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Press Releases

July 2007

MLA Honors Grants and Scholarships Winners at 2007 Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA
Revolutionary Entries Spark New Ideas at MLA '07 Swap and Shop Booth

MLA Honors Grants and Scholarships Winners at 2007 Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA

Each year, the Medical Library Association (MLA) awards grants and scholarships to deserving students and practicing health sciences information professionals. The association is pleased to announce that the following recipients were recognized at the Awards Ceremony and Luncheon on May 21, 2007, during MLA '07 in Philadelphia, PA:

Hella Bluhm-Stieber (Hospital Libraries Section/MLA Professional Development Grants)
Fern Cheek, AHIP (MLA Research, Development, and Demonstration Project Grant)
Jin Cheng (Cunningham Memorial International Fellowship)
Agnes Chikonzo (EBSCO/MLA Meeting Grants)
Lisa Chow (MLA Scholarship for Minority Students, Annual Meeting) (one-time award)
Ladonna Guillot (EBSCO/MLA Meeting Grants)
Lynda Hartel (MLA Research, Development, and Demonstration Project Grant)
Sally Harvey, AHIP (MLA Research, Development, and Demonstration Project Grant)
Alison Annet Kinnegyere (Cunningham Memorial International Fellowship)
Maureen Knapp (EBSCO/MLA Meeting Grants)
Paula Maez (MLA Scholarship for Minority Students)
Catherine Murch (MLA Scholarship)
Michele R. Tennant, AHIP (David A. Kronick Traveling Fellowship and Donald A. B. Lindberg Research Fellowship)
Rick Wallace, AHIP (Continuing Education Award)
Alice Weber (Continuing Education Award)
Brenda Wong (Hospital Libraries Section/MLA Professional Development Grants)
Lauren Young (EBSCO/MLA Meeting Grants)

Hella Bluhm-Stieber , AHIP, Milton J. Chatton Medical Library, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, San Jose, CA, and Brenda Wong, Medical Library, Johnson Memorial Hospital, Stafford Springs, CT, both received the 2007 Hospital Libraries Section/MLA Professional Development Grants. Bluhm-Stieber used the grant to attend the Western MLA Chapter 2006 Annual Meeting in Seattle, WA, in October 2006. At the meeting, she participated in evidence-based continuing education courses that will help her develop evidence-based training classes for the nurses at her hospital. Wong used the grant to fund continuing education courses at MLA '07 in Philadelphia, PA. The courses enabled her to remain up to date with skills to obtain and manage electronic resources. This award, sponsored by MLA's Hospital Libraries Section, provides librarians working in hospital and similar clinical settings with the support needed for educational or research activities.

The MLA Research, Development, and Demonstration Project Grant provides support for research, development, or demonstration projects that help promote excellence in the field of health sciences librarianship and information sciences. Fern Cheek, AHIP, Lynda Hartel, and Sally Harvey, AHIP, were this year's recipients. Cheek and Hartel, Prior Health Sciences Library, Ohio State University-Columbus, received the award for their study, "An Investigation of Electronic Book Use in an Academic Medical Center," which will provide a better understanding of user behavior and user preferences relating to e-book purchases in the health sciences setting. Harvey, Merril W. Brown, MD, Health Sciences Library, Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ, received the grant for her study, "Publication Rates of Abstracted Projects from MLA Annual Meetings," which is expected to be a useful contribution to understanding medical librarians' professional development and the publication patterns.

Agnes Chikonzo, Ladonna Guillot, Maureen Knapp, and Lauren Young, received 2007 EBSCO/MLA Meeting Grants. The grants, sponsored by EBSCO Information Services, provide funding for librarians who might not otherwise have the opportunity to attend the MLA annual meeting. Chikonzo, College of Health Sciences Library, University of Zimbabwe, Avondale, Harare, Zimbabwe, coauthored a paper at MLA '07 and planned to share her meeting experiences with colleagues at her library. Being the only health sciences librarian at her institution, Guillot, Baton Rouge Nursing Library, Southeastern Louisiana University-Baton Rouge, has limited networking opportunities and was able to meet new colleagues at the meeting in addition to presenting two papers. By receiving the grant, Knapp, John P. Isché Library, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-New Orleans, was able to attend MLA '07 after travel funds at her institution were cut in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. At the meeting, Knapp presented two papers and enjoyed the exposure to new trends, ideas, and professional contacts that the meeting provides. In addition to presenting a poster at the meeting, Young, Rowland Medical Library, University of Mississippi Medical Center-Jackson, used the grant to fulfill her goal of developing relationships with other consumer health librarians and to network at the national level.

