, WI
Margaret Bandy, AHIP, Denver, CO
Jo Anne Boorkman, AHIP, Davis, CA
Nancy W. Clemmons, AHIP, Birmingham, AL
Nancy Bush Fazzone, AHIP, Salem, MA
Mary J. Jarvis, AHIP, Pampa, TX
Elaine Russo Martin, AHIP, Worcester, MA
Audrey Powderly Newcomer, AHIP, St. Louis
James Shedlock, AHIP, Chicago

The complete election results will be available on MLANET and will appear in MLA’s 1999/2000 Annual Report.

The association appreciates the work of the Nominating Committee (Rachael K. Anderson, AHIP, chair) in selecting the slate and the Ad Hoc Elections Task Force (Linda Walton, chair) for counting the ballots. Thanks to all of the candidates for their time and effort in running for office.

Stars Come Out to Shine During ’99 NMLM Celebration

Submitted by Tomi Gunn, Public Relations Assistant

MLA’s annual National Medical Librarians Month (NMLM) celebration gets bigger each year and last year’s event proved to be the best yet! More medical librarians participated in the October 1999 NMLM celebration than ever before. NMLM was created by MLA to celebrate the skills, expertise, and contributions of the health sciences information professional. Medical librarians across the country worked for months planning and creating ways to highlight their accomplishments and the services that their libraries have to offer. All would agree that their hard work definitely paid off.

In celebration of NMLM, MLA once again sponsored the Creative Promotions Award, which is given to the library with the most innovative and creative NMLM celebration. The award is judged by Public Communications Inc., MLA’s public relations consultant. The winner of the contest receives $100 in "MLA Money" applicable toward MLA dues, conference fees, and publications.

The recipient of this year’s award was the Veterinary Medical Library at Kansas State University–Manhattan. MLA member Gayle K. Willard, AHIP, director of the library, supervised the celebration planned by aspiring librarian Shanda Parker, a student intern at the library. As a library that continually looks for ways to promote its services, the staff felt that NMLM was a golden opportunity. The library took advantage of the entire month to celebrate and made extraordinary use of displays as a promotional tool throughout the month.

One display, entitled "Who’s Behind the Desk? Meet Your Veterinary Medical Librarians," contained pictures of the library staff along with fun facts about each staff member. By allowing patrons to get to know them in this personal and enjoyable way, the staff hoped to encourage patrons to feel more at ease when visiting the library or asking a question.

Another popular attraction during the library’s celebration included an interactive "Comments and Suggestions" display. Patrons were invited to write their thoughts about the library on a sticky note and place it on the display board. A variety of comments were posted, from praise to humorous comments to suggestions for improvement. The library plans to implement some of the great ideas offered by their patrons.

The "Librarians’ Top Picks" display featured unusual books, journals, and videos suggested by the staff. The diverse, featured materials were items that many patrons may not have been aware of. This display helped to showcase the wide variety of materials provided by the library.

In addition, the library sponsored a "Free Book Give Away." Duplicates and older edition books that had not been added to the library’s collection were given away to patrons who visited the library. Patrons were already lined up one-half hour before the start of the giveaway and after only one-and-a-half hours, the library had given away almost all of the free books offered.

One promotion that "kept ’em" coming throughout the month was the library’s "Good Luck Fridays" events. On Fridays, the library staff handed out granola bars every hour to library patrons. Attached to each granola bar was a note that said "Thanks for using the Veterinary Medical Library during National Medical Librarians Month. Good luck on your next test, publication, speech, or whatever endeavor brought you here today. Have a good weekend. From your VM Library Staff."

To wind up their celebration, the library staff distributed a mass email to faculty and staff promoting the library and its services, including the free delivery and pick-up of library materials to or from any office or lab in the institution. By mentioning this service, the library staff successfully reminded their colleagues of the fast and accurate information that their medical library provides.

