MLA-Phil » 27(3) fall 2009

the Chronicle Volume 27, No. 3, Fall 2009

Administrator — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:22:00 +0000

The Chronicle is the chapter’s official newsletter, published three times annually.

the Chronicle
Volume 27, No. 3, Fall 2009
In this issue…

From the Chair

Cynthia McClellan — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:20:00 +0000

We’ve closed our pools, sent the kids back to school, and put in our storm windows. The scent of newly mown grass has been replaced by the earthy aromas of autumn. Leaves eddy in our path as the first hint of winter breezes in. We’ve taken a peek at the Farmer’s Almanac, and turned back the clocks. Where did the summer go? I hope yours has been fun, relaxing, and invigorating, and fondly remembered as we add dates to our 2010 calendars.

I am gratified with the turnout of approximately fifty Philadelphia Regional Chapter members (of a total of 235 attendees) for the 3 by the Sea MLA TriChapter Conference, held in early October. Meeting evaluations have been overwhelmingly positive. Thank you to all who attended, and to your institutions for their support. A warm thank you also goes out to the many people who volunteered from our Chapter and helped to “get the job done.” We could not have made this happen without your hard work and dedication! I am especially proud of how we were able to form a cooperative partnership with both the MAC and NY-NJ Chapters. Besides creating a unique learning and networking opportunity, this effort helped to build and strengthen collegial bonds, and pave the way for future collaborative efforts.

We look forward to hosting the upcoming MLA Educational Webcast, “Cut the Cord: Connecting to our Mobile Users,” at Penn on the 18th, as well as a free CE Searching Workshop on the 30th at Drexel. We hope you will come out and support these programs, and as always, provide suggestions and feedback on the programs or CE opportunities you would like to see.

The most recent Board meeting took place on November 13th. We discussed additional programming, including our Annual Chapter Meeting. We also looked closely at a number of issues, including merging our small chapter with a larger organization. There are many pros and cons, benefits and drawbacks to this timely question, and I welcome feedback on this issue; please do not hesitate express your opinions by contacting me, or by posting to our Chapter website or discussion board.

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy fall and winter, and a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Cynthia McClellan
Chair, 2009-2010

From the Editor

Rachel R. Resnick — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:19:56 +0000

Hello, and welcome to the fall issue. If you missed the tri-chapter conference last month in whole or in part, please avail yourself of the recaps published here, and refer to the links to additional conference information. Several chapter members were on the Planning Committee and deserve a round of applause for their efforts in the implementation and success of the conference: Cynthia McClellan, Andrea Kenyon, Gary Kaplan, Gina Kaiser, Nancy Calabretta, Anne Seymour, Kevin Block, Mary Alice Cicerale, Sheryl Panka-Bryman, Ellen Justice, Lenore Hardy, Linda Katz, and Etheldra Templeton. I know that a couple of us, Lydia Witman and myself, also joined Gary in videotaping librarians for a recruitment project; I also set up the conference Twitter account and tweeted whenever I could. I apologize if I missed anyone.

Please note that the deadline is quickly approaching for MLA continuing education grants and scholarships, meeting grants, and a traveling fellowship. As was noted in the Fundraising/Grantsmanship presentation on the last day of the conference by Patricia Pasqual of the Foundation Center and Claudia Perry of Queens College, scholarships, grants, and fellowships support your own professional growth, so please do take advantage of them whenever you can.

Congratulations to the individuals who were recently promoted; also to those recently published or presented; and best of luck to those who have moved to new appointments. And a big Wow! regarding the interesting discovery at the Wistar Institute. Details within…. This issue’s Member & Library News column was edited by Sheryl Panka-Bryman. It might not be uncommon to find a librarian who is a quilter, but you might also be interested to know that member Deb Miller is also…well, I wouldn’t want to spoil it for you. Jo-Anne Babish presents Meet Your Fellow Chapter Member: Deb Miller.

I always thought PowerPoint® was the be-all and end-all of presentation software. Not so, says Carlos Rodriquez in this issue’s TechnoHumanist Corner. And don’t forget to check out Janet Clinton’s Calendar, listing events sponsored by our chapter and other organizations.

Just a note: Gary Kaplan and I are looking for a designer for the Chronicle. We were thinking that this would be a good opportunity for a library school student interested in the health sciences to build his or her resume by providing service to a professional organization, gain formatting experience, and have access to the latest news about healthcare librarianship in the region. While a good sense of humor would be helpful, it would also be helpful to be able to format photographs for size and quality, have html experience, and have access to software to create a PDF version of the newsletter. If interested, please contact me or Gary: rachel.r.resnick@gmail.com ; gary.kaplan@jefferson.edu.

The deadline for Volume 28, Number 1 of the Chronicle is March 1, 2010.
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Rachel Resnick
Communications Committee Chair, 2009-2011

Deadline Approaching for MLA Grants and Scholarships Applications

Administrator — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:17:29 +0000

MLA offers a variety of grants and scholarships to assist qualified students in graduate library science programs and to enable practicing health sciences librarians to take advantage of opportunities for continuing professional development. The deadline for applications is December 1, 2009.

Continuing Education Grant
Interested in taking a CE course but don’t have the funds? Apply for an MLA Continuing Education Grant ranging from $100-$500. These grants may be used for either MLA courses or for other CE courses and activities and can be used for travel, lodging, or course tuition. Complete details about eligibility factors, the submission process and the application form are available at: http://www.mlanet.org/pdf/grants/ce_app_20090909.pdf. For additional information contact Dee Jones, Jury Chair, at djone3@lsuhsc.edu.

