This month, September 2008, marks the resignation of Sherri Fuller as director of the University of Washington Health Sciences Libraries and as our director of the RML.

Thinking about Sherri and the RML, it is very difficult to encapsulate what she has meant to our program, and our region. And, that challenge (how to do so adequately?) is not the point of this post. But, I know that many projects instigated or taken on by Sherri have made a difference in the direction that NLM has taken with the RML program. I’m thinking of several examples such as: Bench to Bedside, the NN/LM Outreach Evaluation project, Tribal Connections, Web-STOC, and most recently public health informatics (i.e. myPublicHealth). (more…)

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow, September 3, 2008 at 1pm Pacific, 2 pm Mountain & 12 pm Alaska time as we receive the latest news from the Medical Library Association Vital Pathways project from chair M.J. Tooey. There will be time for a question and answer session after the presentation.

Please note, if you have not used Adobe® Connect™ before (or since they acquired Macromedia Breeze), check that you have the most recent free Adobe Flash update (version 9.0.124) as using 9.0.115 and earlier versions of Flash may result in audio problems.

For more information about Vital Pathways and how to connect to this and future Rendezvous sessions, see Next Presentation and How Do I Connect to RML Rendezvous? See you there!

Did you know that September is National Preparedness Month?

National, regional, state, and local organizations, will combine efforts throughout the month of September to encourage all Americans to take steps to prepare for emergencies before they happen.

Action we take as individuals to be prepared can greatly improve our ability to survive and recover from all types of emergencies, whether natural or man-made.

In addition, in your role as a health information provider, preparedness by your library can mitigate the impact of disasters on healthcare providers and their patients.

To help Network member libraries in the NN/LM maintain their information services in the event of a disaster, your RML is participating in a national emergency preparedness and response plan.

To launch this plan in the PNR, and to offer additional preparedness and disaster response support, we are introducing a new webpage titled: Emergency Preparedness and Response in the Pacific Northwest Region.

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We are excited to announce a new funding opportunity from the NN/LM PNR to support purchase, installation, and/or upgrading of hardware and software to enhance access to health information.

Up to three (3) awards of up to $5,000 each are available to NN/LM member organizations in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. The purpose of these awards is to enhance the capacity of a library or organization to offer electronic health information services for health professionals or health consumers.

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Congratulations to the Spokane County Medical Society Library, the Center for Public Health Nutrition, at the University of Washington, and OR211. These 3 network member organizations were recently awarded new funding for Express Outreach projects in the Pacific Northwest Region.

For more information about their projects, please see: http://nnlm.gov/pnr/funding/OutreachAwards2006-2011.html

Please join us in three weeks for an RML Rendezvous on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 at 1pm Pacific time for a presentation by Medical Library Association’s Vital Pathways Task Force Chair M.J. Tooey. We will post a reminder about the Rendezvous here the day before it will occur.

For more information about Vital Pathways and how to connect to this and future Rendezvous sessions, see Next Presentation and How Do I Connect to RML Rendezvous? We look forward to having you join us!