2023 President’s Awards
The MLA President’s Award is presented to an MLA member or group of members for notable and important contributions made during the past association year. MLA is pleased to share the names of the 2023 President’s Award recipients whose contributions have enhanced the profession of health sciences librarianship and furthered the association’s objectives.
Collectively, we advocate for national, regional, and local issues for the greater good of health sciences librarianship and the communities we serve daily. The 2023 awardees are recognized for their exceptional advocacy efforts leading to meaningful outcomes that will have an enduring impact. In addition, they are commended for demonstrating the many ways members can advocate for change.
MLA members from the Latinx, Social Justice and Health Disparities, and Systematic Review Caucuses penned an open letter to NLM Regarding MeSH Term Changes calling for “changes to be made to the process in which medical subject headings (MeSH) terms relating to marginalized groups (based on but not limited to race, dis/ability status, ethnicity, sexual orientation) are decided upon to make them reflective of practices that use person-first language, recognize the problematic nature of outdated and offensive terms, and take into account the identifiers used by the communities themselves, while also making them inclusive and respectful of the groups being described to not cause harm.” An outcome of this letter was that MLA members delivered a data-driven presentation during a listening session with the US Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Their advocacy and subsequent presentation allowed the Association to contribute positively to OMB’s review of Statistical Policy Directive No. 15 (Directive No. 15): Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity.
Recipients:
- Aidy Weeks, AHIP, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
- Jamia Williams, NNLM Training Office
- Stephanie Clare Roth, AHIP, Christiana Care
The authors of MLA’s It’s Time to Acknowledge Authorship for Librarians and Information Professionals on Evidence Synthesis Publications Statement. Jointly approved by MLA and the Canadian Health Libraries Association/Association des bibliothèques de la santé du Canada, this statement amplifies the “issue of librarians not receiving authorship on evidence synthesis publications, such as guidelines and systematic reviews”. Thanks to the group’s advocacy efforts, librarians and information professionals now have a vital tool they may use to advocate for authorship for their contributions to systematic reviews and evidence synthesis publications.
Recipients:
- Kristine M. Alpi, AHIP, FMLA, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Heather N. Holmes, AHIP, Medical University of South Carolina
- Emily Brennan, Medical University of South Carolina