Congratulations to our own Tammy Mays, one of the Spectrum Scholarship winners, who is beginning her doctorate program at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Hear about Tammy’s journey - and learn more about the Spectrum Doctoral Fellowship program - at: http://www.ala.org/ala/diversity/spectrum/phdfellowship/mays.htm.

The second annual meeting of the 2006-2011 GMR Regional Advisory Council (RAC) was held in Chicago on September 10-11, 2007. During the first part of the meeting, members were given an update on the programs and services offered by the GMR and engaged in a lively discussion about current issues such as outreach to community-based organizations and access to multi-lingual health information. (more…)

Emergency preparedness planning will be a major focus of the GMR during the current five year contract with the National Library of Medicine. Ruth Holst, the Associate Director of the GMR, is working with associate directors from the other seven regions to create a National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) Emergency Preparedness plan. (more…)

National Public Radio (NPR) Morning Edition has an article online today entitled Patients Turn to the Internet for Health Information. Both the Pew/Internet and the Medical Library Association are cited as resources. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15166387

Kudos to Network member Pam Rees who was honored for her 35 years of service at the State Library of Iowa. Read more online from the State Library website: http://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/archive/2007/09/prees.

Pam Rees, MALS, AHIP
Medical Librarian
State Library of Iowa
Des Moines, IA

The Iowa State Fair attracts about a million visitors annually for an 11-day event every August in Des Moines, Iowa. Because the State Fair draws such large crowds, I thought it would be a great opportunity to showcase MedlinePlus® and other National Library of Medicine (NLM) web site products that are available at no charge from any Internet connected computer. So, the State Library of Iowa applied for and received a $1,500 Exhibit Award from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine Greater Midwest Region (NN/LM GMR). (more…)