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Over time, it sometimes seems as if the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) mission has been changing. First, there was an emphasis on physicians - particularly those who were unaffiliated with a medical library and were in need of health information access. Then, it was consumers and access to accurate, reliable health information. Enter MedlinePlus and the NN/LM outreach to public libraries and librarians. About the same time, there was a lot of excitement and a push to reach out to public health professionals who were in need of (you guessed it) accurate, reliable health information. A little glimpse into the future and you'll see on the horizon a move to extend outreach to community based organizations.

In reality, the mission of the NN/LM isn't changing at all. Advancing technology and new databases from NLM allowed the NN/LM to sharpen its focus, to hone its work, and to bring access to health information to public health professionals and consumers. The NN/LM mission statement reads:

The NN/LM still adheres to this mission. The tool the NN/LM is using to achieve this is access to health information. Whether its health professional requiring clinical information, a lay person needing to make informed personal health decisions, or a community based organization striving to decrease the incidence of chronic disease, the key is access. And access to the needed information will, the NN/LM believes, advance the progress of medicine and improve the public health.

Well, that's all very well and good, someone is bound to be thinking, but what about librarians? Shouldn't part of the mission of the NN/LM be supporting and advocating for the librarians who help provide that information access to health professionals and the public? It is. Also from the NN/LM mission statement:

Implicit in that sentence is the acknowledgement that the NN/LM could not achieve its mission without the help of an entire network of librarians - health science librarians and public library librarians.

That's one of the reasons why the program here at the NER is designed the way it is. The NER makes funding available to help librarians bring into existence the programs and services they believe are necessary to fulfilling their own missions successfully. The NER has, among other things:

• Provided funding for electronic document delivery projects;
• Helped establish consumer health access through the Holyoke Consumer Health project, the Franklin Medical Center's Library Connections for Health, the Arch project, the Health Information New Hampshire project, and many more;
• Helped to provide medical information in Asian languages through the SPIRAL project at Tufts University Health Sciences Library;
• Provided funding for many more projects - see the current listing at http://nnlm.gov/ner/funding/fundprojects.html.

The NER provides training and educational programs to support the librarians who, day in and day out, are answering the questions and providing the information access. Upcoming opportunities for learning and networking include:

• The Hospital Library Evaluation Workshop (March 4, 2005)
• The annual Resource Sharing Day (April 1, 2005)
• Numerous classes offered by NER staff - see the website calendar for details

Outreach leads to better access to health information which leads to progress in medicine and the improvement of the public health. We in the NER welcome the opportunity to serve the librarians, the health professionals, and the population of this region. We look forward to your participation in this effort and we welcome your questions, your comments, and your input as we work to help achieve the mission of the NN/LM.

Donna Berryman, Outreach Coordinator