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In January of 2002 a meeting of the Middlesex Hospital Cancer Center Library Committee was held to discuss the 647 square foot space earmarked for a new library in the outpatient cancer center, which was under construction and due to open in the fall of 2002. The architectural firm wanted input from the committee on the use of the space. As the only librarian on the committee, I was the "expert" and my initial recommendation was for a computer for the librarian, and two additional computers for patrons. I also recommended having a copier, a networked printer, an individual color printer for the librarian, a TV/VCR/DVD for patrons to use in the library, a fax machine and as much shelf space as possible.

Following the meeting I read about space planning in libraries, called a number of cancer librarians around the country, and went to visit the consumer library at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, MA. It was very interesting to hear and see what others had done, and it made me confident that our plans at Middlesex Hospital were on target by planning for patrons to search for the latest information on the Internet in addition to the traditional books and videos.

During this planning period I contacted Debbie Sibley at the NN/LM-RML about the possibility of a grant to help with the startup costs. Debbie told me that technology awards from NLM were available and that all I needed to send her was a one or two page proposal of use. This would include what resources the public would access electronically (especially PubMed and MEDLINEPlus), staffing, the location, availability, an estimate of the number of people who would be served, and a quotation for the equipment.

At this point the hospital administration had agreed to hire a full time librarian for the library, which we decided to name the Patient Resource Library. The planned location was in an ideal spot, off to the left directly inside the front door. With those features as a starting point, I wrote a rough draft and took it over to our Philanthropy Department, where they are experts in writing grant proposals. With their help, I sent in a three page proposal to the NN/LM in May, and a few weeks later heard from Debbie that we needed to slightly revise our proposal since the cap on this type of grant was $5,000. We amended the numbers to come up with a request for two patron computers, one computer with a CD burner for the librarian, and a networked printer. We heard at the end of June that we had been awarded the grant, which was perfect timing for ordering the equipment.

The Patient Resource Library opened to Middlesex Hospital Cancer Center patients, family members and Middlesex county residents on Monday, November 4, 2002. One full-time librarian staffs the library Monday through Friday. The library's book and video collection is growing everyday and new patrons stop in daily to request information or to ask about information specific to their medical condition. The library was open 20 days in the month of November, during which time the librarian circulated 25 books and answered 39 reference questions. In the first seven days of December, the librarian has already received ten reference questions.

Technology plays an essential role in answering research questions, as any librarian has come to expect. Without the computer equipment purchased with the grant awarded to the Patient Resource Library these statistics would not be possible. Already computer usage by the public has dramatically increased. Caregivers and patients familiar with the Patient Resource Library's layout make their way to the computer area to conduct their own research. The librarian has been able to use her own computer for information searches and to print results in color to better help patrons understand graphics or pictures. The CD burner will be utilized for off-site outreach workshops.

The entire process of applying, revising, and receiving the grant was made exceptionally easy by Debbie Sibley, who was very approachable and responsive to us. I encourage other libraries to take advantage of the grant money available from NLM. The Middlesex Hospital Patient Resource Library has been written up in our local paper, the Middletown Press, and is featured in the advertising campaign for the cancer center. This is the picture that will be featured in the upcoming ad campaign:

Article Submitted By Nancy Goodwin, Library Director and Lori Lantos, Librarian Middlesex Hospital

For the past five months, clients and staff at the AIDS Action Committee have been able to access health-related materials much more quickly, thanks to an equipment grant the agency received from the NN/LM New England Region (NER) last year. The grant allowed AIDS Action to replace the Library's two outdated computers with state-of-the art Compaq computers with 19-inch monitors.

AIDS Action is the oldest and largest AIDS service organization in New England. The agency provides a broad array of services, including housing, case management, financial and legal services, prevention, and health education. The HIV Health Library at AIDS Action is the primary source of health information for the agency's more than 2,500 clients, and is a resource for people living with HIV across Massachusetts. In addition, many case managers, social workers, and medical providers contact the Library's two health information specialists for materials to educate themselves and their clients about HIV.

