Current Issues in Professional Associations

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Current Issues in Professional Associations

• LIS 2000
• Understanding Information
• 9/28/2006

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Overview of the MLA

• Medical Library Association
• Founded in 1898 by four librarians and four
  doctors
• 2nd oldest library association in the USA
• Includes 1200 institutions and 3800 professionals
  in the health field
• Created to encourage the improvement and
  increase of public medical libraries

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Overview of the MLA Continued

• 23 special interest groups that meet and
  encourage networking
• 14 geographically grouped chapters

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Purpose of the MLA

• To develop programs to serve the needs of health
  information specialists
• To be an advocate for all health science
  librarians and libraries

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What the MLA Does

• Annual meeting to discuss new research, papers,
  issues, etc.
• Provide guidelines for upgrading medical
  libraries services, resources, and facilities
• Promote communication between library,
  institutions, and government
• Help medical librarians find jobs

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What the MLA Does Contd

• Provide continuing courses for educating
  librarians
• Provide honors, awards, scholarships, and
  fellowships
• The Exchange
• The Bulletin of the Medical Library Association
  and the MLA News

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Current Issue Electronic Access

• Problem The current model for electronic access
  leaves many libraries and institutions overpaying
  and without ownership rights
• Goal To reduce costs and achieve a more equal
  standard for contracts

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Electronic Access Solutions

• Unify with other organizations
• Educate and encourage open access journals
• SPARC, BioOne, PubMed Central, Public Library of
  Science
• Directory of open access journals (www.doaj.org)
• Disseminate in house articles and information

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Current Issues Global Initiatives

• Problem There is a large gap between the haves
  and have-nots in the international health
  information field
• Goal To provide a strategic plan to improve and
  promote international relations and programs

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Global Initiatives Solutions

• Designate an International Affairs Officer
• Create an MLA International Award for Excellence
  in International Service
• Create an international website
• Partner with other international organizations to
  create Librarians Without Borders

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Current Issue Health Information Literacy

• Problem
• According to the Wall Street Journal, as many as
  half of all adults in all socio-economic levels
  struggle with health literacy
• According to Lucian Leape, Harvard public health
  professor, medical errors are a leading cause of
  death, account for more fatalities each year than
  breast cancer, automobile accidents or AIDS

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Health Information Literacy Problems Contd
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Health Information Literacy Goal

• Goal Because of their ability to quickly acquire
  and organize relevant information, medical
  librarians should play a larger role in providing
  information to both doctors and institutions as
  well as patients

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Health Information Literacy Michael Homan
Health Professionals

• Put health librarians on the patient safety
  committee
• Have doctors work with health librarians on a
  one-on-one basis
• Create an easily implemented and used system for
  doctors to report mistakes and more importantly
  to learn from them

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Health Information Literacy Michael Homan
Patients

• Be an available source of information for
  patients and their families
• Create easily found and reliable websites for
  health information
• Quickly search for information and articles on
  the special needs of a patient

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Health Information Literacy MLA Solutions

• MLA definition Health Information Literacy is
  the set of abilities needed to recognize a
  health information need identify likely
  information sources and use them to retrieve
  relevant information assess the quality of the
  information and its applicability to a specific
  situation and analyze, understand, and use the
  information to make good health decisions.

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Health Information Literacy MLA Solutions

• Create resources like MLAs Top Ten and
  recommended websites
• Partner with other organizations to promote
  health information literacy
• Since only 20 of members were involved in health
  literacy programs, more should be encouraged

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Public Library Association

• Division of the ALA
• 11,000 members
• Mission to enhance the development and
  effectiveness of public library staff and public
  library services.

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Issues PLA 2005 Membership Report

• MOST INTEREST
• Ideas for promoting use of library services
• Marketing the library
• Ideas for increasing financial support for
  library

• LEAST INTEREST
• Fees for service
• Finding a library job
• Cooperation with academic libraries

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DISCUSSION

• What issues do you believe are most important to
  public libraries?

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PLA Membership Report pp. 25-27
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The State of Americas Libraries

• Americans named the top characteristics of public
  libraries
• Free services
• Lifelong learning
• Enhances education
• Information for school and work
• Free services gives everyone a chance to succeed

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SMARTEST CARD CAMPAIGN

• Subscribe to e-newsletter on Smartest Card
  Campaign
• Nonmembers
• email bmacikas_at_ala.org

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Special Libraries Association

• 12,000 members
• Mission promote and strengthen its members
  through learning, advocacy, and networking
  initiatives.