More Celebrations

• The University of Florida Health Science Center Library (UFHSCL) celebrated the month by distributing posters throughout the library and the health science center, placing tent cards on dining tables in the cafeteria and the faculty dining room. The celebration also gained media coverage including full-page articles in The University Digest, a weekly campus publication, and The Independent Florida Alligator newspaper. Another publication, The Friday Evening Post, carried a smaller article about NMLM. The UFHSCL also made use of displays by hanging a banner from MLA ’99 in Chicago in the library’s entrance. A medical trivia contest was also held with submission boxes and entry forms placed at all service desks. The winner of the contest was profiled in an article in The Friday Evening Post.
• Using this year’s NMLM theme, "Be an NMLM Star," librarians at the Mountain Area Health Education Center in Asheville, NC, hosted a "Mingle with the Stars" morning reception, allowing patrons to get to know their medical librarians. Patrons were also challenged to "Stump the Librarians" by submitting questions to test the librarians’ database-searching skills. The library staff wrapped up their celebration by hosting a "Grand Finale" reception, which included food and prizes. During the reception, questions from the "Stump the Librarians" promotion were entered into a drawing. The author of the winning question received a quilted, star-motif wall hanging, handcrafted by one of the librarians.

MLA applauds the Kansas State University Veterinary Medical Library and all libraries that contributed to promoting awareness of the invaluable services that medical librarians and libraries provide. We also encourage you to promote yourself and your library’s services throughout the year.

Chapter Sharing Roundtables Event Moves into the Year 2000!

Edited by Karen M. Zundel, AHIP

Submitted by Susan Couch, Chestnut Hill Hospital, Medical Library, Philadelphia

The Year 2000 Chapter Sharing Roundtables luncheon will take place in Vancouver, BC, on Sunday, May 7, from noon to 2:00 p.m. This annual event provides an opportunity for chapter members to meet over lunch and share ideas, experiences, and resources on a variety of topics. All MLA members, especially chapter officers, committee chairs, and newsletter editors are encouraged to attend.

Nineteen topics are offered this year. Four new topics, reflecting timely issues being discussed by most health sciences librarians, have been added: Benchmarking, Consumer Health Information Services, Electronic Journals, and Marketing the Library. As a result of feedback from 1999 participants, one topic, Internet Security, has been renamed Computer Security and two topics, Leadership and Networking and Collaboration, have been eliminated.

The following is a list of the roundtable topics for this year with brief descriptions of some of the 1999 discussions. More detailed reports of each of the 1999 roundtables can be found on the Chapter Council Website.

Topic	Description
Annual Meeting Planning	This roundtable is for anyone who is or will be involved with planning chapter meetings. Issues discussed in 1999 included how to entice exhibitors, raise funds, and publicize meetings.
Archives	Participants at this roundtable, which was new in 1999, discussed the advantages of having a professional archivist, developing archival policies, and the benefits of having an archives email discussion list.
Benchmarking	New for 2000, this roundtable will focus on the process of using points of reference or benchmarks to compare one library’s practices to others’ practices.
Bylaws	This roundtable is for chapter members who will be or have been involved with bylaws revisions. Last year’s discussion included electronic distribution of bylaws and electronic voting for bylaws revision.
Chairs/Incoming Chairs	This roundtable is intended for current and incoming chapter chairs. Participants at the two 1999 tables discussed the use of online directories and newsletters, recruiting of chapter officers and committee chairs, and cost of dues and continuing education (CE).
Communications/ Newsletters	Intended for chapter newsletter editors and others involved in chapter communications, this roundtable’s 1999 discussion included the issues of using electronic versus print publications, using portable document format (PDF) versus text files, advertising in newsletters, and soliciting articles for newsletters.
Computer Security	The participants at this roundtable, called Internet Security in 1999, reviewed various aspects of desktop security. Specific problems and solutions regarding public access computers, including security and filtering software, were discussed.
Consumer Health Information Services	New for 2000, this topic is a big focus of recent Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) surveys. Come learn how others provide consumer health services or share your own successes!
Continuing Education	This roundtable topic focuses on issues relating to chapter CE and may include what to offer, logistics, and other issues relating to education.
Electronic Journals	This topic is the third new one for 2000. Come discuss the impact of electronic journals on our collections.
Finance and Chapter Tresurers	Intended for incoming and current chapter treasurers and finance committee members, this roundtable’s 1999 participants discussed investment income, MLA’s Tax Service, and recommended time periods for keeping bank records and liability insurance. MLA Director of Finance and Administrative Services Ray Naegele usually serves as a resource person at this roundtable.
Governmental Relations	Participants at this 1999 roundtable discussed such issues as telecommunications funding and discounts, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and medical records privacy legislation.
Internet in Libraries	This roundtable was new in 1999. Participants discussed the best practices for creating Web pages, Internet use policies, means of handling inappropriate use of the Internet, and need for an Internet special interest group (SIG).
Intranets and Libraries	New in 1999, this roundtable’s issues included content of intranets, mechanisms for maintenance of intranets, return on investment, and specific references and tools.
Marketing the Library	Register for this new roundtable for 2000 if you have innovative ideas on how to market library services or want to hear some marketing ideas from your colleagues.
Membership and Recruiting	Participants at this roundtable discussed the overall decline in chapter membership and ways to encourage membership renewal and include new members in chapter activities, such as appointing new members to committees or having a new member reception.
Professional Growth and Development/ Academy of Health Information Professionals	Changes in Academy of Health Information Professionals (AHIP) credentialing were a prominent point of discussion at this roundtable. Mentoring and MLA’s Platform for Change were also discussed.
Research	Discussion at this roundtable included tips on how to do basic research. Other issues included finding time, funding, gaining institutional support, and getting published. Participants at this roundtable also agreed to stay in touch via email throughout the year.
Web Managers	Participants at this new-in-1999 roundtable discussed the use of page editors, evaluation of Website usage including use of specific software, importance of technical staff and support, online tutorials, design of Web pages, and much more.