Jin Cheng, Medical Library of Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), Beijing, China, is one of two recipients of the 2007 Cunningham Memorial Fellowships, which allow health sciences librarians from countries outside the United States and Canada to attend the MLA annual meeting as well as observe and work in one or more medical libraries in the United States or Canada. The 2007 pilot program allowed two librarians to attend MLA '07. Cheng began her fellowship by attending MLA '07 and spent the remaining time at Health Sciences Library, State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University-Syracuse, and at the National Library of Medicine (NLM) in Washington, DC. As a Cunningham Fellow, Cheng hoped to gain ideas and skills for an ongoing research project on construction of special information resources at her library. She also planned to use her fellowship experience to improve and strengthen specific services at her library including information retrieval, reference, interlibrary loan, and electronic journals management. Alison Annet Kinnegyere, Sir Albert Cook Medical Library, Makerer University, Kampala, Uganda, also received the 2007 Cunningham Fellowship and hoped to use the experience to gain skills that will aid her in outreach training in rural areas. Kinnengyere is chairperson of the Uganda chapter of the Association for Health Information and Libraries in Africa (AHILA) and looked forward to sharing information and skills gained during the Cunningham Fellowship with her colleagues in her library and in the association. Kinnegyere visited Scott Memorial Library, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, and Cleveland Health Sciences Library, Case Western Reserve University, Cincinnati, OH.

Sponsored by MLA's 2007 National Programs Committee, the 2007 MLA Scholarship for Minority Students, Annual Meeting, enables a minority student of African American, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, or Pacific Islander American descent entering an American Library Association (ALA)-accredited library school and wishing to study health sciences librarianship, to attend the MLA annual meeting. Lisa Chow, School of Information and Library Science, Pratt Institute, New York, NY, received the one-time award. While working on her baccalaureate degree in biology at Pace University, New York, NY, Chow worked with a student wellness club. During this time, she also worked at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and New York Methodist Hospital libraries, both in New York, NY. Chow looks forward to combining her interests in biological sciences and library services in her future career in health sciences librarianship.

Paula Maez, School of Information Resources and Library Science, University of Arizona-Tucson, received the 2007 MLA Scholarship for Minority Students which awards up to $5,000 to an African American, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, or Pacific Islander American student entering an ALA-accredited library school or with at least one half of the program's requirements to finish in the year following the granting of the scholarship. Maez is currently a Knowledge River Scholar at her university. Knowledge River is a program that focuses on library and information issues from the needs and perspectives of Hispanics and Native Americans and recruits members of these communities into librarianship. Maez has a genuine interest in providing health information to the Hispanic community she comes from and is excited to take on the challenges of medical librarianship.

The MLA Scholarship provides up to $5,000 to a student who is entering an ALA-accredited library school or has yet to finish at least one-half of the program's requirements in the year following the granting of the scholarship. Because of her accomplishments and potential, Catherine Murch, School of Library and Information Studies, University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa, received the 2007 award. While pursuing her undergraduate degree at Franklin University, Columbus, OH, Murch worked as a systems librarian, a position that evolved from a part-time clerical job to a full-time position due to her increased knowledge and experience. She has also been active in several local library organizations including serving as treasurer of the Medical Library Association of Northestern Ohio and as Web committee chair, where she was instrumental in the redesign and update of the organization's Website.

Rick Wallace, AHIP, Quillen College of Medicine Library, East Tennessee State University-Johnson City, was one of the recipients honored with the 2007 MLA Continuing Education Grant, which provides MLA members with funds to develop their knowledge of the theoretical, administrative, or technical aspects of librarianship. Wallace's love of learning is evidenced by his numerous advanced degrees, which include a doctorate in education and four masters' degrees in library science, theology, divinity, and organizational management. He is very active in several professional organizations including MLA's Southern Chapter and the Tennessee Health Sciences Library Association. In addition to the Continuing Education Grant, Wallace has been honored with the Southern Chapter's Academic Librarian of the Year award and was designated a "Mover and Shaker" by Library Journal. The grant helped to defray the costs of a Duke University course that enabled him to train librarians at his institution in evidence-based medicine principles. Alice Weber, Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, University of Utah-Salt Lake City, also received the honor and aims to combine her prior experience as a registered nurse with her information management skills to provide improved health care as a medical librarian. Weber enjoyed a twenty five-year nursing career prior to joining the health librarianship profession in 2002. She used the award to participate in the MLA online course, "Filtering the Wisdom: Searching and Delivering the Evidence for Clinical Care Questions," which will enable her to provide the best possible evidence-based information to patrons, as well as advancing her own search expertise. Already active in health sciences information organizations, Weber served on the Utah Library Association's board of directors and is a member of MLA's Midcontinental Chapter.