In the past few years, funding for AIDS Action's many programs has been tight, due in part to state budget cuts and an increasingly difficult fundraising environment as a result of the recession. As a result, the agency has had limited funds to update equipment, such as computers. This has been particularly problematic for the staff of the HIV Health Library, which uses computers to produce HIV-related publications for clients and providers, to create materials for the agency's web site, and to search the Internet many times each day for health information.

The two computers that the Library was able to purchase with the NN/LM NER grant have helped us in a variety of ways. All of our software runs far more quickly on the new computers than on our old equipment. This is especially helpful when we have several memory-intensive applications active at the same time. Our many Internet searches are now completed much faster than on our old computers. In the past, downloads of files, in particular those containing graphics, could take 30 seconds or more for a single web page. This made it difficult to provide "while you wait" service to clients and providers visiting the Library. Now even image-rich web pages download in a few seconds. The computers' CD read-write drives have come in particularly handy for backing up important documents and copying large files for AIDS Action staff and for collaborating agencies.

Last, but certainly not least, the computers' 19-inch monitors have been a godsend, reducing eye strain for the Library's two health specialists who spend many hours a day at their terminals. The large monitors, together with the fast computer processors, also allow for the display of high-resolution graphics and have made it possible to display animated images easily.

In short, the computers we received through our NN/LM NER equipment grant have helped us do our work more efficiently and easily. Thanks very much!

By Eric Brus, Associate Director of the HIV Health Program

Mentoring has become a national movement in business and industry as organizations strive to insure recruitment, retention and productivity of talented employees. Librarians who have traditionally sought talented and respected colleagues to share opinions and experiences in an informal manner are experiencing the need to explore more formal approaches to mentoring as we continue to recruit new members to our profession.

This year at the MLA Annual Meeting in San Diego, there will be a three-hour program on Wednesday, May 7 from 9am to 12 noon where members can learn about and discuss how to further develop, implement and maintain mentoring activities in our organization. The committee responsible for planning this program is the first to be composed of members from both Section Council (Stephen Greenberg, Jett McCann, Tovah Reis) and Chapter Council (Irene Lovas, Paula Raimondo, Debbie Sibley).

Consultant Karen Garman, Ed.D., who spoke at the November 2001 joint meeting of the Association of Academic Health Sciences Librarians (AAHSL) and the Association of Medical Colleges, will set the stage for the program by providing an overview of mentoring. Dr. Garman is a nationally recognized speaker and consultant who specializes in the fields of mentoring, healthcare education, leadership and performance.

To share some of their unique experiences of professional growth, a distinguished panel of health sciences librarians including Sue Trombley, from the Arizona Health Sciences Library in Tucson, Ruth Holst, currently the associate director, NN/LM Greater Midwest Region, and Rick Forsman, director of the Denison Memorial Library at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center will bring their perspectives of mentoring to the discussion. Sue is a recent graduate, Ruth is at mid-career and a former hospital librarian who has been and has mentored, and Rick is a "senior" librarian who has mentored librarians throughout his career.

A Town Meeting will cap off the morning. This will be the time for everyone to express opinions, to offer ideas and thoughts, and to ask any questions about mentoring. It will be an opportunity for MLA members to hear about the mentoring activities of MLA, its Sections and Chapters, and other professional associations and organizations. The Town Meeting will be the place to continue planning mentoring initiatives for our professional organization.

Before the Annual Meeting, there will be opportunities for you to assist the Committee in planning the Town Meeting. A bibliography of mentoring resources will be posted on MLANet. There will be a place on MLANet to post suggestions, comments and questions to be addressed at the Town Meeting. You also can email any ideas or questions to either Irene Lovas (email: Irene.Lovas@cshs.org) or Tovah Reis (Tovah_Reis@brown.edu). Please take this opportunity to participate as the MLA membership continues to develop and implement mentoring activities for future health sciences librarians.

Submitted by Irene Lovas and Tovah Reis, Co-Chairs, MLA Joint Section/Chapter Councils Committee for MLA 2003