Gary Kaplan

Mark your calendars to connect with your colleagues on April 6 at the Annual Dinner (details below) and on April 20 at the spring webcast, “Shifting Skills to Navigate the Changing Horizon: Finding Our Way in New Biomedical Research and Health Care Environments.”

Since the last issue of the Chronicle, Chapter members have assembled in November at Jefferson to watch MLA’s e-books webcast, in February at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia for a two-day event on Advocacy for Leaders, produced by the Mid-Atlantic Region Leadership Institute (MAR-LI); and at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts to tour the Anatomy/Academy exhibit.

E-Books Webcast

Thirty-two people attended the e-books webcast and wine and cheese reception held at Jefferson on November 10. Many of us were surprised that e-readers and tablets were excluded from the discussion. The stated reason was that the market for medical e-books on these platforms was not far enough along and I tend to agree. Afterwards, I sent attendees a survey regarding their use of e-readers; eighteen people responded:

Do you use an e-reader either personally or professionally?
5 (28%) yes | 13 (72%) no

Do you plan to buy one in the next 6 months?
3 (17%) yes | 15 (83%) no

Of course, this was before the holiday gifting season, recent press on the accelerating sales of e-books, and innovative programs like UC Irvine’s iMedEd Initiative, which has been working closely with Lippincott, Elsevier and third party app developers to bring medical textbooks to the iPad. Stay tuned.

Annual Dinner

Plan to attend the Chapter’s 60th Annual Business Meeting & Reception!  This year’s event will be held on Wednesday, April 6, from 4:00 pm – 8:30 pm at Pennsylvania Hospital. Register by March 25. http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=217334

• Celebrate your Chapter’s history with material brought to you by Chapter Archives Committee Chair, Annie Brogan
• Donate lightly worn women’s business attire to Dress For Success Philadelphia
• Learn about “The Community Health Data Base: Connecting Local Institutions to Population Data” with our Speaker, Rose Malinowski Weingartner, MPH, a research associate at Public Health Management Corporation <insert photo>
• Recognize the achievements and contributions of your colleagues to the Chapter and the profession
• Tour the Pennsylvania Hospital’s Historic Library, the first medical library in the United States
• Socialize in the elegant Pine Building over a delicious dinner buffet and open bar

Would you like to host an event at your institution? Is there a topic you’d like to see covered? Drop me a line <gary.kaplan@jefferson.edu>. The program committee will work with you to bring continuing education and networking activities from Sussex County, DE to Potter County, PA.

Regards,

Gary Kaplan
Program Chair 2010-2011

We kicked off 2010-2011 programming in August in North Philadelphia, celebrating the first year of the Ginsburg Health Sciences Library at Temple University. Barbara Kuchan and her staff were gracious hosts, treating us to a day of education and networking. The day began with a sold-out continuing education course, “Geeks Bearing Gifts 2.0: Unwrapping New Technology Trends,” organized by Susan LaValley, Education Services Librarian at Temple, and taught by Gregg Headrick from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Middle Atlantic Region (NN/LM MAR). In the afternoon, attendees toured the beautiful new facility with Ginsburg reference librarians Karen Burstein, AHIP, William Dobkowski, and Gerard Mahlman. Read Rachel Resnick’s recaps at <http://www.mlaphil.org/wp/tag/ginsburg-library/>.

On November 10th, Chapter members will gather at Jefferson to watch the MLA webcast, “ABCs of E-books for Medical Libraries.” The past couple webcasts–on mobile devices last fall and the electronic health record in the spring–have been excellent. Given the timely topic and the expert panel, this program shouldn’t disappoint. After the webcast, attendees will have the opportunity to discuss the topic in a formal wrap-around session followed by an informal wine and cheese networking reception.

We have exciting events coming up, so please contact me if you would like to volunteer on the Programming Committee. In April, the Chapter will hold its 60th Annual Meeting and the Board has agreed to pursue a joint meeting with the Southern, Mid-Atlantic, and New York-New Jersey chapters to be held in Baltimore in October, 2012.

As this article is being written the nation is on the eve of mid-term elections. Turbulent times in politics, the economy, health care, technology, and publishing define the challenging environment medical librarians operate in. Our association strengthens the relationships that let us support each other in difficult times and inspires us to innovate for a brighter future. Thanks to everyone who has participated through their membership, program attendance, and volunteer work to make ours a vibrant chapter!

Gary Kaplan
Chair Elect, (Program Committee Chair), 2010-2011

Please visit our Thanks to our sponsors page for additional information on the products and services offered by our sponsors! <http://www.mlaphil.org/wp/15/thank-you-sponsors/>

Christina Daley
Development Committee Chair, 2009-2010

Chair Cynthia McClellan presided over the business meeting, during which she provided attendees with a report on the Chapter’s activities.  First, after careful consideration, the Board decided that now was not the time to merge with another chapter; that the chapter’s uniqueness and active membership, despite its size, warranted remaining independent.  Cynthia also recognized the success of the 3 by the Sea tri-chapter conference, a collaboration with the New York-New Jersey and Mid-Atlantic chapters.  She also acknowledged the recruitment efforts undertaken this year, led by Membership Chair Lydia Witman, including the videos recorded at 3 by the Sea as well as member participation in the Rush at Rush at Drexel University. Educational activities provided by the Education & Credentialling Committee, chaired by Jeanette de Richemond, included two webcasts, as well as PubMed and consumer health database training.  Cynthia indicated that the chapter donated $2,000 toward the research project The Value of Hospital Libraries and provided a letter of support for the Middle  Atlantic Region’s Leadership Institute; Anne Seymour is on the planning committee for that endeavor. Regarding outreach activities, Cynthia mentioned the Chronicle as a way for our Chapter to communicate with its own members and with individuals from other MLA chapters and other organizations.  In recognizing the Chapter’s sponsors, Cynthia also welcomed Christina Daley, our new Development Chair, who stepped in during Ellen Justice’s maternity leave.  Lastly, Cynthia extended thanks to the evening’s speakers from Cooper Hospital, and to Andrea Kenyon, who handled the arrangements for the evening.

Treasurer Linda Katz reported more than $32,000 in chapter funds.  Development Chair Christina Daley reported more than $3,000 in donations from our sponsors.  She also raffled off texts and gift certificates donated by Natural Standard.

Cynthia recognized retiring member Joan McKenzie as well as members retiring from the Board, and she offered the chapter’s appreciation to other Chapter members. Members Katie Ingersoll and Dan Kipnis were presented with the Beatrice Davis Education Award and the Chapter Achievement Award, respectively.

Nancy Calabretta introduced the evening’s speakers, registered nurses Karen Slutsky and Dominic Parone from Cooper University Hospital, who traveled to Haiti with a government team to aid victims of the earthquake last winter.  A separate report about the nurses’ presentation is available elsewhere in this issue.

After the presentation, we enjoyed a delicious buffet dinner!

Here’s to another successful year!

-RR