A Message from the RML Director: Fall 2008
September is the start of the new year for students, their families, and the hospitals and universities in which they begin a new annual cycle of work and study. Their thrill at taking the next step, making progress toward their goals, sustains them through the heavy workload and steep learning curve. Health sciences librarians and staff experience a similar boost in the fall as they guide and instruct their new users and participate in local, state, and regional meetings.
That back-to-school excitement is tempered this year by the impact that severe flooding last summer and again this month is having on our colleagues in Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin, and beyond. The NN/LM Emergency Preparedness & Response Toolkit provides current information about emergency conditions, as well as emergency resources, sample plans, individual institutional plans, and reflections on lessons learned. There are forms for reporting emergency situations and for sharing information about how they were resolved. Locally, the Emergency Preparedness Task Force, comprised of a representative from each state in GMR, actively facilitates communication and assistance for libraries in need. The GMR staff helps with DOCLINE updating and facilitating communications between libraries that are experiencing an emergency and libraries that can help maintain access to information for their users.
On a happier note, we celebrate the launch of the Iowa Go Local in August – at the Iowa State Fair! North Dakota will officially launch their Go Local in late September. If you look at the Go Local map, however, you will see the state colored purple and be able to link to the Go Local site. Congratulations to the University of Iowa Hardin Library for the Health Sciences and the Harley E. French Library at the University of North Dakota – and all the contributors who brought these projects to fruition.
The GMR staff also feel a strong sense of accomplishment this month, as we have completed the NLM Site Visit of the NN/LM contract that takes place in the third year. Our site visit took place on August 12, 2008. To prepare for it, we conducted a region-wide membership survey on GMR effectiveness, and also hosted an evaluation meeting with several GMR members and the site visit team. We were able to introduce our newest staff to the team and the members. We will share the outcomes of the visit with you in the near future.
Finally, I am eagerly anticipating the opportunity to meet with you at the Midwest Chapter meeting in Troy, Michigan, in October. The GMR staff is likewise looking forward to meeting with you at MC/MLA and at your state meetings this fall.
Kate Carpenter
Director, Greater Midwest Regional Medical Library Network