Persons wishing to participate in the roundtables luncheon must register in advance and select a topic on the MLA/CHLA-ABSC 2000 Registration Form. Look for registration information in the 2000 Preliminary Program and plan on being part of this ever-growing event!

Call for MLA News Editors!

As part of the editorial transition, the MLA News team is in need of the following subject editors: chapter editor, international editor, legislative editor, section editor, and technology editor.

For more information and to apply, contact Beverly Murphy, AHIP, MLA News editor, (919.660.1127) by March 15, 2000.

MLA/CHLA/ABSC 2000 Tours

Canadian Rockies Train and Bus Tour
Discover why the Canadian Rockies are one of Canada’s most popular destinations. Postconference Tour 2 provides roundtrip accommodations from the Renaissance Vancouver Harbourside Hotel (where extra baggage can be stored). Day 1 begins with a deluxe motorcoach taking passengers on an exploration of Vancouver, British Columbia, en route to the VIA Rail station. You will travel through Stanley Park’s 1,000 acres of majestic evergreens and ten kilometers of scenic seawall. Other sights include cultural treasures such as West Coast Native Totem Poles, Gastown (the location of a unique steam clock and North America’s second largest Chinatown), Lion’s Gate Bridge, Prospect Point, and English Bay.

For Day 2, it’s on to Jasper, aboard VIA Rail’s restored "The Canadian" train. Silver and Blue class service treats you to private quarters, sleeping car with shower facility, and exclusive use of the Park Car, with its famous dome and lounges. Day 3 will whisk you to the toe of the Athabasca Glacier. There you will board a Snocoach for a guided tour onto the surface of the Glacier. On Day 4, a half-day sightseeing tour of Banff National Park will highlight many local delights. The rest of the day is open to explore the region at your leisure.

Day 5 begins a journey into British Columbia. You will travel across the rugged ranges of the Rockies to your destination—the sandy shores of Okanagan Lake in Kelowna. The last day you will revel in British Columbia’s premiere wine region. Coach service will take you through the Cascade Mountains into the lush environment of the west coast. Relax at the twenty-seven-acre, world-class Minter Gardens before heading back to Vancouver. The Canadian Rockies tour is five days, May 12–17, 2000. Price is $1,196.00 USD per person based on double occupancy.

Alaska Inside Passage Cruise
Tour 1 threads a course past forests, islands, and inlets, surrounded by silence. The first port is Juneau, Alaska’s capital city, where the Alaska State Museum, Mendenhall Glacier, or sea kayaking awaits. The ports of Skagway, Glacier Bay, and Ketchikan offer enticing options as well. Price includes ocean transportation, stateroom accommodations, all meals and entertainment on board the ship, a "passport" to fitness, lectures, sports and shows, and a "Captain’s Welcome Aboard" cocktail party and dinner. The seven-day tour is May 10–17, 2000. Prices begin at $996.00 USD (includes port charges and taxes) per person based on double occupancy.

For more information on both tours or to book either tour, contact Lynne Treadway, Convention Services Northwest, at 800.275.9198.