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Glossary
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- B - Board of Directors, MLA, is a group of elected representatives who serve for three year terms. The MLA Board is chaired by the MLA president and meets three times a year. See this year's board members.
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Chapters are independently incorporated organizations affiliated with MLA. Fourteen regionally chapters are located throughout the United States. Each offers additional opportunities for continuing education and annual meeting participation at a regional level. Chapter membership is open to all MLA members, health sciences librarians, information specialists, and others sharing an interest in health sciences librarianship. The MLA Chapters page provides a list of and links to all fourteen chapters and their annual meeting information and news.
Committees have varied roles in the association and include standing (with ongoing responsibility for furthering MLA's interests, programs, and projects), Nominating and Executive Committees (as mandated by the bylaws), and ad hoc committees (appointed for a special purpose and discharged when their tasks are completed). The Committee Information page provides more details and a list of the standing committees.
Continuing education sessions are offered prior to as well as after the annual meeting, and are available on a variety of topics. Choose from programs by the seven Professional Competency Areas as described in MLA’s educational policy statement, “Competencies for Lifelong Learning and Professional Success” or find one for the date you are available. For a list of this year's offerings, check out the Annual Meeting CE site. You can also participate in the Independent Reading Program (see below).
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Email discussion lists offer an opportunity to share ideas and advice or request the advice of colleagues. MLA has some general topic lists and some topic-specific lists (i.e., expert searching). For details on what is available as well as where to sign up, see MLA's Discussion List page.
Doe Lecturer (Janet) are individuals chosen annually by MLA for their unique perspectives on the history or philosophy of medical librarianship. The Doe Lectureship was established in 1966 by an anonymous donor. The selected lecture is presented at the association's annual meeting and is subsequently published in the Journal of the Medical Library Association. Janet Doe served as secretary and then president of MLA in 1948/49 and was the first editor of the Handbook of Medical Library Practice. Who has been a Janet Doe lecturer? Wish you knew what they said? Just take a look at the Janet Doe Lectureship page to see the list and access the text of their speeches, back to 1984.
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Headquarters staff, MLA, are hired and based in Chicago, IL. Staff members have a committee or task force liaison role as well as other assignments. For a listing of MLA staff and their contact information, refer to MLA Contact list.
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Independent Reading Program (IRP) is designed to provide members with a "virtual" education opportunity that provides continuing education credits. This involves reading a preselected article from the Journal of the Medical Library Association. If you like, register and participate in the IRP email discussion list. The final step is completing the IRP article analysis application.
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Journal of the Medical Library Association is an international, peer-reviewed journal published quarterly that aims to advance the practice and research knowledgebase of health sciences librarianship. When you join MLA, it is an included member benefit. Don't forget to check out the Independent Reading Program (see above).
Juries recommend recipients of awards, prizes, grants, and scholarships.
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Leiter Lectureship (Joseph) was established in 1983 to stimulate intellectual liaison between MLA and the National Library of Medicine (NLM). The lecture is presented every other year at the association's annual meeting and in alternate years at NLM. Lecturers are chosen for their ability to discuss subjects related to biomedical communications. Joseph Leiter was associate director for library operations, National Library of Medicine.
LISTSERV®: see email discussion lists. The term "LISTSERV" is a registered trademark of L-Soft International and represents a specific type of email list software. For most email lists, the term "discussion list" is preferred.
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McGovern Lectureship (John P.) was established in 1983 in honor of John P. McGovern, noted physician, educator, author, and medical historian. The chosen lecturers are significant national or international figures qualified to speak on a topic of importance to health sciences information professionals.
MEDLIB-L is a discussion list of interest to health sciences librarians. Subscription information, an FAQ, and other details may be found on MLANET. Archives and a Web-based subscription interface are also available.
Medical Library Association (MLA), is a nonprofit, educational organization with more than 4,500 health sciences information professional members worldwide. Founded in 1898, MLA provides lifelong educational opportunities, supports a knowledgebase of health information research, and works with a global network of partners to promote the importance of quality information for improved health to the health care community and the public. The About MLA page provides details on its leaders, its organization, and its history. Take a look at the slide presentation, About MLA.
MLA-FOCUS is MLA's free email newsletter for members. It alerts members to new MLA products and services and important professional issues, provides links to professional tools, and highlights courses, publications, and conferences. It is issued biweekly usually on Thursdays only to MLA members.
MLA News is an MLA publication that is issued monthly, except combined in June/July and November/December, in print and online for members. It is part of your membership benefits. MLANET has a complete listing of deadlines and instructions on how to submit articles. Job announcements for positions in medical libraries are a key feature of this publication.
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National Library of Medicine (NLM) is the largest medical library in the United States and is part of the federal government. It is located in Bethesda, MD, as part of the National Institutes of Health. It is known for supporting health sciences libraries through systems such as MEDLINE, DOCLINE, and SERHOLD as well as for its futuristic programs and training fellowships.
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Panels are appointed to serve as peer-review and evaluation boards for MLA's publication and credentialing programs.
Plenary session is a term used at conferences for those sessions with no competing sessions and where all (or more likely, most) members are in attendance. MLA's annual meeting usually has three to four plenary sessions, which include the McGovern Lecture, the Doe Lecture, the Leiter Lecture (every other year), and a special topic session on the last day of the meeting.
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Sections are an official part of MLA and represent MLA members'
subject interest. New members can enroll in one of the twenty-three
section free for one year. Sections meet and sponsor programs at the
MLA annual meeting. Information about each section, news items,
and officers can be found at www.mlanet.org/sections/sections.html 
Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are ad hoc groups that provide a forum for members with unique interests to identify and meet without having to fulfill the governance requirements of sections. SIGs range from a series of informal meetings on a specific, short-term issue to an established subgroup in an MLA section. For a list of the SIGs or more details on setting up a SIG, visit the MLANET SIG page.
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Task forces are appointed for a specific study and usually a specific period of time.
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