The NNLM Region 6 Speaker Series is an intermittent webinar series hosted by NNLM Region 6. It showcases guest speakers who address various topics relevant to our members, including librarians, public health practitioners, educators, clinicians, and other healthcare information professionals. Our selection of topics is influenced by audience preferences and requests, trends, seasonal relevance, and speaker availability, ensuring a dynamic and engaging experience for all participants.
Topics provide information to help attendees do one or more of the following:
Know their communities
Better understand health consumers
Evaluate health information
Increase knowledge of resources and subjects
Improve health-related communication, reference, instruction, and programming
Increase health literacy
Understand and explore the relationship between technology and health
Explore ethical and legal issues
Assess needs for health information
Obtain and disseminate health-related information
Identify sources of secondary data related to health
Scope: The Region 6 Spotlight Speaker webinars feature guest speakers who present various topics related to the mission, goals, or strategic plan of the NNLM, NLM, NIH, or NNLM initiatives, priority areas, and activities, and topics relevant to our members, including librarians, public health practitioners, educators, clinicians, and other healthcare information professionals. These webinars seek to increase awareness of or access to health information resources and data, improve health literacy, increase health equity through information, and/or increase health information access and use.
Accessibility This webinar includes live closed captioning.
Code of Conduct NNLM is dedicated to providing a welcoming and supportive environment for all people, regardless of background or identity. As such, we expect respectful interactions with instructors and learners. Read the full Code of Conduct here.
Recording The recording of this webinar will be posted to our YouTube channel 1-2 weeks following the live event.
Class Length
1 hour
Continuing Education
This class qualifies for Medical Library Association (MLA) Consumer Health Information Specialization (CHIS) Level 1.
This class qualifies for Medical Library Association (MLA) Consumer Health Information Specialization (CHIS) Level 2.
This series has been approved for 1 Medical Library Association (MLA) continuing education credit.
This series meets the following CHIS Level 1 and Level 2 competencies:
C1. Know the Community C2. Know the Health Consumer C3. Knowledge of Subject Matter and Resources C4. Evaluation of Health Information C5. Communication, Reference, and Instruction C6. Literacy and Health Literacy C7. Technology and Health C8. Ethical and Legal Issues
Existing organizational systems including Dewey Decimal System and Library of Congress Classification are inherently damaging to Indigenous people and are insufficient for accurately describing and providing access to Native topics. From 2019 to 2024, the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Libraries worked with community members to create a new classification system, Maawn Doobiigeng (Gather Together). A member of the workgroup and the Tribal Librarian will share about the process of creating this new system, how it is being implemented, and how it is being used in the libraries, particularly in terms of health-related resources.
In this webinar, the authors of the latest article in this series will join us to discuss the evidence pyramid. They will provide an overview of how the traditional evidence pyramid can mislead students and clinicians, and propose a different method to determine evidence strength and applicability – the evidence funnel. Join us for an engaging session that will feature a live discussion, with ample opportunity for questions and dialogue.
This presentation will discuss the partnership between the St. Louis University Medical Center Library, medical students, and the School of Medicine’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. It will focus on their collaborative efforts to collect materials for patient care of diverse populations, educate about social determinants of health, and foster awareness and a sense of belonging within the School of Medicine’s diverse community.
The Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) has partnered with Glory Girl Productions to present the film, Addict’s Wake. The movie shares stories of substance use disorder and treatment told from the survivor’s perspective. Following a week of virtual film screenings a panel including the film’s producer, Lisa Hall, Dr. William Cooke, a community physician and author of Canary in the Coal Mine, and Dr. Lynn Anne Witty will present a one-hour webinar discussion.
Why do we expect to find toilet paper and paper towels but not period products in a public bathroom? Know Your Flow is a partnership between NNLM Region 6 and Aunt Flow to help everyone access menstrual health information and find free period products.
Join guest speaker Julia Brody, director of Silent Spring Institute, to
(1) review the science on how everyday chemical exposures can influence breast cancer risk,
(2) identify resources to help people reduce their exposures by taking simple actions as individuals and community members, and
(3) learn how misleading information, including from sources that people expect to be reliable, can play into industry’s dismissive strategies.
Join guest speaker Alejandro Marquez (he/him) to learn about loneliness among library staff and practical strategies to create a more inclusive and supportive workplace environment.
This meeting is for public librarians and library workers who work in public libraries in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
This presentation will shed light on the health literacy of individuals living with mental health and substance use disorders. Guest speaker Dr. Tayla Degan will provide an overview of her research examining the multidimensional health literacy levels of this population and how health literacy levels impact health outcomes. She will discuss practical tools and future steps to address this population's health literacy.
