Lynn M. Fortney, MLSBoard of Directors, MLA, 2000 – 2003
Chair, Southern Chapter/MLA, 2001
Vice President & Director, Biomedical Division
EBSCO Information Services
The Medical Library AssociationThe Medical Library Association
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The Medical Library AssociationThe Medical Library AssociationAn Association of Health Information ProfessionalsAn Association of Health Information Professionals
Why do health librarians have an organization apart from the American Library Association or the Special Library Association?
Important past initiatives Organizational structure Academy of Health Information
Professionals (AHIP) Current and future initiatives
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History of MLAHistory of MLA Founded in 1898 by four librarians and
four physicians Early goals & projects
Exchange of duplicate journals Developing “public medical library
collections” Creating a Union Catalog
Early meetings held in conjunction with AMA to assure good attendance
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Notable past initiativesNotable past initiatives Ongoing - MLA Exchange 1930’s - Campaign against the
high cost of German periodicals 1940s – MLA Bomb Plan
Create “Shadow libraries” in caves for safety
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Notable past initiativesNotable past initiatives Standards Professional credentialing
programs Continuing professional
education International cooperation
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MLA’s Organizational StructureMLA’s Organizational Structure Membership
3,610 individual members 1,048 institutional members
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MLA’s Organizational StructureMLA’s Organizational Structure Headquarters (Chicago, IL)
established in 1961 Operating Budget -
$2,655,711 FY 2000/01 Annual meeting income Membership dues Publications Administration
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MLA’s Organizational StructureMLA’s Organizational Structure 14 Standing Committees
Subcommittees Ad hoc task forces
23 Sections 17 Special Interest Groups
(SIGS) 14 Chapters (regional
groups)
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MLA Governance – elected officersMLA Governance – elected officers The “Presidents”
Current President (Carol Jenkins)
Immediate Past President (Michael Homan)
President-Elect (Linda Watson) The “Directors” – nine in all Executive Director (Carla Funk)
Nonvoting, ex officio
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Role of the Board of DirectorsRole of the Board of Directors Goals and objectives set by the
President, approved by the Board
Issues/ projects referred to the Board for action by Committees, Chapters, Sections or by individual members
Board deliberates and acts upon motions
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Appointed officialsAppointed officials T. Scott Plutchak, AHIP, Editor,
Bulletin of the Medical Library Association
Beverly Murphy, AHIP, Editor, MLA News
Scott Garrison, MLANET Editor Valerie G. Rankow, MEDLIB-L
Coordinator Lucretia W. McClure, AHIP,
Parliamentarian Millie M. Moore, Sergeant-at-Arms
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CommitteesCommittees Executive committee Nominating Committee 14 standing committees
Various subcommittees Ad Hoc
Committees and Task Forces
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23 Sections23 Sections Cancer Librarians Chiropractic Libraries Collection Development Consumer and Patient He
alth Information
Corporate Information Services
Dental Educational Media and Te
chnologies Federal Libraries History of the Health Scien
ces Hospital Libraries| International Cooperation
Leadership and Management
Medical Informatics Medical Library Education Medical Society Libraries Nursing and Allied Health R
esources Pharmacy and Drug Inform
ation Public Health/Health Admin
istration Public Services Relevant Issues Research Technical Services Veterinary Medical Librarie
s
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Section GovernanceSection Governance Joining a section is optional Sections have elected officers Section Council Sections contribute
substantially to annual meeting programming
May have special initiatives, but must be sanctioned by MLA
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Special Interest Groups (SIGS)Special Interest Groups (SIGS)http://www.mlanet.org/sections/sigs.html
African American Medical Librarians Alliance
Clinical Librarians Complementary Medicin
e
Department of the Army Medical Command Libraries
Department of Veterans Affairs Librarians
Geriatrics/Gerontology Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual H
ealth Sciences Librarians
Mental Health
Molecular Biology and Genomics
Osteopathic Libraries Outreach Pediatric Librarians Primary Care (formerly
Family Practice) Problem-Based
Learning Rehabilitation
Hospital Vision Science White House
Conference on Library and Information Services
14 Chapters 14 Chapters
Regional groups, Regional groups, independent of MLAindependent of MLARegional groups, Regional groups, independent of MLAindependent of MLA
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Chapter GovernanceChapter Governancehttp://www.mlanet.org/chapters/index.htmlhttp://www.mlanet.org/chapters/index.html
Quasi-affiliated with MLA Chapter Chair elected for one-
year term Usually involves a three-year
commitment Other officers and committees Annual meetings Chapter Sharing Roundtables MLA’s Chapter Council
http://www.chaptercouncil.mlanet.org/
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MLA MLA BooksBooks Publishing ProgramPublishing Program
Current Practice in Health Science Librarianship 8 volumes
The Medical Library Association Guide to Managing Health Care Libraries
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MLA MLA Books Books Publishing ProgramPublishing Program DocKits
Packets of materials
BibKits
Annotated bibliographies
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Other MLA PublicationsOther MLA Publications
MLA Exchange List
Making a Difference: Communications ToolKit
Marketing Information
Standards and Other Publications
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Deciphering MedSpeak BrochureDeciphering MedSpeak Brochure
Over 30,000 distributed to date
Recently revised Includes ten
most useful health websites
Full text on MLANET
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Standards and PracticesStandards and Practices Librarian's Guide to JCAHO Accreditatio
n Value of the Hospital Library Fact Sheet Standards for Hospital Libraries Challenge to Action: Planning and Evalu
ation Guidelines for Academic Health Sciences Libraries
Standards for Chiropractic College Libraries
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Honors and AwardsHonors and AwardsScholarships and FellowshipsScholarships and Fellowships http://mlanet.org/awards/http://mlanet.org/awards/
16 different honors and awards are bestowed by MLA Many others by Sections
and Chapters 10 grants or scholarships
available
