Selection Criteria
A potential host institution is a library or information center in an academic health sciences center, hospital, or other health-related organization. The host institution must also provide a preceptor that will be the main contact person, host, and manager for the program.
Host institutions will be selected and matched with carefully selected individuals based on the application. The selection process timeline is described below. Potential host institutions also need to provide the following at the time of application in PDF form to internationalVIP@ics.mlanet.org:
- A letter from the Dean, President, Executive Vice President or other administrator stating that the institution is willing to host the visiting professional member of a partner medical library association. Please include the preferred duration of exchange and preferred time of year to host the exchange librarian.
- A description of the institution, its project goals, areas of interest and need, and expectations of the visiting librarian (please see the application form).
- A description of housing options available for the guest librarian, and a brief description of the surrounding community.
Potential project areas should be identified and discussed to help match institutions with individuals to help achieve their goals. Project areas can include but are not limited to:
- Public Health
- Bioinformatics and/or translational sciences
- Clinical librarianship and/or clinical informatics
- Outreach to underserved or previously unreached populations
- Management and curation of e-only health sciences collections
- Digitization
- Data Curation
- Specialized library experience (veterinary, academic, science, etc.)
- Instruction and Instructional Design
Selection Process
Individual and Institution applications will be reviewed by the MLA/ICC International VIP Task Force. Approval is determined by the selection criteria evidenced in the application. Applications can be submitted at any time; however, applications will be considered by the Task Force on the first of January, April, July, and October. Applicants should submit their materials two weeks before the meeting date by which they wish to be considered. Placement announcements are made four weeks after each meeting.The Program Task Force will match selected individuals and host institutions based on their applications. A list of approved institutions will be sent to partner international library associations quarterly so that their members can express interest in visiting specific host institutions. Individual and host institutions may participate in the matching, including direct communication between the individual and the host institution. The Task Force will inform the individual and the institution about their mutual match and provide both parties with guidelines.
Obligations
Financial
The international health information professional is not an employee of the hosting institution. Individuals are responsible for their own financial support.
There is no financial obligation for the institution to the visiting librarian, other than providing the librarian with workspace to carry out projects. However, the institution should provide general information on accommodation and living options as per the application requirements. The institution is also expected to provide the funds for any projects initiated.
MLA, through the International Cooperation Section, will provide consultation to individuals once they are accepted.
Reporting and Evaluation
Upon completion of the International VIP, the hosting institution will complete a brief survey to evaluate the experience. The survey is being developed.