Dr. Saravanan will present on her Region 6 award, The Smart Tablet Education for Healthy Living Program, a program where older adults living in retirement home benefitted from workshops on how to use smart tablets for accessing reliable health information.
Join Raymond Pun, Nicollette Davis, and Patrice R. Green for a webinar presentation based on their recent commentary in the Journal of Medical Library Association (JMLA) titled "Medical Libraries and Their Complicated Past: An Exploration of the Historical Connections Between Medical Collections and Racial Science." The presentation will explore the historical ties between medical libraries and racial science, focusing on empire-building. Attendees, particularly those involved in library instruction, will gain valuable insights into how medical sciences and collections have been influenced by racial science discourse, which continues to impact today's medical practices for patients who identify as Black, Indigenous, or persons of color.
Join us for a one-hour webinar with Meg Galasso as she delves into the important topics of weight discrimination, fat representation, and anti-fatness in the library profession. Drawing from comprehensive interviews with public-facing librarians across different library types, including public, school, academic, and special libraries, this webinar will provide valuable insights into the experiences and perspectives of these professionals. Gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities surrounding these
Expressive writing has been shown to have many benefits for those facing chronic and serious illness. Guest speaker April Stearns, founder of Wildfire magazine, will discuss the how expressive writing can be helpful in healing and share her experience translating the science about expressive writing into a writing program for young people with breast cancer. Participants will learn about the history of expressive writing in healing, expressive writing's role in physical healing, and how expressive writing interventions lead to improved outcomes.
This presentation on the most recent developments of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems will discuss the basic principles of ChatGPT and other generative AIs, provide real-time demonstrations of how to use generative AI systems, examine the historical use of AI technology, and encourage discussion about the potential costs and harms of powerful AI systems.
This webinar will discuss reproductive health as an information access concern, introduce the Reproductive Justice framework, and offer ideas for how libraries can provide create environments that are supportive of sexual and reproductive health information.
This webinar will feature two NNLM Region 6 awardees who used funding to create multicultural and multilingual health information resources for their communities. Learn how to adopt and use their resources for your community!
Epic Research launched during the COVID-19 pandemic as a new kind of journal, focused on making good data available sooner rather than perfect data available too late. This webinar will explore its methodology and publication process, and look at recent study findings.
Learn about the phenomenon of endocrine disruption, the inference of normal hormonal processes in the human endocrine system by chemicals and pollutants in our environment. Participants will learn about historical discoveries and recent scientific findings. Approaches to address the issue, including chemical avoidance and political advocacy, will be discussed.
This talk will summarize the latest research on PCBs, especially PCBs in air of schools where they remain present in caulking, adhesives, and electrical equipment.
Guest speaker: Keri Hornbuckle
Learn the benefits and barriers of emerging, artificially-enabled technologies for addressing the challenges older adults encounter when trying to find, understand, and use health information.
In this webinar, three psychiatrists will provide an overview of mental health disparities and the social determinants which affect access to mental health services, and they will highlight strategies to advance mental health care and access for all.
The potential dangers of e-cigarette use are well-publicized, but what do youth users really think about e-cigarettes, including the possible development of health risks and nicotine addiction? A student-led team from the University of Iowa recently examined the role that user-generated content on the social media platform TikTok plays in promoting e-cigarette culture.
Trauma-informed care for library patrons is a growing movement, however, what about workplace trauma experienced by library staff? We share findings to-date regarding our IMLS-funded study “Trauma in the Library: Symptoms of PTSD Among Staff and Methods for Ensuring Trauma-Informed Care.”
Join the nurses and librarians behind Nursing Experts: Translating the Evidence (NExT), an online site for evidence-based practice resources and learning. The panel will provide an overview and demonstration of the program and resource tool, share insights on their successful interprofessional collaboration and multi-year funding awards, and answer your questions.
Many teens in foster care experience trauma unfathomable to most of us. Keeping abreast of the most up to date information around trauma informed care is a meaningful way to provide services to this demographic.
Be empowered to apply for an NNLM Region 6 subaward after attending this one-hour panel speaker session. Three of our current award recipients will describe their programs/projects and share their application experience.
Join Jenn Carson, public library director, yoga teacher, and physical literacy researcher as she shares some mindfulness-based approaches to offering trauma-sensitive programming in academic and public libraries
Trauma-informed librarianship (TIL) is a vital practice that invites us to be intentional and deliberate about creating cultural shifts in how we approach our work to move towards healing, for our patrons, for each other, and for ourselves.
Join public health expert Celeste Monforton and award-winning journalist Jane M. Von Bergen as they discuss their book On the Job at Region 6's first Speaker Spotlight Series.
