Legislative Update Open Forum Provides MLA Members With Advocacy Answers

More than 88 members attended the July 20th legislative update where they heard updates on funding for the National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health, copyright, and other policy issues and legislation that impact the collection, organization, and sharing of health information. Participants had the opportunity to learn about how MLA advocates for accessible and trustworthy health information on Capitol Hill.

Margaret Ansell, AHIP, Joint MLA/AAHSL Legislation Committee Chair, and Andrew Hickner, AHIP, Joint MLA/AAHSL Legislation Committee Vice-Chair showcased the meeting handouts that were developed to support this year’s meetings and provided key takeaways about the process and experience of conducting virtual meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Committee members Melissa DeSantis, AHIP, AAHSL President and Jill Deaver described their experiences meeting with Congressional staff and sharing their message about the importance and need for robust health funding for NLM and NIH.

Andy also gave a timely update on the Copyright Alternatives in Small Claims Enforcement Act (CASE) and implications for libraries.

Teresa Zayas Caban, Assistant Director for Policy Development, National Library of Medicine gave an informative overview of

• NLM policy activities including the NIH data management and sharing policy and the NIH genomic data sharing policy,
• NIH and NLM appropriations; and the
• Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H).

A link to the recording of the session along with the slides, Hill meeting handouts, and other resources can be found here. For more information, contact Mary Langman, Director, Information Issues and Policy at MLA.