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Publications

• Information Outlook
• monthly publication available in IS Library and
  online
• http//www.sla.org/content/shop/Information/subscr
  ipt.cfm
• Special Libraries
• SLA journal from 1910-1996 available in IS
  Library and online as PDF
• http//www.sla.org/content/shop/speclibs.cfm

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E-Newsletters

• SLA Connections
• Learning Connections
• Public Policy Connections
• Conference Connections
• Industry Connections

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Professional Development

• 2006 Annual Campaign
• for Professional Development
• create SLA LearnCenter
• more online courses
• purchase Internet-based video and audio system
• construct an Internet studio at SLA's Global
  Headquarters

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Click University

• Live and self-paced online courses
• Certificates of Advanced Study
• Discounts for degree programs at Drexel and
  University of Syracuse
• Free podcasts for non-members from SLA Conference
  and info about Click University

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SLA PITTSBURGH CHAPTER

• The Confluence
• Newsletter for SLA Pittsburgh chapter available
  online
• http//units.sla.org/chapter/cpit/publications.htm
  

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ALAWON

• American Library Association
• Washington Office
• Newsline

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The ALAWON What Its About

• An irregular publication, but trends show it
  comes out 2-3 times a month.
• Acts as a mouthpiece between ALA members and/or
  library activists and federal legislators
• Each issue focuses on one or two hot topics that
  involve Capitol Hill.

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Why Do Librarians Need This?

• 1. ALAWON provides opportunity to unite
  librarians on government issues
• 2.This union allows librarians a chance to make a
  greater impact
• 3. Keeps librarians current on whats going on in
  Washington

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• What are the main topics/recurrent themes
• discussed in ALAWON?

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Augusts Topics

• Augusts topics fell under 2 main issues
• Increasing awareness of libraries
• LCSM Library Card Sign-Up Month
• Literacy Information Communication Regional
  Resource Centers program
• Funding
• Updated Grants page on ALA Washington
  Offices website
• New grant for The Big Read program

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Library Card Sign-Up Month

• September
• Encourages parents to sign kids up for cards
• ALA is asking Congress to mention LCSM in local
  speeches, etc. to get the word out
• Encourages ALAWON readers to do the same
• ALAWON has link to a fact sheet on LCSM

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The Big Read

• National Endowment for the Arts The Big Read
  program
• 100 grants awarded in 2007
• Communities come together to discuss one book
• Communities will receive library resources as
  well as the grant
• Link to www.neabigread.org

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Septembers Topics

• H.R. 5439, the Orphan Works Act of 2006
• Deals with increasing awareness of this act and
  challenging the legislation
• ALA Washington Office offers free Online Advocacy
  Training
• Geared towards training library supporters to
  communicate with Congress

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More September

• Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency
  Act of 2006, S. 2590
• Provides awareness of a new bill that allows a
  searchable database to show grants, loans,
  contracts, etc., awarded by the federal
  government
• Amendment to original bill was passed that
  requires separate search engines for grants and
  contracts

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How does this kind of newsletter/information
benefit library supporters?
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ALA Washington Offices Other Current Issues

• The Washington Office has eight main focuses
  besides the Newsline. Some are
• Technology, the Internet, and Telecommunications
• Broadband
• CALEA
• Interactive Web Applications
• E-Rate
• Internet Safety

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• Federal Funding
• Why it matters to librarians
• Current status
• What you can do
• Head Start
• Child development program that helps kids from
  low-income families be better prepared for school
• Current status
• Recent Legislative background
• Civil Liberties, Intellectual Freedom, and
  Privacy
• CIPA

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• Privacy
• US PATRIOT Act
• These are just a few of the main issues that
  ALAs Washington Office are focused on right now.
  The Newsline is geared towards keeping
  interested parties informed on issues related to
  these topics.

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American Libraries

• Publication from the ALA
• Published monthly
• Subscription required or available with ALA
  membership
• Unlike ALAWON, American Libraries has articles
  dealing with local issues, job info, and
  non-government-related topics

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Current Issues in American Libraries

• Augusts issue discusses
• Rebuilding New Orleans libraries
• News from meetings/conferences of ALA
  organizations
• Literature by librarians, on library issues
• Job opportunities and ways to connect to your
  community
• Septembers issue discusses

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• ALA awards, scholarships, grants given and
  received in 2006
• Business strategies for libraries
• Marketing strategies for libraries, things like
  changing the concept of how a library is
  perceived