One of the associations most respected and accomplished leaders, Michele R. Tennant, AHIP, Health Science Center Libraries and Genetics Institute, University of Florida-Gainesville, received two MLA 2007 fellowships: The David A. Kronick Traveling Fellowship and the Donald A. B. Lindberg Research Fellowship. The Kronick Traveling Fellowship provides support for travel and research that promote excellence in medical librarianship. The applicant must be a practicing medical librarian with at least five years of professional experience. Through receiving the Kronick fellowship, Tennant proposes to explore models for library-based support for bioinformatics programs and plans to visit four institutions that have hired multiple bioinformatics service providers. Data from the institutions will be analyzed and shared with those institutions with the goal of providing an initial benchmark for library-based bioinformatics support services. The Lindberg Research Fellowship, named in honor of Donald A. B. Lindberg, NLM director, funds research aimed at expanding the research knowledgebase, linking the information services provided by librarians to improved health care and advances in biomedical research. With the Lindberg fellowship, Tennant aims to explore the bioinformatics information-seeking skills and information needs of a diverse set of biomedical and biological researchers, students, and instructors through online assessment, focus groups, and observation of search paths. In addition to receiving the Kronick and Lindberg fellowships, Tennant received MLA's 2005 Estelle Brodman Award for Academic Librarian of the Year. She is a Distinguished Member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals (AHIP), and a member of the Special Libraries Association's Biomedical and Life Sciences Division. Tennant is a widely published author in both library and biology journals. She is also a highly regarded instructor who has taught numerous continuing education classes and presented at several national conferences.

MLA congratulates this year's grants and scholarship winners and applauds their efforts to provide quality health information.

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.

For more information, please contact Lisa C. Fried, mlapd2@mlahq.org, 312.419.9094 x28.

Revolutionary Entries Spark New Ideas at MLA '07 Swap and Shop Booth

The promotional savvy demonstrated by Medical Library Association (MLA) members at the MLA '07 public relations Swap and Shop in Philadelphia, PA, would have made our nation's founders proud! From humble burlap bags filled with Kentucky bluegrass seed to glitzy CD's, medical librarians drew attention to their libraries in creative and imaginative ways.

Open throughout MLA's annual meeting, the Swap and Shop booth gave attendees the opportunity to share library marketing ideas and samples with colleagues and to discuss marketing strategy with representatives from MLA's public relations consultant, Public Communications, Inc. (PCI). At the end of the meeting, PCI representatives categorized and judged submitted entries for creativity, accomplishment of stated goals, and best use of available budget and resources. For the second year in a row, PCI representatives also conducted a popular, free marketing seminar. Held twice during the meeting, this year's seminar, "Coping With Change: Reaching Your Library's Users," drew a huge audience.

The 2007 "Best in Show" prize was awarded to the Department of Library Services, Munson Healthcare, Traverse City, MI, for its three-dimensional mobile and building blocks highlighting the library's collection. Using inexpensive but eye-catching materials, the displays invite people to explore the library's resources.

MLA congratulates this year's Swap and Shop winners and thanks all those who participated. The winning entries will be posted on the 2007 National Medical Librarians Month (NMLM) site. The winners are:

Best in Show
Department of Library Services, Munson Healthcare, Traverse City, MI, for promoting exploration of their library through creative displays.

Medical Center/Hospital Libraries: Professional Outreach
Library Service, VA North Texas Health Care System-Dallas, for its expressive use of a few words to explain the library's purpose and resources to the health care staff.

Academic Libraries: One-time Event
Library, Health Sciences Center, Louisiana State University-New Orleans, for inviting their community to "trawl for information" on "4-11: Medical Information Day."

Academic Libraries: Ongoing Consumer Campaign
Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)-Richmond, for using posters, newsletters, and save-the-date cards to promote a special traveling exhibition, "Celebrating America's Women Physicians" to raise awareness of VCU libraries.

Academic Libraries: Ongoing Professional Campaign
Medical Library, Minneapolis VA Medical Center, for creating a special event to recognize their nursing staff through its Savvy User Award.

Regional Library System: Ongoing Consumer Campaign
Community Health Information Partners (CHIPS), TN, for its multiyear campaign encompassing health fairs, regional library events, classes, and a variety of marketing vehicles including CHIPS bags, clips, a DVD "infomercial," posters, and brochures.

Honorary Mention goes to MLA's Midwest Chapter for its annual meeting promotion that used burlap bundles of Kentucky bluegrass seed-an irresistible attraction to Swap and Shop visitors.

For more information, please contact Tomi Gunn, mlams@mlahq.org, 312.419.9094 x11.