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Professional CredentialingProfessional Credentialing 1949 – original Code for the
Training and Certification of Medical Librarians Three levels
1964 revision required: A graduate degree in library
science Plus an approved medical
libraries course Or passing the Certification
Exam
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Professional CredentialingProfessional Credentialing 1974 revision required:
Graduate degree and certification exam
Two years of professional experience
Recertification required every five years
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Academy of Health Information Academy of Health Information Professionals (AHIP) - 1989Professionals (AHIP) - 1989http://www.mlanet.org/academy/index.htmlhttp://www.mlanet.org/academy/index.html
Professional Development and career recognition program
Peer reviewed Based on:
Academic preparation Professional experience Professional accomplishments
Application & renewal process
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Academy of Health Information Academy of Health Information Professionals (AHIP) - 1989Professionals (AHIP) - 1989http://www.mlanet.org/academy/index.htmlhttp://www.mlanet.org/academy/index.html
MLA membership is not required 4 levels
Provisional, Member, Senior Member, Distinguished Member
Masters Degree ALA- accredited OR Council on
Post-Secondary Accreditation Must be renewed every five years
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Consumer Health Credential Program Consumer Health Credential Program
improve health information services for consumers
create partners in the delivery of consumer health information
increase access to consumer health courses
Who can participate? medical librarians, public
librarians, librarians working in consumer health libraries, allied health professionals
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Continuing EducationContinuing Education 1958 – 12 “Refresher courses” offered
the day prior to the start of the Annual Meeting
Platform for Change Seven essential areas of knowledge
Educational Clearinghouse Lists courses approved for MLA
Continuing Education (CE) contact hours.
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Current or Ongoing ResearchCurrent or Ongoing Research
MLA/Hay Group Study (completed)
The Value of Using Library and Information Services Study (in progress)
Benchmarking Initiative
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MLA/Hay Group StudyMLA/Hay Group Study Medical librarians receive lower
salaries than IT professionals while performing similar roles
Most medical librarians receive IT support but are still primarily responsible for many IT duties
available online at http://www.mlanet.org/pdf/study_89_3.pdf
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The Value of Using Library and Information The Value of Using Library and Information Services StudyServices Study
Studies the value and economic benefit of medical libraries in hospitals and health care institutions
Contracted with the University of Maryland
Targeted toward upper management
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Benchmarking NetworkBenchmarking Network
Beta test Benchmarking Network
Implementation Task Force Define and develop a set of
outcomes measures Evaluate the success of the
Benchmarking Network Consult with Headquarters staff
on product development
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Diversity InitiativesDiversity Initiatives Minority Recruitment
Program Increase in annual MLA
Minority Scholarship ALA Spectrum
Initiative Scholarship
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Information Issues and PoliciesInformation Issues and Policies
Funding issues Technology issues Telecommunications Information Access Intellectual Property and
Copyright MLA Position Statements
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The Annual MeetingThe Annual Meeting
Early meetings attended only by library directors Most heavily represented were
medical society libraries and physicians
Strong emphasis on the history of medicine
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The Annual MeetingThe Annual Meeting
2001 at Walt Disney World in Florida Attended by 1650 registrants 600 Exhibitors
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The First The First Annual Meeting Annual Meeting in 1898 was 2 ½ in 1898 was 2 ½
hours longhours long
Set Annual Meeting Schedule
•Thursday – Board of Directors meets•Friday – CE courses & more Board meetings•Saturday – Chapter & Section Council meetings, Committee Meetings, Symposium & CE courses. •The official meeting program starts with The Welcome Reception in the Exhibit
Hall
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•Sunday: •Committee meetings, New Members Breakfast and Section business meetings start at 7 AM•Presidential Address, 1st Plenary Session•Chapter Sharing Roundtable Luncheon•1st Business Meeting, Section Programming•International Visitors Reception, Library School Reunions, Friends of NLM Reception
Set Annual Meeting
Schedule
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•Monday•Committee Meetings and Sunrise Seminars start at 7 AM•Janet Doe Lecture, Section Programming•Awards Luncheon and Ceremony•Legislative Update; Poster Sessions; Informal Meetings; NLM Update•Hospital Libraries Section Reception, SIG meetings; President’s Reception, Armadillo Ball
Set Annual Meeting
Schedule
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•Tuesday•Committee Meetings and Sunrise Seminars start at 7 AM•2nd Plenary Session; 2nd Business Meeting and President’s Inaugural Address•Section Business Meetings start at 12:30•Section programming; more Section Business Meetings; SIG/Informal Meetings•Farewell Party
Set Annual Meeting
Schedule
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•Wednesday•Committee Meetings and more SIG/Informal Meetings start at 7 AM•Section Programming•3rd Plenary Session•“Official” Programming concludes at noon•Board of Directors meeting, CE courses, Symposia in afternoon
Set Annual Meeting
Schedule
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MLA’s Most Important InitiativesMLA’s Most Important Initiatives MLA Exchange (ongoing) Advocating for consumer health Standards for health sciences
libraries Copyright National Health Information
Policies Professional credentialing Continuing education
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Professionals Providing Quality Professionals Providing Quality Information for Improved HealthInformation for Improved Health““For more than a century, the Medical For more than a century, the Medical
Library Association has served society, Library Association has served society, through its members and programs, by through its members and programs, by providing quality information for better providing quality information for better
health care, the education of health health care, the education of health professionals, the conduct of research, professionals, the conduct of research,
and the public’s understanding of and the public’s understanding of health.”health.”
http://www.mlanet.org/http://www.mlanet.org/