Medical Library Association

The Medical Library Association (MLA) is a nonprofit, educational organization with more than 4,000 health sciences information professional members and partners worldwide. 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.

What's New

See McGovern Keynote Presenter Daniel Pink and Register for MLA '10
Get ready for MLA '10 by watching a video greeting from McGovern Keynote Presenter Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind. From the same page (hosted by the Washington Speakers Bureau), you can register for the meeting, vote on a poll question, and comment on what you hope to discuss at MLA '10.

February MLA News Now Online
The February issue of MLA News is now online. This issue features the 2010/11 MLA election results, an Expert Searching column comparing Google to PubMed and CINAHL, and a Medical Library Education column examining the pros and cons of getting a PhD.

Nominating Committee Survey on MLA 2010/11 Election
The MLA Nominating Committee is charged with finding suitable candidates to run for national offices and running the election. This year, the 2009 Nominating Committee tried a few different things to give MLA members more information about the candidates. They would like your opinion on these changes. Please complete this survey and offer any comments on how you felt the election process worked and suggestions on how to make it better. Many thanks!

MLA's New Association Management System Now Available
The first phase of MLA's transition to the new web-based association management system (AMS) has now been completed! You can now log in to your account on MLANET and renew your membership for 2010. If you have already renewed, you have been added to the new system and you will receive an email when your payment is processed. For assistance, please contact Membership Services via email or by phone at 312.419.9094 x11 or x13.

MLA eLearning Course
"Change Management and Leadership for Medical Librarians" is a new elearning course taught by Pat Wagner. If you can understand how change impacts other people and the medical library as a whole, you can learn to increase the benefits and lower the costs (and stress) for yourself and others. This program addresses the needs of both the medical library change agent and those asked to implement the changes. Topics include: understanding the five roles, typical mistakes and how to prevent and fix them, what is changing in medical libraries, eight characteristics of people who cope well with change, nine causes of stress, conceptual tools and models, case studies and knowing when change is not the answer. It is at an intermediate level and on successful completion will provide eight CE credits. The class begins January 27 and will run through March 3. Contact Pat Wagner directly to register.

NIH Public Access Policy Slide Show Available for Download
MLA's Ad Hoc Committee For Advocating Scholarly Communication is pleased to announce the release of a new slide show: "NIH Public Access Policy: Overview for Librarians." The committee developed this resource in response to feedback it received from members who took the Fall 2008 survey on the NIH Public Access Policy. The slide show provides a template of information that can be modified for individual use, and is provided as both PowerPoint and PDF files depending on your needs. Download today! >>

Online Resume Clinic Now Offered to MLA Members
The MLA Online Resume Clinic has recently launched! Visit the MLA members-only area for expert review of your resume and interviewing tips.

MLA '09 Plenary Session Videos Online!
All MLA'09 plenary and business sessions plus the NLM update were recorded to video with synchronized slides this year and are available as FREE downloads (Quicktime *.mov files) to MLA members. Visit the members-only meeting content area for your link to register and download these MLA '09 plenary sessions. You may also Download MLA '09 abstracts and view MLA '09 posters online!

Vital Pathways White Paper Executive Summary Available
From saving hospitals thousands of dollars per year to saving patients’ lives, hospital librarians help fulfill many mission-critical roles in today’s hospital. The executive summary "Vital Pathways for Hospital Librarians: Addressing the Hospital's Information and Training Needs" describes critical roles for hospital librarians from a white paper to be published in the October 2009 Journal of the Medical Library Association. Read more and download the executive summary >>