The National Library of Medicine (NLM) and the Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) as part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are partnering to increase the awareness and access to sex and gender differences research resources available from NIH and their 27 Institutes and Centers through the Women’s Health Resources Portal (http://whr.nlm.nih.gov) through a funding opportunity. The purpose of the Women’s Health Resources Dissemination Project is to design programs for creating and improving access to and use of sex and gender differences information for university and college students, faculty, librarians and health professionals. Emphasis is on providing information or access to health and medical information that is relevant and usable by the intended audience, and increasing the awareness and utilization of high-quality, professional-level online medical and public health information resource on sex and gender difference basic science, sex-specific studies, disparities, and inclusion research, including the NLM Women’s Health Resources Portal (http://whr.nlm.nih.gov) that serves as an access point to all NIH sex and gender differences resources. The purpose is also to promote new and creative collaborations between university / college and their library, specifically medical and Health libraries, to students and faculty to increase the knowledge and awareness of sex and gender differences in research design and reporting. University and colleges libraries may also increase information access to existing partnerships with outside organizations that are primarily focused on health and medical research.

All proposals must be received by September 10, 2012 at 12:00 P.M. (Eastern Standard Time). To find more information about this funding opportunity, see the links below:

1)       NIHLM2012431A-Partial Small Business Set-Aside

https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=4847d32387bcf31626b106b23617b6e8&tab=core&_cview=0

2)       NIHLM2012431B-Full and Open

https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=ade51c642d5d33f4ec18202f248a9f23&tab=core&_cview=0

The Membership and Recruitment Committee of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter (MAC) of the Medical Library Association invites library students to apply for a conference scholarship to attend the 2012 MLA Quad Chapter Meeting which will be held from October 13-16th, 2012, at the Tremont Grant in Baltimore, MD. This is unique opportunity to attend a chapter meeting with several other chapters as MAC will be meeting with the Southern, Philadelphia, and New York/New Jersey Chapters of the Medical Library Association.

Students attending the conference are invited to explore the benefits of health sciences librarianship through interaction, networking, and mentorship. Special programming elements are being designed for student involvement. This unique opportunity for emerging professionals includes:

• Ticket to New Member/Student Reception on October 13th, 2012

• Ticket to the Welcome Reception on October 13th, 2012
• Inclusive Registration for October 13 – 16, 2012
• Conference buddy assignment

Awards

Five scholarships will be awarded. Along with complimentary registration for the Welcome Reception on October 13th and full-day registration from October 14th-16th , scholarship recipients will receive meals that are provided as part of the conference program.
The Student Vision Scholarship does not include travel expenses to the conference (airfare, mileage, or car rental), accommodations (hotel), or meals outside of conference programming on Oct 13th-16th  as defined above.

Eligibility Criteria:

Scholarship applicants must be:

• A current library student:
  • Attending an ALA accredited library school in the MAC region or
  • Working in the MAC region and attending any distance education ALA accredited library school.
• Full or part-time student
• Willing to submit a ½ page report detailing their experience and impressions of the program to appear in the MAC Messages newsletter.
• Committed to attend the New Member/Student Reception and Welcome Reception on October 13th and as much of the conference programming as possible

Submission Guidelines

To be considered for this award, applicants must:

• Meet all the eligibility criteria
• Obtain a letter of recommendation from a library school faculty member
• Submit an essay (no more than 500 words) describing their interest in health sciences librarianship
• Submit a current resume and cover letter

Deadline for Submission

Completed applications should be emailed to Shannon D. Jones and Ryan Harris, co-coordinators of the Student Vision Scholarship at macscholars@gmail.com by Friday, September 14, 2012. Incomplete applications or applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

2012 MAC Conference Scholar

The Membership and Recruitment Committee of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter (MAC) of the Medical Library Association invites new librarians to apply for a conference scholarship to attend the 2012 MAC Annual Meeting.

This year’s meeting will be part of the MLA Quad Chapter Meeting held at the Tremont Plaza Hotel in Baltimore, MD, October 13-16.

Award

One scholarship will be awarded. The selected recipient will receive complimentary conference registration, which includes most meals, lodging at the conference hotel, and a one-year MAC/MLA membership.

Eligibility Criteria

Scholarship applicants must be:

• A MAC member with 5 or less years of post-MLS experience
• A first-time attendee at the MAC/MLA Annual meeting
• Currently employed in a hospital or academic medical center library in the MAC/MLA region: District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and Western Pennsylvania
• Willing to submit a one-page report detailing their experience and impression of the meeting to appear in MAC Messages Blog.
• Committed to attend ENTIRE meeting from October 13-16, 2012.

Submission Guidelines

To be considered for this award, you must:

• Obtain a letter of recommendation from your supervisor or library director
• Submit an essay, NO MORE THAN 500 WORDS, describing your interest in participating in the 2012 Conference Scholar Program, your interest in health sciences librarianship, and how attending the MAC/MLA meeting will contribute to your professional development.
• Submit a current resume and cover letter.

Deadline for Submission

Applicants should email their completed applications to the MAC Conference Scholars Program at macscholars@gmail.com by Friday, August 24, 2012.