Cunningham Fellowship
Applications are now being accepted for the 2011 Cunningham Memorial International Fellowship. The Fellowship is awarded annually to a health sciences librarian from countries outside the United States and Canada. The fellowship provides for attendance at the MLA 2011 annual meeting and an optional one to two week stay at library host sites in the United States and Canada. Further details, including an application and fact sheet, are located at: http://www.mlanet.org/awards/grants. For additional information, contact Assako N. Holyoke, Jury Chair, at holyokea@slu.edu.

David A. Kronick Traveling Fellowship
The Kronick Fellowship provides $2000 to an experienced librarian to support travel and research promoting excellence in health sciences librarianship. The award covers expenses for traveling to three or more medical libraries in the United States or Canada for the purpose of studying a specific aspect of health information management. Eligibility requirements and additional information are available at: http://mlanet.org/pdf/grants/kronick_app_20090909.pdf. Please contact the Kronick Jury Chair, Susan Steelman, at 501-686-6737 or email: SteelmanSusanC@uams.edu with any questions.

EBSCO/MLA Annual Meeting Grant
The EBSCO/MLA Annual Meeting Grants, sponsored by EBSCO Information Services, assists MLA members in attending the association’s annual meeting. Each year, grants of up to $1,000 for travel and meeting-related expenses are given to four librarians. To qualify for the grant applicants must have two to five years’ experience in the profession at the time of the MLA ’10 annual meeting. Eligibility requirements and additional information are available at: http://www.mlanet.org/pdf/grants/ebsco_app_20090909.pdf. Contact Jury Chair Patricia Gallagher at pgallagher@nyam.org for additional information.

MLA Scholarship
The Medical Library Association is accepting applications for its annual scholarship. The award provides up to $5,000 to a library sciences student who shows excellence in scholarship and potential for accomplishment in health sciences librarianship. Applicants must be citizens of or have permanent residence in either the United States or Canada. Complete details about eligibility factors, the submission process and the application form are available at: http://www.mlanet.org/pdf/grants/schol_app_20090714.pdf. Questions? Contact Victoria Pifalo, Jury Chair, at vpifalo@illinois.edu.

MLA Scholarship for Minority Students
The MLA Scholarship for Minority Students Jury announces the acceptance of applications for the 2009-2010 MLA Minority Scholarship. The scholarship of up to $5000 will be granted to a minority student in a Masters program at an ALA-accredited library school. The second runner up for the MLA Minority Scholarship will receive a $1,000 scholarship to attend MLA ’10, May 21-26 in Washington, D.C. Complete details about eligibility factors, the submission process and the application form are available at: http://www.mlanet.org/pdf/grants/min_app_20090715.pdf. Contact Darlene Parker-Kelly, Jury Chair at darleneparkerkelly@cdrewu.edu for additional information.

Felicia A. Barrett, Assistant Health Sciences Librarian
University of Illinois at Chicago, Library of the Health Sciences – Rockford
Rockford, Ill.
fbarrett@uic.edu

3 by the Sea—Articles, Odds & Ends

Rachel R. Resnick — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:15:41 +0000

It was good to see so many of you from the chapter at last month’s 3 by the Sea conference, co-hosted by the MLA-Phil, NY-NJ, and MAC chapters. In the sections following, you will find recaps of a few events you may have missed. First, Chair Cynthia McClellan summarizes Tuesday’s keynote speech presented by Dr. PM Forni of the Civility Project at Johns Hopkins University. Next, Crystal Knapp describes Wednesday’s keynote by Lee Rainie of the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Gretchen Kuntz provides her overview of the presentation at Wednesday’s Hospital Librarians Luncheon by speaker Karen Drenkard, Director of The Magnet Recognition Program at American Nurses Credentialing Center. Thank you, ladies, for your contributions.

Please be sure to revisit the conference website <http://3bythesea.pbworks.com>, as additional information has been added since the conference ended. Notably, posters and slides are now available. Also, Lydia Witman, Gary Kaplan, and I recorded brief interviews with conference attendees, asking them how they got started in health sciences librarianship and what they get out of their membership in MLA and in attending professional conferences. These videos are being used to recruit library students into the field. Take a look: you will see names and faces you recognize, but did you know their stories?

If you would like to read “as-it-happened” accounts of some of the programs, point your browser to Twitter <http://twitter.com/threebythesea> I believe you can read all of the tweets there. Although I was the official tweeter (twitterer? twit?), several others commented on the programs they attended as well; I followed anyone who used the hashtag #3bythesea, and retweeted their messages so that they are all contained in the threebythesea account.

If you are on Facebook, you can find 3 by the Sea there.

Conference photos are available on flickr® <http://www.flickr.com/groups/3bythesea> and if you have any photos that you would like to share, please feel free to join the 3bythesea flickr® group and upload your photos.

Lastly, MLA President Connie Schardt, AHIP, posted her impressions of the conference <http://connections.mlanet.org/2009/10/14/tri-chapter-meeting-on-the-jersey-shore/>. Other chapter meetings are also reviewed by Connie and other MLA National chapter members on the MLA Connections blog, so if you’re interested in what other chapters are up to, point your browser to <http://connections.mlanet.org>.
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