Medical Library Association | Publications : Making A Difference

Making A Difference

Dear Colleagues:

As medical librarians we can make a real difference in our institutions and in our communities by sharing the wealth of information available to us. We can help a harried doctor describe a patient's illness to their family; soothe a patient's anxiety about an upcoming medical treatment or even help new parents understand their baby's health care needs.

The Board of Directors of the Medical Library Association encourages you to do all you can to develop and maintain higher visibility in your workplaces and be viewed as a valued asset in your communities.

The board has put together this Medical Library Association Communications Tool Kit to serve as an easy-to-use guide and handbook to give you techniques and suggestions on how to conduct a communications campaign.

We view this as a "living" document that can be expanded throughout the years by you and by MLA. We welcome your feedback and input. The final section of this manual is a "fax back" evaluation. Please send it to us when you have had a chance to review the manual, and we will make every attempt to add value to this tool kit in the coming years based on your input.

At the national level, this year we are continuing a media relations campaign, using MLA board members as spokespersons, that will benefit all MLA members by educating consumers and professionals about medical librarians. We hope this MLA Communications Tool Kit will allow you to launch complementary campaigns at your local institutions and create the most successful year ever for MLA members.

Sincerely,
Jacqueline D. Doyle

Jacqueline D. Doyle