All scholarship applicants will be notified via e-mail by Friday, August 31, 2012.

Please Contact Ryan Harris, MAC Membership and Recruitment Committee Chair, if you have any further questions, rharris@hshsl.umaryland.edu.

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) announces a funding opportunity for small projects to improve access to disaster medicine and public health information for health care professionals, first responders and others that play a role in health-related disaster preparedness, response and recovery.

NLM is soliciting proposals from partnerships that include at least one library and at least one non-library organization that has disaster-related responsibilities, such as health departments, public safety departments, emergency management departments, prehospital and emergency medical services, fire/rescue, or other local, regional, or state agencies with disaster health responsibilities; hospitals; faith-based and voluntary organizations active in disaster; and others.

NLM encourages submission of innovative proposals that enhance mutually beneficial collaboration among libraries and disaster-related agencies. For example, projects may increase awareness of health information resources, demonstrate how libraries and librarians can assist planners and responders with disaster-related information needs, show ways in which disaster workers can educate librarians about disaster management, and/or include collaboration among partners in developing information resources that support planning and response to public health emergencies.  Summaries of the seven projects  funded for 2011-2012 can be viewed at http://disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc/2011disasteroutreachawards.html.

Contract awards will be offered for a minimum of $15,000 to a maximum of $30,000 each for a one-year project.

The deadline for proposals is Wednesday, August 8, 2012 at 2 pm ET. Proposals are limited to six pages plus supplemental materials such as resumes, letters of support, and a budget.

The Request for Proposal (RFP) for this requirement has been split into two solicitations; one Partial Small Business Set-Aside (RFP No.: NIHLM2012411) and; one Full and Open (RFP No.: NIHLM2012412). The solicitation notices are on FedBizOpps.gov as follows:

Partial Small Business Set-Aside  https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=ad2bb9b6b067a1b0cb704070dbcc4f13&tab=core&_cview=0

Full and Open  https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=9d9f0974ab8150e88e20ef5a1fdce4b3&tab=core&_cview=0

For more information and instructions about the “Disaster Health Information Outreach and Collaboration Project 2012”, please visit http://disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc/2012disasteroutreachrfp.html .

The National Library of Medicine (http://www.nlm.nih.gov) is the world’s largest biomedical library and provides extensive online health information resources. Visit the NLM Disaster Information Management Research Center site (http://disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov ) to learn more about disaster-related health information from WISER (hazardous materials information for emergency responders), REMM-Radiation Emergency Medical Management, CHEMM-Chemical Hazards Emergency Medical Management, and other resources.

Public Health is an increasingly important subject area for health science librarians and the American Public Health Association (APHA) Meeting is the primary association in the field. The award announcement below represents a great opportunity for interested librarians to attend the annual APHA meeting. Please examine the links in the announcement to find additional information about APHA, the Sewell Fund, and the award. For more specific questions, please feel free to contact Barbara Folb at the address below.

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Librarians with an interest in public health, make this the year you attend the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting.  Stipends funded by The Grace and Harold Sewell Memorial Fund for this purpose will be awarded to at least 11 librarians in 2012.  This year’s APHA meeting will take place in San Francisco, CA from October 27 – 31, 2012. Its theme is Prevention and Wellness Across the Life Span.

Applications are now being accepted.  The deadline for application is Friday July 27, 2012, 5pm EST.  For more information and an application form, go to http://www.phha.mlanet.org/blog/2012/sewell-stipend-2012/

For more information on the 2012 APHA meeting see http://www.apha.org/meetings/highlights/ .

For more information on the Sewell Fund, see http://www.sewellfund.org/ .

The mission of the Fund is to increase librarians’ identification with medical and health care professionals.  Stipends have been awarded annually since 2001.  Past participants testify to the value of attending APHA:

“Connecting with my fellow library and information professionals and public health colleagues was energizing…The spirit of true collaboration shone through the programs.”  (Feili Tu)

“Many of the things I learned were not specific, as in tangible facts, more of an understanding of what Public Health is. I learned it covers just about everything…for Public Health you need to be knowledgeable about the issues, the potential impact of legislation, and knowledgeable about the ‘agendas’ of the interested parties…” (Kristin Kroger)

“Overall the conference really helped me to better understand the scope of public health as well as the latest development in the areas of public health that I am most likely to have to deal with as a librarian….It was an incredible learning experience.” (Manju Tanwar)

“The fact that I’m working on a Masters in Public Health was very interesting to her (public health colleague) because she didn’t realize that some librarians also have another graduate degree. I think this helped solidify the idea that librarians could be peers to teaching faculty.” (Amber Burtis)

“As a result of the meeting I gained a deeper understanding of my patrons’ needs”  (Peggy Gross)

“I feel like I now have a cohort of people to whom to turn when I have questions about what I am doing as I move into supporting my institution’s public health program.” (Laure Zeigen)

We look forward to reading your application!

Barb

Barbara Folb, MM, MLS, MPH

Public Health Informationist

University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences Library System

Chair, Client Relations Committee Public Health/ Health Administration Section Medical Library Association folb@pitt.edu<mailto:folb@pitt.edu>