MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

Submitted by Brian P. Bunnett

One of the benefits of being chair is the unique perspective it gives you on the activities going on in our section.  That is to say, as chair you are aware of all the important projects, clever ideas, and sustained effort and hard work of our members.  I hope this newsletter succeeds in giving you the same perspective I have and that after you finish reading it you will be impressed, as I am, by the variety of these projects and the ingenuity of our section colleagues. 

When reading this newsletter I ask you to keep in mind one other thing.  And that is that the work we contribute to our section is often done outside of our regular jobs.  It is volunteer work that we do in the evenings or on the weekends.  Our members give freely of their time so that the goal of our section – to promote international cooperation – is further advanced.  This sacrifice of our free time should be seen as evidence of our dedication and commitment to that goal.

That is the best part of being chair of our section.  Yes I’m always impressed by all the important projects and clever ideas that I hear of but it’s even more gratifying to witness the willingness of our members to give so readily of their time and energy. 

Brian P. Bunnett
University of New Mexico
Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center
Email: bbunnett@salud.unm.edu

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

Submitted by Daniel Dollar

I received from Grace Ajuwon the report on the first MLA Librarians Without Borders Grant awarded to E. Latunde Odeku Medical Library, College of Medicine at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Grace also included photographs and a DVD of a dedication ceremony held at the library on December 18, 2009 for the 2 computer workstations and 78 new reference and textbook editions purchased using the $5,000 provided by the grant.

The dedication ceremony is moving to watch, attended by more than seventy people, including the Provost of the College of Medicine along with students and lectures from the College and University College Hospital. I was first struck by the fact that most of the library’s existing book collections are 10 to 20 years old; these textbooks and reference works that my library picks up regularly on standing order are a major acquisition for Grace’s library. But moving past thoughts about how “poor” is Grace’s library was the support shown by administrators, faculty and students at the ceremony. It is support that comes from a library and its staff working to meet their users' information needs in furtherance of research, education and clinical practice. Support that shows the worth and wealth medical librarians bring to the health care profession—and an inspiration for us all.

Another source of inspiration for me is you, the members of the International Cooperation Section. Although we may be one of the smaller sections, what we might lack in numbers we make up for in passion and devotion. I have seen that passion and devotion in our discussions over the length of the Cunningham Fellowship, the fostering of partnership efforts, and the responsiveness to sudden events, such as the Haitian earthquake. (Remember, you can always make a donation to the MLA Medical Library Disaster Relief Fund.)

It becomes clearer every day just how interconnected our planet is, and I see the ICS well-positioned as we move pass our 20th Anniversary into a third decade of continuing to provide leadership to and launching pad for international cooperation efforts with medical librarians worldwide.

I wish to end this final message as Section Chair by thanking you all for your work, and especially to thank the ICS Officers who have given so generously of their time in service to the section. Circumstances conspired for me to have an extended two-year stay as Chair (same is true for Marcus Banks as Immediate Past Chair and Section Council Representative), still it has been an honor to serve you and do my small part in furthering our mission.

Daniel Dollar
Yale University
Cushing/Whitney Medical Library
Email:daniel.dollar@yale.edu

Message from the Chair

We have been shocked by the Haitian earthquake. The disaster has been compounded by the effects of poverty to create a terrible tragedy. The outpouring of donations, and the mobilization of health care professionals at many of our institutions, is heartening in addressing the immediate needs. Long term infrastructure will have to be rebuilt stronger than before, and the MLA will be a part of that response in helping to rebuild libraries and provide quality health information through the MLA Medical Library Disaster Relief Fund.
ICS has already made a donation to the fund for Haitian relief, and I encourage you to consider making a donation to the fund, especially as the news out of Haiti begins to recede in the press.
I am glad ICS members, immediately in the wake of the news out of Haiti, began asking how we could respond as a section. Clearly, much more will be needed in the months and years to come, and through cooperation with our international colleagues I know we will continue to contribute to solutions and respond to tragedies.

Best regards,

Daniel Dollar

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

Moving Forward

How can we strengthen the section? What are the projects and initiatives needed to fulfill the opening sentence found on our website? It reads:

ICS provides opportunities for participation in international cooperation projects, promotes awareness of international issues, provides a mechanism for addressing and responding to the needs of international members, and fosters communication in the international library area.

Although these are good questions, as someone working in a library with reduced budgets and staffing, as many of us are, I have to wonder where there is time for additional professional activities.

Yet we are still well off, especially when we consider the work environment of Grace Ajuwon, recipient of the 2009 MLA Librarians Without Borders (LWB) Grant. Grace’s library, the E. Latunde Odeku Medical Library at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, used the grant, in part, to increase the number of computers with Internet access to seven, in support of a medical student body of more than 400. There is much we can learn from Grace and her colleagues, who work under difficult financial circumstances and strive to provide the best library services possible. I am also grateful to Min-Lin Fang from the UCSF Library who secured the donation from the FlySheet Med-Informatics Company that made the LWB Grant possible.

We have a lot to be proud of as a section. Even so, in this time of the Great Recession, what are the ideas you have to help build and further work of our section? And what can you contribute to give life to those ideas?

2010 LWB Grant

The International Cooperation Section is pleased to announce the 2010 MLA Librarians Without Borders® Grant. The grant supports health science librarianship in HINARI Access to Research Initiative eligible countries, by funding training opportunities and/or the purchase of materials that further the use of biomedical resources for education, research or clinical practice.

Completed applications must be received in the Medical Library Association office on or before December 1, 2009. Maximum funding under the grant is $5,000 (USD). For complete information and application instructions, http://www.mlanet.org/resources/global/lwb_mla_grant.html

Questions: please contact Daniel Dollar

Daniel Dollar
Yale University
Cushing/Whitney Medical Library
Email:daniel.dollar@yale.edu
Voice: (203) 785-2883

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

Written by Daniel Dollar

1989 was the year of Tiananmen Square, the Exxon Valdez, revolution in Eastern Europe and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Paula Abdul and the group Milli Vanilli were at the top of U.S pop charts. And in the midst of these events, historic and fleeting, the International Cooperation Section (ICS) was founded.

Since its founding 20 years ago, ICS has been in the forefront of MLA’s international efforts. The section has played a key role in supporting the Cunningham Memorial International Fellowship, Sister Library partnerships, MLA’s Librarians without Borders program, and the WHO’s Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative (HINARI) just to name a few projects. Less noted, but no less important, are the individual efforts of ICS members through resource sharing, advocacy, job exchanges and other means that promote dialogue with our colleagues around the world, who are engaged in the same mission of providing quality information for improved health to the health care community and the public.

Our important work continues, such as the newly established Librarians without Borders Grant, as announced in this issue. While we move forward, I encourage you to read the early history of the section and our roots that run back to the founding of MLA, written by the late T. Mark Hodges. The history is linked from our section website and posted on MLANET at http://www.mlanet.org/archive/history/unit-history/international.html.

Happy 20th Anniversary ICS

Regards,

Daniel Dollar